I decided to write about the Jazz in our school paper's NBA Preview (Take THAT ESPN!!!)

[dalamon]

There were only 5 pieces allowed, 1 had to cover the Heat, 2 other team previews, and two more personal-editorials on the upcoming season.


Needless to say, I snagged one of the spots:

Despite their NBA team's name, Salt Lake City isn’t exactly known for its jazzy ambience — but it certainly has a strong basketball franchise. In the past 24 years, the Utah Jazz have only missed the playoffs four times, ending the team’s 20-year streak in 2004 by one game.

Last season, after the departures of hall of fame coach Jerry Sloan and franchise player Deron Williams, the Jazz were expected to ‘compete’ for the top three lottery picks in the 2012 NBA draft. Instead, the Jazz exceeded all expectations and ended the season on a 5-0 run to capture the eighth Western conference playoff seed. The Jazz Cinderella story then subsequently ended, via a sweep from the San Antonio Spurs, who used the Jazz’s youth and lack of three-point shooting against them.

With that playoff performance in mind, Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor addressed their three-point shooting deficiencies by signing former LA Clipper Randy Foye and trading for former Atlanta Hawk Marvin Williams and former Clipper Mo Williams. Not only did all three players shoot above 38 per cent from behind the arc last season, they scored more three-pointers between the three of them than the entire 2012 Jazz roster combined.

That just leaves the problem of youth as the only impeding factor in front of this Jazz team. And that’s what makes things so exciting.

The Jazz have a nucleus of four top 12 picks in Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks — younger than 22. Couple the potential of this nucleus with already proven big-men in Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, and the Jazz find themselves with one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. Yet they still don’t ever get attention.

Here’s some advice: pay attention to this team, and jump on the bandwagon while you can. There’s a reason why ESPN writer John Hollinger believes the Utah Jazz will be the fourth best team in the NBA by 2015. Watching the dogfight for the sixth through eighth seeds of the Western Conference will be an absolute treat for NBA fans worldwide this season. Grab your popcorn, people — its about to get really jazzy in Utah.

I literally composed it in 15 mintues, so it certainly isn't perfect. Still, it was published in this week's campus paper, and therefore marks my first work of published writing!! Wheu!! I am also one of 4 contributors of the newspaper in the Scienes faculty, so some were surprised that I even stepped foot inside the office, telling them that I wanted to write about something.

One thing that bugged me is that I didn't really tell the whole story as to what the biggest reason that we lacked success in the playoffs (team defense) because it would have opened an entire can of worms that would have inflated my word count. So don't get all hot and heated that I didn't mention it as one of the reasons why we lost to the Spurs, I didn't have too much of a choice.

Offer criticisms, reviews, whatever you want. Also, I was limited to ~400 words, but I would have loved to write at least three times the amount.

[Hack]

*percent


Good job, good effort, good job

[DutchJazzer]

congrats.
wish it was longer.
but hey that's what she said right

[dalamon]

*percent


Good job, good effort, good job

Copy and paste fib, real article would've been changed by the editor if it had errors like the one above.


But thank you, Miami Heat fan.

congrats.
wish it was longer.
but hey that's what she said right

Amen.

[franklin]

*percent


Good job, good effort, good job

Does your avatar come in a face palm? Or is that facepalm? Face-palm? Face palm.? Face palmum?



Nice work Dala!

[Scat]

Despite their NBA team's name, Salt Lake City isn’t exactly known for its jazzy ambience.

You do know that it's the Utah Jazz, right?

[spycam1]

Gotta spread the rep, dal.

[Hack]

Does your avatar come in a face palm? Or is that facepalm? Face-palm? Face palm.? Face palmum?



Nice work Dala!

No. I wish it did though.

[JimLes]

Someone rep this for me. I've apparently repped Dala enough.

Also, we're talking about the Gateway, right?

[dalamon]

Someone rep this for me. I've apparently repped Dala enough.

Also, we're talking about the Gateway, right?

Aye Aye, sir.

[JimLes]

Aye Aye, sir.

Empty your freakin' private message folder.

[dalamon]

Apologies, Jimmer.


Emptied.

[dalamon]

Hurry up and reply, Jim.