Candle in the Sun

Yesterday was a fine day for basketball. The Jazz began a three game road trip with the lofty vow to never trail in a game. They certainly did not in Toronto. On Bosh's 26 birthday, the Raptors were quickly wiped out by the meteor that is Deron Williams and Toronto remained on the short list of teams that Williams refuses to lose to in his NBA tenure. Some announcers at halftime jokingly asked if Calderone had something to infuriate the green monster (the Jazz moved to 10-1 while wearing the throwbacks), but quickly concluded that the beleaguered point guard never had the chance to say anything since he was always too far away from Williams as the all-star slashed and passed through a pathetic defense. The coach for the raptors concluded that Williams' stat sheet of 18 points, 16 assists, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals was "deceviing" because it under-represented the amount of destruction that was unleashed by the Fighting Illini. The trib put it well when they deemed this team "on a mission." They are after the 2nd seed and it is great to watch them fight for it. The Jazz's optimism is now shared again by John Hollinger as they are projected to beat out both the Mavericks and Nuggets in record.

In other news, the Nuggets lost again yesterday to the Celtics (who are playing great basketball right now) as Rondo snagged a tripple-double. Denver is in serious threat of losing another two games (@ Orlando followed immidiately by @ Dallas) and slipping into the fourth spot, which is right where everyone else with the exception of the Lakers wants them. Dallas has a tough game in Portland tonight and may continue their slide after winning 13 games straight. Since the Salt Lake Tribune already stole the better rap reference that would have titled this post ("We on a mission" circa Outkast, 1998) I'll end with my thoughts (and Jay-Z's) about the Mavericks, their 13 game streak, and their relationship to D-Hulk: "Yeah you shining but there's one thing you're leaving out; you're a candle in the sun, and that shit don't even out."