Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) drives to the basket during a game against the San Antonio Spurs at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Marielle Scott, Deseret News The Delta Center is home to the Utah Jazz, where Jazz fans faithfully stand behind their team through thick and thin and show up each and every game day to show their loyalty… Well, at least that’s the case most of the time. These days — with losses coming more regularly than wins, and as the Jazz clearly work toward future success rather than success in the present season — it can be a little t ..read more

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) passes the ball during a game against the San Antonio Spurs at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Marielle Scott, Deseret News The Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 128-109 on Sunday night at the Delta Center. Here’s a look inside the numbers from the Jazz’s victory: Best performance: Lauri Markkanen paced the Jazz with 26 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block, and he did it all efficiently, shooting 10-of-18 overall and going 5-of-8 from deep. Worst performance: Jeremy Sochan hit one free throw ..read more

Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy talks with Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Lauri Markkanen stands at the elbow of the key on one of the practice courts at Zions Bank Basketball Campus. Flanked by Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy and assistant coaches Chad Forcier, Sean Sheldon and Matt Temple, Markkanen takes deep, exhaustive breaths and wipes the sweat off his brow with the collar of his shirt. “I love working with the guys one-on-one. “It’s probably the part that’s most comfortable for me. It’s been my identity as a coach ..read more

Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (8) competes for the loose ball with Charlotte Hornets guard Seth Curry (30) in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News The Utah Jazz lost 115-107 to the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night at the Delta Center. Here’s a look inside the numbers from the Jazz loss: Best performance: Grant Williams, acquired by the Hornets at the trade deadline, scored 24 points on 7-of-16 shooting while dishing out three assists and grabbing one steal. Worst performance: It was a rough night for Walker Kessler. Timing between Kessler and ..read more

Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen shoots during the 3-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in Indianapolis. The Jazz forward was eliminated in the first round. Darron Cummings, Associated Press Let’s pretend the All-Star 3-point contest didn’t have some shots that were worth more than others or balls that were worth more points than others. In this imaginary world, where it’s purely about who can hit the most shots — best percentage wins — Lauri Markkanen would have sailed through the first round of last weekend’s contest in Indianapolis. Is that how Markkanen would l ..read more

Utah Jazz CEO, Danny Ainge, looks on before the start of their NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Rick Bowmer, Associated Press Danny Ainge is like the guy at the blackjack table who wins, and then, instead of cashing in his chips, he makes another bet and pushes his chips back onto the table. He made a huge bet on the future — and his drafting/trading prowess — when he blew up the roster in the fall of 2022, a year after the team posted the best record in the NBA. Earlier this month, a little more than a year after the first demo ..read more

Signage promoting the Crossover fan experience for the NBA All-Star basketball game covers the entrance to the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. Michael Conroy, Associated Press There was a time when all-star games seemed like a good idea. So did lead paint, eight-track tapes and Blockbuster. Let’s face it, all-star games no longer work. Whether it’s the ridiculous NBA version of the game, the latest NFL iteration, or the variations on the same theme in the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, they’re simply a bad form of entertainment. Whic ..read more

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn looks towards the scoreboard during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) AP Jacque Vaughn’s time as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets is over. Multiple outlets reported Monday morning that Vaughn has been fired, and the Nets formally announced it a short time later. Vaughn, 49, was named the Nets head coach in November of 2022 after Steve Nash left the organization following just two years as head coach. Vaughn was originally named interim head coach and it wa ..read more

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) goes up for a dunk over Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) during the second half of an NBA All-Star basketball game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Darron Cummings, AP INDIANAPOLIS — The NBA wanted more competition. It got more points instead — more than ever before. And once again, the All-Star Game was all offense. All-Star MVP Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 39 points and the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners putting up the most points in the game’s 73-year history. Th ..read more

Signage promoting the NBA All-Star basketball game covers the window on Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. The NBA All-Star game in Sunday. Michael Conroy, AP Are people still fans of NBA All-Star Saturday night? Saturday night’s during All-Star weekend used to be the highlight of the NBA’s mid-season festivities, what with the slam dunk contest and the 3-point shootout, plus the skills challenge and whatever new innovation the league had come up with that particular year. For decades, the slam dunk contest held sway, with the some of greatest feats of athleticis ..read more