When the Jazz look back on this season, losses to teams like Miami and Minnesota--twice over--will irritate Jerry Sloan more than a prostate examination.

The Jazz haven't played particularly well on the road, which will hurt their rankings in the Western Conference playoff race. Let's give credit where credit is due however, because again, the Wolves played the Jazz with enthusiasm and panache--on a Sunday no less. I also saw a few things I haven't see much of lately:

1) McCants hitting a big shot. With 21 seconds to play, Shaddy hits a crucial shot to keep the Wolves lead to six. After getting in foul trouble in the first half, he asserted himself in the second, playing well with the other kids just enough to be in a rhythm.
2) Corey Brewer playing under control. He actually can't be reading what bloggers are saying about him, can he? Instead of settling for his god-awful inconsistent jump shot, he took the ball aggressively to the basket and stayed within himself, especially in the third quarter.
3) Foye sitting at crunch time. Actually we've seen a lot of that, because he's been out most of the year, but since he's been healthy, he's usually out there late in the 4th. Not today...Marko and McCants were in the backcourt.

Kirk Snyder also had a pretty good game as well. He too didn't settle for an outside jumper, and took the ball aggressively to the basket. Jefferson was his usual self, with 22 points and 8 boards. The only negative anyone can say about the fourth quarter of today's game was that he still doesn't touch the ball quite enough. He had a couple of fouls shots with around 10 seconds left, but the club seems to lose focus in critical stretches of the game. Considering how poorly the Wolves play over .500 teams, the fact they have a chance to break even with a pretty good Jazz team IS a true sign of progress, fluke of nature or not.

On another note, I have to say after watching Derrick Rose play again today, if we end up with a pick where he's available, I might be tempted to wait and see if there's a decent big man lower in the draft and scoop him up. Or, look to acquire a big in a trade, moving McCants, Foye, Smith or a combination of those players. That guy is definitely growing on me.