Boozer booed on return to SLC, Bulls beat Jazz, Sloan to step down as Utah Coach

Posted on by
 
SALT LAKE CITY—All the attention was focused on Carlos Boozer as handmade signs shouted “Whozer?” and boos rained down on the former Utah Jazz All-Star forward.When it counted most, two other former Jazz players came up big for the Bulls in Wednesday night’s 91-86 victory against Utah.Kyle Korver hit a 3-pointer with 2:17 remaining to give the Bulls an 87-83 lead.Ronnie Brewer,who was drafted by Utah in 2006, stole the ball from Jazz point guard Deron Willliams with 7.9 seconds left and sank a pair of free throws to seal the victory.Boozer also had a steal late, but overall had a rough time in his return to Utah. He had a number of his shots blocked and finished with 14 points and six rebounds.Derrick Rose scored 29 points. He also had seven assists and three rebounds, and a steal with 1:05 remaining that gave the Bulls control of the game.Ironically,it appears this loss by Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan to the team he once played for,was his last with the Jazz as he is expected to resign Thursday.Al Jefferson led the Jazz with 28 points, while Paul Millsap added 20 points and 14 rebounds.Sloan kept reporters waiting more than half an hour after the game as he met with his assistants and general manager Kevin O’Connor. And the Jazz announced that Thursday’s practice had been abruptly canceled.After a 15-5 start, the Jazz are now 31-23 and have dropped three straight at home.Asked if it was time for a shake-up, Sloan hedged.

“I don’t think there’s any great need for panic,” he said, before adding that his general manager is always evaluating players and moves the team can make. “We’re not looking to trade anybody. We’re looking to make our team hopefully better on the floor.”

It didn’t help that three former Jazz players came back to haunt Utah.Boozer was a two-time Western Conference All-Star in Utah, but there were always questions about team chemistry with him in Salt Lake. He made it be known he wanted out, and eventually signed as a free agent with the Bull after laser last season.His first game back in Utah elicited the most media attention surrounding the Jazz since the NBA playoffs.He was booed during introductions and every time he touched the ball.He also got a rude welcome from Millsap, who blocked his first shot, knocked the ball out of his hands twice in the first four minutes and got Boozer to dribble it off his own foot.Boozer had just six points at halftime on 3-of-9 shooting. Millsap, meanwhile, was within one rebound of a double-double by halftime with a team-high 13 points.The Jazz won the rebounding battle 48-41 and outshot the Bulls, but Utah also was only 11 of 21 from the free throw line while the Bulls made 20 of 26.

NOTES—Sloan will resign at a press conference later Thursday. Along with Sloan, assistant coach Phil Johnson will step down as well.This comes after the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Sloan was visibly shaken after a tough loss to the Bulls last night. Making the media wait an extended time, which is abnormal for Sloan, and just said there would be a press conference today.Sloan of course is the longest tenured coach in professional sports, having coached the Jazz for 23 seasons and that’s happened in 2001 after Tom Kelly resigned from the Minnesota Twins. Sloan just signed a one-year extension with the team last week.As for why, that’s up for speculation at this point. Some are already running out this being an effort to keep Deron Williams who will be a free agent soon. Some are saying that Sloan has been at odds with management for a while. In reality, nobody really knows at this point and it’s probably just best to wait and see…..The Bulls entered the game as one of only four NBA teams that had not lost more than two in a row this season.