Williams vs. Stockton: Joe's NBA Preview

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Ok. Since the BYU loss to TCU, I've really started to question my fanhood in sports altogether. What's the point?!?!?! It's just a bunch of millionaires or college "gods" playing a game. My life should mean more than this...

I also recently applied to be the PR person for the BYU football team, but finally received my rejection letter in the mail yesterday. A nice little wake up call that sports get plenty out of you, but give little in return.

To really hit the point home, I recently received a message on MySpace from a dude back in high school who found me online to see how the last 10 years went. He told me that I came up in a conversation he had with another high school buddy, and wondered if I had made it big in the music industry. Arghhh... So I decided that since BYU is cooked after their really scary win against UNLV last weekend (yes, I ate another Bratwurst in a maple bar!), that if the Jazz don't win it all this year, music will become my passion once again, whether I like it or not.

I'll even have to change my blog to www.averagejoesmusic.com, because I have no future in the entertainment business in sports or acting after our 2008 Halloween movie.

So that's my NBA preview. I don't really care who wins or what happens. The Jazz are the deepest they have ever been since I started caring about sports in 1990. I don't care about the Lakers or Celtics or even Chris Paul or Greg Oden. All I care about is if Jerry Sloan will finally win a playoff series as a lower seed. It hasn't happen after 1,000 career wins or 20 seasons (and you can't count the Houston series the last two years because we were the division champs). Maybe Utah will have to have home court advantage throughout the playoffs (oh yeah, that already happened in 1998 when we lost to Jordan).

If anybody knew me in high school in the state of Washington, I was the biggest John Stockton and Jazz fan outside the state of Utah. I lived and breathed the Utah Jazz as much as I could. Back before the internet, I would call a local sports line every night the Jazz played as I crawled into bed to find out the scores, and then I would note them in my Jazz season schedule I had to get from my brother-in-law in Utah. I noted every single game.

So anyway, I wanted to be the next John Stockton so bad (as you read in my regret column a few weeks ago), and I had over 50 basketball cards of him. I even went to Niketown in Portland, Oregon and requested to find out which shoes he wore (Nike Force) so I could get myself a pair.

But my newest man-crush is Deron Williams. I will have to put myself on trial for high treason for me to say that I may like Deron Williams better than my childhood hero of John Stockton, but I just might do that. I know this is blasphemous, but here are some of my reasons:

1) Deron dunks: I know Stockton never did in a game, and he is the all-time assists and steals leader who nobody will catch before World War III, but I always wished he would throw down on a fast break, just once. Deron's dunk on 7-foot shot blocker Tyson Chander last season was surreal!

2) Deron is clutch: I know Stockton was clutch with his 3-pointer over Charles Barkley that put the Jazz in the NBA Finals back in 1997, but Stockton almost always referred to Karl Malone in the clutch moments, which is one of the reasons why the Jazz choked during his 18-seasons. The few times he took the game over, they won. Deron is more inclined to take over the game, and will be selfish when he needs to be. Stockton was too pure of a point guard in the Bob Cousy mold to do that.

3) Deron's beard: I know that Stockton had the hairy chest and the short shorts that even got a mention from Jennifer Aniston from Friends when Friends was at their ultimate peak, which nobody can take from him, BUT Deron's new beard is freakin' awesome! It lets the team know that he's in charge, even though he's only 24.

4) Deron actually likes Utah: Stockton always shied away from public appearances, and lived in Spokane, WA next door to his dad during the offseason. He never did commercials, and the second he retired, he jettisoned from town almost never to be seen again. Deron lives in Utah during the offseason. He does public appearances and charity golf courses. He smiles and signs autographs when kids show up. You'd never, EVER get that out of Stockton, EVER!

5) Deron speaks to the media: Stockton never liked the media, and that was it. His retirement announcement was super awkward the day as he was cleaning out his locker. Deron does a weekly radio broadcast, even if it is with that mega tool David Locke on 1320 KFAN. Even Deron knows he's an absolute tool, and you can tell he has a hard time putting up with him each Wednesday at 5 p.m., but he likes being on the radio and gives decent movie reviews, too.

That's all I have for now. I know that Stockton has 20 years of professionalism and stats to prove that he is the better point guard... for now. I just think that the Jazz may go further under 10 years of Deron than the 20 years that we got with Stockton. Although we never missed the playoffs with Stockton as the starter, we haven't yet with Deron as the starting point guard either. This years team is very deep on paper, and if that translates into an NBA Championship this season, then I'll take that over the assists and steals record, PERIOD. Plus, this argument will be settled once and for all.