Rumor has it that the Jazz’s pre-game shootaround will be the setting stage to unveil their new Northwest Division championship banner at the Energy Solutions Arena.

The ceremony can be delayed but their 124-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets certainly did not wait.

Deron Williams displayed true grit and determination in the game to win over the Nuggets who are vying with the Golden State for the Western Conference’s final playoff position.

“I was definitely worried about this game,” Williams said, “just because they had so much riding for them and we just came off a tough loss. It was interesting to see how we were going to react tonight and I thought we did a great job. We win by 20 to a team that’s fighting for their life trying to get into the playoffs, that’s just a great accomplishment.”

Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Ronnie Brewer cumulatively scored 20 points each while Deron Williams added 19 points as well as 11 assists.

Many attempts by various teams throughout the years have been done to persuade John Hammond to be their new GM but to no avail. Finally, the Milwaukee Bucks succeeded in luring Hammond away from the Detroit Pistons.

Unsuccessful attempts by Portland and Toronto have been done in the past but Hammond was never swayed. Finally Hammond accepted the Bucks’ offer and is set to replace Larry Harris as their new GM this coming Monday. Harris left on March 19 after a series of unsuccessful meetings to negotiate his soon-to-expire contract.

With his new post, Hammond is expected to hire a new veteran coach to boost the Bucks’ winnings. He is eager to seek help from former Pistons’ coach Rick Carlisle, having worked with the vet boss previously. On the other hand, Carlisle is also sought after by the Chicago Bulls. Can Hammond persuade Carlisle to join them instead of being the Bulls’ prolific coach? Only time will tell.

The Phoenix Suns became the first Western Conference team to win 30 games very easily.The Suns look for their fifth straight victory overall when they remain on the road to face the Minnesota Timberwolves for the second time in six days Wednesday night.Phoenix (30-12) opened a four-game road trip with a 114-105 win at Milwaukee on Tuesday night.Steve Nash had a season-high 37 points with 10 assists, while center Amare Stoudemire added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Suns.The win was the second straight on the road for the Suns. Plus Phoenix has won nine of its last 12 meetings with the Timberwolves (6-34). Nash is averaging 15.5 points and 14.0 assists in the two games versus Minnesota this season.Stoudemire had 23 points and 11 rebounds in the Jan. 8 win over the Timberwolves. The veteran scored eight points in 27 minutes in his return after missing seven games due to undergoing an appendectomy.

The Toronto Raptors were unsettled at point guard after T.J. Ford was injured against the Atlanta Hawks in December. Jose Calderon has filled in nicely. The Raptors meet the Hawks for the first time since this season series Friday night.Ford hasn’t played since suffering a stinger.  Ford was cleared to resume workouts Jan. 9 and he was expected to return home to Houston . Plus Ford was headed to the basket when Horford hit the guard’s face with his hand. Horford was suspended one game for the flagrant foul.Toronto is 9-8 since Ford’s injury.  Calderon had 17 points and 14 assists to help Bosh finish with a 31-point game in the Raptors’ 116-91 win over Sacramento on Wednesday night.Bosh,has scored 20 or more points in seven of Toronto’s past eight games. He is averaging 34.5 points and 11.5 rebounds while shooting 66.7 percent (26-for-39) from the field in his last two home games.The fifth-year center has helped the Raptors win three straight at Air Canada Centre, averaging 113.7 points while holding opponents to 98.7 in that span.The Raptors have a chance to match their longest home winning streak of the season as they face a Hawks team that has lost four straight on the road. Atlanta (17-18) has lost 10 of 15 road games this season and has not reached 100 points in any of those contests, averaging 87.9 points per game.The Hawks shot 36.5 percent (27-for-74) in an 87-80 loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday night.

Friday night, the Nets won a 102-96 victory against Charlotte. By this, they put the finishing touch on their first four-game winning streak and got back to .500 with a 16-16 record. The victory was not easy. At first sight, the Nets thought they would beat them quickly and without much trouble, but that was not the case. They trailed by 13 points early in the second quarter and did not take their first lead until Carter scored on a layup with 19 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Carter led the Nets with 30 points. Richard Jefferson, had 28, with 20 of them coming in the decisive second half.

There were not that many movements in the world of basketball Wednesday. In fact, there was only one related to the NBA, where the WASHINGTON WIZARDS signed G Mike Wilks.

Yesterday we witnessed a great tonight between the Suns and Spurs. Of course, both the teams haven’t been as dominant this year as some expected. Though the Spurs have to restrain their ardour because of the injuries to Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. Now, Duncan is back and Parker is on the shelf. Maybe because of that the Suns showed better results in that match-up. Let’s see what will be next.

The Boston Celtics have recently played against the Miami Heat and showed some interesting things about this current edition of the fabled Boston Celtics. The very beginning of the game was something like the Celtics thought it was the 5th quarter of the 45 point blow out of the Knicks. The players were a bit fussy, but anyway managed to get it through and win.

Paul Pierce had nineteen points and twelve assists. Kevin Garnett scored twenty-two points and the Celtics broke open a truly tight game in the 4th quarter to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 113-103 yesterday. Ray Allen scored twelve points for the Celtics (15-2), but it was James Posey and Eddie House who sank the big three-pointers that let the NBA-best Celtics remain undefeated in their division.

The Boston Celtics overcame with a slow start. The Cleveland Cavaliers were not able to overcome the absence of LeBron James. With the National Baseball Association scoring leader missing his 2nd straight match because of a sprained finger, the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 80-70 on yesterday. On Thursday, the Celtics crushed the Knicks 104-59. On Tuesday night, Cleveland handed Boston one of their 2 losses of the season, 109-104 in overtime at Cleveland.