MVN: Most Valuable Network

The Sixers were in Utah Wednesday night to face the Jazz in a preseason exhibition. Going in, they were without Sam Dalembert.  The Jazz took advantage of the Sixers inside with the muscle of Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap. 

I was looking forward to the matchup of 2006 draft picks, Ronnie Brewer and Rodney Carney.  Brewer has been a beast for the Jazz this preseason.  To read up more on the player the Sixers passed up to trade down for Rodney Carney, check out All That Jazz.

I'm working on a preview for hoopsblogging.com's Chad Kettner. You can read about the instructions to the preview here. Passion and Pride would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Chad - he just got engaged!

For now, check out these blog previews from around the Central Division:

Chicago Bulls
Cobra Brigade
Bull Riding

Cleveland Cavaliers
YAYSports!
The POJO Dojo
Cavalier Attitude
Truth in a Bullet Fedora

Detroit Pistons
PistonsNationBlog
Empty the Bench
Need4Sheed
Motoring

Indiana Pacers
Indy Cornrows
Pacers Pulse

Milwaukee Bucks
Bango's Bunch

Archives
CelticsBlog NBA Page

Also see: Southwest Previews | Atlantic Previews

UPDATE: The Sixers lost 93-101.  Mo Cheeks took my recommendation to start Smith. He struggled at first, but played better in the second half.  What does this change tell you, other than Mo's statement that preseason gives you a chance to see what guys can do?  The Sixers need a better option for backup center than Calvin Booth, plain and simple.

In the matchup of Carney vs. Brewer, Brewer got the starting nod for the Jazz and scored 14 points with four assists, two steals, one turnover and no rebounds in 24 minutes.  Carney came off the bench for 10 points, four rebounds, one steal, one turnover and no assists in 20:37.  Both guys took nine shots from the field, with Brewer hitting on seven and Carney on five. 

Brewer gets the edge here, but his zero rebounds match Carney's zero assists.  In fact, the starting backcourt of the Jazz didn't grab one board.  Unlike the Sixers though, they have a strong frontcourt.  Brewer is also averaging a team-high 18.4 points per game during the preseason.

The Sixer of the game was Reggie Evans.  He grabbed 12 boards in 25 minutes.  He was 5-for-6 from the line and 0-for-2 from the field.  Herbert Hill played 10 minutes off the bench and grabbed seven boards with three blocks.  He did not score.  Both players played admirable against Boozer and Millsap.  Andre Miller, University of Utah alumni, led the team with 18 points.  Lou Williams played well with 13 points and six assists.