[Raji]

Remember when the Utah Jazz were the least cool team in professional sports? The combination of John Stockton’s shorts and Karl Malone being, well, Karl Malone in a cowboy hat was just too much for anyone of sound mind and body to take.

Especially since MJ was over in Chicago dunking from the foul line, smoking championship cigars and getting down on more action than he could keep track of, while the Jazz were running their ancient pick-and-roll and finding ways to lose in the playoffs.

Now though, Utah’s one happening spot, at least on the hardcourt. The Stockton-to-Malone days are long gone, giving way to a run-and-shoot offense that is giving opposing defenses fits.

These days it’s do-it-all point guard Deron Williams running the show and Carlos Boozer playing the Karl Malone role. But that’s not all the Jazz have going for them following last year’s run to the Western Conference finals – they have depth and are actually playing some defense lately.

“The Jazz didn't play a lick of 'D' for the entire month of December, but Jerry Sloan has been preaching defense and the results speak for themselves,” Covers Expert Ted Severansky says about a streak that’s seen Utah win 14 of its last 15 games and cover the spread in a dozen of those.

Utah’s commitment to defense is pretty evident in the daily boxscores. The Jazz are allowing 94.4 points per game over their last 10, helping under bettors to cash tickets in seven of those contests.

“In this case it is really simple: a team that had been a major disappointment on the defensive end of the court in the first two months of the season is finally finding their passion again,” says handicapper David Malinsky.

And surprisingly enough, the addition of sharpshooter Kyle Korver in late December only added fuel to the fire. Korver won’t ever be known for his defensive prowess, but he’s a huge addition off the bench for an already-potent offense and he showed it on Wednesday by piling up 27 points in an overtime win over Denver. He’s knocking down 11.6 points in about 23 minutes a game since joining the Jazz. So when you have guys like Korver, plus Andrei Kirilenko, who can still control a game when he puts his mind to it, oddsmakers are going to pile on the chalk.

“A 9-1 ATS run over 10 games is very extreme in the NBA,” says Malinsky. “Now a couple of things happen: there is the natural adjustments that the oddsmakers and betting markets are going to make, while at the same time many of the factors that led to that surge will begin to level off. The pendulums of the NBA make it so difficult to maintain that kind of performance level for an extended period of time.”

“The best time to support Utah has probably come and gone,” Sevransky adds. “That being said, we may continue to find value with Utah when they face other elite level squads with 'sexier' players (i.e. L.A. or Phoenix).”

Utah is in Sacramento for a date with the Kings Friday night before a home date with the Bulls on Saturday.

Raji