Just Who Is the Key to Utah's Success?

Who's the most important player for the Utah Jazz? You could make a strong case for Deron Williams or Carlos Boozer, and I'm sure Mehmet Okur's clutch shooting will garner a few votes. Heck, there might even be a few holdovers from the Andrei Kirilenko camp. But hey, the stats don't lie, and the answer might surprise you. From Jazzbots:

It may not be sexy, it may not be pretty, but the more C.J. Miles plays, the more the Jazz win. During the '06-'07 season in games where C.J. played 10 minutes or more the Jazz went 13-8 (.619). When Miles played 15 minutes or more the Jazz won eight games and lost only two (.800). And when C.J. logged 20 minutes or more the Jazz were a perfect 4-0 (1.000). Oh, and in the 13 games C.J. Miles started the Jazz went 12-1 (.923).

Correlation is not causation -- I don't actually think Miles is the key for the team. He averaged just 2.7 points on the year, and in 13 starts averaged just 4.5. But, those numbers might be an indication that the rest of the starting lineup is so solid that it doesn't much matter who starts at shooting guard, even if it's a 20-year-old project. Miles, who signed his qualifying offer to remain with the Jazz on Monday, probably won't start very much this year -- there's not a clear-cut favorite at the moment, but Ronnie Brewer and Gordon Giricek have to be considered ahead of him on the depth chart. But at some point, if his number is called, the Jazz know they can win with him in the lineup.