Utah Jazz Advance to Conf Title Game

The Jazz, as a team, outplayed the Warriors. They had better ball movement, and killed GS on the offensive boards. GS's 3-pt shooting strategy is great when they're on, but sinks them when they're off. Two players with hobby potential that really contributed to the Jazz's win were Carlos Boozer & Paul Millsap.

Boozer had hobby love at the beginning of the season, but lost it when he got injured and had a hard time regaining it since. With his strong performance in the playoffs I expect him to receive more interest. He was pretty dominant in the paint, averaging 24.2 ppg & 14 rpg for the series (improving on his 20.9 ppg & 11.7 rpg for the season). His SPx Auto/Jsy RC #'d 1999 increased in average selling price (incl s&h) from $18.90 in April to $25.03 so far in May (+32.5%). If the Jazz can continue their success against the Spurs or Suns (which would be a surprise to me), expect his cards to stay on the rise.

I've been talking about young Millsap for the past few months. Excellent rebounder, and decent scorer in the paint. His coaches say that he works hard and listens, showing that he has the potential to keep improving. Although he only plays around 18 mpg, he puts up quality stats, especially with his offensive boards which result in second chance points. He doesn't have as many auto RC's as other 06-07 classmates, making those that he does have that much more attractive. Currently his Bowman Sterling Auto has become quite popular on auction. Expect to pay between $12 to $20 (incl s&h) for this one. There is also a Gold version #'d 219. This one will cost you over $20. So far, the Bowman Sterling is only Millsap base auto RC that I've seen. There is also the parallel Ovation Auto #'d 99. All others are inserts.

Of course we can't forget the most clutch player on the team, Derek Fisher. I didn't include him because I don't think that his hobby potential is very high. The only time his cards were hot was when he helped the Lakers advance in the playoffs a few years back. If you would like to pick up his 96-97 Topps Chrome RC for your personal collection, you can find it for just a few bucks.