O'Connor likes the schedule

I talked to Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor the other day and, among other things, I asked him about the just-released 2009-2010 schedule. This season, O'Connor likes two things about it, as far as his team is concerned. No. 1, Utah makes only 10 single-game trips all season, including three after the All-Star break, which cuts down on travel-related fatigue. The Jazz play 31 of their 41 road games on multi-stop trips. "I like having two-, three- and four-game trips," O'Connor said. "... I think it's a very fair schedule for us." No. 2, the Jazz play only eight games in the final 16 days of the regular season, including two back-to-back sets. Last year, Utah played 10 games in the final 16 days. Among them: two taxing sets of four games in five nights. The Jazz went 3-7 down the stretch -- including losses to Minnesota and Golden State -- and stumbled into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed when only two more wins could have made them the No. 6 seed. &quo...