Overall Utah has less players that come off the bench and contribute, but IMO Harpring, Millsap, Korver > Walton, Sasha, Farmar. Turriaf has been a non factor so far, and Mbenga is just there for his defense and toughness. Korver is actually one of the most intelligent defenders in the NBA and he has tons of heart, he just doesnt have the physical tools to keep up with some guys. The playoffs are completely different than the regular season and i think this series is going to prove it. LA in 6 or 7
Turiaf has been suffering from tonsillitis, and lost some weight. Still it doesn't seem like Bynum/Ariza territory or anything like that, he should be back soon.
In articles today on Yahoo, Kobe said he would rather play against the Jazz simply because the series would start sooner.
The Jazz aren't very good. Had Rafer been healthy in games 1,2 or the second half of game 6 the Lakers would be playing the Rockets next round. If Yao was healthy and the Rockets won 2 more games, would he be MVP? Anyways, have fun with the Jazz, because the Spurs will be waiting.
If Bynum was healthy or if the Lakers had traded for Pau sooner, would the margin by which Kobe won the MVP be larger? Who the hell cares. Ifs and buts at a time like this mean nothing. Kobe's not injury prone or plays through pain, so he gets justly rewarded. As far as Alston is concerned, the Rockets would have probably won the series if he was healthy.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (igotask8board @ May 3 2008, 12:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The Jazz aren't very good. Had Rafer been healthy in games 1,2 or the second half of game 6 the Lakers would be playing the Rockets next round. If Yao was healthy and the Rockets won 2 more games, would he be MVP? Anyways, have fun with the Jazz, because the Spurs will be waiting.</div> So getting eliminated two years in a row by the same team makes you that bitter? The Jazz aren't very good? Nevermind the fact that they made it to the WCF last year. Get over your bitterness. The Spurs will be waiting? Are we supposed to be shaking or something? Scared? San Antonio doesn't scare us. Pau Gasol has always given Tim Duncan fits, this year will be no different. There is no guarantee that the Spurs get past New Orleans, either.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (igotask8board @ May 3 2008, 12:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The Jazz aren't very good. Had Rafer been healthy in games 1,2 or the second half of game 6 the Lakers would be playing the Rockets next round. If Yao was healthy and the Rockets won 2 more games, would he be MVP? Anyways, have fun with the Jazz, because the Spurs will be waiting.</div> I think we have a bitter Rockets fan in our thread here. Honestly, if you think the Jazz aren't that good, you're watching a different Jazz team. They're a very good team and play disciplined on both sides of the ball. They're well coached and have tremendous balance. You're just pissed because you got pounded tonight. As for the Spurs, there's no guarantee they make it past New Orleans. I personally think the Hornets are going to give them tons of fits. They've got the best point guard in the NBA, they're very balanced, and they finally have some decent depth as well. We'll see how the series pans out, but I think the Hornets have a great chance of taking that series.
One more thing, if the Jazz aren't very good--and the Rockets have lost to them two years in a row now; how bad are the Rockets? Oh and T-mac...again...can't get out of that damn 1st round.
Seriously... IMO we could end this series with a sweep but i think the jazz could pull off 1 or 2 against us... i say lakers in 5 is a safe prediction
Right, I've been looking forward to this. The key to stopping the Jazz is pretty simple really, stop Deron Williams. Boozer might be the all star, but Deron is simply what makes the Jazz go. Boozer is the leading scorer, but if they keep stats on how many times on player has assisted another in the league, Williams to Boozer would have to be if not first then very close to it. The season showed that if Deron gets 11+ assists in a game, you can be pretty confident the Jazz would have won it. He's improved dramatically over the last few seasons. One thing that stood out to me was reading an article about how John Stockton would let Jerry Sloan calls the plays, he'd just run them. Deron just chooses the plays and runs them himself, and Sloan has no problem with it. His basketball IQ is great, and does not look like a third year player out there. You have to keep a body on Kyle Korver too. Even then, he doesn't need to be knocking down shots to be effective, just having him out there can open things up for Deron to drive or Boozer to post up. The Jazz started winning as soon as they got him (it's no co-incidence) and they keep him out there late in the fourth. There's going to be a lot of pressure on Ronnie Brewer, he'll probably be guarding Kobe. He's had a good season and the Jazz drafted him for his defense, but keeping Kobe under control is a massive ask. He did pretty well against the Rockets and McGrady. Watch out for the physicality of Paul Millsap and Matt Harpring off the bench, there's a reason Jerry Sloan likes them, they hurt. The Jazz like to foul a lot, and with those two they'll definitely be hard fouls. Lakers are definitely favourites, but one thing that stood out in the season was the Jazz didn't get up for games against lowly teams and lost quite a few of them. Obviously they wont have that problem in the playoffs.
Kobe Bryant has a personnel gripe against Utah because of the treatment they gave Fisher when he returned to Utah and was cascaded with boos. "Derek's the type of guy that's not going to say anything, but I'll say it for him. He took it personally tonight and we wanted to send a message," Bryant said. Those were Kobe's post game comments after the Lakers dominated the Jazz in their final game in Utah. The Lakers aren't going to be phased by the physical play of the Jazz. The Nuggets tried to get physical with the Lakers and it backfired. Despite not having a reputation for being a physical team, the Lakers have the edge in size against most opponents. The Lakers versatility is going to be the difference in this series. It's going to be tough for Utah to match up with the rotations PJax can throw at them because of all the scorers on the Laker roster. In the Rocket series, the Jazz only had to focus on containing Tracy McGrady. Their strategy was to play TMac with single coverage in the 1st half of the game and then clamp down on him in the 2nd half. This kept TMac's teammates out of rhythm and wore TMac down by forcing him to carry the offensive load without any help. Against the Lakers they have to deal with 5 players on the court who can get hot and burn you if left open. The Lakers ball movement and offensive execution has been on point since Gasol returned from injury. I think the only chance Utah has in any game is if they get hot from the perimeter like they did last night, or if they kill the Lakers on the offensive glass. I'm looking forward to Game 1 this Sunday and I'm anticipating a focused Laker squad and fired up Staples Center.
In other news, the Celtics are going to go to game 7. Fu*k the Celtics, I want revenge on those Pistons. I'm hoping the Pistons make it to the finals.
I admit I was bitter. Just sweep the Jazz. Mamba, the Spurs will be tougher than you think. You guys are lucky if the Hornets beat them because the Lakers match up a lot better with them. On second thought, Chris Paul would dominate against the Lakers PG's while Kobe would do the same to the Hornets SG's. I guess I couldn't have asked for a better final four. EDIT: I'm not gonna count the Spurs out. As boring as they are to watch at times, they are too good at closing out games.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (igotask8board @ May 3 2008, 05:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I admit I was bitter. Just sweep the Jazz. Mamba, the Spurs will be tougher than you think. You guys are lucky if the Hornets beat them because the Lakers match up a lot better with them. On second thought, Chris Paul would dominate against the Lakers PG's while Kobe would do the same to the Hornets SG's. I guess I couldn't have asked for a better final four. EDIT: I'm not gonna count the Spurs out. As boring as they are to watch at times, they are too good at closing out games.</div> I'm not counting the Spurs out, I just think New Orleans poses a major threat to them. The Spurs turn into a different team come playoff time, same with the Pistons, so you've got to respect that. I just think that we match up good against both teams. Gasol has given Duncan fits throughout his career, while Bowen has given Kobe some fits. Lamar and Manu are going to be huge in this series. As for New Orleans, we're not worried about Chris Paul. We're worried about his supporting cast. The Lakers' philosophy is to turn to PG into a scorer and worry about the other 4 men on the floor. It's worked pretty well this year.
