<div align="center"> Time: 7:30 PM Pacific Place: Staples Center TV: Local <font size="5">Team Records</font> <font color="purple">Lakers: 20-15</font> <font color="navy">Utah: 13-26</font></div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="navy">Jazz Head Coach</font></font> <font color="navy">Jerry Sloan</font></div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="navy"> Jazz Projected Starting Lineup</font></div></font> <div align="center"> <font color="navy">(Keith Mcleod, Gordan Giricek, Matt Harpring, Carlos Boozer, Curtis Borchardt) </font></div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="purple">Laker's Head Coach</font></font> <font color="purple">Rudy Tomjanovich</font></div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="purple">Lakers's Projected Starting Lineup</font></font> <font color="purple">(Chucky Atkins, Sasha Vujacic, Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm)</font> </div> <div align="center"><font size="5">Bench Factors</font> (<font color="navy">Mehmet Okur</font>,<font color="purple">Jumaine Jones</font>) </div> <div align="center"><font size="5">Key matchup</font> (<font color="navy">Carlos Boozer</font>, <font color="purple">Lamar Odom</font>) <font color="navy">Carlos Boozer:</font> 19.3 ppg, 3.0 apg, and 9.3 rpg <font color="purple">Lamar Odom:</font>14.9 ppg, 2.9 apg, and 10.4 rpg</div> <font size="5">Keys to the Game</font> <font color="navy">Utah:</font> <ul> [*]Shut Down Lamar- Lamar is a new player with Kobe out, he is finally getting to prove himself. He is the main threat for the Lakers and must be shut down. [*]Boozer- Boozer should be able to overpower Lamar on the offensive end, feed Boozer in the post and let him bang away, try to get Lamar in foul trouble. [*]All Around Effor- Everyone thought Utah would be in the playoff hunt this year, so far they are nothing but a let down. For a win, everyone must bring their A game because they are missing Andrei Kirilenko. [/list] <font color="purple">Los Angeles:</font> <ul> [*]Take Boozer off the Dribble- Lamar is quicker than Boozer and should be able to beat him off of the dribble, do this all night long if Utah can't stop it. [*]Caron- Caron has been very inconsistent this year, now is a time for him to step up...with Kobe out. We will need atleast 18 a game from him to continue winning games. [*]Sasha- Sasha has looked good in the games he played. He needs to continue playing the way he has and the Lakers will have their 21st win of the season. [/list] <font size="5"> Prediction</font> Both teams are missing their star player, but L.A. has looked decent in their two games without Kobe, beating both Golden State and Cleveland...I am liking L.A. in this one if Lamar can put up 25, 10, and 5, and I think he will...I am taking L.A. 103-99.
Here COme Our First 3 Games Winning Streak.... Odom Is Ready To Rock On Man... I think Utah is tough. They had big leads against Saco and Cleveland and they had wins over Suns and Spurs. Its going to be tough because Boozer is too strong for Lamar but its interesting because Lamar is A LOT quicker than Boozer ever will be. I hope Caron is going to step up his game. Its pretty winnable because we are much quicker and once the Lakers start to push the ball the Jazz should not be able to stop us and I hope our players are angry because of the blow out and show some passion. Key is defense. Utah is 5-16 on the road Utah lost 8 of their last 10 Utah is without their best player Utah is the 29th ranked defensive team in the NBA even without kobe....we should win this one Go Lakers, stay strong, weather the storm. Lakers 94 Utah 90 Lamar 30pts 12reb 3ast Caron 20pts 6reb Chucky 17pts 5ast Chris 14pts 12rebs Sasha 7pts 2ast LETS GO LAKERSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheNextJordan8:</div><div class="quote_post">Lets Go Lakers!!!</div> dude is that like ALL u ever say on posts? every time I see a post it's exactly the same..?
What a rip for the fans, no Kobe and no AK47 in this game. The Jazz dismantled us in the first meeting, and I'm counting on the Lakers to remember that game and come out with some vengence tonight. The Jazz beat the Lakers up inside, and blocked 3 or 4 of the first 5 shots the Lakers took in that game. Odom has been playing great since Kobe went down, but the Lakers are still not moving around on offense and are counting on one on one play to win games. The Jazz have not been a strong defensive team with the loss of AK47, but they do a good job of managing the clock and limiting their opponents shot attempts. The Lakers need to play an efficient game tonight, and try to break the discipline of the Jazz by forcing an uptempo game and taking advantage of their ability to finish on fast breaks. Odom should try and draw some quick, cheap fouls on Boozer to get him out of the game and disrupt what the Jazz like doing. He can take Boozer off the dribble, and the Jazz don't have a shotblocker in the middle. Brian Grant needs to come off the bench to give the Lakers some physical play and help on the boards. Can the Lakers finally win 3 in a row? I predict YES ... 95-87
Live and die by the 3-ball. Lakers have already chucked 20 three point shots in this game. Chris Mihm needs to stay out of foul trouble the rest of the way. He's only played 15 minutes, but he's been effective in the post. It's hard to believe the Lakers are actually up after 3 quarters shooting only 39%. Odom needs to close this game out for us! Go Lakers.
We shouldn't have lost this game at home. Where's Bobbitt? I'm getting sick of asking that question already.
Riddle me this? Why does Rudy T have Atkins & Brown in the 4th quarter of a close game with Mihm and Jumaine Jones on the bench? Even more alarming, the Lakers did not make one substitute in the ENTIRE 4th quarter. The Lakers fail again to win three in a row and drop another game at Staples. Coming into this game the Jazz had loss 7 straight on the road and have not been able to put the ball in the basket. Tonight they snapped that streak at the expense of the Lakers and 6 or 7 players scored in double digits. The main man for the Lakers with Kobe out, Lamar Odom, shot a miserable 3 for 11 and only managed 10 points and 10 boards in 45 minutes of play. He got off to a nice start with 4 assists in the 1st quarter, but he only managed 2 assists the rest of the game. Matt Harpring did a great job of frustrating Odom and shutdown his penetration. Odom settled for off balance jumpshots instead of attacking the rim like he did against the Warriors the other night. The only bright spot in this game was Caron Butler, he was on fire all game long and kept the Lakers in it. Unfortunately, playing alongside chuckers like Atkins and Brown, they did not get Butler the ball down the stretch. Instead Brown kept using his predictable cross-over and Atkins kept trying to make 3 point shots. Memo to Atkins 2 for 11 from outside the arc, 5-7 inside the arc. Next up an angry Minnesota team.
Maybe running the offense through Odom, something that was considered by a couple of members here at JBB, should be shot out of the water before it gets a chance to put us out of the playoffs. I seriously don't think Odom can play consistently as a leader, and sometimes...I even question as a second scoring option. I don't have anything to say about Chucky or Tierre that I haven't said many times before. Just pathetic.
I have something to say about Tierre ... he allowed Raja Bell to score 14 points in the 4th quarter, including the dagger three pointer to put the game away.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">I have something to say about Tierre ... he allowed Raja Bell to score 14 points in the 4th quarter, including the dagger three pointer to put the game away.</div> Yeah, and I really don't wanna assume that Bobbitt would've done better though. Okay, yes I do.
This game was...well, frustrating. I live in Utah, therefore I get local channels (KJazz) to watch all their games - I can tell you, the Jazz are NOT DOING GOOD without Kirilenko. They have played miserably for a while now, after a nice start... they are slumping. Hell they were 13-26 before they played us. The only thing that is good about this loss is that the Jazz won, and even that sucks because it means the Lakers had to lose. Our biggest problem was that we shot so many three-pointers. This NEEDS to stop. I swear, Rudy T. is the WORST Coach to ever grace the game. WHY IS HE NOT COACHING THIS TEAM?? DOES HE NOT NOTICE THAT WE ARE DOING NOTHING BUT THREE-POINTERS? I hope he gets fired soon, which he probably will. Someone like Tierre who makes a turnover or missed lay up almost every possession needs to be benched. Sasha needs to learn to limit his shots. Where is Bobbit.................................? Oh and by the way... someone slap me in the face. What the hell made me think that Lamar Odom would step up and lead the team? The dude was extremely non-agressive and allowed guys half his size to shut him down. This game we should have won by at least fifteen points. Purely dissapointing performace for both teams, when you are payed MILLIONS, you should at least do your job. I think that most NBA players just truely don't really care a whole lot whether they win or lose. Kinda off-topic I guess, sorry. But this game proves it.
