The Lakers were expected to win games 1 & 2 at home and that’s exactly what they did by downing the Jazz on Tuesday night. It was one of those games that it seems everything is going against the Jazz, yet somehow they stayed in this game far longer than they should have.
The Lakers shot 60% including 55% from downtown, yet they could not put away the Jazz like they should have done under those circumstances.
If not for a brutal opening quarter that saw L.A. dump in 41 points, the Jazz played the Lakers even. But the stretch that lost the game for Utah was not in that miserable 1st quarter, it came in the second half of the second quarter when the Jazz were outscored 17-3 over a four and a half minute span. The Lakers lead ballooned from six to twenty and the relatively good play of the Jazz for the rest of the game would go for not.
- Deron was spectacular despite the seven turnovers that he committed, finishing with 35 points and 9 assists to go along with 4 steals and 2 blocks. D-will was deadly from outside, dropping in 6 of 11 three’s and also hitting a number of other long two’s.
- Utah “contained” Kobe relatively well again but did send him to the line ten times, he converted on nine of them. Bryant has really not forced his offense in the first quarter of the first two games and the Lakers have outscored the Jazz 71-48 in the combined first quarters. Kobe has done most of his damage in quarter 2 through 4 and the Jazz are playing the Lakers even over those periods. Perhaps the Jazz should make Kobe do it himself by not dropping off other defenders to help (usually resulting in open Laker three’s).
- That deserves another mention… if you take out the first quarters, the Jazz have played the Lakers EVEN. This is why the Jazz have struggled so mightily on the road, they fall behind early and run out of time at the end. Whereas at home, the Jazz usually come out and get off to a decent start, playing relatively even or as front-runners rather than playing catch-up.
The series doesn’t really start until the home team loses a game, right?
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April 22nd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
You make some good points but it was still a hard game to watch. I feel like D-will was the only one trying. Where was Boozer??? Has he given up on the Jazz already? Did someone forget to tell him this is the playoffs…you gotta give your all dude! He has no heart and sucks ever since he came back from the injury. I hope William’s doesn’t give up after this season and sticks with the Jazz for a long time!
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Many good points, your last bullet was especially poignant. I do think Kobe has allowed himself to be contained and has done well not to push the issue. Look for that to change of the road.
If the Jazz can jump on the Lakers, or at least keep it close, I think the home court advantage can come into affect. To conclude, Deron is a beast, no doubt about it.
September 30th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Good article and nice blog. I noticed you haven’t posted since Game 2 of the Laker series. Was the end just too painful? Do you plan to pick it up again when the season starts?
January 26th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Bring the blog back! If you need contributors (I’m also a PHP Dev and Avid Jazz fan), let me know by email.