Focusing On The Positives

Well, all the Lakers fans, after whining their asses off during & after Games 3 & 4, came back in full strength after Game 5, asking us (as bloggers/fans) why we didn’t quit our whining (because obviously only they can do the whining) and win (because obviously we play for the Jazz &/or otherwise control whether they win or lose). So then… let’s focus on the positives coming from Game 5, shall we?

Should Turiaf Have Been Suspended?

Above is the picture of the hit that Ronny Turiaf laid on Ronnie Price in Game 4… after the whistle blew.

More pictures (and thoughts) below…

Ronnie Price, Play Of The Game

Jazz Even Series At 2 In OT Thriller

Not much more to ask for, considering that the Jazz came home down 2-0. Two home wins, sending the series back to LA tied (so much for a sweep, eh Lakers fans?), and guaranteeing at least a Game 6 at the ESA. Knowing that the Jazz have to get at least one game in LA if they hope to move on, I really hope that it’s Game 5 and not a potential Game 7.

The officiating, which has been so bad in the playoffs, was generally good during the game… the decision to toss Ronny Turiaf might’ve been a bit much, but other than that… In the end, after a disappointing Lakers’ comeback late (down 12 with 3 minutes to go, tie it up and force OT), the Jazz took over in the OT. They were really helped by Kobe… who was playing injured but seemed to still lose confidence in his teammates late.

Imagine No Longer…

Remember the post after Game 3, where I put up a picture of Charles Barkley & Dick Bavetta and told you to imagine Kobe in the place of Barkley.

Well… imagine no longer.

Changes Coming In The West

From orange & purple to blue & orange

Not really Jazz related, but still worth mentioning. The off-season has started for 22 teams, and there is no better way to start (for some teams) than to bring in a new coach. And so it begins. The rumors have been flying, and now we have some news with it.

Jazz Win Despite Refs Best Efforts

Closet Jazz fan???

I’m really trying to avoid bringing the refs into this. I promise. But the game today was just plain and total crap.

I mean, I could go into many (good?) things…

• Booze finally showed up. He got himself 20 & 20, and even shot above 50% from the field. He had a couple of huge shots late, before a Jazz time-out. After that, the Jazz didn’t go back to him until there were like 3 seconds left in the game.
• Deron had 18 & 12. He had a couple of big shots late. He took a hard fall in the 2nd, and was icing his wrist whenever on the bench after that.
• Okur was 4-7 from long range, and finished with 22 & 7. And he had a big shot late as well.
  

Deron & Booze Make All-NBA Teams

As the playoffs run on (and on, and on, and on…), the regular season awards are nearing completion. Today, the All-NBA First, Second & Third teams were announced. The Jazz had 2 recognitions… Deron on the All-NBA Second Team, and Booze on the All-NBA Third Team. Congrats to both of them!

If Only The First Quarter Didn’t Exist…

Yet again, the Jazz only played 3 strong quarters, finishing the 2nd, 3rd & 4th quarters with a +5 margin. Unfortunately, they fell behind by 15 after the 1st, and ended up losing by 10.

Why the loss? Let’s see.

• Major free throw discrepancy? Check, the Lakers shot 27 more free throws.
• Bad team defense? Check, the Lakers had 3 guys with 20+ points, one more with 19 and one with 12. Oh, and the Lakers shot 57% from the field.
• Bad perimeter defense? Check, the Lakers were 7-11 from long range.
• Comparison… the Jazz were 7-18 from long range, and shot 81.2% from the line to the Lakers 81.4%. But difference from points at the line? 23. Ouch.
• Bad shooting? Check, the Jazz were a sad 44.6% from the field. Oh, and this… the Lakers took 68 shots. The Jazz took 101.
• Flop? Check, he played 11 minutes. On the other hand, CJ played 14 seconds.
• Stupidity? Check… the Lakers had 9 blocks to the 1 for the Jazz, 5 by Pau Gasol himself.
• And to note… the Jazz had more boards (offensively & total), more steals & more assists. They also had 10 more fouls. Do I blame the officiating? Yes, at least a little.

Stupidity Costs Jazz Game 1

Update: Posted 5/6/08 at Biased Fan. The most recent Jazz entry. Can’t leave that out.

Jerry Sloan’s coaching ability is disappearing by the second

Okay, to get it out of the way early… the officiating in the game was crap. At best. On both ends. Horribly inconsistent. It tended to favor Kobe and the Lakers (he’s Kobe, it’s the NBA), but is arguable both ways (the Lamar Odom no call at the end of the 3rd). But, you know what? The NBA is crap like that… you have to expect that. The superstars (as chosen by the head guys of the NBA & their marketing crew) will get the questionable calls in there favor. Others won’t. The Lakers have a superstar (and then another star or 2 after that). The Jazz have no “superstars”. Okay, end of that rant. The officials sucked. Again (just like the entire Rockets series). But you can’t expect much more from the NBA these days.

Given all that, even if they played a big role in deciding the game, in the end, the blame has to fall on 3 other guys. Well, maybe more, but I only caught half the game (half of the 1st quarter, half of the 3rd quarter, and the 4th quarter until it became a hack-a-Laker fest in the final minute).

First… Late in the game, the Jazz have gone on a run and cut the lead down to 7, and have the ball. Yet, for some totally unknown reason, No Knees tries to play Kobe, and jacks up the next 4 Jazz shots (3 jumpers, 1 ill-advised lay-up on which there should’ve been a foul call). But he’s not Kobe… All 4 miss, really hurting the Jazz-sters chances there. What was he thinking? And how did no-one on the team yell at him or punch him or something? Did he even realize what he was doing?