Speaking of which: go Hawks! It looked like they were beating the Celtics inside on pure desire. I just hope they can bring it for one more game. With the raw talent inside, the Hawks kind of remind me of where the Suns were a few years ago, though Horford may have some leadership skills that never surfaced in the desert.

I’m looking forward to the series with Utah. Part of me wonders what Kobe would do in a series if he knew they weren’t gong to call fouls (on either end). That would be some brutal, old-school basketball.

its hard to say for this while because any changes will be happen… i just hope that lakers wil eventualy win the series..

id like the fact that the lakers are very effective this season…. we cant deny that they have strong inside and outside stats… from shooting guards to big man..

i cant wait to see the game…
thing must do for the lakers to win the series:

1.) make a good passes, these may turn to be a good one if lakers make there passes good
2.) work it inside… it is a big stuff to know that ones the big man earn there points… it gonna be a win
3.) limit turn-overs
4.) make kobe work
5.) lastly, play defense…

i think thats all…. for u?? make ur comments

Anyway, as a Jazz fan, and after the Houston series, I’m worried by a couple things.

First and foremost: Phil Jackson. The guy knows how to coach and he knows how to coach against the Jazz and the Jazz sets. Contrary to what an LittlePinky said in an earlier post, DFish does not need to supply any intelligence to the Lakers staff as to what the Jazz are going to run–they’ve run the same sets for twenty years, and Phil knows how to defend them.

Second–Kobe. The guy kills everyone, but in my biased opinion he seems to enjoy a special pleasure putting the hurt on the Jazz. Maybe this stems from his initiation into the playoffs in 1997 when he shot three airballs in a row in Utah and the Jazz worked Shaq and Kobe in five games. Or maybe he just hates Utah. Or maybe it isn’t Kobe at all…the Jazz are notorious for letting two guards light it up for big points–in the last couple years we’ve seen Kobe, Arenas, McGrady, LeBron and several others hit it up for 40 and 50 point games against Utah. Kobe is going to have some huge points in this series, the question is can the Jazz overlook this and work to stop the rest of the team or will Kobe’s big games break them to the point where they start letting everyone else into it.

Third – Foul Shots. The Jazz foul more than any other team in the league. And they are going to foul Kobe… a lot. Unlike McGrady, Kobe makes his foul shots, so the playing a real physical D on Kobe isn’t going to be as effective as it was with TMac. Pao also can shoot from the line. The Jazz have to try to A: get as many foul shots as the Lakers B: Make as many or more. This is going to be tough. I’m not one for consipiracies, but nobody is going to tell me that the refs are going to let Utah play as tight on Kobe as they were allowed to play on Mcgrady. Wouldn’t be good for ratings…

I fully expect the Jazz to be down 2-0 once the series moves to Utah. And I fully expect the media, the bloggers, the fans, and everyone else to be on their knees at the almight helm of the Lake Show. But the Jazz aren’t going down easy. This series is going seven.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3379418