On one side, it seems like all is right with the NBA world — Kobe got his MVP, the Sonics are staying in Seattle for another year, and we get a Laker playoff game at home tonight.
But know this — the last time Utah lost back-to-back games it was December. Tonight is going to be a real dogfight.
It’s going to be an interesting game of adjustments tonight — after practice the other day the Lakers sounded like guys ready to put on the foil and play some old-time hockey, while Utah players talked about not sending Kobe to the line as much tonight.
I expect Utah is going to change strategies on Kobe some, the “beat him down physically†strategy from game one failed (Kobe is not McGrady, he is stronger, gets rest and has better teammates to pass to on offense). Jazz players hinted they will go with more quick double teams and other moves (Carlos Boozer even talked about a zone) to try to get the ball out of Kobe’s hands. If the Lakers continue move the ball like we saw against Denver that is fine — the other Lakers should get good looks and thrive (although Utah is certainly better defensively than Denver, by a mile).
On offense I expect Utah again to try to get early foul trouble on Gasol by posting up Okur/Boozer (the Lakers switched a little on that), or get Okur/Boozer the ball on the wing and let them drive at Gasol. Pau needs to be physical without fouling and crash the boards hard. A lot of those same things apply to Odom, who will be key for the Lakers on the boards.
Utah is going to shoot better tonight, the key is to take away the easy baskets on back-cuts and the like. LA got lost on some of that last game. The Lakers aggressive defense in the second quarter pushed Utah out of their comfort zone, forced them to take longer jump shots, and LA needs more of that effort — and not to let up on it. Utah will not fold like a house of cards.
As has been said before, how the refs call the game will have an impact on the outcome, although even the very smart Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune is suggesting that the tape the Rockets sent to the league about how Utah defended McGrady in the last round may be impacting the calls on Kobe now.
There is a great preview from David Thorpe up at ESPN.com, a must read. He’s the best for a reason.
Enjoy the game, this is going to be a fun one. And hopefully at the end all will still seem right with the world.
Jonathan says
*There is no one on the Utah Jazz that can guard the leagues MVP, the Lakers know this as due the Utah Jazz. We all know that Utah is a better coached and more discipline team then the Denver Tugg-ets and will make some adjustments game 2. This means the Lakers will need better production out of the starters, some who finished with strong numbers and my lead you to believe they played well.
*Pau Gasol – Must man up and get physical with the Utah Jazz. No, Pau will not be able to hit the weight room between games 1 and 2 and game 25 pounds of muscle, that doesn’t mean he cannot be more physical. There is no way that Memet Okur should have 19 rebounds 8 of which were offensive. Boozer will be looking to get Pau into foul trouble like he did early in game one and he must return to the favor if the Lakers want to be heading to Utah with a strangle hold on the series.
*Lamar Odom – the man needs to take it as a personal challenge to start hitting the boards. Sure, he had 9 in game one but none of which were really critical rebonds. Laker fans have come accustomed to seeing Lamar get 12-15 he must step up and start acting like the teams best rebounder.
*Vladimir Radmonivich – Earth to Mars come in. Our favorite martian needs to step up and joint he party. He has to hit his open 3’s which he will be getting with all the Kobe drives. If Vlade can have a big game, say 4-6 from downtime look for a Laker win on Wednesday.
*Bench Mob – Sasha played as good of a game as you will get which was encouraging. Ronnie was needed energy off the bench with a couple of big blocks. He also has to realize that he will not make every block and sometimes will need to take a charge. I can remember one instance in game 1 where the plodding Okur came waltzing down the lane where Ronnie could have EASILY taken a charge and instead went for the block (which he did not succeed on) and was charged with a foul. He also needs to hit those open 16 footers because Utah will be giving him that all night. Finally Jordan Farmar can not come out with another goose egg which I doubt he will, he needs to use his strength which is his quickness at attacking the basket and make D Will work when he is on him.
I am looking for a much more controlled effort from the Jazz on Wednesday, read less turnovers and fouls and hope that the MVP presentation will help fire up the Lakers for a needed win. I don’t see Williams shooting that poorly two games in a row so the Lakers will need to come ready to play.
Kurt says
Just a programming note, I am doing a little Wednesday night sailing (a beer-can race, as it is called) tonight and will likely be away from the computer from 5 until sometime during the first quarter. I know a number of comments will get held for moderation in that time, I’ll get to them as soon as I can. (Maybe another moderator can help.)
pb says
Man, I’m so pumped up about this game. Two days off between games is not good. The key for this game is how the team and Kobe respond to the excitement of receiving the MVP award. The Lakers usually come out flat in this type of emotional setting, but this year’s team seems to be really on a mission, led by Kobe, Fish, and Pau. I expect them to be somewhat amped up and not shoot very well in the beginning, but their spirited defense should keep them in game. If our bench mob can provide the spark (i.e. extending the lead), then we can win easily. If UTA comes out firing in all cylinder, it will be a close game. Either way, we should squeak out a win by having our MVP lead the way on both ends of the floor. I expect a big game from Gasol.
MVP! MVP! Let’s get the chant started!
Kurt says
Not a surprise, great Kobe take from Shoals:
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sporting_blog/entry/view/8220/kobe_wins_mvp,_proves_hes_indeed_a_human
NJC says
This is going to be MUCH closer than the last game. Utah WILL shoot better than they did last game (37%). I think Odom is key to the game for LA and AK is key for Utah. Pau only guarded Boozer 3 times last game and on two of those Boozer scored and/or got fouled. The 3rd time Boozer passed to Harpring for a layup. If Odom cannot stop Boozer I think the Jazz will win.
TCO says
I actually expect the disparity on the offensive glass to be closer due to both the lakers crashing the defensive boards more as well as the Jazz wanting more defensive balance after a missed shot to avoid the easy fastbreak points that the lakers recieved.
Also a very fun post up at The On Deck Circle comparing the contentets to summer movies. (via BDL)
http://theondeckcircle.net/2008/05/07/the-nba-where-summer-movie-mayhem-happens/
Reed says
Rather than individual matchups, I think the key to the game is the Lakers defense. The Lakers are going to score plenty of points. In the 30 games with Pau, LA has scored under 100 points once — his second game with the team in Atlanta (the game after Kobe tore/broke his finger, causing him to shoot 4-16). They have scored over 110 points in 18 of those games. LA’s offensive efficiency ratings with Gasol are off the charts, much better than any other team during the regular season. Utah is somewhere between average and above average defensively (12th in the regular season in defensive efficiency). I don’t think they have the ability really stop LA from scoring their usual 105-110 points, so the key will be how many they can score themselves.
Last game, LA’s defense was better than usual. Great pick and roll defense, rotations, defending the 3 pt line, etc. Utah was forced to shoot late in the clock on many long 2 point shots — often from their 3rd and 4th options. I expect Utah to be much more prepared to find the seams in the defense this game. That probably means more of Deron penetrating and shooting quickly off the pick and roll, rather than waiting to see if he can find those open back cutters or rolling big men. Or more of Boozer attacking in the paint rather than shooting perimeter shots. But, if LA can again take Utah out of their preferred offense and hold them to around 100 points, I don’t think Utah can win given how much LA will likely score.
Winston says
Ugh, this is terrible. Kobe is going to be all happy and content now, this is BAD NEWS. Is it too late to take the award back and give it to Shaq?
This is a conspiracy, they are trying to lull Kobe into complacency!
Darius says
I actually think the Lakers’ success hinges on a combination of Reed and NJC’s assessments. The Lakers need to play great team defense against Utah’s two individual stars.
LA needs to continue to *show* well on the P&R against Deron to limit his penetration and also continue to sag into the lane on the strongside when Boozer gets the ball in the post. I think Boozer will be better with the turnovers this game compared to game 1, but I’d make him prove it. I still remember it was years before Duncan and Shaq learned how to avoid turnovers when passing out of hard (and softer/sagging) double teams. Boozer will have to prove that he can do the same thing before we stop digging down on him with Fisher, Kobe, et al.
But the same keys remain. Utah will continue to try and push pace and get early offense, especially by running Boozer down the lane and establishing early post position to get easier oppurtunities to score. LA must continue to try to execute it’s offense in order to create the *balance* that Lamar mentioned (and Phil has referenced; good shots = good spacing = good transition d), allowing LA to get back and effectively slow down Utah’s early offense. Utah will continue to try and bully the Lakers on the offensive glass and the Lakers will have to balance it’s want of exploiting Utah’s transition D with actually securing defensive rebounds. And ultimately, the team that plays the better team defense will probably be the victor. I’m excited…big game (obviously).
harold says
That movie link comparing Kobe to Batman is priceless. Considering Kobe’s rather well-to-do background, and the fact that Batman is the one ‘super’ hero that got there through dedication and abundance of resources, as well as the seal Kobe uses on his website that sorta resembles that of knights…
Game 2 will be interesting. Phil is playing the ‘Jazz are a scrappy, fouling team’ angle while Sloan actually played along! Both teams’ players seem to be consciously trying not to give the other team extra motivation, too.
But in the end, I again see the bench being the key. If we can maintain or even increase the lead while Kobe is out, we’re in good shape. Hopefully Farmar will drive and kick, Sasha will pest, and Ronny be Ronny.
The Fanalyst says
Clearly a split in LA could be potentially devastating or at least dangerous. I just don’t see the Jazz breaking up the MVP love-fest that’s going on right now. I know it’s a tough opponent, but we’ve taken them down four out of five tries now this season. I know some of those games were early, but that’s a positive…because we’re even better than that now and the guys are playing their best ball of the season when it matters. I’m no highlight reel optimist, but all the match-up breakdowns in the world give me a headache (when I put myself in the perspective of the other team and simply can’t figure out what to do with the Lakers). If it’s banging around with the Pistons or Celtics there might be more to figure out, but they’ve already wrapped up this Western Conference thing and now it’s just a matter of finishing off this pesky bracket. That might have gotten away from me at the end there.
Any word on Bynum’s second opinion in Jersey? Thankfully the Nets aren’t still alive…
chris h says
kurt, 2 things, I know you’re out having a beer and a sail around the harbor, but, the Siler link must have changed stories, nothing in there about T-mac and defense and tapes the league…and, are we no longer going to have any FSN coverage? no more Stu and Joel? only TNT? or ESBN? arrgh?! I thought we’d still get FSN along with the TNt, or seems like we did some in the recent games…whassup?
The Dude Abides says
I wonder if things are all falling the Lakers’ way. A joyous Kobe is a scintillating Kobe. Remember how he played in the Toronto game on the day the Gasol trade was announced? Also, the most important player on the most dangerous remaining opponent in the playoffs just went down with a hamstring injury tonight in Orlando. They don’t know if Chauncey will miss any more games, but it didn’t look good.
pb says
I think UTAH is in trouble. Kobe seems focused. He’s not dwelling in the fact that he won MVP. He knows that the real party is WINNING the FINALS MVP!
Darius says
MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP, MVP!!!!!
That just got me really excited.
Lewis says
If you didn’t get chills watching that then you are not a Laker. Great moment.
The WeaselD says
If Kobe says we will be playing in June, then I am a believer….
phineas says
Wow, we are amped up.
paydawg says
Kobe’s in early foul trouble but it sure does help when the Lakers have a 15 point lead.
Utah looks like a deer caught in headlights. They look really slow and maybe a little shocked by the Laker energy.
emh101 says
A couple missed opportunities on fast breaks, but, overall, a great quarter.
jk348 says
does anyone know where i can watch this game on the internet?
j. d. hastings says
I’m loving Odom’s aggression this game. He’s all over the glass and taking it hard inside on offense. He’s making up for Pau’s struggles (as I write that Pau has a great dunk after reacting well to Okur’s defense).
laughing hard says
And… Millsap’s fourth and-1… wow.
paydawg says
I’m starting to get really annoyed of the Wendy’s chicken wrap commercial.
This Little Pinky says
Harpring is the most physical player out there. He’s a walking foul!
This Little Pinky says
Gasol is eating Okur’s LUNCH!
This Little Pinky says
Derek Fisher – playoff tested.
Jeff says
Farmar needs to learn that sharing is caring. Bit too much dribbling from him for my likiung.
Kurt says
Remember when Millsap was coming out of college and the knock on him was “he comes out of a small college, who did he play against?” To me, either you can play the game or you can’t. He can.
That said, what little I’ve seen so far I love Gasol going at Okur in the post and the seemingly smart defense. Utah’s on pace of an offensive rating of 100 (points per 100 possessions). The Lakers are at 128 at half. The Lakers shot 66.7% (eFG%) for the first half and what little I saw they seemed to get good looks. Is that accurate?
chris h says
an i am sick of these TNT self promotions, (the closer, etc), it looks like they can’t sell enough ad time, so they do filler with their own crap. I will boycott those shows for the rest of my life, never seen one, never will.
will we at least get channel 9 for the away games?
I didn’t see friday’s game listed when they showed the TNT/EsPN/ABC line up.
Kurt, can you go back to the listing of where we can see it like the old days?
and oh yeah, loving the Gasol game tonight, and FISH! he’s bringing it!
poor Sasha, getting torn up tonight by Korver, (or is it Ashton Kuschner?) I bet PJ is letting him know what to do at half time.
laughing hard says
Sick dunk by Deron Williams!
euph0ria says
31- Lamar’s defense on that play is as porous as Spongebob Squarepants.
j. d. hastings says
Love the offense, but where’s the D?
laughing hard says
Gotta love Odom fighting with three Jazz players for the rebound!
j. d. hastings says
We gave up 31 in the 2nd, 34 in the 4rd. That’s bad.
c4k3z says
Hahah who is this scrub guarding Kobe, its just not fair…
laughing hard says
35: Seriously… what was Utah’s shooting percentage that quarter?
Kurt says
Utah, Williams in particular, is really attacking now and the Lakers need to focus on getting him back on the perimeter. They also are pushing and setting up more plays before the defense sets.
Fortunately, they haven’t really stopped the Laker offense yet.
j. d. hastings says
I get the feeling the free throw disparity may find itself decreased this quarter. We can’t start hoisting hasty shots trying to draw cheap fouls.
Kurt says
The Jazz bench is killing out bench. Glad the starters are back.
Gils_Keloids says
I’ll bet now, it’s just a matter of whether Kobe makes his jump shots or not.
now says
Tense moments here… the Jazz are in a decent position to steal this one.
laughing hard says
Derek Fisher!
How do you like it now, Jazz fans?!
adrian says
Fisher = Clutch!
now says
… and as I write that the Lakers roll off 7 straight. The Jazz have few answers on defense.
TC says
The Machine and DFish. Gotta love it. I got all the respect in the world for Utah though. They never quit.
Zach says
What a play by Kobe! 3 on 1, sick spin to assist Gasol.
Gils_Keloids says
Whoa, I was wrong.
Kobe passed that ball AROUND Okur’s head to Gasol!
j. d. hastings says
Okay, if Gasol’s defense was a foul (3 left in the 4th) then Kobe should have shot 10 free throws combined on the next Laker possession. I realize we’ve gone to the line a lot more this game, and I’m glad Pau scored there, but it’s still a little frustrating.
Kurt says
Damn, the Laker ball movement is just so much fun to watch. Sasha to Fish for the three, Kobe to Gasol for the dunk. The Laker offense is just at such a high level right now they just need to play average defense to win.
j. d. hastings says
When we needed it our defense really amped up in the 4th. That’s how we prevented a comeback despite having our first quarter without scoring 30.
laughing hard says
Awww… Matt Harpring looks sad…
Mico says
I’m judging from box scores alone but I ask is this again another case of the lakers outscoring their opponents rather than stopping them?
I’ve got no problem with that though as long as it leads to victory.
emh101 says
The Lakers’ offense is certainly the best in these playoffs. Stellar.
Gils_Keloids says
Utah could probably beat New Orleans right now.
Too bad they’re playing the Lakers.
j. d. hastings says
I still think there’s a lot to worry about going to Salt Lake. If the calls start going the other way we could easily come back home tied.
TC says
You get the sense the Laker D still has another couple of gears, or at least one. We need to get to the point of the ’00, ’01 Lakers in which the Lakers apply the pressure all the time. Still, a very solid performance. Any Jazz fans with comments?
Zach says
Whoa, where’d the Utah semi-rally come from? How many 3’s in 20 seconds?
laughing hard says
Deron WIlliams made a bunch in garbage time…
emh101 says
The Machine seems to be the reserve of choice for this series. Hitting timely shots and holding Ashton to below average numbers.
TC says
How did Jordan look out there?
emh101 says
Just saw this article on ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3386148
I hope Bynum is able to recover sufficiently to have a productive season next year and, of course, a HOF career.
j. d. hastings says
Farmar didn’t look great. Sloan didn’t like the FT situation, which I can understand, though the Lakers got a lot of those in the last minute because of Utah’s fouling. Makes me wonder if that’s not intentional to try to make the disparity look even worse on paper in preparation for the next game….
Aaron says
Rebounding seemed better this game, but they still killed us on second chance points. Millsap….a BEAST. Other than Sasha’s 4 minute stretch of terrible D on Korver, I liked the all-around play. D can for sure be improved, but the ball movement is impeccable. Highlight was the Inbounds pass towards the end of the fourth which went from Gasol to Odom (or vice versa) out to Sasha and finally to an open Fish at the top of the key that put the game away. Looking forward towards the rest of the series.
Aaron says
Sorry for the double comment but NEEDED to post this stat.
Lakers outrebounded only 41-37, not bad, but Utah had 33 (!) more field goal attempts than the Lakers (68-101). WOW.
Underbruin says
64 – That has a lot to do with the fact that the Lakers shot a lot of free throws, and the Jazz didn’t (as well, that the Jazz got a lot of And-1s, thank you Paul Millsap). FGAs aren’t counted when a player is fouled and misses, I don’t believe (and they definitely aren’t counted when the foul is on the floor but in the bonus). The Lakers certainly got quite a few of those as well.
61 – Farmar looked very iffy. He took one very ill-advised shot (a leaning 3PA that looked more like Sasha’s shot, but Jordan’s is much more forward-moving). He also had several opportunities where he didn’t find the best offensive option with the ball in his hands. Not hammering the ball in for Gasol in the early part of the 4th was damn near criminal, and really falls on Jordan, as the PG at that time. His defense wasn’t terrible – he let DWill into the lane a couple of times, but he did a pretty good job using his speed to disrupt some of the pick-and-roll attempts. All in all, though, he really needs to improve his decision making, because Phil seems to want to use him as a change-of-pace PG, so he’ll get some PT.
Underbruin says
Hrm. “64” is actually in reference to what is now “65” (Aaron’s post about 33 more FGA for the Jazz). Sorry for the confusion.
chibi says
I thought the Lakers played a pretty good game. I thought Odom, Kobe, Fish, Walton, and Turiaf played very decisively; but I thought Pau and Sasha seemed a little hesitant and indecisive at times. For the most part, the rhythm was there.
Collins is kind of irritating: he spends a lot of time regurgitating the same 4 or 5 talking points every Laker game he calls.
Even though the Lakers are my favorite team, it seemed to me that they received a lot of favorable calls. It was almost embarrassing.
Anonymous says
65, the Lakers had less field goal attempts because they were fouled in the act of shooting more often. Stats can be deceiving.
Anonymous says
Pau played 44 minutes. He looked a little tired out there in the 4th quarter, but I can understand PJ leaving him in. With Bynum out, Mihm seemingly not in the playoff rotation, and Ronny’s tendacy to get quick fouls, that puts a lot of pressure on Pau. Fortunately he is rarely in any foul trouble.
Aaron says
67- I guess so, it just jumped off of the page. The only other stat to do that is Vlad’s 2 pts, no reb’s, an assist, and 2 turnovers…in 19 minutes. His D and size I guess are what keep him in there, but when Bynum comes back, he may need to play better otherwise he’ll be the odd man out.
Last point-I love how Phil has the confidence in Sasha to play him down the stretch and thus move Kobe to SF. He really has come a long way this year.
Snoopy2006 says
62 – I just saw that too. This is potentially devastating news. It looks like there’s something more wrong with Bynum than the first diagnosis showed. I hate to throw this out there….but wasn’t Oden’s microfracture surgery done after an exploratory arthroscopy made it clear microfracture was needed?
This arthroscopy (a simple procedure) will find out what else (if anything) is wrong with Bynum’s knee. Hopefully it’s something minor. That could be devastating, though, we have to keep our eye on that.
Kurt says
Nomuskles live blog of game 2 is up, his form on this one is as good as the Lakers offense tonight.
Underbruin says
71 – Agreed. Also, missing Ariza’s defense here hurts, I feel. His length and speed could give Utah’s wings (aside from maybe Harpring) fits. He;d be ideal for shadowing Korver.
harold says
That knee situation is worrisome. There is probably a silver lining to that at AB’s expense, but still I’d much rather hear that he’s on his way without hitch.
Only team undefeated, only team to score over a 100 in each and every game.
Let’s get game 3. Let’s make nuggets out of those Jazz.
kwame a. says
No team can beat the Lakers by outscoring them. This has been true all season long, and why I am happy to face teams that can’t or won’t commit to stopping us.