Upper Bowl Jazz Fan

Lakers Sweep the Jazz out of 2010 NBA Playoffs

// May 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // 2010 Playoffs

You may or may not have noticed the lack of posts here at UBJF.  Due to some unfortunate medical luck I found myself somewhat unable to do much of anything for a couple weeks including write about the Jazz/Laker series.  However, now that it’s over there are some interesting things to take away from the series.

Even without the losses of Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko, the Jazz did very little to counteract the length of the Lakers.

However, I think that this year the Jazz could have beaten the Lakers had Memo and AK not been injured.  This is why:

However, the length of the Lakers has always been a difficulty because the Jazz had to match up AK with Kobe which left Odom and Gasol to punish the Jazz.

Odom always killed us because his ability to run the point, shoot the 3, and rebound is too much for Boozer, Millsap or Memo.  Andrei Kirilenko plays a similar role but rarely guarded Odom as he was needed on Kobe.

Neither Boozer nor Memo are good defenders but both (Memo more so) are decent post defenders.  Having Memo guard Bynum is a good matchup though.  Even Fesenko did a decent job on Bynum in Okur’s place.

There isn’t much the Jazz can do about Pau Gasol because of Boozer’s aversion to anything defense related and also because he’s too quick for Memo.

With the emergence of Wesley Matthews as a very solid wing defender and CJ Miles’ late-season defensive improvements it has no longer become necessary to have AK guard the opponent’s best wing player.

With that in mind having Matthews/Miles on Kobe Bryant frees up AK to guard Odom (who plays a similar style) which means he no longer kills us (especially on rebounds).  A healthy Memo frequently brings Gasol/Bynum out of the paint w/ his ability to shoot the 3 which means the Lakers really only have 1 advantage in the frontcourt: generally Gasol.

In theory, the Jazz really could have beaten the Lakers in this series given these points.  Especially since the Jazz were ultimately without Memo and, for the most part, Kirilenko and they still gave the Lakers some real scares.

In the 2008 playoffs the Jazz were able to win 2 games (both at home).  In 2009, the Jazz only won Game 3 (again, at home).  In 2010, while the lost all 4 games, the Utah Jazz competed much better than they had in ’08 and ’09.

Game 1 was winnable.  The Jazz were up 4 points with 3 minutes left in the game and then failed to convert a field goal for the rest of the game.

Game 2 was a little tougher but it wasn’t a blowout.  In previous years, the games in LA were not even close.

The Game 3 loss was simply bad luck. Deron Williams had a great look at a shot he makes with a high percentage but ultimately missed. Wesley Matthews made a tip at DWill’s missed shot that most times would have fallen in but just missed the bucket.

Game 4 was, well, not in the same league. The Jazz were beaten and done. They didn’t really compete in that game and lost it by a significant margin.

Overall, despite not winning a single game in the series, the Jazz competed better w/ the Lakers than they had done in previous years.

But, in the end Ws are what matter the most and the Jazz tallied zero of those.  Turns out you can’t win a series like that.

Jazz eliminate Nuggets from 2010 playoffs in Game 6

// May 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // 2010 Playoffs

It was rainbows and butterflies after the Utah Jazz posted a 112-104 victory to eliminate the Denver Nuggets from the 1st round of the 2010 Playoffs.  Well, except for Chris “Birdman” Andersen’s blind screen set on Deron Williams with only :20 left in the game.  Williams seemed visibly in pain and left the court as soon as the buzzer sounded.  The seriousness of the injury to Deron’s left elbow was not immediately made known.

Carmelo Anthony actually chased down DWill to congratulate him and wish him luck in the next round.  That’s good sportsmanship right there.  Hear that, Birdman, take a lesson!  I liked him…until now.  Now, he’s just another Thugget.  If the Nuggets don’t like that nickname, their play in Game 6 will likely do very little to sway public opinion.

The Nuggets received 4 techincal fouls during this game.  When Kenyon Martin fouled Deron Williams on a layup he, then, gave DWill and extra shove towards the baseline.  At that moment, the implosion of the Nuggets began.  The game was tied at 95-95 and the Jazz went on a 11-0 run to seal it.

In the beginning of the season, if you had told me that in an elimination game against the Nuggets Wesley Matthews would have been our leading scorer AND that we would have won that game, there’s no way I would have believed that.

Matthews got it done. Despite only going 4 of 12 from the floor, he was sent to the foul line 15 times and converted 13 of his free throws there.  He finished with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 block.

Carlos Boozer didn’t back down. With Nene out of the game, Boozer was able to dominate the inside tallying 22 points (on 11 of 14 from the field), 20 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Paul Millsap was fearless. He gets the least respect from the officials but he found his ways of tearing it up.  He converted a number of 3-point plays down the stretch to arrive at 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.

Between Millsap, Matthews, and Williams, they shot 35 free throws.  During this game, 70 fouls were committed including 39 by the Nuggets which was a franchise high.  To say it was a physical game would be like saying that skiing on a broken leg might be a bad idea.

What lies next for the Jazz is a familiar path: playing the Lakers shorthanded on the road in the playoffs.  The Jazz were eliminated the last 2 seasons from the playoffs by the Lakers.  But, we should at least get a day to revel in our victory against the Nuggets.

Utah Jazz lose to Nuggets; Still Lead Series 3-2

// April 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // 2010 Playoffs

A win here would have been really nice for the Jazz.  It would be a sign to the rest of the Western Conference that the Jazz are still strong.  It would have given the team some needed rest.

After the Nuggets had feuded in the locker room and were all pointing fingers at one another it seemed that an implosion was already underway.  Alas, despite all that the Nuggets came out playing like they had something to lose…which they did.

Nene went out late in the 1st quarter with a knee injury and Birdman was hobbling towards the end of the game.  The Nuggets were offering the game up to the Jazz if they wanted it.  The offer was short lived however.

The Jazz went into the half leading by 2 and then proceeded to give up 36 points in the 3rd quarter and trailed by 5 at the beginning of the 4th.  They couldn’t get the offense going and Denver seemed like they couldn’t miss a shot.

All of Denver’s roleplayers finally came out of the woodworks and came through for the Nuggets.  Arron Afflalo made all 5 of his shots including 2 from long range.  JR Smith went from being invisible on defense and shooting 578 bricks to making 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and 5 of 9 overall.  Kenyon Martin had his best game of the series…basically everything that could have gone right for Nuggets, well, did.

Utah Jazz’ roleplayers couldn’t buy a shot.  Korver looked particularly bad missing all 6 of his shots.  Fesenko turned the ball over 3 times in the first 4 minutes of the game.  Ronnie Price forgot that he knew how to play basketball and was seen blowing bubbles to entertain himself while on the court.

It makes sense.  The roleplayers always play better at home.  Considering how bad the Nuggets have played in Energy Solutions we can rest assured that they won’t drain 8 3-pointers in a row.

Our roleplayers will be playing for a hometown crowd that loves them.  Kyle Korver couldn’t possibly miss 100% of his shots in that scenario.  Ronnie Price still won’t know how to run the offense but hopefully it won’t matter as much.  The crowd will hopefully pressure the refs into baking the Jazz a cake.

Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer played very well.  They combined for nearly 60 points shooting over 50% from the field.  Williams drained 5 of his 8 3 pointers.  Boozer snagged 16 boards.  But, just as the Nuggets realized the Melo & Billups can’t win the game alone, neither can DWill and Boozer.

Of any of the Jazz losses, I wasn’t all that upset about this one.  Yeah, it would have been great to see a win.  I didn’t want to see the Jazz mail this game in knowing they could go back home and win the series there.  However, that puts a lot of pressure on Friday night’s Game 6 in Salt Lake City.

Jazz take a commanding series lead over the Denver Nuggets

// April 28th, 2010 // No Comments » // 2010 Playoffs

Game 4 was a huge game for the Jazz.  It was a chance to take a 3-1 lead on the Nuggets and virtually close the series.  Or, with a loss, it would rob the Jazz of the advantage they gained by winning Game 2 and tie the series up at 2-2.

The Jazz showed up ready to play and scored the win.  Despite losing their nearly 20 point 4th quarter lead, the Jazz held the Nuggets off and secured the win.

Energy Solutions was packed despite the rare Sunday game.  It’s crazy to see pictures from other arenas that looked empty at the start of other playoff games.  I, for one, am glad to live in a city that LOVES the NBA and our team.

Carlos Boozer was huge for the Jazz.  He appeared to have learned from his mistakes in Game 3 and attacked the basket…and often.  His outside jumper was falling for him too which made him nearly impossible to guard.  He went off for 31 points on 13 of 19 shooting, tallied 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks.  Finally!  Power Forward-like stats.

Nene, Birdman, and Kenyon Martin were unable to make a huge difference in the game.  Nene went to the line 12 times but was kind enough to make only 6 of his Free Throw attempts.

Deron Williams dominated again going for 24 points, 13 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal.  He went to the foul line 12 times making 10 of them.  He was aggressive and, as a result, put Chauncey Billups in foul trouble ending with him fouling out with a few minutes left in the game.  Watch this crossover to 3 pointer over Nene…

CJ Miles played an impressive game and only had a couple of lapses back to “Bad CJ” with 5 turnovers and a few ill-advised shots.  Notwithstanding, he went 8 for 15 from the field and 4 for 4 from the line for 21 points.

Wesley Matthews overcame a poor start to the series by going 7 of 11 from the field, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block and 0 turnovers.

Both Matthews and Miles played great defense on Carmelo Anthony.  39 points from Melo might suggest otherwise but his 5 fouls and 9 turnovers are more telling.  He nearly had a triple double…of the bad kind.

JR Smith went 3 for 11 from the field in this game which officially makes him 9 of 890 in the series.  I might have made that last stat up but he’s been terrible all series, this game included.  After the game he called all of the Nuggets’ play selfish which would be as ridiculous as Tiger Woods saying that extramarital sex is bad.

Adrian Dantley seems to not have the confidence of his team and the Nuggets all seem to be feuding with one another as evidenced by Melo chewing out Birdman after he jacked up a 20-footer for no reason.

Now that the Nuggets are down 1-3 I have a hard time believing that they’ll put together as a nearly leaderless team and win game 5.  Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups might have a different plan for Game 5 but if they are the only ones caring the Jazz could steal this series in 5.

Only 8 teams (out of something like 180) have ever come back from being down 1-3.  However, most of the teams that have come back from this deficit have done it having homecourt advantage…as the Nuggets have.  The Jazz can’t afford to get lazy or believe that it’s not a big deal to win game 5 since they’d come back home for Game 6.