Utah Jazz Playoff Conclusion

The Utah Jazz had a great post-season run this season. They knocked off the #4 seeded Denver Nuggets, who is their Arch Rival in 6 games without their starting Center Mehemet Okur and their starting Small Forward who is none other than Andrei Kirilenko, also known as AK-47. How did the Jazz pull of this upset? The answer is teamwork and great coaching. The Jazz showed the entire NBA that they are a great TEAM. Not so much a great assortment of talent, though I should mention that the best Point Guard in the game is Deron Williams. Think about it, they went into the playoffs with all that talk about Boozer and his Oblique, and why he rested out of a game that if won could have gotten them a #3 seed and an easier route out of the first round and second round. As it turns out, had Utah won that game against Phoenix, they would not only have played Portland in the first round, but San Antonio in the Second Round, and had home court advantage, which Utah would have capitalized off of and probably taken them to the Conference Finals. Instead of facing the fact that they had lost home court advantage as a result of this loss, Utah fueled themselves to have the biggest upset of the first round of the NBA playoffs. Nobody had Utah winning against a supposedly more talented, healthier, and dangerous Denver Nuggets team. Utah showed the NBA that they had a better TEAM then Denver, and that coaching matters. Deron Williams played great, Carlos Boozer played well, and the entire cast of role players like Paul Millsap, Ronnie Price, Wes Matthews, Kyle Korver, and CJ Miles all stepped up. Not to mention Kyrylo Fesenko who had a nice defensive presence in the middle, and helped stop Denver from driving to the hole. Jerry Sloan had his players buy into his system, and it really paid off.
The second round of the playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers was a bitter disappointment as games 1 and 2 were narrowly lost, and game 3 was snatched away from them like some sort of cruel joke. Game 4 isn't even worth mentioning since they were so struck with shock that Wes Matthews' tip in was missed. Game 3 was played perfectly with Kyle Korver having his Reggie Miller Moments late in the game to keep them in it. It just wasn't their year. LA had more length, height, strength, and talent than Utah did, and it showed. Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant killed Utah this year, as did Derek Fisher, and Lamar Odom, who always seem to have big days against the Jazz. The Jazz showed that they weren't a title contending team, but a damn good playoff team that can get out of a first round. The thing that I concluded from all this was that Utah needs to get bigger, and quicker at the same time. Somebody who can add size and quickness to Utah would be greatly appreciated. The interior defense of Utah in the paint is their achilles heal, and if they don't fix that, then they'll struggle in the playoffs next season. Overall, Utah has a good season ahead of them next season, and if they can get a good draft pick at the #9 spot, and retain Carlos Boozer, then they should have a chance to make a push deeper into the playoffs than this year. The lack of health finally caught up to them this year, and if AK-47 had been healthy, his length could have propelled them to a higher seed, and a better draw. In a couple of weeks, I'll release my official Utah Jazz draft board, and who I think they should pick if available.

Jazz/Nuggets Game 1 Results/Game 2 Preview

The Utah Jazz had one slip away Saturday night as they went into the 4th quarter in a 2 point struggle with their arch-rival nemesis Denver Nuggets. It was Adrian Dantley's first career playoff game as a head coach and it was Jerry Sloan's 193rd playoff game. That in itself indicates that Sloan has better coaching experience, and that the Jazz have more than an edge in the coaching department. But despite all that the Jazz had going for them with Deron Williams and the fact that he's a better PG than Chauncey Billups, the Jazz didn't account for Carmello Anthony having 42 points, and J.R. Smith going off like a mad-man too take over the game, and seal the deal for AD's first career post-season victory. Other events came into play that also effected the outcome of the game. Mehemet Okur was injured after being one of 3 jazzmen to slip in the same right spot on the court under their basket. CJ Miles got the wind knocked out of him, and Carlos Boozer's Oblique injury seemed to slow him down to just 20 points (haha, just kidding on that one). The biggets problem in the game was that Deron Williams had a weak first half, and there was no interior defense to stop the nuggets from having a layup-fest. If Williams is off, and there is no defense, it's a miracle they were even in the game going into the 4th quarter, and they really let one slip away in the 4th quarter.
But moving on to game 2 without Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko, the Jazz find themselves needing to make adjustments on the defensive side of the ball and the offensive side of the ball. On the defensive side, the Jazz need to stop Denver from getting to the foul line, and getting easy shot opportunities. In the NBA, AND-1 defense doesn't work, and the only guys on the Jazz who plays any defense is AK-47, who is injured, Paul Millsap, and Deron Williams who doesn't play the interior well because he isn't tall enough. The rest of Jazz need to step up their Defense, and their is one guy in particular that I want to see more out of. That would be Kyrylo Fesenko, the 7 Foot 1 inch, 300 lb Ukrainian who could be the new Mark Eaton for the Jazz. He has the potential to shut down the middle and keep the Nuggets out of the paint, which has been the Achilles Heal for the Jazz all season long. In addition to shutting down the middle and keeping Denver off the charity stripe, the Jazz need to find away to control the damage done by Carmello Anthony, and preventing anybody else from making a run (i.e. J.R. Smith). If the Denver Nuggets have 'Melo and somebody else going hot, then they will win the game. If the Nuggets struggle to get anybody else going besides Carmello, then Utah can win, and if Utah can stop Carmello, they will win. That simple.
Now, on the offensive side of the ball, the Jazz have to pack the ball into the paint, and only occasionally kick the ball out for 3's. The Jazz have one of the best shooting teams in the NBA with Kyle Korver, Deron Williams, CJ Miles, and Mehemt Okur (who is done for the season). When these guys get hot, they can do a lot of damage. If they shoot 3's like a spice, they can be lethal, if they shoot 3's like a main course meal, the team suffers. Missed 3 pointers lead to long rebounds which favors Denver in the transition game. Utah can't beat Denver in the transition game, but they can in a half-court setting by dumping the ball into Boozer , and getting to the Foul line. If the Jazz attack the hoop with reckless abandon, and get foul shots, then they are playing their style of basketball, but if they don't play in the paint, they are not gonna win. Jerry Sloan Basketball in and inside-out offense in order of priority. They always win games when they out score their opponents in the paint, grab boards and get to the foul line.
The Keys to the game in short for Utah are: 1. Stop Denver from getting hot, and getting on streaks.
2. Keep Denver out of the paint, make them hit tought shots: NO LAYUPS!!!
3. Keep Denver off the foul line, and get to the line yourselves.
4.Shoot 3's sparingly, and pack the ball in.
5. You can't stop Carmello Anthony, but at least slow him down!
6. Win the Turnover battle, and get back on defense.
7. This is perhaps the biggest of all: Stay out of foul trouble, and get Denver in foul trouble.