Bill Simmons, Kobe Hater Extrodonaire, is losing his Credibility

Earlier today I clicked on an article by Bill Simmons that was suppose to be about Rondo’s hard foul against Brad Miller. Although I didn’t think it was possible, he found a way to take a shot at Kobe and Stu(surprisingly).

…Eeveryone has to pretend Kobe Bryant is a good guy at all times, even if it means lying to family members, friends and media members or convincing Spike Lee to make a full-fledged gushing documentary about him. The third is the NBA doesn’t “fix” games per se; the league just “orchestrates” them a little with referee assignments, and teams are not allowed to complain. The fourth is Stu Jackson and Ahmad Rashad must always remain employed with jobs that are well beyond their means. - Fouls, Flops, Fiascoes … but not flagrant

I’m getting to a point where I don’t even want to read Bill Simmons blogs/articles on ESPN. He is a one trick pony that is being played out. I think Mr. Simmons writes his blogs/articles to be an attention grabber rather then informative writer. Don’t get me wrong, he has written some decent stuff, but I’m tired of him using his “I”m a Kobe Hater” to market his articles. He knows that Kobe is one of the world’s most popular players, who has a devoted following, and he can use that to get a view more eyes on his blogs. He even took a shot at Stu this time, which was really pathetic.

His strategy has worked so far, but will catch up with him.  I don’t think he realizes what is happening to the world of sports news, more importantly, how people are getting their news.  People can get their news from more then ESPN now. There are sites, just like Lakers101, that are producing solid content and growing exponentially.  As these legitimate sites get larger readers will be able to see through Simmons tasteless tactics and self promotion.

The difference between Bill Simmons and the guys at Lakers101 is that we won’t use a marketing ploy to get a couple more hits on our site.

Game 5, Lakers Survive a Late Scare & Prepare for Round 2: Quarter by Quarter Breakdown

In a close out game, you never know what to expect.

Utah was 10-14 in elimination games going into Game 5.

The Lakers were 64-44 in close out games all-time.

Over the first four games, Kobe Bryant in the three wins:  29.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg on 56% shooting.

Kobe in the only loss:  18 points, 6 rebounds, on 5-24 from the field.

The Lakers had 12 more points in the paint going into Game 5.

First Quarter

Mehmet Okur, who did nothing in his first game back, you could tell looked a lot better. He had a couple of drives inside and was able to knock down a three.

The Lakers began the game actually running the offense, moving the ball and got a number of good looks.

With Luke Walton being out indefinitely after spraining his ankle in Game 4, I was interested in seeing how Trevor Ariza’s ankle looked. He showed he was just fine after chasing down Deron Williams and rejecting his layup attempt. About a minute later, he followed up a missed shot with a ferocious tip-dunk.

I think he is fine.

Neither team looked nervous and showed good energy and even shot the ball well (Utah 55% in the quarter).

Ariza ended the first with 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Lakers 26, Jazz 26 — The only thing that stuck out, other than Ariza, was the Lakers turnovers (6) that resulted in seven easy points for the Jazz.

Second Quarter

The Lakers started big with back to back threes by Lamar Odom and Kobe. The run was 14-3 and gave the Lakers a 40-29 lead. During that stretch Kobe scoring eight in a row for the Lakers.

Sasha Vujacic has been inconsistent at best during the series, but what I do like is that he never gets dismayed by a miss. He hit two threes in the first seven minutes he was in.

I was impressed most with our defense. Utah had only four points in the first five minutes of the quarter, shooting only 1-7 from the field.

Lakers 40, Jazz 30.

We were impressive on the boards, which kept Carlos Boozer out of the game. He was 1-5 shooting to start the game, with four points and only three rebounds.

The Lakers had a 6-0 offensive rebounding edge; Utah did not grab their first one until the five minute mark of the second quarter.

Lamar was the main culprit, scoring 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in the first half, but most important, he held Boozer in check.

Trevor had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists in the first half, proving his ankle is just fine.

Kobe ended the quarter with an amazingly athletic play. After nearly turning the ball over, grabbing the loose ball, looked up at the shot clock on the other side, before turning 180 degrees in the air for a ridiculous fade away as he fell to the ground.

Lakers 56, Jazz 43 — The Lakers outscored the Jazz 30 to 17 and went in feeling good about themselves.

Third Quarter

The Lakers shot 6-12 from three in the first half, held Utah to only 40% shooting, a rebound edge of 28-15, and outscored them in the paint 22-14.

The oh-so-important first five minutes went in our favor, outscoring the Jazz 11-5.

Odom was aggressive and it paid off with four points and two assists. The first was a strong offensive rebound and quick pass to Gasol for a dunk, then a kick out to Ariza for three — who I am glad took the shot after missing one to start the quarter.

Lakers defense held the Jazz to no field goals and 0-8 from the field in a four minute stretch going back to the end of the first half. Utah shot 55% in the first 12 minutes, but only 25% in the next 17.5 minutes.

The Jazz did what they always do, which is fight back. After Boozer laid it in to cut the lead to 15, the Lakers responded with a 7-0 run of their own after two steals by Sasha, leading to some easy buckets and the largest lead (22)

Gasol had a very quite 15 points on 6-12 from the field.

Lakers 82, Jazz 63 — The Lakers were rolling on defense and offense, outscoring the Jazz 56 to 37 since the first quarter. 

Fourth Quarter

The only goal for the quarter:  Hustle, and don’t blow a 19 point lead.

I love Phil Jackson’s assessment of his guys waiting for Kobe to go off in the beginning of the game:  ”Sometimes they (Kobe’s teammates) like to suck that thumb a little too long.” Classic.

Kobe hit a three only 30 seconds into the fourth, now having hit an astonishing 25 of his last 38 shots going back to Game 4.

The Lakers still had a 20 point lead after Andrew Bynum knocked down a pair of free throws, three and a half minutes into the quarter.

Then it all fell apart.

Paul Millsap had 14 points in the fourth quarter, 11 in a row that sparked a 13-0 run. The lead was cut to seven with 4:50 remaining in the game.

It was difficult to tell if this was another example of the LakeShow giving up yet another lead, or if this was more of an example of why it is so difficult to close a team out.

When a team gets backed into a corner, they fight and scrap for their dear lives.

Kobe was able to nail a fade away to slow the bleeding — the first field goal in four and a half minutes for the Lakers.

Korver completed a 16-2 run by hitting a wide open three – 11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 threes on 4-7 from the field in the quarter — and got the Jazz to as close as they would get, six points.

Nine minutes into the final period, the Jazz were shooting a blistering 61% while the Lakers struggled shooting only 31%, and were outscored 26-13.

The Jazz simply could not complete the comeback, missing opportunity after opportunity inside. The calls were certainly not going in their favor either, and it eventually got to Jerry Sloan who earned himself an early shower with about a minute to go.

Not that I am complaining, but Okur should not have been in to finish the game. He just couldn’t go.

At one point, he passed up a three, put the ball on the floor and forced an off balanced shot. The Lakers grabbed the rebound, pushed it, and found Lamar open for a dunk after outrunning Okur.

Lakers up nine with 1:30 left — 98-89.

I counted four missed layups (at least) by the Jazz down the stretch.

The best play of the quarter began with beautiful ball movement after Utah trapped Kobe, he got it to Lamar, who sent a bullet to Ariza underneath, who gave a nice bounce pass to Gasol who got fouled. This is what Phil was complaining about earlier in the quarter — the ball was getting stuck on one side and we were making it easy for the Jazz to defend us and get back in the game.

And of course, the player of the game, Lamar Odom, sealed the deal with a monster jam over Okur.

Game. Set. Match.

Lakers 107, Jazz 96 — Jazz made one heck of a late run, sparked by Ronnie Price, Millsap, and Korver. Lakers show their grit with a grind it out win. Bring on Round 2.

Purple and Gold Nuggets

Everyone knows I have been warning about this Lakers team. Not to nitpick this team that beat a talented Jazz team in five games, but it even happened in Game 5.

The Lakers gave up big leads in each game:  

• Game 1, 22 point lead cut to 9
• Game 2, 20 point lead cut to 3
• Game 3, 13 point lead (in the fourth) turned into 2 point victory for the Jazz
• Game 4, 24 point lead cut to 14
• Game 5, 22 point lead cut to 6

I cannot give enough credit to Lamar Odom — 26 pts, 15 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk, 2 threes on 10-15 from the field and a +17 while on the court. AND, he held Boozer to 10 pts, 9 reb, only 1 offensive rebound and 3-8 shooting.

Kobe had 31 points on 10-21 shooting (finshed the game hitting only one for his last five), 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 threes, 4 steals, 1 block and how about a +18 while on the court.

The Lakers big three combined for 74 points, 28 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks, on 26-49 field goals and 5-8 threes.

Trevor shot 4-6 from the field, 2-4 from three with 12 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, and 2 blk.

The bench got outscored 40-12.

Best thing we did all night:  Somehow held Deron to 5 points and zero assists in the second half. He shot 4-12 overall, had 4 turnovers, and a team low -16 while on the court.

We won the rebounding battle 50-43; offensive rebounds were 15 to 12 in our favor; we took 8 more free throws (35-27); scored nine more points from the three point line. The only thing we seemingly lost (other than the fourth quarter, 33-25) was the turnover battle, 16-10 in favor of the Jazz, and they scored 15 points off turnovers to our 9. And our defense held them to 40% shooting for the game.

Shannon Brown scored only 2 points on 1-5 from the field in Game 5 (he did add three rebounds and two assists). However, he scored 8.5 ppg over the first four games and shot 58% from the field and hit 6-7 threes.

For the record, I was right. Craig Sager reported early in the second half that Mitch Kupchak scouted Brown in college at Michigan State and nearly drafted him ahead of Jordan Farmar because he thought he would have a future in the league some day. After being an afterthought in the mid-season trade with Charlotte, he has proved to be a valuable commodity, who may even help get us to the promised land.

The Lakers are 4-0 vs the Rockets this season. While they do match up very well with us — a big man in Yao Ming, who causes problems for everyone, and two top notch perimeter defenders in Ron Artest and Shane Battier to harass Kobe — we did hold them to 89.8 ppg on only 28% from the three point line.

I think we match up very well vs either Houston or Portland, because neither will be able to expose our weak point guards (no offense to Derek Fisher, but he has been playing okay at best). Steve Blake for the Blazers and Aaron Brooks for the Rockets do not exactly strike fear into the heart of their opponents.

The Lakers get a much needed break, and how long depends on whether the Rockets finish their series in five or if the Blazers can fight their way back in to the series with a win at home. A couple ankles need to heal and I still feel like Bynum could use some rest. Maybe he can look at tape and re-evaluate where he stands on the team.

We will need him when it is all said and done. I will keep saying it until proved right…or wrong…

Lakers Expose Their Achilles Again

The Lakers closed out the Jazz which was no surprise to anyone. I’m sure Jazz fans were hurt, but, let’s be honest, it was a 1-8 first round match up. This round was more or less a warm up for the Lakers, but it did show some interesting facts and, at times, the Laker’s Achilles heel.

Farmar is Far From Getting Some PT

Jordan Farmar lost all his playing time towards the end of the season and didn’t see any of it come back in the first round. Shannon Brown’s solid performance in round one (50% from the feild and 66% from behind the arc) doesn’t help Farmar’s chances.  Farmar spends most of the game sitting next to Adam Morrison. During the regular season I wrote an article about Adam Morrison’s future as a Laker. It seems now, more then ever, that Morrison’s acqusition was a salary cap move.

Bynum Needs To Step it Up

Bynum might be the wild card next round if the Lakers play Houston. He will get minutes because of Yao but will be produce? As a big man, he has to rebound; which he hasn’t done in the last two games, averaging 3 rebonds a game in the series. He will probably take a lot of Odom’s minutes who has been balling out of control.

The Laker’s Achilles Heal

The Lakers once again showed the achilles heel; giving up big leads. Although it seems like they man handled the Jazz, they let Utah cut the lead to 93-86 with 4:37 left. I hope Trevor Ariza’s concerns are addressed in the next round, “We’re happy that we got the win but, but I don’t think we’re happy about how we won so we have to pay attention and stay focused on closing games out.”

Game 4, Kobe Bryant & Bench Pile it on in Utah: Quarter by Quarter Breakdown

It sucks that when the Lakers were presented with their first test of the 2009 playoffs (Game 3), we did not come through.

I know the saying is that a series does not begin until the road team wins, but with the Lakers such heavy favorites to make the Finals, I fully expected us to find a way to win Game 3, especially after we tied it at 76 in the fourth. But, we allowed the Jazz — mostly Carlos Boozer — to bully us and push us around, reminiscent of our match up with Boston in the Finals last year.

Pau Gasol was criticized for his “soft” play in the Finals, and I have to tell you, he was most disappointing to me in Game 3. The 80 percenter missed six of his 10 free throws and allowed Boozer to grab 22 rebounds to his 9.

We even let Paul Millsap — a great rebounder in his own right — grab 14.

When you go through a game that had 97 combined misses and 20 missed free throws, you would imagine rebounding might be important.

They outrebounded us by eight in Game 1, which we were able to overcome thanks to our 56% shooting. In Game 2, the rebounding was even at 30, with both teams shooting very well — only the Lakers topped their 50% shooting with 60%. Game 3 was a different story. We somehow managed to shoot 37% by the end, but got out-rebounded 55-40, clearly costing us the win.

I talked about it in the beginning of my Game 3 analysis, that the Jazz held an advantage over the Lakers in the first two games in made free throws, offensive rebounds, steals and turnovers. In Game 3, we had a slight edge in three of the four categories. We grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to the Jazz’s 14, to go along with two more steals (7-5) and six less turnovers (9-16). The Jazz did hit 18 free throws to our 16.

What was the problem this time?

We simply could not hit a shot, going 32-87 (37%).

How would we fair in Game 4?

First Quarter

This quarter was all about Kobe Bryant.

Nothing felt forced. The key was, he actually hit shots.

Whatever he went through after that horrible outing in Game 3 brought out the best in Kobe.

He certainly was looking for his shot early, scoring the first seven points for the Lakers. Over the next two and a half minutes, his teammates missed five outside shots and the Jazz went on an 11-2 run, sparked by a couple of offensive rebounds that got the crowd energized and into the game.

Kobe cooled the run a little with a 16-footer. He was 4-4 from the field to start the game.

At this point, half way into the quarter, it was the Jazz 14, Kobe 11.

Derek Fisher missed two wide open jumpers and Trevor Ariza chipped in with a nice brick from 23-feet straight out.

Luke Walton made his presence felt immediately with two points, an assist to Andrew Bynum for his only two points of the game, and a steal.

Kobe finished the quarter with 13 points on 6-8 shooting; the rest of the team combined for a measly seven points on 2-10 from the field.

Lakers 20, Jazz 25 — Kobe came out like an assassin, hitting five jumpers early on while the rest of the guys struggled.

Second Quarter

Jerry Sloan obviously knows how important it is not to fall behind three games to one going back to LA, so he quickly sent in three of his starters at the start of the quarter — Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Mehmet Okur.

The Jazz’s largest lead was seven at 34-27.

Then the Lakers bench finally came to life, hitting from all over the perimeter, and on the road no less.

A total of three threes dropped within a minute that sparked a huge run for the Lakers.

First, a drive and kick by Sasha Vujacic to Luke for three; then, a missed jumper by the Jazz allowed Sasha to find an open three in transition; lastly, Pau Gasol was able to post up and find Shannon Brown for another three.

Timeout Utah. Lakers up 36-34.

The Lakers would not let up, outscoring the Jazz 20-2 in a little under five minutes, thanks to 12 points from the bench.

Fisher may have started the game 0-2, but he finished the half hitting three straight outside shots.

Just when you think the Lakers learned their lesson, they lose their focus and their aggression, which allows the Jazz to cut a 13 point lead down to seven by halftime.

It started at the 1:14 mark. 1) Four Lakers stand pointing at one another after Paul Millsap got a dunk. 2) Boozer got a putback after a missed free throw. 3) Deron caught an inbounds pass from Boozer and laid it in, uncontested. 4) Finally, Luke tried to heave a pass to mid-court, was intercepted by Deron, who took it the distance and finished over Luke, and one.

Lakers 60, Jazz 53 — An all too familiar ending destroyed a big lead, but at least the Lakers bench came through, knocking down four threes to pull ahead.

Third Quarter

The Lakers shot 58% in the first half.

Kobe was 10-13.

Deron and Boozer played superb in the first half.

17 points and seven assists on 4-7 from the field for Deron; 14 points, eight rebounds on 6-8 shooting for Boozer.

The Lakers began the quarter hitting five shots in a row (10 straight going back to the first half).

It was Kobe Bryant who put on yet another show, hitting four straight jumpers, all from 17 feet out in the first four minutes.

He did most of his damage in bunches. He had 13 points in the first seven minutes of the game; 11 more in the final six minutes of the first half; and 10 points in the first four minutes of the third quarter.

For anyone wondering why Luke Walton plays, just check out his third quarter. In a four minute span, he had two layups, three rebounds, and a pair of steals.

Boozer alert:  15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists with three minutes to go in the third.

However, the Lakers did do a good job of containing both Boozer and Deron in the quarter.

Boozer only had two points while Deron shot 1-5 and had two points and two assists.

Some of this is due to the fact Sloan put Deron on Kobe, who was desperate to find someone to slow him down. With so much energy being wasted, Deron did not appear to have anything left in the tank for the offensive end.

The Lakers were able to get inside and get to the free throw line, going 8-10 in the quarter; Utah struggled and shot 2-6 from the foul line.

We played some inspired defense and outscored the Jazz 24-12 in the first 10 minutes of the quarter.

Lamar Odom did his part with another strong rebounding effort — 12 so far.

The thing I enjoyed most about Kobe up to this point, was his demeanor. The announcers mentioned that they noticed it before the game during shoot around. There was no smiles for #24; it was all business. He had an icy cold expression on his face after every made basket.

Lakers 88, Jazz 69 — Since falling behind 25-20 after the first quarter, we outscored the Jazz 68-44, taking a commanding lead into the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

I am sure everyone was thinking the same thing I was:  Will the Lakers have another let down?

Not today my friends.

Kobe Bryant started the fourth, a clear sign that Phil Jackson was not messing around.

Brown was in and was very effective slashing and hustling, and contributing a tip in after his own miss.

Sasha missed his first two threes early in the quarter, but kept his aggressiveness, which eventually paid off when he drained a three that gave us our biggest lead of the game, 94-71.

We missed our first five threes, but then went 6-9.

At this point, Utah was in a drought, scoring only 21 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half.

Credit our defense for pushing them further and further out on the perimeter. Sloan made that same comment between quarters saying that his guys were taking shots he would rather not see, but it was LA who was forcing them into those shots.

Trevor was not very effective in his 28 minutes, but did provide a little spark in the fourth. In typical Ariza fashion when he picked Boozer’s pocket clean, ran down the court and drained a three from the corner, putting us up 19. He ended the game with 5 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, and 1 three.

Lamar followed that up with a block on Andrei Kirilenko and a tip in at the other end.

The Jazz still continued to fight and got within 13 with 90 seconds remaining, before Derek Fisher laid the hammer with a 23-foot bomb that splashed in, silencing the crowd. 

Want to know what a building sounds like when everyone knows that this will be the last time you get to see your team the rest of the year? Just go back on your tivo to the five minute mark in the fourth. Silence truly is golden!

Lakers 108, Jazz 94 — This was the game I was begging for in Game 3; the statement game where we cut out their hearts and stomp on it right in front of the home crowd. Better late than never. A big thanks goes out to Mr. Kobe Bryant.

Purple and Gold Nuggets

This game was a perfect blend of a bit of bench play, and a whole lot of Kobe Bryant.

The bench was outstanding:

Shannon Brown in 20 minutes — 10 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 three, 3-5 from the field, +8 while on the floor

Luke Walton in 18 minutes — 9 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 three, 3-6 from the field, +4 while on the floor

Sasha Vujacic in 17 minutes — 9 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 3 threes, 3-9 from the field, +9 while on the floor

Kobe hit a ton of jumpers, including seven between 15 and 19 feet out; six between 20 and 22 feet; and one 25-foot three pointer. He did add two layups and was 16-24 overall, including 5-5 from the free throw line for an incredibly efficient 38 points.

Some trouble areas for us have been free throws, offensive rebounds, steals, and turnovers.

In Game 4, the Jazz shot 32 free throws to our 28, but the missed 10 again. They grabbed 11 offensive rebounds to our eight, but we out-rebounded them 46-39 overall, thanks to 15 for Odom and 10 for Gasol. Steals were about even, 12 for the Jazz, 11 for the Lakers. We had 14 turnovers to their 13.

The major difference in this game was our offense. We shot 52% and held the Jazz to 44%. We hit eight threes and they only hit four. They did move the ball around a lot more, while we stuck to more one on ones, thanks to Kobe’s hot game (27-19 lead in assists).

Lamar Odom chipped in with a smooth 10 pts, 15 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl, and 2 blk. He is now averaging 16 ppg, 10 rpg, 2 apg, 1.25 bpg on a blistering 61% from the field in 36 mpg off the bench (with of course the start in Game 4).

I ask again, what more can the Jazz do? They struggle to slow our offense down and got contributions from Deron (23/13), Boozer (23/16), and their bench (12 points for Korver), but lost by 14.

As long as we do not beat ourselves, like we did in Game 3, I look forward to us closing this team out Monday night in STAPLES Center.

Game 3, Lakers Got Pushed Around in Utah: Quarter by Quarter Breakdown

That was a thing of beauty in STAPLES Center, thanks to the Lakers hot shooting:

• We shot 58% from the field in the first two games
• 18 of 35 from the three point line (51%)
• The Lakers had a 30-17 fast break point edge in the first two games
• Trevor Ariza was averaging 17 ppg, 5.5 apg, 4 rpg, 1 spg, 13-16 FG and 6-7 from three

Not everything went our way, as the Jazz led in the following categories:

• 64-56 — Made free throws (eight more makes)
• 29-14 — Offensive rebounding
• 34-38 — Turnover
• 23-16 — Steals

My Thoughts Before Game 3

I want to give credit to the Jazz for continuing to fight back, and that is not to say I expected them to simply lie down; they are playing hard, but are clearly hurting from not having Mehmet Okur out there.

The first two games was just a matter of the Jazz just simply not having enough talent to keep up. Keep in mind that the Jazz averaged 104.5 ppg, but lost the first two games by a combined 23 points.

Unless the Lakers have an off night, this could be a sweep.

The Lakers need to use these Western Conference series to get Bynum in a grove, continue to develop Brown, and build Ariza’s confidence.

Everything starts with Deron Williams — with his shot, his dribble penetration, and his defense (four steals in Game 2). Deron Williams is averaging 25.5 ppg, 13 apg, 3.5 rpg, 3 spg, and 3 threes going into Game 3.

When the game was on the line in the fourth quarter of Game 2, how did the Kobe’s entourage perform?

• Lamar Odom — 7 points, 1 rebound
• Pau Gasol — 1 rebound, 2 blocks, 0-2 FT, and 1 turnover, in 5 minutes
• Trevor Ariza — 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal in 5 minutes
• Shannon Brown — 6 points

On to the game.

First Quarter

Jerry Sloan made the first major adjustment.

He inserted Andrei Kirilenko into the starting lineup, which did two things:  First, he brings energy, length to disrupt things on the defensive end, and slashing. The other thing it did was take away a shooter (Kyle Korver).

This allowed the Lakers to back off both Ronnie Brewer and AK-47, clogging the lane even more.

This was, however, a defensive move, putting more length on Trevor Ariza to try to slow him down, and it worked.

The Lakers tried to do a lot of the same things we had success in the first two games, which was take the ball inside. The problem was, we could not hit shots; even the easy ones inside.

Our first four shots were inside, but we missed every one of them. Granted, the Jazz were challenging everything, but we just missed.

Still, we somehow managed to win the first five minutes and take a 10-7 lead.

That did not last long.

With every missed shot, Deron Williams and company was still able to push the ball and they took advantage of their semi-transition opportunities.

Andrew Bynum got in early foul trouble (again), picking up his second only four and a half minutes into the quarter.

It was the Jazz’s dominance in the paint that lead to a 12-0 run, sparked by Carlos Boozer. He was a man possessed gobbling up 11 rebounds in the first quarter alone and outworking the taller Gasol.

They dominated the paint early and often. It was obvious from the start that they were the aggressors. They had an early lead in points in the paint (8-2 after six minutes), which would continue throughout the game. They were also working for every rebound, as the Jazz had a 13-4 edge at the 4:30 mark in the first.

Kobe went 0-4 and Gasol fared no better, going 2-7. The Lakers shot 6-25 (24%) in the opening 12 minutes.

I liked the shots we were getting; we were just stone cold and probably deserved the “Lakers suck” chant that the Jazz fans started (no doubt a retaliation to the STAPLES Center crowd’s chant of “Utah sucks” at the end of Game 2).

Now the series begins.

Lakers 17, Jazz 26 — Our poor shooting led to a huge rebound edge and allowed the Jazz to get some good looks and easy buckets, setting the tone for what was to come.

Second Quarter

This quarter was more of the same — it came down to rebounding and shooting. The only difference was, we played a little more defense and at least held Utah to 17 points in the quarter.

Sasha Vujacic got us off on the right foot. He was the first player to bring any energy to a dead Lakers team. The Machine was amazing in the first five minutes of the quarter. He hit his first shot (a three), grabbed two offensive and two defensive rebounds, and contributed two steals.

Phil Jackson must have pointed out how weak we were on the boards as the Lakers grabbed six of the first seven rebounds of the quarter.

Our defense also picked up as we forced them into only two points in 11 possessions, and 3-12 shooting in the first eight minutes of the quarter.

But, it was all Boozer for Utah. Not only did he set the franchise record for most rebounds in a half (15), he looked just like the man whom he beat out (Karl Malone), stripping Gasol, then running the floor and hitting a face up 15 footer.

The Jazz still had the edge in points in the paint (18-12) half way through the quarter.

Kobe did not score his first points until a pair of free throws, nearly 19 minutes into the game. The next trip down, he got his first basket on a layup.

Gasol was struggling as well. You could tell the missed shots inside and a number of missed free throws started to get into his head. A lot of times a poor offensive night can affect his energy and defense, as was the case on this night.

He also was responsible for allowing Boozer to go off on the boards.

The Lakers ended on a high note, thanks to Lamar’s back to back buckets inside that cut the eight point Jazz lead down to four by halftime.

He was really the only bright spot (13 points on 6-8 from the field and 9 rebounds, 5 offensive) on an otherwise forgettable first half.

How bad was it? Kobe was 1-10, Gasol was 3-8, and the Lakers overall shot 13-44 (29.5%).

Lakers 39, Jazz 43 – After a horrendous first half, we should feel lucky to be down only four.

Third Quarter

We hit only 30% in the first half, but at least held the Jazz to 40% (after shooting 50% in the first quarter).

The rebounding edge for the Jazz was very troublesome (34-24), but they also had more than three times as many assists (13-4).

Phil wanted to change things up a bit, so he let Lamar start.

Finally, our shots started falling, beginning with a loose ball that ended up in Kobe’s hands for a corner three — his first field goal of the game.

This, in turn, jump started our defense.

(If there is a chink in our armor, it is that we can get down on ourselves when we start missing shots. The first three quarters was a perfect example of this.)

The Lakers won the first five minutes, and for the first time in the series, outscored the Jazz 17-4 on 7-11 shooting. The Jazz, meanwhile, were only 1-4 with two turnovers.

The Lakers run was 15-2 in the quarter (19-2 going back to the end of the first half) and 27-6 when it was all said and done, giving us our biggest lead, 64-51.

Utah had no outside shooting, hitting only one of five threes in the first half. Their three point specialist, Korver, missed his first three shots of the quarter and was 1-8 overall.

Then it all changed.

Brewer hit a 21 footer, Harpring hit a 19 footer, and Korver ended the quarter with a corner three that cut the lead to eight.

Utah was still only 12-44 from the field since the first quarter and had only 17 points in both the second and third quarters, but they were within striking distance.

Lakers 68, Jazz 60 — Lakers showed some life with a big quarter, but can they sustain the energy.

Fourth Quarter

You could see the momentum turning as the fourth quarter began.

Sloan finally put in two shooters to spread the floor and it paid off — Korver and C.J. Miles both hit jumpers that opened things up for Harpring on the inside.

The worst thing that could have happened was to let a shooter like Korver get that open shot to end the third. The Jazz bench erupted for 22 points during a stretch where they outscored us 28-12.

Harpring and Korver were instrumental providing the Jazz with scoring, shooting, and energy.

Utah went on a 10-2 run, cutting the lead to three. They also hit nine straight field goals as the Lakers went dead on offense going scoreless for three minutes that allowed the Jazz to turn an eight point deficit to start the quarter, into a four point lead.

After everything we had gone through in this game — from the poor shooting, to getting pushed around on the boards, to a 28-12 run by the Jazz — we were still tied at 76.

I remember thinking to myself, this is it. Time to redeem ourselves. This is that defining moment for us. This is a game we need. The statement game I talked about in the last article. This is everything.

Every great team has to prove they can win the ugly games; the games they have no business winning. Especially ones like this on the road.

The question becomes, can we win a game that we do not need? Or will the thought be, we lose this and we are still up two games to one with another chance Saturday night to steal a game in Utah. It is easier to throw this one away. Chalk it up to a bad shooting night.

That’s not what I thought.

Marv Albert said that this was Utah’s entire season coming down to this moment; I thought this was the Lakers’ season. This was our chance to mold ourselves into a champion; to prove to everyone, including ourselves, that we were ready.

Well, the next sequence turned into a microcosm of the entire game, and how the Jazz were able to squeak out a victory.

First, a missed jumper by Kobe, then a rebound by Boozer, an outlet to Deron who pushed it up court, and ended in an open three in semi-transition for Kyle Korver.

Jazz up three.

How different things are at home and on the road.

Ariza got two good looks at a three (remember he was 6-7 in the first two games), but missed them both. Kobe also had the same look, a 21 footer from the left baseline, that he hit in Game 2, only this time it rimmed out in Game 3. A tale of two cities indeed Mr. J.A. Adande.

The end was a matter of who wanted it more, and I think it’s safe to say the right team won.

Boozer just abused Gasol all game long and it was topped off with a vicious left-handed jam in his face. Gasol tried to come back with a dunk of his own to tie it up, but would it be enough?

Go figure, it was Deron who came up with the biggest play of the night, knocking down an off-balanced, fade-away over the outstretched arms of Lamar Odom that ended up being the game winner.

Outside of Shannon Brown’s early layup to start things off, Kobe, Pau, and Lamar scored all 16 of our points to finish the game, but it was not enough.

Lakers 86, Jazz 88 — Lakers got complacent in the fourth, allowing their subs to outwork us early, that eventually allowed the Jazz’s two stars to rise up.

Purple and Gold Nuggets

It is hard to say if there was any one person to blame. Everyone shot the ball poorly — except Lamar (10-17) and Gasol (8-15).

I do not know what was more disappointing to me:  Kobe, who went 5-24 from the field, in what most likely was his worst playoff performance in the last decade, or Pau Gasol, who could not hit a free throw, missing six of 10 (1-3 in the fourth), all while allowing Boozer to beat him up for 23 points and 22 rebounds.

Boozer set the tone with his aggressive play all night. The Jazz were the ones who played with energy, who got to the loose balls, and who out-worked us all night (indicative of their rebounding edge, 55-40).

The Jazz won the fastbreak battle for the first time in the series (11-4).

If the theme of the first two games was efficient offense, the game in Utah was anything but. The Lakers missed 55 shots, 11 threes, 10 free throws, and only had 15 assists.

The only thing you can say we did well was not turn the ball over (9-16 advantage) and held them to 44% shooting.

They were much more active on the defensive end. We had a 9-0 edge in blocks in Game 2, but we only had two blocks in this game, to their six.

Our X-factors in the first two games (Ariza and Brown) combined to shoot 4-13, although Trevor did hit 2-4 threes. However, the two misses were during a critical juncture late in the fourth.

Jordan Farmar got a DNP.

Our bench, outside of Odom, shot 2-12.

How dominant were the Jazz on the boards. While our 16 offensive rebounds was a solid number, the Jazz grabbed 41 defensive rebounds. In contrast, Utah still managed 14 offensive rebounds to our pathetic 24 defensive rebounds. Our top three guys combined for 30 rebounds; Boozer and Millsap had 36 between them.

The key +/- stats:  Kobe -7, Pau -6, Lamar +7.

Clearly the +/- statistic is not the be all end all for how a game was played. They can sometimes be misleading.

• AK-47 had a -9, even though I thought he played very well in that first half
• Boozer had a 20/20 game and single-handedly carried that team, but ended up with a -2
• Millsap brought all kinds of energy off the bench and was productive (14 rebounds and 3 blocks), but was a -6
• Deron hit 3-7 from the field and 7-12 from the foul line, but was a +7
• Korver shot 4-13, and led the team with a +9

Going by those numbers, you would assume that Boozer was not very effective, but he was clearly the best player on the floor.

While I wish I could complain about Gasol choosing this games of all games to go 4-10 from the foul line, Deron only hit 7-12 as both teams missed 10 free throws each.

Kobe was awful. He started the first half going 1-10, then hit 3 of 5 in the first three minutes of the third, but ended the game hitting only one of his last nine shots.

If we cannot shoot at least 40% in Game 4, I am actually afraid that we might go back to LA tied at two games a piece.

Tracy McGrady May be Out, but He Still Has His Pick For MVP

Tracy McGrady was struggling this year and finally had to call it quites on the season. That does not stop him from having an opinion.

He was on the Jim Rome Show yesterday — a radio show out in Los Angeles — and gave some insight into Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

TMAC On this year’s MVP:

He basically said Kobe could and should get it every year and that he was surprised last year was his first one. He said that this year’s MVP will go to LeBron because of the way the media and league market and advertise the guy. It just seems like it’s his year, and he is having a great year. But, with a year like Kobe is having, he could get it every year.

TMAC On Kobe and LeBron’s Leadership

He said that LeBron leads in a different way. He is a team player who likes to have fun. He gets it done in his own way. With Kobe, there is no play time on the court. He is out to take your heart and he’s showing that from start to finish. When he sees a weakness in a guy, he’s trying to step on their chest and turn it.

TMAC On Teenage Kobe

He also said that when he was a rookie (Kobe’s 2nd yr) that he was friends with Kobe but that he was crazy. He told McGrady, “I’m telling you, I’m better than Mike right now, I’m going to be better than Mike.” As a teenage, he honestly believed he was better than Mike. From that point on, TMAC knew that guy was striving for greatness.

I just gained that much more respect for the guy. This is why the MVP vote should not be made by media guys with a secret ballot. It should be done by the guys who know best; those who play against the best and know who is the best.

Give the votes to players and coaches and make them public.

That’s my opinion.

Game 2, Lakers Still Searching for that Complete Game: Quarter by Quarter Breakdown

A quick note on Game 1:  Our big three stepped up when it mattered most in the fourth quarter.

• Kobe Bryant — 7 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 tos, on 3-5 from the field
• Pau Gasol — 8 pts, 2 reb, 1 blk, on 2-4 shooting, and he drew three fouls on the Jazz
• Lamar Odom — 4 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk on 2-3 shooting

*They combined for 19 of the 27 points to go along with eight rebounds on 58% from the field.

The Lakers have now beat the Utah Jazz 11 straight times in STAPLES Center. Utah is 28-82 all-time on the road in the playoffs. They were 15-26 on the road during the regular season; 2-19 vs teams with an above .500 record.

Does any of that matter? Some say you throw all those things out because the playoffs are a different animal. I think think it matters to a certain extent. Winning on the road in the playoffs is a combination of talent, first and foremost, perseverance, and mental fortitude. I think without Mehmet Okur — one of their top three players — it had to play into their minds a little, whether they could steal one in LA.

On to the analysis.

First Quarter

The first quarter was all about the Utah Jazz’s inability to take anything away from us on the offensive end. When they doubled Kobe, he found guys for wide open threes (we hit 4-5 in the quarter). This opened things up inside where we scored 12 of our 18 baskets in the paint.

Our dominance in the paint was obvious, scoring at will and controlling the boards (the Jazz had only two offensive rebounds in the quarter). This helped the Lakers get off to another great start. It was as if we were running a lay up line, first with Andrew Bynum, then Trevor Ariza, then Pau Gasol. Everyone got the ball inside. The Jazz were defenseless.

We hit 15 of our first 17 shots, including 12 straight (10 of those baskets in the paint). We were second in the league in points in the paint (46.3) during the regular season, so it should come as no surprise. Our bigs should continue to have their way inside vs Jarron Collins, Carlos Boozer, and Paul Millsap.

Our 18 of 21 shooting overall was the best opening quarter since the league started keeping track back in 1998.

I know I am not the only one who is loving the new and improved Ariza. His confidence is threw the roof. He started right where he left off. A couple of aggressive moves attacking the basket and he knocked down his open threes. He keeps this up throughout the playoffs and no one will be able to contain us. He is bringing another dimension.

It was also good to see an aggressive Derek Fisher, even if he missed his first baby jumper. We need him and he needs to look for his shot. It was a welcome sight to see him hit both of his threes to start the game off right.

Speaking of welcome sights, Bynum had a nice block of Deron Williams shot attempt. You can see that he has moments, but cannot yet sustain anything. He was very aggressive underneath because I think he realized he can score at will over Collins and really anyone they have. It will come.

We saw Kobe’s defensive strategy vs Ronnie Brewer. Sag off and clog up that lane so Deron has no where to go. Brewer did a good job of knocking down a couple open shots to start. We have yet to find a guard that can stay in front of Deron, and if Brewer is knocking down jumpers, Kobe cannot help as much. I see Brewer shooting well in Utah.

Interestingly enough, while Shannon Brown’s minutes have increased because of his perceived abilities on the defensive end, it is his offense that has been a welcome sight so far. I saw back to back plays where Williams blew by Brown and got Boozer and Brewer easy buckets.

He also found his stroke early, hitting three from behind the arc. He also finished the quarter with six assists, showing he can be a force.

This had the same feeling as the first game, which actually worried me. I remember thinking to myself, why can I not be satisfied with an 11 point lead only 10 minutes into the game? I feel like I demand way too much from our guys. This Jazz team is struggling, but they are not void of talent, so give them some credit from not letting this thing get completely out of control.

After watching this quarter, it is clear that if we continue with our effort and activity on defense, keep moving the ball, and score from all over the court, there is nothing this Jazz team can do to stop us.

Lakers 41, Jazz 29 — Lakers offense could not look better. 

Second Quarter

This quarter was about sustaining the energy. Sometimes when you get off to such a quick start, as we did, you tend to relax.

The second unit of Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Odom, and Bynum knows that they needed to play hard and not give up the lead.

In order for this unit to have success, our guards need to apply high pressure, and get out and run whenever possible. When things slow up, run everything through the big fella.

They tried this, however Bynum still looked rusty. He fumbled the ball a couple of times and had his shot blocked twice. You would assume with Millsap on him (the guy is closer to 6′6 than his listed 6′8) that the Lakers second unit should be able to take advantage of the match up, but Bynum just didn’t have it.

The bench still managed to hold onto the lead, only shrinking from 12 to eight, thanks to Luke’s two dimes and Lamar’s two hoops. LO’s nice start was good to see – he hit his first five shots for 12 points in about nine minutes of play. There is no way to defend us when Lamar is as aggressive as he was.

A perfect example of the little things Luke does that go unnoticed was when Luke deflected the ball that ricocheted out of bounds off of Deron.

With Farmar’s minutes shrinking (only four minutes in each of the first two games), it makes me think he is not 100%. I know he has struggled the second half of the season, but not to the extent he losses all of his playing time to Shannon, who played in the back court with Kobe again in the second quarter. Then again, maybe it is less what Farmar is doing, and more of how Brown continues to amaze with his outside shooting.

Trevor’s outside shot looks amazing, but he showed he is more than just a spot up three point shooter. He threw in a couple of jab steps to back up his defender and then drained a three. Our boy has come a long way.

Focus for 48 minutes is something every team talks about, but for good reason. The Jazz got sloppy during a four minute stretch where they turned it over five times. 

The Lakers were not any better. As soon as Ariza hit a three to go up 20, we allowed the Jazz to go on a 9-0 run — with Deron’s hands all over that run — in the final 90 seconds of the half. Deron is clearly Utah’s sole game changer scoring seven of the last nine points for them. He also hit four threes in the first half alone.

(Sometimes I question the fans at the game. Last night, they booed not because we lost the game, but because we gave up one too many baskets that cost them free tacos. In the second quarter in Game 2, Fisher saved the ball and went flying into the stands. The only problem was, he threw it to the wrong end and Utah got a lay up. To my surprise, the fans cheered when Fish got up. It was a bad pass and horrible decision. Don’t cheer!)

While the defense and focus is still a work in progress (the Jazz did shoot 60% from the field), the offense if flowing. We had four guys in double figures to compliment Kobe’s nice stat line — 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Kobe’s ability to drive and kick will be the key in the second half. Continue to apply pressure. This series is about who can put more pressure on the opponents’ defense. We know Deron will keep probing, keep pushing. Kobe needs to do the same, especially with Ariza, Brown, and Fisher hitting outside shots, and with bigs Lamar, Pau, and Drew getting easy hoops inside off of penetration. We are a scary team when we want to be.

Third Quarter

It is hard to say if it is poor defense, or poor effort by the Jazz, but after six quarters, it does not look like they can stop us. Kenny Smith kept emphasizing at the half that the Jazz made no adjustments.

Our shooting was outstanding in the first half (63% from the field and 7-11 from three). Two other major factors:  Points in the paint (34-18 edge) and points off of turnovers (20-11).

With the Jazz finishing the quarter so well, you know Phil stressed the importance of the first five minutes more than ever.

So, how did we come out:  The Lakers first four possessions of the second half consisted of two missed jumpers and a pair of turnovers. On the other end, we let Korver beat us with two jumpers to extend their run to 14 straight.

I wrote about this before, but the Lakers are reverting back to their old self, giving up big run after big run. In the third quarter of Game 1 — where the Jazz outscored us 33-24 — we gave up a 9-0 run and a 9-2 run.

Fisher is the consament pro. He does not allow mistakes to get to him. He passed on a three and turned it over on one play, then got another look at a three and knew he could not pass that up — drained it.

Kobe came out of the gates a lot more aggressive and looking for his own jumper. I thought he needed to use that aggression to take it inside.

The Jazz tried to mix it up, bringing the double team on our bigs from all over the court, however, it did no good. After the Jazz cut it to seven, Gasol took over and scored the next nine points for the Lakers.

They say that the refs do not have that much control of the game. I disagree. There was a point where Kobe finally took it inside, got hit by Deron, but there was no call. The Jazz went back down, got it to Korver for an open three. The game was down to six points, instead of 11.

At this point, maybe half way through the quarter, I remember thinking to myself, having lost seven of 10 in Utah, I am a little worried about the way this quarter is going. I saw no passion from us. We were just going through the motions, similar to Game 1. Only this time, we had a six point lead instead of a double digit lead.

Kobe continued to stick with jump shots, which resulted in him going three for eight in the quarter.

However, he finally forced the issue and drew the foul on a strong drive inside. Then, Kobe being a fan of drama, nearly lost the ball, went back in, did a series of fakes and pivots. At this point, he knows he should pass it, but turns and hits the shot anyway with Brewer all over him, giving us some momentum.

It was the Kobe Bryant and Shannon Brown show in the final three minutes with Kobe scoring six points and an assist, and Brown adding an assist to Kobe and yet another three.

Brown seems to be turning into the right-spot-at-the-right-time kind of guy, picking up a loose ball and draining a three at the end that put the Lakers up 11 going into the fourth.

Lakers 89, Jazz 78 — Lakers finished the quarter off nicely. We tied the third 23-23, a big contrast to Game 1, where the Lakers lost the quarter 33-24.

Fourth Quarter

Unexpected stat of the day:  Trevor Ariza had eight assists through three quarters, showing again how good our ball movement was.

Wondering how much that game meant to Phil? He had Kobe in to start the fourth.

Kobe and Shannon scored 20 of 23 points for the Lakers starting with Kobe’s 16 footer at the 2:26 mark in the third and ending on Brown’s lay up with 7:39 left in the game. 12 points in only 14 minutes for Brown; talk about an unexpected X-factor.

I hate to say it but with Deron’s jumper looking so good, time to force him to drive where we can give some help…and just as I say that, he gets inside and a lay up for Millsap. Brown is far from a lockdown defender.

9:33 — Lakers send Kobe to the bench and bring in Luke who, in a little over four minutes, contributes with two points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Offensive rebounds were less of a deal in this game, however, the Lakers had four and the Jazz had six in the fourth quarter alone.

Just when you get ready to praise LO’s play, he makes a lazy pass and then fouls, sending Millsap to the line.

Midway through the fourth, the Lakers were still dominating the points in the paint, 44-28.

While the next few plays were not textbook from an offensive standpoint (turnovers and missed free throws), we made some defensive plays, and forced the Jazz into some bad decisions.

The key moment in the series was when Boozer laid it in capping a 9-2 run that cut the lead to three.

Lakers 109, Jazz 106.

At that point, it is a matter of who can execute and who has the resolve.

The turning point for the Jazz came on a sequence where Ariza stole the ball and ran a beautiful two-man fastbreak with Odom on the finishing end.

The next two minutes was not pretty for either team:

• Five turnovers — two by LA, three by Utah
• Three offensive rebounds by the Jazz, but it resulted in zero second chance points
• Two key missed jumpers — the first by Korver, but it was well contested; the second by Brewer who bricked an open baseline jumper
• Boozer got caught with a hand in Pau’s back on an offensive rebound, sending him to the line — but he missed both (Lakers 5-10 from the foul line in the quarter at that point)
• Gasol came up with two huge blocks, the second of which lead to a shot clock violation

In the end, the Lakers had too much. The games best closer sealed the deal — a 21 foot dagger by Kobe Bryant. Then, Kobe found Ariza who hit another big three to put the Lake Show up eight with 33 seconds to go.

Lakers 119, Jazz 109 — Lakers showed some resolve, now go to Utah up two games to none.

My Purple and Gold Nuggets

Anyone else notice Derek Fisher has been struggling with his shot as of late.

While his strongest month was December when he scored 12.5 ppg on nearly 50% shooting from the field. It dropped to 9.2 ppg and 46% from the field in March and 5 ppg in April, hitting only 16-52 shots (good for 31%). His minutes were down considerably, most likely resting him for the playoffs and getting Shannon Brown minutes to see if he could bring anything to the playoffs. He also hit only four of his last 27 three point attempts to end the year.

However, something underestimated by the vet is his insanely high assist to turnover ratio of 3.63 (good for fourth in the league behind only Jose Calderon, Jason Kidd, and Chris Paul). Or how about the fact he hit 120 threes on a shade under 40%, while only turning it over 72 times in 82 games. Just goes to show, he knows the system and is a spot on three point shooter, if he can shoot himself out of his slump.

For the record, he went 3-6 from the three point line tonight.

Ariza’s nice play in the first two games — including 13 points and a career high nine assists in Game 2 — is a good indicator of what makes Kobe Bryant so special; why he is so important to the success of this team and why he is this year’s MVP, in my estimation.

Think back to the fourth quarter. Korver was so worried about Kobe breaking down Utah’s best defender, Brewer, on a pick and roll situation, that he planted himself in the center of the court and force him to pass to a wide open Ariza. Thankfully he was ready for it and hit a clutch shot to seal the game (I did not know he had it in him).

Every team has to game plan so much for Kobe that they allow other quality players to get great looks. Utah is finding out that yes, Kobe has the best supporting cast of the other candidates (LeBron James and Dwyane Wade), however, it starts and ends with Kobe. He sets guys up to in the beginning, and knocks opponents out in the end. Give him credit for his growth and maturity. A few years ago, he would never have had enough trust to be able to make a pass like that to a guy like Ariza.

Maybe a bigger worry for the Jazz:  Can Deron play any better? He had 35 pts, 9 ast, 4 reb, 4 stl, 2 blk, and 6 threes in Game 2. Think about it, he was clearly the best player on the floor, and they got a 20/10 game from Boozer, but they still lost by 10.

The most important +/- stats for Game 2:  Bynum -3, Odom +6; Farmar -5, Brown +9. Hopefully, come Finals, Bynum and Farmar will be ready to contribute, especially Drew.

The Lakers outside shooting was white hot, going 11-20 from three (Ariza and Brown combining to go 5-6). I am telling you, if these guys keep this up, it’s over.

21 turnovers were far too many for the Lakers (after getting 17 in the first game). Even with the Jazz getting five more steals (13 overall) and one fewer turnover, the Lakers had 15 more points off of turnovers (34-19).

There was a much better effort on the defensive boards:  The Jazz had a 20-7 offensive rebound advantage in Game 1; only 9-7 in Game 2.

I thought there were two statements made at the end of the game:  One by Lamar Odom’s hard foul on Brewer (not dirty, just a nice, hard playoff foul), the other by the fans who chanted “Utah sucks” (classy I know). This was worlds better than the Game 1 chant of “we want tacos.” I think the fans realize it is time to focus on the game, not our stomachs.

I agree with Charles Barkley’s post game comments that the Lakers still are not playing with any urgency. In this game, we dominated the first quarter, and played even the rest of the way.

Things came way too easy for us in STAPLES Center, even if we had to fight to sustain our lead late in Game 2. 

I fully expect the Jazz to be the ones to deliver the “knockout punch” early in Utah. The question then becomes, how do the Lakers respond and will they dig themselves too big a hole to climb out of, similar to Utah in this game.

When you are already uber-confident, as the Lakers should be, it is tough to play with the urgency needed to win both games in Utah. You are already up 2-0 and you know you have Game 5 in LA.

However, just like we closed this team out in Game 6 last year, I believe we can make a similar statement tonight.

I want the Lakers to use Game 3 to make a statement. They need to come out focused and aggressive from the get go and dominate in Utah. This could be Kobe’s statement game in which he puts up 20 in the opening quarter, just to let the Jazz know there is no hope.

Stu Lantz talked about it toward the end of the season where we began a trend of losing big leads (the link to my article is above). This is a result of us lacking that killer instinct, which is ironic because that is exactly what separates Kobe from every other player in his generation. He is an assassin. I just wished it would rub off on the other guys.

Still, this team is ready. This team is poised. This team is hungry.

Game 3, in Utah, tonight on TNT at 10:30 pm EST.

Be ready, because I believe our boys will be.

Game 1, Lakers vs Jazz: Quarter by Quarter Breakdown

The game was far from smooth — 67 total free throws, three technicals, and a number of bruises — but a 13 point victory in Game 1 vs the Jazz in STAPLES Center is a result any Lakers fan would ask for.

The Lakers used a balanced attack to defeat the Jazz on this day. Kobe Bryant finished with 24 points and 8 assists on 9-17 from the field; Pau Gasol added 20 points and 9 rebounds; and Trevor Ariza had a playoff career high of 21 points on 8-10 shooting and 3-4 threes.

Meanwhile, we all knew Utah would scrap, Deron Williams would break down our D, and things would get testy. What I did not expect, was that Utah would lead in a number of categories and still lose by double digits.

The Jazz took 15 more shots thanks to a 20-7 offensive rebounding edge; took and made three more free throws; out rebounded us by eight overall, had six more assists, two more steals, and three fewer turnovers.

However, this was a simple case of one team putting the ball in the basket more than the other. While we shot 56% from the field (including 66% in the first half), the Jazz only hit 39%.

First Quarter

Derek Fisher is clearly no match for Deron’s speed, as he started the game with two early fouls.

This opened the door for the first surprise of the day — Shannon Brown, the first sub off the bench.

Initially, I figured Phil Jackson simply did not want to mess up his normal rotation, which is Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic in to start the second quarter. When Brown finished the game with 22 minutes to Farmar’s four, I knew something had to be up. In Jordan’s defense, I heard a report that he played despite tendinitis in his right pinky toe.

A welcome sight was Trevor Ariza and Brown’s ability to knock down open threes. The Jazz decided to double both Kobe and Pau Gasol in the post, giving Ariza and Brown open looks all game. Ariza knocked down two early treys (he finished with 10 points in the quarter) and Brown ended the quarter with a pair of his own.

Andrew Bynum hit a nice jump hook over the smaller Carlos Boozer and the first thing I thought was, “this series is over. There is no way the Jazz can guard Bynum.” He proved me completely wrong (at least for this game) by picking up early fouls. He stayed in foul trouble throughout, only playing 20 minutes and finishing with as many fouls (5) as shot attempts.

I was impressed not only with Brown’s composure as he calmly knocked down a couple of threes, but also his decision making on the break, as he made a nice pass to Gasol for an easy dunk, and found him again for a lay in.

The first quarter marked something that not only became a trend throughout the game, but will continue on throughout the series:  Deron has a great ability to break his man down, get inside the paint, and find open shooters or guys underneath for the dunk or lay in.

Second Quarter

Seconds into the quarter, Luke Walton makes his presence felt with a beautiful spin, drop-off pass to Lamar. I love when he is in. He had three assists in his first three minutes.

We were able to get off to a hot start, thanks to our bench actually utilizing good ball movement, penetration, and steals, all leading to a lot of easy baskets for our bigs, including a stretch where we hit eight straight field goals.

About half way into the quarter, I felt like we were dominating, but was stunned to see us up by only 14. A solid lead, no doubt, but the way we were playing, we should have been up by at least 20.

Right on cue — as if he could hear me — Kobe decided that three points was not enough and erupted for nine straight Lakers points.

We added eight points to our lead to go up 22 at the half; exactly what I wanted to see.

Kobe was impressive as he had five assists; four of the Lakers five first half threes were assisted by Kobe.

Pau was 4-4 from the field with 10 points and seven rebounds.

We were up 13-4 in fastbreak points and had a 30-22 advantage in the paint.

Third Quarter

The third began just as Phil Jackson feared.

Utah shot out of the gate with nine straight thanks to a turnover by Ariza, a bogus travelling call on Bynum (call made by the ref furthest away), and an offensive foul by Fisher, sending him to the bench with three fouls.

Add in a technical foul on Kobe, who was upset about two highly contested jumpers that were way off.

Andrew got his fourth foul four minutes into the half.

With Bynum out, Deron went to work. He was picking us apart and even Jeff Van Gundy pointed out that he was “in the lane the whole game.” He got Boozer a number of open shots that resulted in 14 third quarter points for him and 5 assists for Deron.

Meanwhile, Collins found himself in the right place at the right time and became an unlikely source of points, hitting five of six free throws in the quarter.

Overall, they shaved nine points off our lead outscoring us 33-24 in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

This quarter was defined by offensive rebounds, as both teams struggled to control the defensive boards.

The Jazz had six offensive boards in the first four minutes alone, while we had four.

Paul Millsap was able to draw the fifth foul on Drew only a minute into the fourth, just when we needed his rebounding most.

Luckily, Gasol stepped up and scored six straight with Kobe on the bench.

At one point Brown, Powell, and Walton were in along with Kobe and Pau in the fourth. I never imagined that lineup playing in a playoff game, but I guess that is why Phil found all three some playing time during the regular season. Phil quickly brought back Ariza, Odom, and Fisher to finish the game.

Kobe hit two big jumpers after the Jazz went on a little run to cut it to nine. It seemed like every time Utah made a push, we had something for them.

Gasol fouled out with 3:31 left. He had a strong game doing most of his damage inside, but I enjoyed the eight defensive rebounds, four blocks, and two steals.

Phil decided to make offense to defense subs the rest of the way with Powell in for defense against Boozer, and Bynum in for offense.

The Jazz’s last gasp cut the lead to single digits again with 1:46, but Kobe sealed the deal with an emphatic dunk over Millsap, and completed the and one. He then snatched the defensive board and finished with an assist to Trevor for yet another three.

Game over.

Lakers up 1-0.

Notes Going Forward

About midway through the first quarter is when I realized we have three major contributors — Ariza, Brown, and Bynum — who are essentially getting their first taste of the playoffs (Bynum and Ariza have played 55 and 92 minutes, respectively, and I think Shannon has 1 minute with the Cavs).

The Importance of Winning on the Road

The biggest news going into the playoffs is injuries. Kevin Garnett is shockingly out for the playoffs for Boston, and the Spurs will be without their super-sub, Manu Ginobili, for their playoff run.

The door has blown open for a number of teams, including the Magic, Nuggets, and Blazers.

The key in the playoffs will be who can pull out the big wins on the road.

The critics seemed to be in love with the young Portland team the past few days, saying that their only weakness was their youth. They seemed prophetic as the Blazers young guns were shooting blanks Saturday night at the Rose Garden. Yao Ming got the Rockets off to a good start and they dominated on both ends, winning by 27.

The injuries played a big part as the Bulls squeaked one out in Boston over the defending champs in overtime, and the Mavs controlled the game in the second half in San Antonio and eventually won by eight.

What better person to talk about how to win on the road than Kenny “the Jet” Smith, whose Rockets team won a ring as the sixth seed — meaning they won every series without home court. He talked about this after the Lakers/Nuggets game on April 9th, going over what he believed were the top four components to winning on the road in the NBA.

Best Teams in the NBA — April 18th