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

Posted: April 24th, 2009 | Author: Jeff Miller | Filed under: 2009 Playoffs, Andrew Bynum, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown, Team, Trevor Ariza | 1 Comment »

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.

---