Ten ways the Lakers are not the Nuggets
by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 1, 2010 4:37 PM MDT
30 comments
I'm very proud that our Utah Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. Last year we did not get out of the first round. Both attempts were limited by injuries to two starters. The difference this time, besides the difference a year makes, happens to be who the opponent was.
Simply put: the Lakers are not the Nuggets
Many people don't know that the Jazz are 14-13 all-time vs. the LA Lakers in the playoffs. (Lakers winning series 3 out of 5 times though . . . ) Of course, 11 of those 14 wins happened during the Stockton-Malone Era. The Lakers are looking to knock the Jazz out of the playoffs for a third year in a row. They may do just that - despite the Jazz being a 'feelgood' story of the West playoffs so far.
Click on to hear why . . .
1. Their head coach (the $en master) is there, and ready to wrangle in all their strong personalities. Furthermore, he's known to leave little hits to the refs (via the press) how to call the games. He's miles ahead of Adrian Dantley in working the refs in-game, and making in-game adjustments. The Lakers will not lose their focus, composure, or collect a number of technical fouls in a close-out game.
2. The Lakers (so far in the playoffs) have played six games. So have the Jazz. (And, well, the Nuggets). Over that span the Lakers went 96-139 from the free throw line (69.1%). Utah, on the other hand, went 163-228 from the free throw line (71.5%). Clearly how the Jazz-Lakers series is going to be ref'd differently. Utah players are not going to be able to draw so many fouls against the precious Lakers. Additionally, it may appear as though the Lakers games were played with the refs not blowing the whistle. This *should* benefit the Jazz - allowing Utah to play a more physical defense; however we all know this is not the case. Utah will be whistled like they were in the Denver series, while the Lakers will be whistled like they were in the OKC series. In plain English, the whistles will not be equally bad, they will favor the Lakers.
3. The Jazz were able to mask their lack of depth by playing guys big minutes. This is not going to be the case as our best players will be in foul trouble against the Lakers. (see #2)
4. Furthermore, Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap killed it in the Denver series because they were up against guys in their physical/athletic range (Nene, Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen). In games against the Lakers both of these guys have failed to produce in the way that they do against other teams. A big reason for this is the fact that the Lakers bigs are just in a different world when it comes to size and athletic ability. Gasol is tall and agile. Bynum is tall and strong. Odom is long and quick. All of them are taller than Millsap and Boozer. And this size disparity makes life hard for the Jazz on offense *and* on defense. Of course, I've diagramed this problem before.
5. In the Denver series their best player (Carmelo Anthony) played amazingly on offense, but ultimately was not the best player in the series (that would be Deron Williams). As great as Carmelo is, he is no Kobe. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the universe at this time of the year. He knows how to kill the Jazz - some would say he's made a career out of it. Kobe is the best player in this series. This will be a big deal.
6. The Nuggets were the worst road team out of the 8 Western Conference playoff teams. Of course, the Lakers have no trouble winning in Salt Lake City. Whenever the Jazz go on a huge run at home, they've been there to break our streak. Even in the playoffs, where the Jazz are even better at home, they have displayed little trouble winning here.
7. In Game 5 the Nuggets really found holes in the Jazz defense with their passing. Thankfully they only did that in one game of the series. The Lakers are one of the best passing teams in the league, and even their passing in the paint between bigmen rivals that of the Jazz. We're a great passing team because we play team ball. They are a great passing team because they learn to exploit the defense.
8. Despite getting hot in Game 1 and having a solid game in Game 5 - J.R. Smith is unreliable. The guys off the Lakers bench who will be open and shooting threes are reliable. Maybe they aren't going to score 20 points on jumpers, but they'll show up every game and make us pay for having to double down low.
9. Deron Williams eveserated anyone in his path in this series. The only thing that slowed him down was foul trouble in Game 6. During this series he's going to end up seeing a steady diet of Derek Fisher (strong and floppy), Shannon Brown (quick and athletic), and during money time Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant. Denver did not throw any long guys at Deron, but the Lakers will.
10. The Lakers are in the heads of our players -- and fans.
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Bynum
has a tear in his knee. COuld keep him out game one. Hopefully he aggrivates it in practice or something so we don’t have to deal with him.
For the Love of the Game
MonSTARZ forever!
He just doesn't want to get "boom bitch'ed" by Kosta
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by AllThatJazzBasketball on May 1, 2010 5:16 PM MDT up reply actions
If kosta
has a moment against bynum wher ehe can boom bitch him…. i’ll consider the series a win no matter what.
For the Love of the Game
MonSTARZ forever!
+1
LOL….agreed. It would be a victory that transcends any numbers…
by moneyman memo on May 1, 2010 7:35 PM MDT up reply actions
Bynum Bynum Bynum
Tired of hearing about this guy. He hasn’t done crap. His numbers are similar to Okur or Nene (totally different styles obviously), but he’s never ever healthy. If we’re intimidated by Bynum then we’re in trouble.
Agreed, but only to an extent
Bynum is an intimidating physical specimen (like Nene), but I think the Lakers feature him more in their offense than Denver does for Nene. They guy is also difficult to foil…with Nene you can just double or crowd him….and surprisingly it worked (I honestly didn’t expected it before this series given his history of destroying us). Bynum’s stats don’t overwhelm you, but it’s the time when he gets his buckets that are back-breaking.
Here’s the scenario…we are down by 8 with 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, after cutting the deficit down from 16 at halftime. Momentum is seemingly on our side as the stuffy Staples center crowd has started to go silent….so the Lakers after a timeout go to their most reliable, high-percentage means of scoring (which they exploited time and time again against OKC). They run a play to get Bynum or Gasol isolated in the post, and they back in and get a hook shot or dunk. Boozer/Millsap attempt to foul and end up giving them a 3-point play. On the other end, the Jazz take it to the basket and end up getting their shot blocked by Bynum or getting a foul that the refs do not call (because Bynum’s arms are “straight up”).
Rinse and repeat a couple times. Lakers lead balloons back to 18 points.
So to recap, Bynum may have only scored 4-6 points, but the impact of those baskets are ENORMOUS. Stab knife into heart, twist, pull out, and repeat.
Story of our life when playing the Lakers.
by moneyman memo on May 1, 2010 7:44 PM MDT up reply actions
Thoughtful response
Your scenario is vivid. Did I just dream this?
Hopefully Fes eats his Flintstones vitamins.
by Bouncy Phillips on May 2, 2010 9:06 AM MDT up reply actions
Quick Question Jazz Fan bro's
Is kirilenko expected to be back in this series, if he is, when ?
"He got into me, so i got into him"-Manu Ginobili after his play against Ron Artest
most likely by Game 3 on Saturday
that’s his plan at least.
Uh, do you think you could draw me like a ninja?
SLCDunk.com: Bringing you ninjas, The KOOFs and anti-jinxes since 2008.
Hahaha
Utah players are not going to be able to draw so many fouls against the precious Lakers
Did you seriously just do that? You’re implying I have disrespect due to an error of oversight, and then you put an implied insult/conspiracy theory in your piece? If you took even a cursory glance towards the free throw rate stats, you’d see that the Lakers both foul and get fouled at a lower rate than would be expected. Hell, the differential between the amount they foul and the amount they get fouled is stacked heavily in the negative against them, near summarily dismissing any evidence that could be twisted into implying the Lakers have a longstanding benefit of the whistle. Seriously, one would think you wrote for the Denver Stiffs looking at that line.
Utah will be whistled like they were in the Denver series, while the Lakers will be whistled like they were in the OKC series.
Seriously, this one baffles me. In half the games of the OKC series, the Thunder doubled LA’s free throw total! OKC made more free throws than LA took. This also takes away credence from your statement of how Phil can manipulate the refs, as that certainly backfired on him last series – Stern even indirectly told him, ‘You wanna complain about the refs? Go ahead, make my day.’ and indirectly threatened suspensions.
the $en master
I don’t even get what you’re trying to imply, here. I can think of some things, but those are such pointless shots, they just indicate petty hatred.
Some other points – With Kobe’s injuries of late, asides from Games 2 and 6, he has been atrocious ever since the last two games of the regular season he played in, and pretty bad even before then. Melo has been better than him over the last month or two.
“eveserated” – Please, are you serious? I can understand typos and slight spelling errors, but this one just massively sticks out of the page. How can you turn ‘eviscerated’ into ‘eveserated’?
“The Lakers are one of the best passing teams in the League” – Did you, like, write this post during the All-Star break and then just post it now without double-checking it? Asides from Game 5, and to a far lesser extent Game 6, the Lakers passing, ball-movement, man-movement and offensive execution have been woefully mediocre and even substandard. Our offensive rating has been out of the top 10 for much of the season, and it’s primarily due to our lack of three point shooting (even that which you failed to recognise) and our inability to pass or cut consistently.
As for the rest of it, I’ll simply quote my comments back on my article:
Our bench guys are crap
Currently, your bench guys are even worse. That does not mean our bench guys are ‘reliable’, it just means that without Kirilenko and Fesenko back on the bench, your bench is shallow as hell. Be careful with your interpretation of comparatives, my friend.
And these guys have been nailing me for factual errors…
Which is fair, but still. Even freaking ESPN, who were on our bench’s nuts till late last season, have mentioned in several articles how inconsistent or sheer downright bad our bench is. Are you taking this presumption of our bench being ‘reliable’ from simply the last game we played?
And our three-point shooting, reliable? We’re in the bottom half of three-point shooting teams in the League…
And the Lakers statistically have been a foul-little, get-fouled-little team all season, so the fact that this comes as news to you is surprising.
Seriously, I was more than willing to take your criticism in stride, and I did apologise for my errors, but then I noticed in the comments many people were referencing your article, so I came over here to view it. Errors of fact, implied insults completely lacking in wit or any basis in reality, outdated, Denver Stiffs-ish implications of us getting all the calls…. and mediocre overall writing quality. I wrote my article at 3am after having been awake for 18 hours and having only 9 hours’ of sleep the night before, what’s your excuse?
I respect your team, their mentality is admirable, and for it they’re one of my favourite teams in the League. But you, I find difficult to respect.
And if you for one second think Derek Fisher or even Shannon Brown will hamper Deron Williams, I’d like to meet your dealer. Derek Fisher is arguably the worst starting point guard in the League, and is most certainly the slowest. Shannon Brown lacks defensive discipline, and plays the majority of his minutes at the 2-guard position. And you make no mention of Jordan Farmar, the only Lakers’ PG which has been able to adequately defend Deron on rare occasion.
"That's a giant sig " - Ben R.
Oh dang
The Laker fans are getting smarter…… I’m starting to miss the “KOBE MVP GET OVER IT MOTHER TRUCKER!!!!!” comments.
We’ll make this simple. Jazz fans hate the Lakers. Plain and simple. We hate Jack’s old smirk on the front row. We hate Kobe’s wagging finger after he hits a shot like a nail into a coffin. We hate Gasol’s face and how by some miracle the LA front office traded for him for a handful of pretty beads. We hate Sasha’s whining after every missed shot because someone played defense on him. We hate Odom because his quickness and height make him better than he really should be, we have no one who can play defense on him. We hate Phil Jackson with the fury of a thousand suns; he commanded a team that stole 2 championships away from us (1 for sure with a blasted Push Off, which still causes us to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat) not only that, he moved to another team and is coaching arguably the second greatest player after Jordan. Hell we even hate the stupid triangle offense he runs. We hate the “Laker fans” who are just bandwagon Bulls fans after Jordan retired and Pippen left. Lastly, we hate the putrid yellow and purple colors with which you drape your players in.
No amount of logic, niceness, stat listing, and good sportsmanship will knock off the bitter taste that lingers on our tongues when we speak the word Laker. We may try to be civil, but it’ll take more self control than we like to exert. That’s just how it is….
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
For the Love of the Game
MonSTARZ forever!
We hate Sasha’s whining after every missed shot because someone played defense on him
+1
causes us to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat
I can respect that.
coaching arguably the second greatest player after Jordan.Although I would like to agree with you, Wilt and Russel would kill me.
"That's a giant sig " - Ben R.
by Saurav A. Das on May 2, 2010 1:28 AM MDT up reply actions
“we hate the putrid yellow and purple colors with which you drape your players in.”
Actually we call it Forum Blue and Gold. Close though.
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Speaking of which, the Jazz alternative green unis?
Ugh…
"That's a giant sig " - Ben R.
by Saurav A. Das on May 2, 2010 6:17 AM MDT up reply actions
Hatred can be safely seperated from things that are simply incorrect
Although you seem to be more or less oblivious to that.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Oblivious.... no
Ignoring it because I hate the Lakers. Yes.
For the Love of the Game
MonSTARZ forever!
And don't forget
We hate Fisher for bailing on his contract here to rejoin the Lakers.
Can't speak to most of this
But as far as “$en master” goes, I think I have a handle on that. Phil Jackson capitalizes on his reputation as some kind a bastion of ancient wisdom. In fact, though, he is a smug, greedy, self-centered, ultra-capitalist ass. What does he give back to the community? Where is his $12 million salary going? I’m guessing not to Haiti or Tibet or to inner city basketball camps. F*ck his fake non-attachment cosmetic Buddhist bullshit. He’s merely a smart basketball coach, participating in an unsustainable industry for an irrational paycheck, seemingly unburdened by standing in the manure of narrow self-interest, as comfortable as could be spearheading an adolescent and ultimately pointless form of amusement. Zen Master, my ass. Jerry Sloan is infinitely more zen than Phil Jackson.
sorry for the vitriol. I guess I really don’t like that guy.
by Bouncy Phillips on May 2, 2010 9:25 AM MDT up reply actions
you seem to be a big fan of capitalism though..............
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
It's silly that you had to include jabs at Denver Stiffs in a post entirely unrelated to that blog
Quitter's People United: Member 12
by Uh on May 2, 2010 9:33 AM MDT up reply actions
Sorry, but....
any post that whines about officiating before the series even starts is related to Denver Stiffs.
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Well
Got me there, didn’t you
Quitter's People United: Member 12
by Uh on May 3, 2010 7:35 PM MDT up reply actions
yes.........I did.
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Kinda makes it sound like we should just mail in the series
Hopefully one of those above trends don’t continue for this series.
Mmmph rrgh prrmf! - someone with his mouth gagged
Go Jazz! Go Hogs! GO BILLS!
#5 I disagree
I think Gasol is the one who kills us. Kobe will get his; Gasol will be the difference. Especially when he’s allowed to rebound from behind our bigs (allowed both by our bigs and by the refs)
I'll make it coach.
Jazz in 6.
In a battle of teams that are physically falling apart day by day, the Jazz take it primarily because:
1) Physically failing Kobe is going against Mathews. Lakers fans won’t get this. By now Jazz fans do.
2) D-Will is finally going to forget how much he respects Fisher, stop letting him get into his head, and blow him off the court.
3) Artest is useless against the Jazz because our wing players aren’t the focus of the offense…. and ….
4) the Lakers can’t take Artest off and go with the Bynum, Odom, Gasol line-up that destroys Boozer and Okur. Now Gasol will just destroy Boozer. Good injury trade off for us.
5) Honestly, the Jazz are just playing better ball right now.
Ok got my rose colored glasses on
and I’m with ya Frank5, and would like to add;
6) Sloan will throw Fes and the Koof at Gasol for a little boom bitches hack a Pau and show his soft white underbelly through physical play. Just Remember the Jazz weren’t going to beat the Nugs either…
Cheers!
I want whatever Frank5 is drinking. Cheers, mate!
Seriously though…
We are probably playing better than the Lakers who are .500 since April began (to include the playoffs). I also think the Thunder rattled them a bit. This is not the same old we-can’t-beat-good-teams-on-the-road Jazz that got eliminated in the past 3 seasons. Not saying we are world champs, but this series will be much closer than the Kobies want it to be.
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