One day Kobe Bryant/Phil Jackson and Tim Duncan/Popovich will retire and end our long nightmare. Until then, we'll continue to see those two teams top in the conference. I don't want to win after they retire though, I want to beat them now.
That's a pretty tall order tonight for the Jazz. Despite sweeping the Spurs last season (yes, sweep), they're already down 0-1 on the season. In the last game, the Spurs shut down the Jazz. Utah actually did a pretty good job on the defensively, but couldn't keep them off the offensive glass. The Spurs got 16 offensive boards compared to 5 for the Jazz. Duncan and Blair both pulled down 6 each. The rest of the team stats were pretty close but the Jazz ended up dropping 94-82 at home.
Tonight the two clubs are going in opposite directions. The Jazz have never been close to the winning pace that the Spurs have been on but San Antonio is 9-1 over their last 10 while Utah is 3-7.
Their three losses this calendar year have been @NY, @BOS, and @NOR. The Hornets, who have been playing lock-down D, blew them out, 96-72. The Spurs have just 2 losses at home this season compared to 5 on the road. So you're telling me there's a chance?
We've seen the great teams, Boston and LA, dismantle the Jazz in quick fashion. That's not to mention the losses to the poor teams.
The Spurs are a great team all around. From the front office to the coach to the players, they're a tip-top organization. The Jazz are going to have deja-vu all over again in they don't play their best. I think the crowd will get behind them early but things could get ugly if we witness the play we've seen the last few weeks.
All of the media guys are reporting that Sloan is returning to the original starting lineup. I'm not sure what more CJ has to do to keep in the starting 5. Let's hope he's in to close out the game.
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