Thanks to Utah's 113-91 win over Houston last night, we don't have to wait until Tuesday to see the Lakers take the floor. This is a good thing. I don't know how much longer I could take the "rest vs. rust" discussions. Anyway, the Lakers cruised through the first round, but that might be the problem. I'm not a big fan of speculation, but it's hard not to listen when someone says something along the lines of "well, the Lakers are going to get overconfident after the sweep, Denver just rolled over and gave them the series." Personally, I think the Lakers know what their doing. This whole notion of 'overconfidence' is milked too much in the media. It's playoff basketball. The Lakers (as with just about any other team) have enough experience to know what their going up against and how to react.
Sunday is going to make for some terrific basketball. Not only do we have the Lakers kicking off this series, but the #1 seed Celtics face elimination in game seven of that CRAZY series at 10am.
The Lakers are 3-1 in the season series, losing on November 30th at EnergySolutions Arena. On March 20th the Lakers issued Utah one of only four losses at EnergySolutions Arena. Interestingly enough, all three Lakers' wins against Utah were without Pau Gasol--just like the Denver series.
In the regular season, the Lakers scored
108.6 points per game and allowed 101.3 points per game with an
offensive rating at 3rd of 30 and a defensive rating at 5th of 30. The Jazz scored
106.4 points per game and allowed 99.3 points per game with an
offensive rating at 1st of 30 and a defensive rating at 12th of 30.
Series Schedule: Game One Sunday - 5/4 Jazz @ Lakers 12:30pm - ABC
Game Two Wednesday - 5/7 Jazz @ Lakers 7:30pm - TNT
Game Three Friday - 5/9 Lakers @ Jazz 6:00pm - ESPN/KCAL
Game Four Sunday - 5/11 Lakers @ Jazz 12:30pm - ABC
*Game Five Wednesday - 5/14 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
*Game Six Friday - 5/16 Lakers @ Jazz TBD - ESPN/KCAL
*Game Seven Monday - 5/19 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
Starting Matchups: Point Guard (LAL) Derek Fisher - 6-1, 205 - 11.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.9 APG (8.5 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Deron Williams - 6-3, 208 - 18.8 PPG. 3.0 RPG, 10.5 APG (20.8 PPG in Round 1)
Shooting Guard (LAL) Kobe Bryant - 6-6, 220 - 28.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.4 APG (33.1 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Ronnie Brewer - 6-7, 223 - 12 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.8 APG (9.3 PPG in Round 1)
Small Forward (LAL) Vladimir Radmanovic - 6-10, 234 - 8.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG (8.2 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Andrei Kirilenko - 6-9, 223 - 11 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.0 APG (9.3 PPG in Round 1)
Power Forward (LAL) Lamar Odom - 6-10, 230 - 14.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.5 APG (11.7 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Carlos Boozer - 6-9, 266 - 21.1 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.9 APG (16 PPG in Round 1)
Center (LAL) Pau Gasol - 7-0, 260 - 18.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.5 SPG (22.2 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Mehmet Okur - 6-11, 263 - 14.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.0 APG (13.1 PPG in Round 1)
All-Time Series Facts (from game notes):
Lakers vs. Utah in Postseason (from game notes): The Lakers and Jazz have met three times in the postseason (1988, 1997 and 1998) with Los Angeles advancing on once occasion (1988 Western Conference Semifinals 4-3, the lone time the Lakers have held the home-court advantage over the Jazz). Utah eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs in two consecutive seasons: 1997 Western Conference Semifinals (1-4) and 1998 Western Conference Finals (0-4). The Jazz sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in 1998 included a 112-77 victory in Game 1, the largest margin of defeat by the Jazz over the Lakers in their playoff series history.
Staples Center Advantage (from game notes): Since moving to STAPLES Center prior to the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers have won 82% of their postseason games (45-10). The Lakers have topped the century mark in half of their postseason home games at STAPLES Center (28-of-55) while the opposition has been held under 100 points in all but 14 of those games. In their last 18 home playoff games, the Lakers are 15-3.
Its going to be a good series. I dont think its going to be as close as some of these writers that picked the Jazz to go all the way made it out to be. I think it will go 5. Lamar is going to be key in this series. As long as the Lakers can clog the lane and get some rebounds, they should have no problem. Dont think Kirlenko matters as much as some think. He is too inconsistant to be a factor.
That Jazz picture is kind of funny. Talk about teammwork!
The picture is comedy. The Jazz are awfully hard to peg. Sometimes they look like the best team in the league, other times they look terrible. This could be Lakers in 5, Lakers in 7, or Utah in 6 - I really can't tell. I'm picking the Lakers outta sheer hope, but I wouldn't be shocked if they went down.
I know Carlos Boozer. We are both from Juneau and I used to play pickup games with him at the high school. I've followed his career through high school, even watching him play in state tournaments in Anchorage, then at Duke (didn't travel to North Carolina though). I am temporarily living in Utah because 3 of my kids go to college here and my two high schoolers plan on going to college here, so like everyone else in Utah, I root for the Jazz.
But I really like the Lakers as well and have admired how Kobe has handled his adversity -- even if it was self inflicted. And I love Phil Jackson and have read all his books even.
I wish both teams could advance, or at least that they could have met in the Western Conference Finals instead of the 2nd round.
The power forward matchup could be one for the ages-but let us not forget the coaching matchup either-Sloan and Jackson DO have some history coaching against each other.
I predict that Grossman will be a pleasant surprise this year. He will play more consistently and with renewed confidence. Bears will make the playoffs if Benson and Grossman produce.Seems there is a similar topic on '++WealthyFinder.com++ It is a FREE and HOT celebrity dating site who is open to all quality singles. I have seen several athletes dating there. Celeb Charlie Sheen found his love last May. It was reported by MSN.
The Lakers got badly outrebounded and still won convincingly.
Shows a lot about the team.
Lakers in a sweep. I'd be mildly surprised if the Jazz won one game. And if they do, it will be Game two in L.A. Every time an MVP is given the award, his team loses that night.
Utah has no chance to beat the Lakers at Energy Solutions Arena. And I'm serious about that.
Today was a pleasant surprise. It just looks so easy for the guys. I'm interested to see what happens in Utah, but you're right. The Lakers beat them there without Pau in March.
I'm a realistic observer of the vast world that surrounds the Los Angeles Lakers. You can thank Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Cedric Ceballos, and Vlade Divac for making that possible. The greatest person of all time is Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn. There's no getting around that. Me? I'm eighteen years old and working my way to a journalism degree.
