For most of the game, San Antonio looked nothing like a team that was less than two days removed from what had to be a draining semifinals series. It took them a few possessions to settle in, and their fatigue did rear its ugly head late. But any concern Spurs fans had about their team shrugging off Utah or not being ready to go again after such a short layoff should be put to rest now. San Antonio looked like, well, the same team that has been here so many times lately.
If Utah wants to recover and still steal one while in San Antonio, they'll need to give Deron Williams a lot more help Tuesday night. Mehmet Okur cannot shoot 20% again. Kirilenko will have to make a positive contribution rather than making silly mistakes with the basketball. Oh, yes, and he must also refresh himself on the idea of blocking shots while they're still heading in an upward direction. Most importantly, Carlos Boozer will have to try even harder to avoid early foul trouble and will need to make a significantly greater impact on the outcome of the contest, especially on the offensive end.
The Jazz got many extra opportunities with their thrashing of San Antonio on the boards, but a good chunk of those opportunities went horribly wasted. The Jazz only had two more assists than turnovers, a sharp contrast to San Antonio’s 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. They shot an uninspiring 5-of-14 from behind the arc and barely over 40% from the floor. As is common, the only shooting category the Spurs came up short in was at the charity stripe. The Jazz were able to get off 16 more shots than San Antonio, and natural logic says that if you have more chances to score, you likely will end up scoring more in truth. But if Utah has to make the extra pass and find a higher percentage shot, then they're going to have to hunker down and do that. At times Utah seemed to almost expect getting a second chance from an offensive rebound, and the result was poor shot selection, especially from many of the role players.
Article comments
1 - RJ
Great recap.
I like the Spurs, but I'm rooting for the Jazz because I think the Pistons can beat the Jazz in the Finals, but I'm not so sure about the Pistons beating the Spurs... :-/
2 - Jared Wright
Pistons fan, hmm? I'll be writing up my preview for that series with Cleveland tomorrow morning. Should be a good one.
My hunch is to say that yes, Detroit would have a far better chance of beating Utah than San Antonio. At the same time, it'd be interesting to see how the Pistons handled playing against lowly Utah as opposed to the San Antonio Vs. Detroit spectacle they keep hearing everyone talk about now. I think you would agree that Detroit has a tendency to play down to their opponents, and that might let the Jazz get a quick win at the palace or something.
*shrug*
Just a thought, maybe they'd kill 'em. :)
3 - McDaniel Davidson
Here's what you losers are forgetting... the Jazz have Jarron Collins! I know you may be thinking that I'm an idiot but look at it in these terms: the man is just a sexy beast! I think he actually brings more to the table than say... Duncan. Tim Duncan is the big fundamental but Jarron Collins is the big sexy player! Jazz win this series in 7
4 - Fred Barlow
I have eaten 12 grilled cheese sandwiches today!
5 - McDarius Jones Johnson the 8th
First of all, Fred, we don't give a rats bottom about you and your grilled cheeses! Second of all, I just ate a bowl of love. Deron Williams is a great point and for him to propel the jazz to victory he needs to get hoffa (Araujo) to drink beer
6 - RJ
"I have eaten 12 grilled cheese sandwiches today!"
I think it might be time to get your cholesterol tested...