GO VOTE!

I am trying to become a Jazzbot for UtahJazz360.com, which would allow me to post blogs on their website. Go check it out (I know a lot of you already are members) and vote for my Jazzbot entry called "You Need Me". Thanks, and I will keep you posted. I have written a few blogs on there recently if you are interested. Keep checking the site for details though.
-Sean

A.K.Trade Rumors

Please Kevin O'Connor! Please Gale Miller! Please Jerry Sloan! Whoever is in charge of this call, do not make it. Please do not trade Andrei Kirilenko for Boris Diaw and Quinton Ross.



Here is why:


1-Diaw is a below average, less efficient Paul Millsap. A small PF and even smaller C.

2-How does Diaw help us? He'd be playing behind Jefferson, Memo, and Millsap. Didn't we just sign another 7 footer, and have an offer on the table for Fes? (Couldn't we make an offer to Dampier if the contract with Fes falls through?)

3-We lose our most versatile player, and a Durant, Nowitski, and Carmelo stopper, and gain one more small-for-his-position big guy.

4-I've heard Boris Diaw has a reputation for having the worst personal hygiene in the league. That just doesn't fly with Sloan....I think.

5-We have to pick up Quinton Ross and pay him over a million dollars. He is worthless. Don't believe me? Look him up. Plus he is another wing that we don't need. I like the Ryan Thompson kid.

6-The $. Ya we save money this year, but next year we are paying Boris Diaw 9 million. Ya Boris Diaw. Lets keep AK,and his expiring contract and either drop his salary off the books at the end of the year, or try and sign him to an extension for less money, which would save us money in the long run v.s. Diaw's contract.

I could honestly keep going but for the sake of a quick read I'll quit. Any objections?
Sean

Did We Just Get Swept?

When was the last time 3 teams in the conference semi-finals got swept? Orlando worked Atlanta, Phoenix did the same to San Antonio. At least we came the closest to winning a game out of the 3 series that were swept.

My random thoughts:

-Is Pau Gasol 13 feet tall? Yes. He is. When he shoots over Boozer, it looks like Shawn Bradley is shooting a jump hook over Steve Nash. I once heard that Dr. J could jump and grab a dollar bill off the top of the back board. Gasol just has to stand on his tippy toes.

-Combine that with the fact that Boozer cannot block a shot to save his life, and we get owned in the paint. It is frustrating to watch Fisher, and Farmar, and Brown take it up nice and easy right at Booze for an easy lay-up.

-The last 3 years we have lost to the Lakers in the playoffs. 2 years ago, we lost in 6. Last year in 5. This year, swept. They have us figured out.

-We need a change to beat LA. Look at Cleveland. They lost last year to Orlando. They couldn't match up against Dwight Howard. What did they do in the off season? They signed Shaq, for ONE reason. To match up against Dwight in the postseason, and they only lost ONCE. At what point do we go, "OK, as long as we have this team together, we hardly have a shot to reach the finals, because we cannot get past the Lakers. Easier said than done, I know.

-It would help to have Memo. Then Gasol, and Bynum would have to run out to to check him at the perimeter, which would give Booze a little more space. We haven't had him the last 2 years against LA and it has hurt us. The bad news about Memo is, maybe the Jazz need to treat him like Shaq, and rest him during the season on back to backs, and cut down on his minutes. They could rest him for scrimmages against the Nets and Wizards too.

-Jazz need to seriously work on one thing this off season. Free throws. Doesn't it seem like every time we go to the line, we make 1-2?

-The good news for the Jazz, is this postseason we have seen a couple of guys that really stepped up and could really be effective. I loved the way Miles and Matthews played. Those guys were the most impressive to me.

-I hate Derrick Fisher. He flops so much. I think that the league should review what an offensive foul is, and call them a lot less. It is making the game a flopper's game and it is stupid. When Miles went up and swatted Fisher I yelled "That is right you son of a bitch! (with some other choice words)" I was sitting all alone in my living room too. Ya....I hate him.

-Don't get me started on the officials. I know every fan thinks they're team is getting screwed, but I want to watch these games with a Lakers fan, and show them what I mean. It seems like when the Jazz start making a run, the whistle begins to blow at one end for every touch foul, and we can't buy a call.

-Me and my friends have this name we call certain players that just always hurt the Jazz. Not star players but role players that always kill us. We call them "Jazz Killers." Some of the biggest "Jazz Killers" of all time were Bobby Jackson on the Kings, Shane Battier on the Rockets, and Isaiah Rider of the Blazers. It is time to put Fisher on that list. Every time we make a run he hits a shot. Somehow Williams can't contest his shot because if he blocks it or comes close, Fisher flails around like a "Fish" (pun intended) out of water and gets a call.

-This could have been Boozer's last game in a Jazz uniform, and it might have been one of his worst games. He just couldn't get it going. I love the guy, but he struggled against LA.

-If we could get a top 5 pick in the draft we could be close to contention. There are some really good players in the draft this year.

-As upset as I am about the series, when I really think about it, At least we aren't fans of the 10 teams that suck year after year, and at least we aren't Hawks fans. That would suck to get swept, losing each game by like 20, and 1 game by 43. I love the Jazz.
Sean

Jazz-Lakers Questions

I just have a few questions about game 1:

-How did Carlos Boozer manage to shoot 0 free throws?

-Why? Why? Why? Does Kobe Bryant jut out his jaw like that?

I think I have the answers as well:

-Carlos Boozer's worst enemy, and arch nemesis in the league is Pau Gasol. My personal opinion is that he has blocked so many of Booze's shots that it starts to affect the way he plays. How do you take it up strong with confidence against a guy who is constantly blocking your shot, or altering it into a shot you don't want to take? Boozer shooting 0 free throws is a result of this. He is not confident to take it up right at Gasol, and potentially draw a foul. I honestly can't blame him. If I kept getting owned every time I shot the ball, eventually I would stop taking it up when that guy was on me. The same can be said for Paul Millsap. Does it seem like Gasol or Odom or Bynumm block every single potential layup we get? Many times flat-footed. Combine this with the fact the referees either consciously or subconsciously know this, and swallow their whistles when Booze or Millsap goes up, and the result is 0 free throws. If the Jazz are gonna win this series Booze and Millsap have to figure out how to score inside over Gasol. He's not Dwight Howard. He's just in their heads.

-The reason Kobe does that overbite thing with his Jaw is simple; he is a douche. The guy wants attention. (Much like Lebron in my previous post with his elbow) Here is the bad thing, it is working. I have already read several articles or broadcasts where the author/journalist mentions that when Kobe starts doing that with his jaw it means it is crunch time and he is stepping it up. Are you kidding me? That is exactly why he does it. That is not a natural thing to do. I tried it. In fact, just sitting here alone in my living room, I tried to make a scowl like Kobe's while sticking out my lower jaw, and I felt really stupid. One espn guy said that when Kobe does that, watch out, because it means he is really focused and trying his hardest. So the whole game he hasn't been? You think he remembers Jordan's tongue thing, and all the little kids imitating him? Enough Kobe, stop with the jaw thing, please. My sister-in-law Brittany said it best; "Don't hurt the Butterfly King, his under bite might get you." She is referring to the tattoo on his arm. We thought it was a crown, turns out is is 3 butterflies, no joke.
Sean

Another Utah-L.A. Series

Since the all-star break in February, and maybe even before then, Jazz fans had been hoping for a 2 or 3 seed for one major reason: Avoiding the Lakers in the 2nd round. No need to dwell on it, we all know what happened.

Here we are, a day away from game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers. I am not going to lie. I am pretty nervous. I am trying everything I can think of to find reasons to believe that we can win a series against this team. Here is what I have come up with:

-Andrei Kirilenko might be back sometime in this series and he is the only one capable of matching up with Lamar Odom, who to me, seems to be the a major problem for us.

-Lamar Odom has been pretty bad in the last few weeks. Below average I would say, but it seems to me that he knows he is such a tough match-up for us, we can't bank on him being pretty much MIA, like he was in round 1.

-An MRI after the Lakers first round series revealed a small tear in Bynum's meniscus. He is listed as questionable for game 1, and day-to-day.

-Ronnie Price and Wes Matthews are coming off of great games, and we need them both, badly, against the Lakers.

-L.A. has been pretty inconsistent. Kobe seems to be either on or off, and is slowing down.

-Ron Artest, despite shooting something like 5-27 from the 3 in round 1, continues to just chuck them up. Let's hope he continues to shoot, a lot.

After all this, in my mind, this series will come down to one thing. We have Deron Williams, who is matched up against Fisher. Williams is our strength, and Fisher is their weakness. This is the most important factor. If we are going to have a chance in this series, Deron Williams is going to have to be aggressive. He has to attack. He cannot be the guy that defers a lot of shots to run the offense, as he does a lot. Not saying that it's a bad thing, but against the Lakers, he can't go on those quarter long stretches where it seems like he doesn't take a single shot. Deron Williams is the best shot we have at winning this series. Everyone else has to play well obviously, but we need the Deron Williams that averaged 28 and 11 through 5 games.

If I am Phil Jackson, I have Kobe matched up on Williams, and Fisher of Matthews. As soon as the Lakers realized that Russell Westbrook was the only reason OKC was hanging with the Lakers, they took Fisher off of him and put Kobe on him. They won the next 2. In my personal opinion, I am shocked Phil didn't realize that at halftime, of game 1.

I remain optimistic, and anything can happen.
Sean