Jazz-Suns (March 4th) & Playoffs

I don't really know how the Jazz won that game. It feels like the Jazz are making a bad habit of coasting through 3 quarters and trying to make it up in the 4th.

Booze and Millsap have a very similar problem I've noticed. If either of them get a shot or two blocked or altered early in the game, they stop going up strong. They begin to try and make finesse moves around the basket and it makes them miss some easy ones. They begin to shy away from contact.

One thing that really bothers me about Amare, and I first noticed this awhile ago, is you can count on one hand the amount of dribbles he takes throughout the game. You can't count how many times he travels. OVERRATED!

Since i've been pretty pessemistic thus far, I did think Williams was incredible and I love to see him take over games like a superstar should. Wish it was more often of an occurrence. Although he has been in foul trouble a lot this season. Thats something we cannnot afford in the playoffs.

***Interesting fact--Not sure where I read or saw this, but Deron Williams is the only player in NBA history, to put up 35 points and 13 assists, and 7 rebounds in under 33 minutes. Thats pretty sweet, he did it against Houston (he was in foul trouble).***

Andrei Kirilenko is truly the x factor for the Jazz. My brother Todd and I talked about how during that run we had, he was playing incredible. It seemed like he was involved in every play on both sides of the ball. Him playing well puts us on a different level. They need to find ways to get him easy baskets and get him going early, he seems to play better if he can get off to a good start.

As far as the playoffs go, this win was HUGE. Doug Collins made an awesome point in the game, that when you compare standings you should only look at the loss column, because you can't make those games up. Sometimes teams have played more than others and that can create an illusion in the standings. PHX has three more losses than us. Thats a pretty good gap and I feel confident Jazz are going to have homecourt advantage, at least in the 1st round. It would be ideal to finish 2nd or 3rd so we don't have to face the Lakers in the second round.

-Please comment, let us know what you think and make any other observations.
Sean


JAKE'S TAKE

I found myself surprisingly calm last night watching the Jazz game. I can hardly remember the last Jazz game where they didn't have to make a pretty big comeback, and most the time we pull it off.

I agree with Sean that it is becoming a pretty bad habit. A habit that they have to change before the playoffs.

I remember watching every Jazz game in the late 90's, as a teenager. What they were able to do night in and night out was amazing. By the 3rd quarter they were up by 20, maintained that lead through the 4th, and rested their starters the last 6 minutes of the game.

I think this Jazz team is very capable of doing the same kind of thing and they should already be doing that against teams under .500. I think on Saturday against the Clippers, on our home court, we will see just what I'm talking about. They will be hungry for revenge against the Clippers and come out early and put it away.

Jake