LA Lakers @Utah Jazz, Game 3, April 23, 2009

Scouting report

Utah Jazz

The Jazz set the game tone right at the start of the game. They played tough defense, aggressively harassing the Lakers, protecting the paint by roughing the Lakers’ big men, and controlling the board on both end. The Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 55-40, which is one of the main reasons why they won the game.

On offense, they executed perfectly. I didn’t see them running their famous pick-n-rolls much, but rather they had some good ball and player movement, breaking down the Lakers’ substandard defense, generating open looks both on the perimeter AND in the paint.

More importantly, despite being undersized, they were able to grab tons of offensive rebounds. All of them hustled for second chance. Good attitude.

Overall, the Jazz managed to play the grind-it-out type of slow paced game, which is definitely to their advantage. They also executed perfectly in the clutch time and were able to hang on with the 2-pt lead.

Deron Williams did not have his A-game today. His shots were off, worse is his FTs, an uncharacteristic 7-for-12. Well, he did come around before it’s too late and hit a clutch shot to win the game. As usual, he had 9 dimes and did a good job running the offense.

Carlos Boozer is a beast on the boards, 22 rebounds, including 5 offensive ones. He also scored as required, 22 pts, which was mainly from mid-range Js.

Ronnie Brewer scored some (12 pts), but what he contributed the most is playing in-your-face defense on Kobe, who obviously had an off night. He is clearly the unsung hero in this game.

Andrei Kirilenko was promoted to starter. However, he’s not the guy to finish the game. He made some early damage, but was largely invisible in Q4.

Jarron Collins… hmm… 7 mins, 1 reb, 1 stl, 1 pt.

It is their bench that won the game. Trailed by 60-68 after three quarters, the Jazz bench began a rally early in Q4. Again, the Lakers’ defense slipped a bit, which allowed Kyle Korver, Matt Harpring and C.J. Miles to hit consecutive outside shots as the Jazz eventually took back the lead at 73-72 with 9 mins to go. Harpring scored 8 pts during the run.

Paul Millsap did not start but he played a pivotal role in the last quarter. He flat out controlled the glass while protecting the paint. He even blocked Kobe’s J once! Millsap is the reason why the Jazz did not miss Okur in Game 3.

Korver was horrible in three quarters, passing out open shots, or missing shots badly. He’s defense is worse as ever. Well, Korver redeemed himself late in the game by hitting a few timely jumpers when the game was on the line.


L.A. Lakers

Facing Jazz’s suffocating defense, the Lakers shot badly (36.8% FG). They always settled for outside shots. Gone are the precise ball movement, as the Lakers relied heavily on iso, but they were not able to take any advantage when they called iso plays for guys like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. The Lakers clearly was not comfortable playing with such a slow-paced game.

Right at the start of the game, the Lakers showed better defense. They were aggressive, and were quick on double-teaming guys like Boozer. However, they soon returned their old self. Poor baseline rotation resulted in a wide-open lane, as the Jazz repeatedly found open men in the paint for some easy layups. Andrew Bynum was ultra slow in defense, while Gasol always stayed too high and forgot to box out. Can’t imagine how the Lakers would survive when Mehmet Okur comes back, whose outside scoring ability will pull the Lakers’ big man further away from the paint.

I repeat, defense wins championship. I have the feeling that whenever they were down, instead of stopping the Jazz, the Lakers always tried to outscore the opponents. Maybe they could beat teams like Utah with such strategy, they are not going to win it all the way playing like that.

The only time when Lakers showed satisfactory performance is at the start of the 2H. They focused on closing down the lane, denying passing lines and challenging shots. In the first 3 mins of Q3, the Jazz missed 3 FG and committed 2 TO. With better ball movement, Kobe, Gasol and Trevor Ariza were able to have more open looks and started to hit the shots as the Lakers took a 10-1 run to take back the lead 49-44. They were able to maintain the lead as Ariza and Gasol continued to make shots. Too bad they let the Jazz come back in Q4 and eventually lost the game by 2.

Kobe settled for outside shots, as always. He particularly liked to fire (and miss) those tough, fade away jump shots. When he became aggressive attacking the basket, it was effective. He either made the layups, drew the fouls, or somehow his teammates scored. The Lakers is much easier to score when Kobe is attacking the basket. I don’t know why he did not do it more often.

Gasol scored 20 pts but hit just 4 of 10 FTs. They were lost by 2 pts, so go figure. Also, Gasol was not able to play acceptable defense. He remained as a sfot player after the tough Jazz big men.

Ariza was guarded by AK47 and was not as effective as in Game 2. He did hit 2 3-pters in Q3 when the Lakers began to build up their lead.

Derek Fisher had a silent game. His shots is off, he did not do a good job in distributing the ball, and he was outplayed by D-Will.

Bynum is clearly not 100%. He was very immobile and super slow in lateral movement. Though he made a few low post moves and scores, his defense was so bad that he either left his man wide open, or committed stupid fouls. He took his seat at the bench after committing his 5th foul with 1.30 min left in Q3! His total PT? 7 mins!

To me, Lamar Odom was the best player in the team. Not only he scored 21 pts, but he is the only Laker that cared about defense. He had 14 reb, including 5 offensive rebounds, which helped the Lakers to stay in the game.


This is how the Jazz won the game:

- After Boozer made 2 FTs to help the Jazz to take a 82-80 lead, Kobe penetrated and made a perfect dish to Odom for an easy layup. 82-82 1.07 min
- Next possession, D-Will and Boozer executed a perfect pick n roll with Boozer finishing with a tough layup. 84-82 Jazz. 47 sec
- The Jazz doubled-teamed Kobe at the corner, forcing him to call a 20 sec timeout. 30 sec. After the TO, Kobe drove at the baseline, getting past 3 defenders and hit a layup. Game tied at 84-84. 28.9 sec
- Boozer post up Gasol, then made a power move, driving past Gasol for a thunderous dunk. 86-84 Jazz. 16.9 sec
- This time, Kobe and Gasol made a perfect pick-n-roll as Gasol had a wide open running dunk. Tied at 86-86. 11.7 sec.
- Winning play: Deron Williams dribbled at the top of the key, shaking off Fisher, with a not-so-pretty crossover, the made a fade away jumper over a stretched Gasol. 88-86 Jazz. 2.2 sec.
- Kobe missed a 30-ft 3-pter badly. Game Utah

As you see above, the Jazz executed flawlessly in the closing minutes, scoring in 4 consecutive plays. On the other side, Kobe stepped up to make clutch plays, either scoring or setting up teammates. But they were not able to stop D-Will and Boozer when it matters. It is an impressive win by the Jazz. Give props to coach Jerry Sloan, who was able to play the game they want, and made perfect execution at clutch time.

Let’s see if the Jazz could be able to ride on this win and get another game in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

First round preview

Finally, it's playoffs time! As said before, I am not too thrilled about this postseason, simply because there is not much suspense. Namely, I do not think anyone can knock out the Lakers in the West. At the same time, the Cavs look so strong that seems like no one in the East can beat them, in particular that KG's knee problem has been worse than expected.

Fortunately, the first round should at least generate some drama. In the West, the Nuggets finished at #2, but they will face the Hornets, who is not an ordinary #7 team. And who will not be excited about the Spurs-Mavs All-Texas matchup? And I haven't mentioned the traditional tough matchup between the #4 (Blazers) and #5 (Rockets). In the East, could the defending champion, without KG, be able to fend off the red hot Bulls? What about Wade & Co against the now playoffs-tested Hawks? Anyway, here's my round 1 preview/prediction:

EAST

#1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. #8 Detroit Pistons

Yes, a replay of 2007 Conference Finals. If the Pistons can't stop LBJ in 2007, I can't see how they could do it this year. The Cavs have the best record, including a surreal 39-2 home record. They finally have Mo Williams as a legit second banana, and a deep bench featuring Daniel Gibson, Wally Sczcerbiak, Anderson Varejao and Joe Smith. Losing Big Ben may hurt a bit but I don't think they miss him that much. Yes, the Pistons may be not as bad as its record show, but without Billups, they are not the same. First, they will have difficulty guarding Mo Williams, and I haven't mentioned how they could stop LBJ. Oops, I said that already. As Rasheed Wallace continued to age and becoming more and more disinterested, their frontline is not as formidable as before. Yes, the Pistons is a team in the past.

Prediction: 4-0 Cavaliers

#2 Boston Celtics vs. #.7 Chicago Bulls

The biggest news of course is that KG will definitely miss the 1st round, and might miss the entire playoffs. A huge blow to the defending champion. I mean, they are still an elite team with good coaching. However, the Bulls are better than it appears. Don't be fooled by its record or standing, they are a decent team with depth after the trade for John Salmons and Brad Miller. Salmons' presence is particularly important now that Luol Deng is out. These, plus KG's unavailability, will make this series closer than people think. But it is still difficult to see Vinny Del Negro beating Doc Rivers and the entire Celtics coaching staff. I mean, this ain't no Hollywood movie, right? A rookie coach leading an underdog to beat the reigning champion? That's too dramatic in real life, with or without KG.

Prediction: 4-3 Celtics

#3 Orlando Magic vs. #6 Philadelphia Sixers

Like the Celtics, the Magic is haunted by injury as well. Turkoglu twisted his ankle towards the end of the season and missed the last two games. I have said before, Turkoglu is the second most important player in the team. Not Lewis, and certainly not (the injured) Nelson. Without a healthy Turkoglu, I don't see the Magic going deep in the playoffs. However, I still think they should have no problem finishing the Sixers, who had lost 6 in a row before beating the 2nd team of Cavs in OT in the 82nd game of the season. BTW, the Magic swept the Sixers in the regular season.

Prediction: 4-1 Magic

#4 Atlanta Hawks vs. #5 Miami Heat

As always, the #4-#5 matchup is the most exciting. The Hawks pushed the Celtics to the limit last year, and after that, the Hawks built on that and became a genuine elite team this season. Now the Heat. D-Wade played it all out to lead a team of mediocre players and rookies to #5 in the East, quite an accomplishment. Now, can he still have the mojo to carry the team to more success in the playoffs like what he did in 2006? I think so. I know the Hawks is a more complete team and they have Joe Johnson and Josh Smith and Mike Bibby, they play terrific defense, but I want some Wade moments. The playoffs need some drama, the league need some drama. Wade must do some magic to upset the Hawks and face LBJ in the 2nd round.

Prediction: 4-3 Wade, oops, I mean Heat


WEST

#1 LA Lakers vs. #8 Utah Jazz

OK, Andrew Bynum is back, and he looks good in those brief moment on the court. On paper, no team is deeper than the Lakers. And they have Kobe. They also have Phil Jackson. What to complain? Yes, they still win games by offense more than defense, and sometimes they don't have that killer instinct to finish opponents. But guess that should be enough to finish the Jazz. It's a strange case why the Jazz faltered like that late in the season, in no coincidence when Boozer returned to the lineup. If I have to pick a reason, guess the impending free agency of Boozer, plus his diminished play time after the surge of Paul Millsap has somehow hurt their chemistry. Anyway, facing the Lakers probably is their worst nightmare, not to mention the fact that Phil Jackson always owns Jerry Sloan in the past.

My prediction: 4-1 Lakers

#2 Denver Nuggets vs. #7 New Orleans Hornets

I have never been a fan of the Nuggets. I believe that they grabbed the #2 spot in the West is just a result of the injuries suffered by the Spurs, the Rockets and the Hornets. Yes, Chauncey "Big Shot" Billups is a huge addition to a team that lacks leadership. But they are still the Nuggets. On the other hand, the Hornets have solid players in CP3, Peja, David West, Tysan Chandler and playoffs specialist James Posey. So maybe a potential upset? Unlikely I'd say. Not without a healthy Chandler and Posey, no matter how brilliant CP3 is. And don't forget the choking history of Peja. I think the Nuggets will be lucky again and proceed to second round.

My prediction: 4-2 Nuggets

#3 San Antonio Spurs vs. #6 Dallas Mavericks

A 2006 Conference Finals rematch. Sigh, the Spurs-Mavs rivalry sounds like ancient history nowadays. The Spurs was not the same without Ginobili, while the Mavs is not the same after their humble exit in 2007 and 2008 playoffs. It is reported that Tim Duncan has been bothered by knee injury throughout the season and he's clearly not his old self. But despite the strong run of the Mavs to finish the season, the Spurs is still the better team. The Spurs is a better defense team, and if J-Kidd couldn't slow down Tony Parker in 2003, there's no way that he could do it now. Dirk, despite his terrific stats, has regressed to an outside shooter this year, seldom taking down low in the paint. So don't expect him to have any heroic moment like in 2006. Time for the Mavs to rebuild, frankly.

My prediction: 4-2 Spurs

#4 Portland Trailblazers vs. #5. Houston Rockets

Probably the most exciting matchup in the first round. The Blazers is well liked universially. They are young, they are energetic, they have good spirits, and they are disciplined. Roy is certainly a superstar in the making; Fernandez is super entertaining; Aldridge, Outlaw are all talented players, while they also have some extremely solid role players like Blake, Przybilla and Batum. However, experience is the issue. The Rockets, on the other hand, is full of experience. First round exit experience, that is. This team is no doubt talented. Yao, Artest, Battier, Scola. Their backcourt (Brooks, Lowry, Wafer) maybe is undersized but super quck. This would be heck of a matchup. Hard to say which one is an underdog, as their records are so close. While my love for Yao is forever, I just think that the Blazers has better chemistry and they have one thing that the Rockets lack, a finisher (Roy).

My prediction: 4-3 Blazers

Awards Watch

The regular season is coming to an end, it's time to take a look at the candidates of all the awards.

Most Valuable Player

How do you define "most valuable"? The most talented? The most skillful? The highest scoring? The highest efficiency or PER? The one who is the most valuable to his team? The best player in the best team of the league? Maybe all of the above. Plus, since the award is voted by journalists, please also include the most hyped.

To me, I always take team success as the top priority. Not necessarily the best player in the best team, but I will never pick a player with terrific stat in a lousy team. Let's say the minimum is the top 10 teams in the league. Secondly, the MVP should be one of the best players in the league. For convenience sake, let's just say he must be top-10 in John Hollinger's PER list.

Here is the list of players who meet the above criteria as of today: LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Brandon Roy, Tony Parker, Chris Paul and Dirk Nowitzki. Yes, Dwyane Wade will be missed despite being the league's leading scorer and 2nd in PER, simply because Miami Heat is just a .500 team (42 games as of Sunday, April 12). You can say it is not a fair measurement of individual success but winning is one of the most important factors to define a player's greatness . Otherwise Bill Russelll will never be considered as one of (if not) the greatest player in history. So, sorry, Dwyane.

Next is the qualitative part. First he must be a genuine leader of the team, so Tony Parker is out. Secondly, he must have the ability to put the team on his shoulder and win games when needed. In order words, Tim Duncan (for this season) is out. Also, you should not be a choker, so Dirk Nowitzki is out.

So for the remaining, it's quite obvious who is the winner. Yes, there is still an argument whether Kobe or LBJ is a better player. However, for this season only, LBJ should win it. He is No. 1 in PER, No. 2 in scoring. I had been critical on his shooting and defense in the past, but this season we saw substantial improvement in both departments. The Cavs have the best record in the league, and a whopping 20-game improvement from last year. In case you don't know, LBJ leads the team in PTS, REB, AST, STL and BLK. Simply put, he is literally and figuratively the leader of the team.

While I have never been a big fan of him, I must admit I really appreciate his effort and determination to improve his short coming. Kobe is close, but the difference between his PER and that of LBJ is so large that I really can't make a good case for him.

My pick:

1. LeBron James
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Dwight Howard



Defensive Player of the Year

This is another tough one, because defense excellence could not exactly be reflected in individual stats. Instead, defense is more teamwork. That's why KG won it last season. I will look into team defense stat first. To qualify as a DPOY, your team must be one of the best defense teams in the league. After that, we may take a look at individual stats. Due to limited resources I can access, I would just look into REB, BLK and STL, but these are just for reference only. Lastly, and most importantly, the fear factor. A DPOY should be a player that makes his opponents fear. Some players are good defenders but can't scare their opponents, as opposed to guys like, you know, Ron Artest, Dikembe Mutombo and the Glove.

Based on the above criteria, I would go with the flow and pick Dwight Howard as DPOY. His team ranks 6th in pts allowed and 3rd in FG% allowed. He leads the league in REB and BLK. Most crucial, is that DH12 is a guy that you fear. LBJ, CP3 and Wade may also have terrific stats, but they are not the type of defenders that opponents fear. Yes, DH12 is still not perfect in his pick-n-roll defense, but at least for this year, he is the best defender in the league.

Houston Rockets have terrific defense stat too (although is slightly inferior to the Magic), and I must put Ron Artest and Shane Battier in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The most important difference between these two Rockets and Superman is the fear factor that DH12 imposes on his opponents.

My pick:

1. Dwight Howard
2. Ron Artest
3. Shane Battier


Rookie of the Year

This is easy. I think Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose should win the unanimous vote, if the voters are sane. Rose is playing the toughest position for a rookie in a not-so-harmonized Bulls. They struggled early but had a late run to get back to the playoffs mix, now challenging to take up as high as No. 6 spot in the East. Rose never hit the so-called rookie wall, and has been extremely consistent. Only when he has improved his shooting (underrated actually) and defense, he will soon become one of the top PGs in the league.

Memphis Grizzlies' O. J. Mayo is good but then he plays in a lousy team and at a relatively easy position (swingman). He's no surprise that he posts decent scoring. Ditto for Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon. Mayo clearly is a better shooter than Westbrook and Gordon and therefore should finish No.2 in ROY. New Jersey Nets' Brook Lopez is clearly a solid big man with 13.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG and 1.8 BPG. However, I have watched him played, and I was not impressed by his low post moves, too robot-like. Anyway, he's the best big man for the Nets since, err, Mutombo in 02-03 season.

My pick:

1. Derrick Rose
2. O. J. Mayo
3. Brook Lopez


Sixth Man of the Year

This season, with leading candidate Manu Ginobili being slowed by injury and playing sparingly, it has come to only three legitimate candidates: Mavericks' Jason Terry, Suns' Leandro Barbosa and Nuggets' J.R. Smith. Had Andrew Bynum not been out that many games thereby forcing Lamar Odom to start 32 games, Odom would have been another candidate.

I think JT is clearly the winner here. With Josh Howard sitting out for a long stretch, the Mavericks would never have a chance to crack the playoffs without JT's tremendous effort. He also has the ability to win games on his own and hit the clutch shots. And I haven't mentioned his 19.5 PPG.

J.R. Smith kept on hitting his 3s to help the Nuggets to take the No. 2 spot in the West, while Barbosa, as always, provided much needed bench scoring for the Suns, whose bench is as thin as ever. But they are no match to Terry. As for Nate Robinson aka Krpto-Nate, please. Yeah, he scores a lot, but we all know players' stats and values are always inflated under D'Antoni (and his SSOL system). He's nothing but a showcase.

My pick:

1. Jason Terry
2. J.R. Smith
3. Leandro Barbosa


Most Improved Player

Another tough one. First, we need to look at the improvement in the players' stats. Then we will discount those improvement due to, e.g., increasing PT, promotion from bench to starting due to injuries of teammates etc. While normally this award will give to those players who rise from mediocre to stardom, I believe it is not fair to ignore those who are already stars but have advanced to become a superstar.

Anyway, the consensus goes to Devin Harris and I have no problem with that. Not only his stats, his role in the team has also changed substantially. Coach Lawrence Frank has given him the green light to take the lead in offense this season. He took up such role with confidence, and other than sitting out due to injury, he has been consistent. Yes, the Nets did not play well but this is a lousy team anyway. Harris is now a bona fide star.

Kevin Durant should also be given much consideration. His most improvement is not his scoring (from 20.3 to 25.5), but his shot selection. His FG% improved from .430 to 476, while his 3PT% saw a big leap from .288 to .422. Plus, he has assumed the leading role in the young OKC team. Rajon Rondo is another MIP candidate. Following his solid performance in last year's playoffs, Rondo has risen his game, in particular in scoring, and contributed a lot to the team's success when KG went down with injury. You just can't imagine the surmountable pressure he has, playing along with three future hall-of-famers and in a city where championship is expected.

I would not consider Danny Granger a legit candidate. For sure he's an all-star, but he was already very good last season, while his improvement this season is not that substantial, relatively speaking. And his injury has really hurt his case. Also, I will not put much consideration on Paul Millsap, whose stats improved mainly due to increased PT when playing in place of the injured Carlos Boozer.

My pick:

1. Devin Harris
2. Kevin Durant
3. Rajon Rondo


Coach of the Year

Now the most contraversial award. Should you award the most tactical coach in the league (in that case it should be either Phil Jackson, Greg Popovich or Jerry Sloan)? Or should you award the coach of the best team (Mike Brown)? What about the best teacher who managed to turn around a losing team (Larry Brown)? Or the coach that helped the team to make the most leap from mediocre to one of the best in the league (Stan Van Gundy)?

In the end, I decided to put my vote on McMillan. It's a no easy task to coach such a young team. On top of basketball, I bet he have put considerable time to manage his players' egos. Of course, the fact that the Blazers managed to stand at No. 4 in the competitive West counts.

SVG is also good in a way that he was able to take the team to another level, with basically the same squad (minus Jameer Nelson). But I can't deny the fact that I am irritated by his comments. He speaks too much, in particular about Shaq's flop, which makes me sick. Mike Brown should also get credits for the 20-game improvement of the Cavs. The thing I appreciate the most is that he was able to admit his limit and hired an assistant coach to improve the offense. The result is immediate. Also, it's no easy task to insert newcomers like Mo Williams into the system. The bad thing is, the presence of LBJ really hurts Brown's chance for COY. Also, I still believe he is not yet a resourceful coach, as in those could excels in X's and O's and make necessary in-game adjustments to win games.

My pick:

1. Nate McMillan
2. Stan Van Gundy
3. Mike Brown