Western Conference Finals -- Three Keys

[timvp]

1. Rebound. The Jazz are the best in the league at crashing the boards. The Spurs have been destroyed a few times on the glass against Utah. If that happens more than not this series, the Spurs will be in trouble. If they can stay within 2-4 rebounds of the Jazz, that's a job well done.

2. Stay out of foul trouble. The Jazz have a lot of bruising players who are capable of getting the Spurs, specifically Tim Duncan, into foul trouble. You have to be physical with them, but you have to do so within the rules.

3. Stay healthy. Jerry Sloan teams will beat you up and do anything it takes to win. If that means sending you sprawling to the ground in a heap, that's what they'll do. There's no softness at all regarding anything Utah does.

[Ronaldo McDonald]

Tony needs to stay celibate. I hate to diminish the Chip England factor in relation to his improved stroke but Eva's lack of stroking seems to have helped him with it.

[violentkitten]

4. keep deron williams out of the paint. utah's offense will grind to a halt as he's almost their only source of dribble penetration on the perimeter.

[conversekid]

5. Shooters need to spread the floor. I see Sloan sending more doubles on Duncan - especially when he puts the ball on the floor. Duncan needs to recognize the double and hit the open man; spurs shooters need to knock down their shots. If we do this, I like our chances.

[CubanMustGo]

6. Believe.

[TDMVPDPOY]

7. pass the ball to tim duncan and gtfo

[GSH]

8. The other players (besides Duncan) are going to have to be aggressive and get to the line. The Jazz commit more personal fouls than any other team in the league, so there should be plenty of opportunities. But if Tim is getting the bulk of the whistles, they will wear him out. And the refs will usually slow down, rather than putting one guy on the line 30 times in a game. (Dirk Nowitzki not included.) Jerry Sloan's own philosophy about getting whistles is, "They can't call em all." Maybe he was being humorous, but he wasn't entirely kidding either.

Obviously Tony and Manu are going to get their foul shots. But if Oberto, Horry, and Elson play the kind of games that get them several trips to the line each, it will make a big difference in the series. If nothing else, it will mean that many fewer fouls they can burn guarding Tim.