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1) DWill didn't look good at all in the first half. The Spurs pick and roll D was horrible in the second half - either they were tired or bored with the Jazz not showing up in the first half.
Really not the greatest of games today as you guys were pretty much in control until we didn't have any more time left to keep the comeback going, still had it's moments. Not a lot of good on our side as a whole besides the FT shooting, but there were a couple of unexpected things.
1) Deron played spectacular despite seeing looks from TP, Bruce, and Manu. Fatigue is not an excuse for how poorly he was defended today I think, I just think he played a spectacular game. I really didn't know how he would respond to a team that actually plays D, but he looked aggressive and in the 2nd half took on a winner's mentality by thinking he was the only one who could bring them back. There's zero chance of him keeping up anything close like the line he had today, but he showed up when pretty much no one else did on offense.
2) Hoffa was huge in just 8 minutes today. I wish he could've gotten more time earlier to see if he could've been just as effective on Duncan for more time. He really looked solid against him and didn't let Timmy just back him into the key. He's our most physical 5 and our most athletic. We have to have Okur hit shots to be in this series, but I'll be quite upset if Hoffa isn't the first 5 off the bench in Game 2. Collins obviously isn't gonna do jack on either end so we might as well try Hoffa out for defense.
Both teams can take a lot of positives away from this game, but you could almost say the Jazz are taking more despite the loss. I was proud of the heart we showed down the stretch and not giving up. I hope some of that translates into tuesday's game. Gotta play the entire game though and can't let you guys go wild in any particular quarter, especially at home. I wouldn't be surprised to see the final score have a wider margin on tuesday than today, but I expect us to at least play tougher throughout.
1) DWill didn't look good at all in the first half. The Spurs pick and roll D was horrible in the second half - either they were tired or bored with the Jazz not showing up in the first half.
I don't take anything from this game. The Jazz didn't play well in the first half and then the Spurs just kinda mailed it in after they got the big lead.
I expect totally different games from here on out.
my thought was the spurs ran out of gas sometime in the early to mid 4th. adjustments will be made and both teams will be showing different looks in game 2. props to the spurs on the quick turnaround.
Say what you want, Deron Williams is a total beast. I have no doubts that Bowen will give him fits as the series goes on, but Williams is going to be unstoppable, perhaps the best point guard in the league in a year or two.
He's a heady player and won't make a lot of mistakes other young players make, either. He's our toughest assignment this series, because he's quick AND strong, and we really don't have anyone who can guard him off the pick and roll other than Bowen. Maybe Manu, but that's pushing it.
bowen had him on lockdown until the prisoner was granted a reprieve.
I didn't say he wasn't. I already said before the series started that he was the hardest matchup for the Spurs because I didn't know if Bowen would be good against his style and he's probably too strong for Tony. But I was merely pointing out that he didn't have an awesome game - he had an awesome half after the Spurs weren't trying.
We broke their ing offense...in game one. Jerry Sloan turned into Don Nelson with the hackawhatever defense and the run and chuck it offense. That won't work over a series, especially the intentional fouling thing.
Spurs also shot abysmally from the line, or it never would have gotten to single digits. Manu, who has been cash ing money from the line in the playoffs, missed two or three during the hack attack, and Tony missed a pair, and a total of 5 FTs.
I don't. Thats pretty much the Jazz MO when they play here. Bad shooting and mental breakdowns. Uless the Spurs have an absolutely horrific Game two, I see Utah needing 4 out of 5 to advance.
I don't think the intentional fouling thing was actually a game strategy. I think it was more a sign from Sloan to his team that they weren't allowed to give up if there was ANY time on the clock. Not a bad message to take into game two.We broke their ing offense...in game one. Jerry Sloan turned into Don Nelson with the hackawhatever defense and the run and chuck it offense. That won't work over a series, especially the intentional fouling thing.
Spurs also shot abysmally from the line, or it never would have gotten to single digits. Manu, who has been cash ing money from the line in the playoffs, missed two or three during the hack attack, and Tony missed a pair, and a total of 5 FTs.
I'll give the Spurs a pass on their play in the second half but I think it sucks that we gave the Jazz some confidence for Game 2.
As for Williams, the Spurs have a habit of letting 1 player dominate the scoring from their opponents. If its the point guard this time around, so be it. If he's scoring and not distributing as much it may keep others from getting involved.
I was surprised Okur didn't do more. I'll be thrilled if he's regulated to the bench in the future too. He's been a real thorn in our sides the last few years.
I'll take the win and be happy especially in light of the quick turn around. Utah looked like their were a little out of sync and maybe a bit rusty. Game 2 will be huge for us on Tuesday. We need to get the win and get some nice rest. The Jazz are a Home Team monster and have been great in Utah.
Whatever. That team out there in the Jazz unis much more resembled a Nelson coached team than a Sloan coached team.
Moral victories aren't.
I can't believe your all ragging on the intentional fouls. The only one that shouldn't have happened was the one with like 6.7 seconds left. These are the playoffs and if there's the slightest of chances to win, you take it.
Agreed. Damn, your team showed a lot of heart tonight. You guys made what, 14 of your last 16 shots? Freaking crap, stop it. I'm REALLY glad we closed that game out with some good passing, because Utah wasn't missing. At all.
I'm definitely impressed with the Jazz despite their poor showing in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
They started off very well and they were just ing nails in the 4th. Near the end of the game they showed Williams's stat line and I looked at it and thought "Damn, dude had a monster in game."
I don't know much about that kid. How long has he been playing? He has potential to be a top 3 PG in the NBA in a very short time.
Deron should easily be a Top 5 PG for many years in this league. You could see the potential once he finally was given control of the team last year. I only questioned the decision to take him over Paul for a brief period in the middle of last year while he rode the bench. While trying to be as unbiased as possible you gotta say that right now Deron > Paul. Both have each had 1 incredible year to show what they can do and their lesser years were tainted by injuries for Paul's Hornets this year and Jerry's lack of playing Deron in his first. One thing that Deron's got over him for now though is the ability to come up in the clutch when his team needs him the most. He's done it multiple times in these playoffs so he's got it. In Paul's defense he hasn't gotten the chance yet so can't write him off in the least and I still he think he has more potential upside than Deron. Still both will be spectacular and it's scary to think how TP will come along as well. The man is still only 25 years old!
I'm not ragging on them, I'm incredulous at them. That's Nellie ball.
C'mon X. You know better than that. Nellie would have waved the white flag @ 2.5 and subbed.
The Jazz just sent a message that they ain't given up no matter what.
This is gonna be a great series.
He was awful on defense, so he sat. Duncan was carving bacon from his back. That spin move he had for the baseline dunk is something teams haven't allowed him for years, but there Okur was, overplaying him. Made him look foolish.
I thought all teams fouled when they were behind late?
Could be a wake up call for him. He certainly got one against Houston and Yao. Something clicked inside him after Game 1 and he because insanely aggressive and for the most part did spectacular on him. I don't expect the same results against Timmy, but I'm expecting a better performance than today on both ends of the court.
That move has been there all year for Tim...
He didnt have it last year, but he didnt have a LOT of things last year...
He did it against Amare in game SIX... lol
for all the lauds for williams, i think folks are just looking at his point total. defensively, who was he guarding? i don't remember but it didn't look like he was doing much. as for his points, he went way above his head this game, with the previous matchups finding him around 15-20 points.
i had an idea about okur in that, while he can hit a 3 and maybe cause some headaches, that may play in the spurs' hands. if duncan is on him and gives him the 3, there's less of a chance duncan's going to run out and foul the guy. at the same time, okur guarding duncan in the post has a much better chance of fouling just because of the closer vicinity.
for all that the jazz can point to, how disheartened are they knowing that the spurs still have things to improve on, too?
I thing I am really concerned is how many offensive rebounds and loose balls the Jazz got. Millsap has a real nose for the ball, so did Harpring.
DWill played a fantastic game in the 2nd half, and Boozer seemed to have found a groove later on.
I am glad Okur had a poor game, but if he ever found his stroke, I am not sure the Spurs can have anyone to match up with him.
You can't take much from this game. The Spurs blew them out in the 1st then toyed with them like a person holding a string above a cat's head for the rest of the game. You could see it in the Spurs' faces in the second half - they were too relaxed and in play mode. I think part of it was due to the extremely fast turnaround from a hard played game 6. I'm sure Utah will come with more from here on out and the Spurs surely will too. If not, this will be done in 4.
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