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Being too nice, too soft makes Jazz bow to Spurs
By Gordon Monson
Tribune Columnist
Article Last Updated: 05/25/2007 08:01:03 AM MDT
Click photo to enlargeGordon Monson«12»Let's say it the way it is here.
The Jazz are a bunch of wimps.
A happy little group of Caspar Milquetoasts.
A collection of Florence Nightingales.
Nice guys, all around. Sweet-faced guys.
Which is admirable and good - if you're looking for a friend or selling Girl Scout cookies or greeting people at the entrance of a Wal-Mart or styling hair at Franck's Beauty Salon. But if you're trying to win an NBA le, it's not so - how should we say it? - sooper-dee-dooper.
That's what the Jazz are supposed to be doing, right? Climbing the rugged mountain. Learning their hardy lessons.Growing up, front and center, on the playoff stage en route to fulfilling their vast potential. Battling the mighty San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals.
But no.
When the requirement is for them to step up and become a pack of angry men, what do they show?
Deference.
They reveal what they are: The prototypical polite, timid victims sitting on the beach getting sand kicked in their faces by the dudes from south Texas, and, thus far, not finding it within themselves to so much as budge to do anything about it.
Jerry Sloan said it a different way.
He called his players "soft."
He said they need to "learn to compete."
He told them they have to "step up and stand their ground."
"We need some toughness," he said. "But you don't just pull that out of your hat and say, 'I'm going to be tougher today.' You can learn it, yes. You can compete harder. But you have to commit yourself to it. You have to come to play."
The Jazz have not come to play.
They have come to shrink away.
In their first two games in this series, both losses, they have shown up long enough to get punked by the Spurs, and, then, once comfortably behind, show a little effort.
Meanwhile, the Spurs, after getting their big leads, have looked like a cat slapping a ball of yarn around until the final buzzer. They have said complimentary things about their opponent, but mostly because the Jazz have so dutifully acquiesced to the Spurs' will.
It has been noted that Games 1 and 2 were nearly identical, and many have compared the performances by both teams with the Bill Murray film "Groundhog Day," in which the character played by Murray lives the same day over and over. In the aftermath, Tim Duncan, a player of such remarkable consistency, has even been tagged "Groundhog" by some.
Well. If Duncan is "Groundhog," because every one of his days is exactly like today, then, the Jazz should knock him into tomorrow.
I'm not advocating idiotic anger and reckless violence.
I'm talking about useful anger and measured violence.
The Spurs did that exact thing to the Suns.
The young Jazz may not yet be as experienced or talented as the Spurs, but that doesn't mean they should weakly stand by while they get their butts handed to them by their respected elders.
If they go on deferring to the Spurs, they'll get swept by them. San Antonio shot 56 percent in Tuesday night's game, many of them easy looks. Beyond easy. The Spurs were in a comfort zone wider than Grandma's at the family reunion. They played with figurative grins on their faces.
Rather than knock those grins off their faces, the Jazz were content to let them smile and smile.
Sloan noticed.
After Thursday's practice, he put it like this: "You've got to come with the right at ude, an at ude that you have to put everything out there. Our offense was casual. We set a few brush screens like we didn't want to touch anybody."
It's time for the Jazz, if they're interested in playing past Monday, to do some touching.
"If I get an opportunity to play, that's what I'm going to do," said Rafael Araujo, the brawny, seldom-used center, who played briefly, but effectively, in the first game. "Play hard."
Screen hard. Defend hard. Rebound hard. Foul hard.
"I have no problem with a hard foul," said Sloan. "I don't like dirty fouls, but hard ones are fine with me." Die hard.
"Playing physical could help," said Matt Harpring. "We don't want to play cheap, but there's a time and a place for [physical] play. It could change momentum."
How about while the Jazz are young?
There's no better time for them than when they are down 2-zip in the conference finals and the Spurs are regularly waltzing into the lane to score uncontested layups and dish to wide-open shooters on the three-point arc. No better place than at home, where Jazz fans, at least, are aggressive and angry, where the series has shifted for the next two games.
"I mean, the numbers are [ridiculous]," Carlos Boozer said. "They are shooting over 50 percent from three. . . . We just have to lay it all out there."
And lay some wood out there, too.
"We have to let them know, 'Hey, we're here,'" said Mehmet Okur.
So far, the Jazz have done the opposite.
They have simply been intimidated, been wide-eyed, been respectful and courteous and cooperative. They've been the Washington Generals.
They've done what Sloan always implores them not to do - play with tuxedos on, or was it party dresses?
Either way, they're wimps.
They may not be as poised and talented and experienced as the Spurs, but they can be tougher. They can play like grown men. They can put an end - with some bad intentions, if need be - to Tony Parker moving unimpeded into the lane and carving them up like turkeys. And Tim Duncan and Fabricio Oberto working them down low, doing whatever they want there.
Until the Jazz do something, anything, about that, they're worse than losers in these conference finals, they're a bunch of namby-pambies.
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San Antonio at Utah, Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
Ch. 4
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okay good luck Spurs!
I HOPE NOBODY WILL GET HURT.
(I'm scared already)
brooms klick in
I expect Utah to play better on their home floor.
But keep in mind, San Antonio is no slouch when it comes to playing on the road.
I say the spurs get 1 out of 2 in Utah and close it in game 5.
Denver always plays hard and on the verge of dirty against SA, and where does it get them?
I expect a Utah team that plays with a lot more intensity and urgency, for sure, but I think this Spurs team is ready for it and I will be surprised if they do not win one game in Utah. If I had to choose, I want the Spurs to win tonight and then blow off game 4, and come back to close it out at home in game 5.
They have simply been intimidated, been wide-eyed, been respectful and courteous and cooperative. They've been the Washington Generals.
They've done what Sloan always implores them not to do - play with tuxedos on, or was it party dresses?
On a more serious note, I fully expect the Jazz to steal maybe one or two against the spurs, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they get swept, either.
On a more serious note, I fully expect the Jazz to steal maybe one or two against the spurs, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they get swept, either.
Steal one??? Utah is at home.
I do not remember ever hearing that phrase when a team is at home before.
Jazz defensive execution sucks. It has nothing to do with soft. Boozer's a bottom of the league defender. Okur is a bottom of the league defender. Giracek is a lousy defender. Fisher gets up on his man and if he can't get the flop he gets the foul. Williams is okay but not against speed like Parker. Even Kirilenko is not a great on the ball defender. Playing hard isn't the answer.
U don't have to play like angry assholes to win games.
Spurs don't.
Jazz haven't been wimps or courteous, and the Spurs haven't been a bunch of angry men. Spurs have executed better...that's all.
Silliness.
meh. watching Utah play the last two games, I'd say that was justified; those dudes looked petrified out there.Steal one??? Utah is at home.
I do not remember ever hearing that phrase when a team is at home before.
Utah is great at home though - unbeaten there so far, which is why I said they'd likely be able to get one or two - they can't win at the at&t center. but, the spurs are a good road team, so..might be a wash, which is why I said 'steal'.the Jazz have shown me nothing, and even my dear Memo has been a no-show so far, and AK hasn't shown up either. We'll see.
I do expect a tough start in utah... no one can deny the home crowd energy... but just like the phoenix series and the denver series... I do expect the spurs to keep it close and steal one .. but, hey why not go for 2... I'm thinking a 5 point spurs victory tonight..
its not about them playing like angry assholes. its just about them putting more than one quarter together for a game. the spurs are getting complacent after they dominate these guys for 2 and a half quarters. theres no reason why we shouldnt have won both games by at least 15. if we let them back in the game in their house, they can easily take the "w". we all know that we have never won a playoff game in utah, and we lost in our last four visits there during the regular season.
I'd be very surprised if the Spurs lose 2 in a row, whether on the road or at home. The smart money is on a split at SLC.
Every team says this when the Spurs put them on the ropes - "I'm not advocating dirty play... but foul hard... put them on their rear.... think twice about going into the lane ... etc.... etc.... " yawn
Yup...I predict the Spurs split in SLC and then close it out at home in Game 5.
It's going to come down to shooting. Utah will pack in the lane and make us beat them from outside.
Well that's what they tried in game 2, but Barry and Bruce punished them for it. They also tried to double the ball handler early, and that resulted in a few nifty finishes from Oberto. I'm not sure they know what they have to do to slow us down.
My guess is they'll try a few hard fouls early on and try to make us earn it at the line, then start playing zone later in the game to see if our jumpshooting holds up
I'm just saying they'll try the same thing again and see if we can do it on their floor. That, and I expect aggressive doubles of Tony and Tim to come as well.
Hope Ginobili, barry, Bowen, and Finley bring their B+ to A games tonight.
Make some open shots, and that will spread em out.
The Spurs are still favored to win though (by 2pts last time I checked).Steal one??? Utah is at home.
I do not remember ever hearing that phrase when a team is at home before.
Media wants hard fouls then cry like a baby when Horry checks Nash?
Hypocrites.
That is the media for you.
Other teams may say they want to foul hard but I've never seen a team foul as hard as a Sloan coached team. If he's instructed them to lay the lumber, expect some bodies to drop. A hard foul for another team doesn't even rate on the Sloanometer.
Stay healthy and try to get this game.
...true timvp, and traditionally "home cooking" is frequently mentioned after games in Utah.
As long as we come out ready to play we will be fine. We need to quiet their crowd quickly and keep them down.
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