will the lakers withstand

[DanTown8587]

Watching the Lakers, I would do this

1. Use DJ off the bench to guard to Okur. DJ can flat out stick him from the perimeter, his defense is pretty good and you can tell DJ "Don't leave Okur until someone shoots"

2. Don't play Jordan in Utah. Boy looks scared out his mind, like fearful of the situation. Give his minutes to Sahsa/Walton/Newble

3. Post Kobe every single time. He doesn't need to shoot threes to score. Korver, Brewer, AK can't stick him and Harpring can't contest any mid range J after a jab step or pump fake.

4. Go to LO on the wing in a clear out against Boozer. No way Boozer doesn't pick up at least a foul per five possessions of playing man to man defense and LO can take him and easily finish or drop off to Pau.

5. Take open shots, whenever available. Sometimes the Lakers pass on open shots to much and allows the defense to get back in the play.

6. Tell Gasol to stick Okur on the line. Okur will not beat you with his dribble drive or his passing ability, but sure as hell can beat you as a shooter.

[Big Bird]

Yeah, you guys already said everything so I won't repeat the same stuff. What I truly don't understand is Kobe's 3 PT shooting.

2-4 in his first 2 games
2-18 in his last 2 games.

I hope he realizes that and stops shooting the three ball... it's obviously off in this series and no one can guard him when he's driving inside or working that post, so why in the name of the Lord did he take 18 freaking threes in 2 freaking games. This is seriously mind-boggling (okay we can exclude 5 or 6 of those because they were wide open looks or at the end of the shotclock).

Any yes, the Lakers will withstand! Never give up and believe! The road to the WCF still goes through Staples!

[hermes]

Its now a 3 game series and we have 2 at home. Both losses in UTA were winnable games for us if we didnt turn the ball over and made our free throws.

We need to come out and make a statement game on Wed. and get back to moving the ball and executing the offense. We still control the series so we need to take them out.

agreed, the games in utah were winnable games, we need to just take care of business at home

hopefully the jazz don't hit shots like they did at home, and we hit our freethrows and take care of the ball

and something needs to be done about farmar

[Neon Black]

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Jazz fans can no longer cry the foul game.

you're definitely right. i think kobe is given alot of slack offensively, but that's to be expected. You would have to be blind not to have seen Boozer pushing off at least once or twice in game 3, it's something that's always pissed me off about him.

bottom line is, the Jazz are being forced to play LA's game in LA, while LA is being forced to play Utah in Utah. Nobody has anything to complain about.l

[TommyTheCat]

i'm pretty much in agreement with miles first post in this thread. only wanted to add that fish needs to stay out of foul trouble. he needs to play smart and stay on the floor..........because he's been playing well when he's out there.

[theFRANCHISE]

fish can play more minutes but getting in foul trouble has been his problem

[Lava Rock Kid]

Jazz fan here, Why are you all so down on Gasol? He is killing us without demanding the ball. From my perspective, he has been the difference in this series. Kobe is amazing and all, nobody can stop kobe, but if we could just limit Gasols put backs and his quick moves to the basket the jazz would be dominating this series.

As for the Flagrant, I agree it should of been a flagrant 1, not sure why the 2. Especially if you compare it to the Jason Kidd flagrant on Janero that was only a 1.

The fouls have been in your favor most of the series.

[Kreuk]

yeahhh.. the jazz are playing great basketball. let's give them credit. they are keeping the lakers on their heels.

but we let the 2 games in utah get away from us because of inexperience and some old-fashioned utah luck...

3rd game, luke lost the handle on the jump-ball

4th game we missed a TON of free throws... luke getting blocked by price on that breakaway lay-up... and don't get me started on that boozer out -of-control shot that got him two free throws when we were down by 2...

but all-in-all this has been a great series, aside from some players getting exposed...

[kno]

Play Luke more?

Its eaqsy to say "Box out!" but who would do that? Pau isn't strong enough to do that and Lamar keeps roaming around for grabbing the ball.

Boxing out isnt necessarily about strength.

Im never the strongest player on the court when I play, but I am able to box out guys stronger, bigger, and taller than me.

Its all about footwork and positioning. Strength becomes virtually irrelevant.

[Slava]

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Boxing out isnt necessarily about strength.

Im never the strongest player on the court when I play, but I am able to box out guys stronger, bigger, and taller than me.

Its all about footwork and positioning. Strength becomes virtually irrelevant.

Partly yes but its tough to get a rebounding position when Gasol is getting knocked around the way he's been by Boozer and Okur and neither of our starting big men are good at boxing out. Just not their tendency.

[idajazz]

yeahhh.. the jazz are playing great basketball. let's give them credit. they are keeping the lakers on their heels.

but we let the 2 games in utah get away from us because of inexperience and some old-fashioned utah luck...

3rd game, luke lost the handle on the jump-ball

4th game we missed a TON of free throws... luke getting blocked by price on that breakaway lay-up... and don't get me started on that boozer out -of-control shot that got him two free throws when we were down by 2...

but all-in-all this has been a great series, aside from some players getting exposed...

I love how the media and fans are spinning the Lakers loosing.

The same arguments could be made the other way.

Utah was in striking distance late in game 1 and 2 even with Boozer playing like crap and a huge free throw disparity.
Even up the free throws in either of those games and have Boozer at his average and it is a Jazz Win.

My take is that despite what the talking heads on BSpn and all the talk radio say, The laker's and Jazz are pretty dang close talent wise, and this series is going the distance and is going to be one heck of a thrill ride for both fan bases.

I think in the end it will come down to who can impose their will and style of play on the opponent.

[TonyMontana]

[quote="idajazz"][/quote]

I agree .

This has been a great series , cant wait till game 5 .

[snaquille oatmeal]

4 games, tied 2-2. Brand New series, which just became a dogfight. True, our victories were beatdowns, the Jazz's were more like escaping losses. But, momentum is on their side, and certain key points came to my mind. Please add your own.

1. Bench Radmanovic, start Walton or Sasha. This is by far the easiest and biggest positive change we can make for our team. I have a lot of words for Radmanovic, the four-letter kind. Has anybody been so terrible in the playoffs? At least Smush Parker pouted to show that he was a punk. Radmanovic? I just think he doesn't care. He must be the first guy in the history of the playoffs to not care about playing. That guy is not worthy of purple and gold. I'm ashamed of him.

2. Slap Farmar upside the head.

3. Slap him again, and tell him to find his cajones, retrieve his mojo, and wake the hell up. We need you. Where'd you go? Is this really the same player who received 6th man of the year votes?

4. Fine Gasol every time he complains to the refs. It's backfiring, Pau. And get your ass back on defense.

5. Dear Kobe: was that you or Tracy McGrady in Game 4? Grabbing your back and jacking up threes, what is that garbage?

I don't want to see any three-pointers from Kobe, because Brewer or Harpring can't guard him down low. Actually nobody can, and if they double, that's where the game opens up for everybody.

I'm fine with Kobe playing hero and all, when he's HEALTHY. But do we really need to put you down like a wounded animal when you're not playing within your current limitations?

6. Actually, yes, yes we do. Phil: take Kobe out, just for a few seconds, if only to send a message, when he's trying to do too much. Also, call some timeouts to stem the tide! Now's not the time to try to teach character!

7. Walton stop liking your damn fingers after a mistake or missed shot. Trust, it's not because your fingers were dry.

8. Odom needs to watch this game over and over to see how he CAN play aggressively and perform under adversity. This is the best, meaningful performance I've seen Odom play. Focus? Check. Clutch? Check. Rewind? You'd better.

9. Sasha needs to get a shot every 2 or 3 minutes. I'm serious. The guy was en fuego, and he doesn't even get the ball for the last 10 minutes? What the hell? This is one guy who's absolutely fearless, who wants to manhug pressure. Take those 10 three-point attempts by Kobe, give em to Sasha, and we win the game.

10. Kill that weak-ass soft zone from the Jazz. Whenever Kobe catches the ball, help defenders are immediately sagging. Where's the cuts? Where's the movement off the ball? Did his teammates really expect Kobe to bail them out one on three with a bad back? Move!!! Create a passing lane, what's with the standing around?

11. Fisher is playing out of his damned mind. I know, that's not a step. But he is, he's hitting huge shots and he's even guarding Deron Williams infinitely better than the younger, quicker Farmar. The guy has so much heart. I don't care if Fisher bricks all his shots for the rest of his Laker career. At least we know what Fisher is made of, and that's courage.

agree with Miles 99%. the one percent being that as of now the name Jordie is out and the name Smush Farmer is in.

[Kreuk]

I love how the media and fans are spinning this the Lakers loosing.

The same arguments could be made the other way.

Utah was in striking distance late in game 1 and 2 even with Boozer playing like crap and a huge free throw disparity.
Even up the free throws in either of those games and have Boozer at his average and it is a Jazz Win.

My take is that despite what the talking heads on BSpn and all the talk radio say, The laker's and Jazz are pretty dang close talent wise, and this series is going the distance and is going to be one heck of a thrill ride for both fan bases.

I think in the end it will come down to who can impose their will and style of play on the opponent.

what's killing the lakers right now and what might be the difference maker in this series - is the athleticism of the jazz. also, most jazz players are great ball-handlers.

aside from kobe, odom, and gasol, the lakers aren't that athletic. sure ronny and sasha are decent, but they are being slowed down by nagging injuries... and this is where the absence of ariza is really hurting us.

the jazz are just ABUSING walton, radman, and farmar, and to a great extent derek fisher... our guys are constantly playing catch-up on defense. and okur is just going to town.

we have to find a way to slow down the jazz... the jazz have slowed us down with physical play and a fast-tempo offense.

[Neon Black]

^^^


I think alot of people get stuck on the old Jazz style of play and attribute it to the new Jazz. They definitely are more athletic and versatile, yet poeple think back on the days when bryon russell was our most athletic guy and think that's today.

The Jazz have played better ALL season when pushing the tempo, I hope they realize that...sometimes they still think they have to slow it down. To hell with that philosphy! Williams knows what he's doing though...

[TommyTheCat]

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agree with Miles 99%. the one percent being that as of now the name Jordie is out and the name Smush Farmer is in.

ouch