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Actually I'd say Okur and Kirilenko played up to their standards, Boozer was the problem.

Obviously they're not really a "one man team", no team is. Five players suit up and get on the floor at all times and run up and down the court like everyone else. But in the Jazz' case a lot of them looked like they had rather stayed home with their sons and daughters reading them Power Ranger comics rather than be on a big stage with lots of lights on and thousands of people watching them. Deron Williams showed up and played Awesome! Boozer was scared out of his wits the entire series except for one of the games at Utah. AK47 looked like he'd rather have been playing World of Warcraft at home most of the series.

Not bashing the team or trying to start a fight, just wanted to know what y'all thought.

millsapp>>>boooooooooooooooooozer

They seem to have a lot of weak minded players. Even Deron looks flustered at times. But they are young. I thought they panicked a bit during that last possession last night. A more veteran team probably would have gotten off a better shot.

I'm not even knocking the Jazz.. Its not like they're some team with a lot of talent but have issues and can't get their stuff together. They have everything together already, the talent, the chemistry, everything. They just need to go out there and PLAY in series' like this. They'd do so much better.

Instead they look they're frightened as heck to be playing on such a high level with all the sponsors, fans, media, espn personnel watching and judging them. Everyone other than Deron Williams looked like shy 7 year olds performing in front of a packed audience for their school play. They're worried about what other people are thinking about them as they play, they are afraid to have the ball in their hands, they wish they had worn masks to the game so that no one can see their faces. They look around the crowd hoping none of their friends and family they gave tickets to came to see them. They already know the outcome in their heads.

Deron Williams' manned up and played like a star. Being outshined by Kobe is nothing to be ashamed of. The men behind him, however, had no excuses for leaving another man to fight their battles for them alone.

This series pretty much showed why every Jazz fan thinks Deron is as good as any PG in the league.

He has fire in every game, gives his hardest at all times and hits big shot after big shot, all the while the rest of the team comes and goes as they please rarely showing full interest in the game. It's a waste.

I thought Deron was inconsistent early in the series, but he progressively got better and better. Typical of a young player. He's so good that we take his age for granted. We shouldn't judge the guy like he's some 10 year veteran. He is already an elite PG and only in his early 20's. Pretty scary.

Okur is lights out. If he's open, just start running down the court, because it's going in. I just don't know how successful a team can be when their tallest player is a 3 point shooter who camps behind the 3 point line.

Compounding their size issue, their main post player is 6'8" and has trouble against lanky defenders. Odom and Gasol were able to get some blocks against him just by standing there with their arms straight up.

It's just a weird mix of players there. They're all talented, but like I said, just a weird mix. Sloan is a good coach so he makes it work, I just don't think their ceiling can get any higher the way they're assembled. I think they need more size and power in the paint, and another veteran ball handler to take some pressure off Williams.

They haven't seemed to get every player on for any given series yet. Last year, Deron struggled a bit through the first two rounds, and Boozer was great, then in the Spurs series, he blew up, and Boozer pussied out.

This year, it was much the same in both series, Deron showed up in most every game, and Boozer showed up in a small few....

I think you have to move one of Okur or Boozer for a big. I like Boozer, I always thought the talents of Okur and Kirilenko need to be swapped, the shooter needs to be the wing, and the defender needs to be the C.

They suffer from having lead footed players.....Harpring & Kirilenko stand no chance @quick guys who aren't intimidated by size or physical play and their big men are too slow....I mean, Vujacic got to the hoop twice yesterday w/o any resistence from the big men because they are too slow.

They need someone else to play SG over Brewer. Maybe getting someone like Artest would do the trick.

If we were a one man team and Williams didn't ever pass the ball to Boozer than we would have won the series...

MeloTelfair wrote:Actually I'd say Okur and Kirilenko played up to their standards, Boozer was the problem.

I agree with you... Boozer left alot to be desired.

After last year's playoffs, I thought Boozer was a big time player - apparently not so. He took stupid fouls and took himself out of several games early. And when he was on the court, he shot 41%.

Not exactly an all-star performance.

I think they need to get a legit center. I honestly think they use a 3 power forwards in their lineup but need a center to block shots and have some sort of intimidation in the paint. Honestly AK47 is a great shotblocker but he isn't someone that people hesitate attacking. Who can they get? I think a guy like Andris Biedrins would be ideal. A sign and trade for Okur, but it is doubtful that the Warriors would be interested.

Something is honestly wrong when Korver blocks just as many shots a 7 footer AKA Okur. Marco freaking Jaric blocks more shots than Okur.

vainsake wrote:If we were a one man team and Williams didn't ever pass the ball to Boozer than we would have won the series...

Haha.

i dont think any player was a problem....the jazz are a young team and played a great series overall.
most of us laker fans knew this series was going to be a little tough, BUT NOT THIS TOUGH!
the jazz are definately an elite team, and theres really no need to knock on boozer. i think he played a good game...he just didnt get some calls that would give him persnoal momentum, which frustrated him. obviously deron williams is the next jason kidd with a better shot.
kirilenko usually brings it in the playoffs. he gave the warriors trouble last year, and he gave the lakers some trouble this year.
okur was the one player that RIPPED the lakers apart. i mean this guy had his way. turiaf, gasol, odom, none of these guys could guard okur properly...dribble dribble jumper, in. his game worked well against us.

i think the jazz are a great team and definately a top 6 team in the league, on top of that, theyre playing under a legendary coach. just give them some time to develop. players like corey brewer and paul millsap are going to be phenomenal.

the lakers are just a better team

Utah is a nice team but its just that the Lakers have come prepared for everything so far... even a bad back for Kobe hasn't effected much.

Boozer is definitely the problem. I wouldn't go as far as saying trading him, that'd be ridiculous for a big of his talent. But this is the second season ended by his choking for the Jazz. And Deron was left alone on an island once again. You guys are relying on Deron to have these amazing performances to even stay in the series. Yes, Deron is already having amazing playoff series', although losing is reducing their shine. I don't know how much better he can get. If the Jazz can't capitalize with one underpaid player virtually playing top 10 player in the NBA basketball because their second best player who's making all the money gets scared all the time, its going to be rough to get that ring which the Jazz franchise so richly deserves.

I think that he rest of the team may defer too much to Deron in the clutch. But that's a natural reaction when the game is on the line you want your leader making the tough decisions.

The Lakers had a lot more depth than the Jazz as well. That proved to really hurt the Jazz more so than Boozers impotance. With the exception of the first two games in Salt Lake City, the Lakers bench played a lot better than Utah's bench. Many times, especially in LA, the Lakers bench would come in and actually build a bigger lead than the Lakers had had when Kobe left the game. I thought that the Lakers bench totally dominated Utah's bench.

Utah does have a very good team, but was anyone honestly expecting them to win the title this year? Likely not. They finished right were most of us expected them to finish. They are a very young team who is still missing a few pieces before they are a championship contender.