After Game 3 thoughts

[jozef]

Williams did not use screens tightly in 3rd Q and it rubbed on the team the wrong way. Williams sagged off Fisher and was not able to get back in time. Artest made treys but only one was off double-team, he punished Matthews for sagging off on entry pass, that's not good occasion cause Artest feels the ball off previous dribbling. Boozer took jumpers when nobody was there to rebound.

Sloan should play Fesenko more (he is 0, +4, 0 +/- in previous games). More the Jazz play him, more aggressive the Jazz grow. Lakers get in comfotable mood when facing Millsap and Boozer, they knew they can rebound and nobody can block them - Millsap got 1 defensive rebound in 36 minutes. Again Miles' playmaking skills were forgotten in 2nd half when Williams struggled to run the team.

The Jazz are pretty close in every game but both Williams and Boozer got under pressure of Lakers size and do not react well.

Quick pointers to win games:
Play Fesenko 24 minutes a game. It would take the wind off Lakers and compensate their height advantage, take a pressure off Boozer/Millsap.
Run picknrolls for Miles 20 times a game to keep Williams mind fresh, gain proper execution back and compensate Bryants attacks.

[Knicksick]

Hey guys, I was rooting hard for you although I don't dislike the Lakers like a lot of other fans but I like Deron and the underdog Jazz and how they presented themselves in the playoffs BUT there is one thing I really really really cannot understand:

What in the world have the Jazz FO been doing the past 2-3 years. Every single time I remember them getting beat by the Lakers it was mainly due to 2 factors: Kobe and the Lakers size.

Now it is hard to erase that first factor because their really aren't too many guys that can slow Kobe and they are most likely not available if they really exist BUT there is a lot the Jazz FO could have done about the second point. I find it almost unprofessional to get beat by the same team the same way year and year and not adress that need. There have been a bunch of Centers available that could slow Bynum/Gasol , help you out on the glass and provide interior defense which the Jazz have basically never had (your closest thing to that is 6'9 toothpick Kirilenko who is a good shtoblocker but not that tall intimidator). I know you are missing Okur but he is mainly an offensive player and I don't think he'd have made a huge difference. Is the Jazz FO really too incompetent to adress that ONE glaring weakness and get a guy like Dalembert,Okafor,Haywood,Camby? I'm not sure one of those guys would have made you guys win the series but he'd increase your odds by a lot and make you take probably 2-3 games from the Lakers and give them a run for their money.
Seriously, at this point I'd be seriously questioning the FO.

[Knicksick]

My point basically is that there is one thing the Jazz have been missing the past few years: A tall shotblocker, defender upfront. You have that superstar PG, you have that strong frontcourt 20/10 PF and you have a nice allround SF in Kirilenko. That trio alone is gonna win you a lot of games but you guys have still been that team where one always thinks "good team , never gonna win **** in the playoffs." So why did you never fix that? Put one or two of those defenders/shotblockers there and the Jazz become a legit contender.
I mean you have that superstar PG already--the type of guy that if you have it you risk taking on a slightly overpaid player in order to give that superstar a real shot at a title.

How much more balanced and dangerous would a frontcourt with Boozer and say Camby/Haywood instead of Millsapp/Okur be?

Where were the Jazz when Portland who has 2 Centers already stole Camby from the Clippers?You know a 10point/12rebound/2blocks intimidator like Camby would have made you guys NOT be down 3-0 right now period.

[jozef]

The Jazz made long term commitments and they handled loyalty issues in their own way, not to my pleasure.

However Fesenko can help. He played twice 12 minutes and the Jazz were 0 in +/-, he played 17 minutes and the Jazz were +4 despite his terrible 1-7 FG, 0-4 FT shooting. I think when he gets more playing time then they get better adjusted to play with him and get more advantage. Just one dunk shot here or one block there and the Lakers start to think differently. I think the Lakers got scared in 1st Q. We need to use our only big (Fes) who can play inside a bit, and our only wing (CJ) who can really run picknroll and they would beat the Lakers. But the Jazz need to use them way more.

[JDubJazz]

@ knicksick: Yup, thats pretty much the rub. The Jazz front office has been unwilling to move any of their talented but undersized front court for three years, and each year they pay the price for it. I was against matching Portland's offer to Millsap for that very reason. Until the Jazz get someone who can compete against a tall player like Gasol or Bynum, its gonna be an early playoff exit every year.

Maybe the Jazz brass will finally wake up to that fact this offseason. I doubt it, though. Its likely that they will have to do something in the offseason anyway, since Boozer is going to leave, and Fesenko, Matthews and Korver could all leave as well. At least that Knicks pick gives them some flexibility to make some moves.

Once again the Jazz season end with another "what-might-have-been."

[HolyToledo]

Frnot office inability to help team at trading deadline was a joke. Sloan doesnt play AK-47 down the stretch was a joke. I dont blame the players if the coaches and front office dont do their job. just a wasted season!!!!

[Jampod]

I got off work early and was unfortunately able to catch the second half. I didn't see any heart in that second half at all. Thats what lost that game and this series.

[jozef]

Well, Fesenko with positive +/- again. Miles playmaking was huge in 3rd Q comeback, still plays for his picknroll were not called in the rest of the game.

Strategy-wise, if we face tall team we should draw them as far as possible by setting picks on perimeter and we should spread the floor as much as possible - it did not happen. On almost every possession Phil Jackson has a player in weakside corner, that's why it's harder to double team them. Jazz lack of spreading ends up in uncerainty and shooting over people.

Bozer had terrible first half and Williams was good only in transition.

I look back into play-by-play how our starting lineup did in the starts of 1st and 3rd quarters in this series cause these guys seemed to be most balance lineup:
G1: 13-16 and 15-12 = 28-28
G2: 13-9 and 15-14 = 28-23
G3: 15-9 and 5-10 = 20-19
G4: 16-12 and 5-10 and 24-14 = 45-36
Total of 121-106

[hoops4life]

My thoughts... those infamous girls in the t-shirts aren't that as cute as everybody is making them out to be. There are much better girls in the state.

[jozef]

I expect Suns spreaded offense will be more effective against tall Lakers but they will need healthy Lopez on the defensive end.
From the East I guess Magic should not beat Lakers cause Howard has only limited moves. I guess Celtics with two towers of Garnett and Perkins can match up very well with Lakers, also Cleveland's LeBron would not be slow down by Gasol, Bynum and Odom, especially with the help from Shaq and Varejao.