It’s a beautiful thing to see the Jazz go the Western Conference Finals once again. From what I understand, the fans back in Utah are making the most of it like they did back in the 90’s.
I just finished watching game 5 against the Warriors. They should have won by more but I’ll take the win. They just couldn’t close them out until the last 4 minutes or so. What’s with all of the turnovers?
Before the season started, I predicted the Jazz would go 51-31. They went 51-31. Right on! What a prediction! During the season, I thought they would shatter that mark but they ended the season on horribly. But I also said they would be a three seed and only make it to the second round of the playoffs. Luckily, I was wrong.
I wonder how they would have done against the Mavs had they won. Or if they actually re-seeded the teams like in other sports after each round. But guess what, I don’t have to do that. The Jazz are in the Western Conference Finals! Even the organization will admit that this is ahead of schedule. Everybody will be predicting that the winner of the Suns and Spurs series will go to the NBA Finals. I probably will as well but the Jazz will certainly give them a fight.
The obvious difference in the series was the inside game of the Jazz and the out-of-control offense of the Warriors. Carlos Boozer was just too much for them. But I’m going out on the limb to say something that always makes the difference for the Jazz, especially in this year’s playoffs-Andre Kirilenko.
When AK47 plays like he did against the Warriors and in the latter part of the Rockets series, they can contend and possibly beat any team they play. Okur will have his good shooting games, Williams will remind you of Stockton at times, and Boozer is turning into an awesome post-up player, but when Kirilenko is at his best, the Jazz are awesome. They are good enough to go to the NBA Finals and win it.
If Kirilenko could realize this (maybe he has figured it out?), the Jazz’ chances of winning the conference finals are real good. When he fills up the stat sheet like he is capable of, he is so fun to watch.
And lets not forget about Jerry Sloan. I thought he did a great job of controlling the Jazz in this series. When they forgot to go inside or when they would get out of control with so many turnovers, he often called a timeout and the team would return to the floor a totally different team. Sloan is the best coach in the NBA (my unbiased opinion).
Isn’t it ironic that they do well like this after I move to Seattle? I moved to Northern Utah (Jazz country) in the fall of ‘98. The Jazz had just come off two consecutive finals getting beat by Michael Jordan and the Bulls. They made the playoffs for a few years after that but never did anything significant. I move from Jazz country and they finally make it back to the conference finals. I’m willing to sacrifice for the greater cause.
Go Jazz!
Comments
I would argue that the Jazz have had the perfect road to the Conference Finals. The matchups for them could not have been any better. Houston is a slow, 2-man team, which is probably the most overrated in the NBA. Boozer has been the key in each series so far. First against Yao, where he had the quickness and the hustle to get to loose balls before Yao could even get started, or the EVER so dangerous Juwan Howard coming to the post to matchup. Perfect start for Booz. Next, he goes up against Al Harrington? Harrington is a 6′9 jump shooter, averaging less than 6 boards a game for his career, who will drive to the paint, but wont post unless he’s guarded by a guy 6′5 or less. Again, perfect matchup. If Utah gets Phoenix in the next round, they’ll have a decent shot of going to the Finals (where they’ll have an even better shot of winning that they ever have before). It’s all about the matchups, and the Jazz are a nice 3-1 against the Suns. If I were a Jazz fan, I’d be praying hard for Phoenix to show some heart in Game 6 and send it to Game 7 with it all on the line. You don’t want to see Timmy.
It’s been a fun year to watch the Jazz in the playoffs. I told you not to move, Josh! Just kidding. You need to post some updates about how the job search is going and stuff. Maybe that stuff’s on your other blog. I better check there. Go Jazz! And, that failing… Go Spurs!