Houston - Van Gundy

[Reality]

3 playoffs, 3 1st round ousters.

Last two they lead 2-0.

Dallas and Utah were simply better and nothing Hou or Van Gundy could have done better?
Or Van Gundy is not, and never has been the right coach for this team?

I vote b.
A lot of media blame is gonna be put on TMac and Yao.  I thought both were okay, actually pretty good in this Utah series.  Hou point guards got outplayed by a ton, Gm 7 the treys given up were the difference maker.

[rickortreat]

How about giving Utah credit and just say the Jazz were better.  Their regular season records weren't that far apart.  Boozer had an outstanding series and final game.  Houston has the two big established names in T-Mac and Yao, but the Jazz were the better team.

Face it, the Jazz had control of the game from the start and lost it in the fourth quarter.  Yao and McGrady played great, and they still lost.  The Jazz were a more complete team and were able to outlast the Rockets with a little more hustle. It's impressive for the away team to win a game 7.  This was a great victory for a young Utah team.

[westkoast]

The Jazz played better basketball over the series.  They were by far the better more disciplined team down the stretch.

Should some of the blame be placed on T-Mac? Yes, he asked for it and placed it there.  Once you make a statement like that you put it in that place.

[Laker Fan]

Notice folks I called this series as well (I am a genius in my own mind).

Utah plays far too disciplined a game to lose (see that spelling there, boys and girls? It's LOSE, not loose, one day some of you might get that one right, but I'm not holding my breath) to Houston. Their talent level is similar although I give Utah the edge, Okur being the difference maker that Houston has no answer for, save maybe Howard in spurts. Williams, while not McGrady's equal talent-wise, is no slouch on either end of the floor and his passing and ball handling skills are a PERFECT match to a Jerry Sloan system, and Boozer is just flat a stud out there every game, it's also nice to see Kirilenko have a good couple of games for a change, especially after the season he just endured.

I will now call Utah over GS, again, the same reason, discipline and more than a modicum of defense, they're not as fast as the Warriors, but they are better equipped to slow them down than Dallas ever was, and you get them in a half court game and they just simply won't be able to score at will, Utah's defense reminds me a lot of the Spurs, slow, methodical, and deadly efficient whe it is clicking. Utah will then have earned the right to be destroyed by the Spurs, who IMHO are enroute to ring number 4.

[Reality]

How about giving Utah credit and just say the Jazz were better. 

If that is what you saw, great.  I didn't see enough of the series and am not out to dis the Jazz.  If Utah was better, great.  I did see the end of Gm 7.  The key play was Okur missing a long three pointer with Utah up 99-97.  Hou had Ming and the rest in very good position for the O rebound.   Ball took a huge caroom and bounded all the way back out towoards the three point line.  Boozer got the rebound but really it was just circumstance.  I'm not saying Boozers rebound was lucky, I'm just saying it was the chance bounce of the ball, the way it goes.

So props to Utah for winning in 7.

But rt if you find Van Gruntys cumulative result in Houston, losing 3 first rounders the last two of which his team lead 2-0 to raise no flags, i dunno....

[JoMal]

Notice folks I called this series as well (I am a genius in my own mind).

Utah plays far too disciplined a game to lose (see that spelling there, boys and girls? It's LOSE, not loose, one day some of you might get that one right, but I'm not holding my breath) to Houston. Their talent level is similar although I give Utah the edge, Okur being the difference maker that Houston has no answer for, save maybe Howard in spurts. Williams, while not McGrady's equal talent-wise, is no slouch on either end of the floor and his passing and ball handling skills are a PERFECT match to a Jerry Sloan system, and Boozer is just flat a stud out there every game, it's also nice to see Kirilenko have a good couple of games for a change, especially after the season he just endured.

I will now call Utah over GS, again, the same reason, discipline and more than a modicum of defense, they're not as fast as the Warriors, but they are better equipped to slow them down than Dallas ever was, and you get them in a half court game and they just simply won't be able to score at will, Utah's defense reminds me a lot of the Spurs, slow, methodical, and deadly efficient whe it is clicking. Utah will then have earned the right to be destroyed by the Spurs, who IMHO are enroute to ring number 4.

Maybe we should just say Utah was tou-louse to lose, so Houston had to lau trec back home.

I am hoping for another Warriors victory series here. Not that I have anything against Utah, but for some reason I favor Golden State. Not because they are from California, nor that they represent NORTHERN California, no, that can't be the reason. But I just can't seem to find any kind of connection with a team from Utah.

Dallas and Houston both losing in the first round, though, along with that "other" LaLa team. And the only decent rep of the State of Texas left in the playoffs, somebody is giving the Great JoMal a post-season gift that borders on a genus of his own mind. 

[Laker Fan]

I do what I can JoMal, aside from the greatest franchise in NBA history taking an early vacation, we seem to be in agreement on the outcome of various series, including Utah/GS and I will explain that one this way, I am abivelant about who wins the series, I just don't think GS has what it takes to score consistantly against a Jerry Sloan defense. I alos think this is a fascinating exhibition of 2 wildly divergant coaching styles, Jerry Sloan's hyper-disciplined, ball-control, tempo-dictating style against Don Nelson's diorganized, street ball insanity, which, while fun to watch (especially in their dismantling of Dallas), will never win a championship, nowhere will this be more glaring than IF, IF, they get past Utah, San Antonio will feast on this teams missed perimeter shots.

[WayOutWest]

I do what I can JoMal, aside from the greatest franchise in NBA history taking an early vacation, we seem to be in agreement on the outcome of various series, including Utah/GS and I will explain that one this way, I am abivelant about who wins the series, I just don't think GS has what it takes to score consistantly against a Jerry Sloan defense. I alos think this is a fascinating exhibition of 2 wildly divergant coaching styles, Jerry Sloan's hyper-disciplined, ball-control, tempo-dictating style against Don Nelson's diorganized, street ball insanity, which, while fun to watch (especially in their dismantling of Dallas), will never win a championship, nowhere will this be more glaring than IF, IF, they get past Utah, San Antonio will feast on this teams missed perimeter shots.

Doesn't seem like the Suns run any kind of offense other than give it to Nash.  Wonder if that can win a title, my guess is, and my money says, NO.  Check the POSTS, I called SA all the way.

[Reality]

edit:  wrong thread.
getting it back in the San Antone thread.

[Laker Fan]

I agree WOW, it is just that Nash makes everyone look so brilliant when he is controlling the offense. The difference is San Antonio can take away his outlet passes and isolate him, forcing Nash to beat them by himself, which simply will not happen against the Spurs defense, as much as I pity Phoenix for what they are in for this round, I really pity GS if they come out of the series with Utah, which to me will be almost a bigger upset than the Dallas series, I read a sport writer somewhere who summed up the Mavericks perfectly, he called them the most unintimidating 67 win team in NBA history, I couldn't agree more, and Avery deciding basically to throw the second to the last game of the season against GS by sitting his starters and virtually assuring the Warriors would be their first round opponent was one of the stupidest coaching moves of all time given the fact that GS has owned them over the last 2 seasons and is fearless againt them. I didn't call GS until after game 4 I believe and to be honest, their success against Dallas notwithstanding, it is tough to take out a team like Dallas in 7 games, props to them for doing it, but Utah is a different animal, they, unlike the paper tiger Mavericks DO play defense, stifling defense at times and are very good at controlling tempo, which dooms GS.

[westkoast]

When is some blame going to be placed on Yao?  Why is it either Tracy or Van Gundy?  And I am not just saying you either Reality but most bball fans and sports writers in general.

If the guy is an all-star and suppose to be one of the dominating players in this game then blame has to fall at his feet.  It seems as if because he can't speak english well that somehow he is not asked to carry the team.