Laker bandwagon makes a stop in Utah.

[WayOutWest]

I've never heard so much cheering for the Lakers in Utah.  I've watched Laker games at Utah since the Laker/Kareem/Worthy vs Malone/Stockton/Eaton days and I don't ever remember hearing so many cheers.  What gives?

The two games I thought the Lakers would win they lost and vice versa.  Incredible wins in the last two games considering the injuries the Lakers are dealing with right now.

Are the Jazz a solid defensive team?  They don't have a shot block so the paint is wide open.  I figure they must play very good perimeter defense so their lack of a shot blocker is not an issue.

I've only seen the first half so I don't know if the Jazz made a game of it but the final score indicates they didn't.

I'd be interested to hear Ted's take on it, where the Jazz just having an off night or did the Lakers do something to make the game go the way it did?  I know the Jazz were missing alot of point blank shots, Boozer in particular but I also noticed that he was being crowded and harrased in the paint on those shots.

[westkoast]

This somewhat ties into our smog/air quality thread.  The air quality has improved,  not because of factories cutting emissions, more efficient cars, or even because people stopped burning coal to stay warm, but because all the Los Angeles natives have moved to Sacramento (first choice) and Utah (second choice)

The Lakers coming out red hot and building a huge lead really put Utah in a hole they couldn't get out of.  By the time they cut it to 8 they had really expended a lot of energy.  Even the guys off the bench looked a bit tired (Korver and Harpring)  I thought their interior defense in the first half was horrible.  Even if they had David Robinson and Dekembe Mutumbo in the middle last night it wouldn't have made much difference considering players were letting guys cut to the rim like a hot knife through butter.  Although I will say a little bit of luck has to be mentioned.  Not very many teams shoot 75% in a quarter and 65% from 3.

When think that should be mentioned to people last night was Derek Fisher was asked about Deron Williams in the pre-game interview.  He said that he believes that Deron Williams is the best point guard he's played against in the league in a while.  Said he has no flaws in his game..he can go left, he can go right, he can hit 3s, hes tough, etc.  This coming off a battle with CP3 just a few days earlier.  Major props from Fish to Deron last night.

[WayOutWest]

This game was decided in the 1st quarter considering the Jazz outscored the Lakers in every other quarter.  I am really impressed at how Kobe has evolved into a great facillitator.  Very MJ/Bulls like IMO.  We shall see if Kobe will continue to trust his teammates in the playoffs.

[Reality]

The Lakers coming out red hot and building a huge lead really put Utah in a hole they couldn't get out of.  By the time they cut it to 8 they had really expended a lot of energy.  Even the guys off the bench looked a bit tired (Korver and Harpring)  I thought their interior defense in the first half was horrible.  Even if they had David Robinson and Dekembe Mutumbo in the middle last night it wouldn't have made much difference considering players were letting guys cut to the rim like a hot knife through butter. 

 I was only able to watch skooches of the game, but in the 1st half i saw the same thing.  A Laker driving all way to the rim everytime you turned around.

While Kobster gets highlight reels for his dunks, I liked the play were some Laker stole the ball, flipped it way ahead to Bryant, the bomb pass was actually too long.  Kobester ran down the pass, caught it while stopping Roadrunner style just before the out of bounds.  Gathered himself and did a reverse layup just before the streaking Jazz arrived for the would be block.

[Ted]

Didn't watch the game cuz I don't have cable, but I can confirm that the Jazz' major defensive weakness is defending the cutter and help defense. They really are terrible. And Boozer is probably the worst, with Memo second. When AK is expending energy, he's a major shot blocking threat, but sometimes it looks like he doesn't even try to rotate to the open man.

I just think back to the Bulls, who were amazing on help defense. You had Pippen who seemed to defend two or three guys at once, but the only reason it worked and they didn't get caught high and dry is because the other guys knew when Pip was going to leave his man, and everyone else picked someone up. We have a sometimes Pippen-lite in AK47, but nobody rotates when he does, so we're always giving up easy shots inside.

[Ted]

When think that should be mentioned to people last night was Derek Fisher was asked about Deron Williams in the pre-game interview.  He said that he believes that Deron Williams is the best point guard he's played against in the league in a while.  Said he has no flaws in his game..he can go left, he can go right, he can hit 3s, hes tough, etc.  This coming off a battle with CP3 just a few days earlier.  Major props from Fish to Deron last night.

I think Deron learned a lot from Fisher last year, which is when he made huge strides. He plays much stronger now, and he has a killer instinct that makes him go after people. Korver recently told a local reporter that Deron plays best when he's a little angry, and he's pretty much angry on the court all the time now.

Anyway, I like his chances against most point guards in the league head to head. Deron has significantly outplayed Paul, Kidd, Nash, Miller and Billups in individual games this year. But, interestingly, guys like Devin Harris and Brandon Roy have been consistently tough.

[msc]

This was an impressive win by the Lakers.  If I were in to sports betting I would have bet the farm on Utah last night,  I just didn't think the Lakers would be able to beat Utah at home at the end of a trip with all the injuries yada yada yada.  You can see why I don't bet. 

It helped that they were red hot coming out of the gate, that's a given.  But the energy and hustle were there through the whole game.  Something that seems to come and go for this squad.  Had they hustled like this against Houston last Sunday they would have blown them out of the building. 

Clearly, Kobe and the rest of the team had a chip on their shoulder as they were upset that Fish was boo'd every time he touched the ball in their first meeting in Utah.  I'm glad that motivated them, but I'd like to see them play with that kind of fire every night.  You could tell Kobe was extra fired up, dropping m-f bombs all over the place.  He was not going to be denied at the end of the game when Utah made a little surge. 

WOW, how could you hear cheering for the Lakers over the constant boo'ing?  Utah fans boo after every single freakin' call, it's so annoying.  Have the Jazz ever committed a foul in Utah? 

[JoMal]

WOW, how could you hear cheering for the Lakers over the constant boo'ing?  Utah fans boo after every single freakin' call, it's so annoying.  Have the Jazz ever committed a foul in Utah? 

msc, WOW is hearing Laker cheering on Mars these days. With that kind of delusional auditory capabilities, he could hear a cockroach dunking his donut through a refried bean factory after a communal sampling.

[westkoast]

WOW, how could you hear cheering for the Lakers over the constant boo'ing?  Utah fans boo after every single freakin' call, it's so annoying.  Have the Jazz ever committed a foul in Utah? 

msc, WOW is hearing Laker cheering on Mars these days. With that kind of delusional auditory capabilities, he could hear a cockroach dunking his donut through a refried bean factory after a communal sampling.

Yea his hearing is quite exceptional.  They were not even half as loud as all the newly moved Laker fans in Sacramento.  You could hear them though at the end of the game after all the Utah fans left.

[Ted]

Clearly, Kobe and the rest of the team had a chip on their shoulder as they were upset that Fish was boo'd every time he touched the ball in their first meeting in Utah.  I'm glad that motivated them, but I'd like to see them play with that kind of fire every night.  You could tell Kobe was extra fired up, dropping m-f bombs all over the place.  He was not going to be denied at the end of the game when Utah made a little surge. 

The problem with booing is that it takes only a fraction of the crowd to boo for it sound like the whole arena is doing it. I was at the first game, and it wasn't that bad, just a few knuckleheads here and there. I was among those who cheered him. I can't fault the guy for his reasons for moving. Even if he just hated living it Utah, I can't fault him for that either. It's not for everyone.

Utah fans boo after every single freakin' call, it's so annoying.  Have the Jazz ever committed a foul in Utah? 

No. No they have not. They have, however, been fouled in Utah; in fact, on just about every play.

[msc]

The problem with booing is that it takes only a fraction of the crowd to boo for it sound like the whole arena is doing it. I was at the first game, and it wasn't that bad, just a few knuckleheads here and there. I was among those who cheered him. I can't fault the guy for his reasons for moving. Even if he just hated living it Utah, I can't fault him for that either. It's not for everyone.

Yeah, I know, it's too bad that some people muck it up for everyone else.  Trust me, we have plenty of yahoo's in LA that I'd rather not be associated with.  And no, I'm not talking about WOW. 

No. No they have not. They have, however, been fouled in Utah; in fact, on just about every play.

 

Nice.

[msc]

msc, WOW is hearing Laker cheering on Mars these days. With that kind of delusional auditory capabilities, he could hear a cockroach dunking his donut through a refried bean factory after a communal sampling.

  Dude, where do you come up with this stuff? 

Seriously though, the only cheering for the Lakers I heard was at the very end of the game when most of the Utah fans had exited after giving up on the refs. 

[WayOutWest]

msc, WOW is hearing Laker cheering on Mars these days. With that kind of delusional auditory capabilities, he could hear a cockroach dunking his donut through a refried bean factory after a communal sampling.

It's funny what you can pick out from different TV stations.  Some stations are better about mics in that you only hear the announcers.  I did not realize what a control freak Avery was until yesterday.  He was screaming on 99% of the plays.  Avery has ZERO trust in his players.  Very annoying, IMO this just further cements my opinion that he is a bad coach.  This much control over his team and they still suck when it matters most.  IMO unless they make it back to the Finals Avery is gone.

[WayOutWest]

Seriously though, the only cheering for the Lakers I heard was at the very end of the game when most of the Utah fans had exited after giving up on the refs. 

In all honesty there was an unusual amount of Laker cheering from the opening tip.  I recorded the game and I'm only up to half time and it already struck me how much cheering was going no for the Lakers in Utah.  Can't imagine what I'll hear at the end of the game.

[Laker Fan]

This game was won in the paint, Utah did one of the worst jobs stopping penetration I have seen in some time, and even though I have been propping Sloan of late, the guy doesn't have a clue how to run a zone defense, LA was KILLING them from the corner all night long.

I simply don't understand how a team can come out so flat, like the Jazz did in the first quarter, their defense was horrible.

I liked the interview with Kobe after the game where he was asked if he was angry and he said he was very upset that they were booing Fisher, did you see him taunt the crowd after his last dunk, he had a point to prove and he proved it last night. I hope every team from here on out boo's Fisher.