I was hoping my maiden post would be on a happier note. It isn’t.

I was hoping that Carlos Boozer’s herculean effort in Game 2, combined with Matt Harpring’s continued gritty play, would be enough to overcome the implosion of Andrei Kirilenko and the disappearance of Mehmet Okur. It wasn’t.

I was hoping that the Jazz would be coming home to Salt Lake City with the series tied, after shooting ten percentage points better than Houston in Game 2. They aren’t.

I guess that’s what I get for hoping.

Here are a few things the Jazz need to fix for Thursday’s game:

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The Jazz’s trouble started by not gaining home court advantage with this young team. How much better off would the Jazz be if they could have started at home with the best fans in the NBA? Instead they find themselves on the road trying to figure out how to win a playoff game.

If you can’t win a game after shooting 45% and holding your opponents to under 40%, while your star players scores 41, you are in trouble. If your max money guy thinks now is a good time to start crying about playing time, you are in trouble. If your head coach plays to defend the other teams mismatches instead of creating his own, you are in trouble. If you can get better production from the two guard spot, you are in trouble. If you think that a 6 foot guy is going to stop a 6 foot 8 superstar, you are in trouble. If Memo can’t figure out how to do something besides hit a set jump shot, you are in trouble. If you can’t get to the free throw line because you settle for jump shots, you are in trouble.

I don’t doubt the Jazz might make the series interesting but Sloan HAS to try something different. How about starting Harpring at the 2 and play big. How about trying to post up Memo, who is being covered by a guy 3 inches shorter than him. How about running a couple plays for Gira. You have to mix it up and create some mismatches Sloan. The system is a great one, unless the other coach is stopping it.

I hate to say it but the Jazz are out in 6 this year.

There is a lot of reason for optimism if you are a Jazz fan. There is no way that Houston is a better team than the Jazz. Yes they have Yao and McGrady, but the Jazz are better at every other position, including the players on the bench.

In my mind, there are two defining reasons to why the Jazz lost game one. Continue Reading This Entry »

While checking to see when the Jazz play the Rockets, I came across this article about one of the best-coached team in NBA history:

The Surprise Season of 2003-04

Remember, NBA “experts” predicted the Jazz would earn the worst record in NBA history. And looking back, can we blame them? While nine of the players still play today, only Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpring had already proved themselves as NBA-caliber players.

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This is a few years past due, but it is worth mentioning. Especially as I watch the Cavs and the Nets play on TNT. But I have to pull a skeleton out of a closet. I am talking about Sasha Pavlovic. He showed a real knack for the game his rookie year here, but was left unprotected in the expansion draft and was picked up by the Bobcats.
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