Utah Jazz look to even series with Kobe, Lakers
Utah Jazz look to even series with Kobe, Lakers
Carlos Boozer scored 23 and grabbed 22 boards for Utah and Deron Williams hit the game winner with two seconds left to lift the Jazz to an 88-86 win on Thursday night, spoiling any plans LA had of a sweep.
Small sample size.
It’s all too easy to draw conclusions about a playoff matchup based on the series opener. We saw both the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics fail to get to the pay window in Game 1, let alone win. And then we saw something entirely different on Thursday, as both teams came through in spades. What will Game 4 have in store?
Game 4: L.A. Lakers at Utah
Saturday, Apr 25, 9:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
We now have a series. The Jazz (49-36 SU, 45-40 ATS) had to fight tooth-and-nail to pick up the 88-86 victory Thursday, but they cashed in for the second time in a row (as 2-point home dogs) and staved off an 0-3 deficit in the process. This was the kind of hard-fought contest one might have expected from these two clubs had the Lakers (67-18 SU, 44-41 ATS) not taken the first two at home by double-digits.
It should have been expected anyway. The Jazz were 33-8 (22-19 ATS) at the EnergySolutions Arena (the former Delta Center) during the regular season, beating the Lakers 113-109 back in February as 1-point home faves. Andrew Bynum wasn’t around that day, but he was barely visible on Thursday, picking up five fouls in seven minutes of action. And that was with Jarron Collins (5.8 PER) starting yet again at center for Utah in place of the injured Mehmet Okur (17.5 PER).
The Lakers go into Saturday’s Game 4 having won just two of their last 12 playoff games in Salt Lake. In theory, they can expect a more fruitful effort from Bynum, but the work Carlos Boozer has done during this series cannot be ignored. This is the level of play you’d expect from an Olympian: 23 points and 22 rebounds on Thursday, his third straight 20-point game of the series. Boozer and the rest of the Jazz had little trouble getting to the cup in the first and fourth quarters, outscoring the Lakers by a combined 19 points.
This is what can happen when Kobe Bryant tries to take over a game in the dying minutes. His shot selection was poor in crunch time, and the Jazz defense deserves credit for forcing Bryant into low-percentage situations. That’s supposed to be the blueprint – surely you’ve read this Michael Lewis article by now – but Bryant often makes those shots anyway. Just not often enough to enhance L.A.’s betting value.
Game 4: Boston at Chicago
Sunday, Apr 26, 1:00 p.m. (ET) ABC
The Celtics (64-21 SU, 44-41 ATS) could easily be up 3-0 in this series. Actually, “easily” is a bit of a stretch. Without Kevin Garnett (and now Leon Powe, courtesy of a torn knee) at power forward, the defending NBA champions dropped the series opener 105-103, at home in overtime. Then they had to scramble to beat Chicago 118-115 in Game 2, as Ray Allen hit the winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining. Boston was favored by 8½ points on both occasions.
So what happened on Thursday with the series moving to the United Center? The Bulls (42-43 SU, 44-40-1 ATS) went down by 11 points after 12 minutes and never came close to recovering, dropping a 107-86 decision as 3.5-point home faves. That’s a huge swing in the betting odds from the first two games; home-court advantage is traditionally valued as four points better than playing at a neutral site, which is closer to what we saw in the Lakers-Jazz series with L.A. shifting from -11 at home to -2 in Salt Lake City.
The missing ingredient for Boston in the first two games was Paul Pierce. Last year’s Finals MVP scored 13 points in the decisive first quarter and finished the day with 24 points in 28 minutes, including 4-for-8 from long range. Head coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the game that his team worked on spacing during practice, and that work paid off handsomely on Thursday. Point guard Rajon Rondo made it all possible with a monster stat line: 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. Rondo keeps doing this, but all commentators can talk about is his shortcomings as a shooter. Sounds like Jason Kidd.
Carlos Boozer scored 23 and grabbed 22 boards for Utah and Deron Williams hit the game winner with two seconds left to lift the Jazz to an 88-86 win on Thursday night, spoiling any plans LA had of a sweep.
Small sample size.
It’s all too easy to draw conclusions about a playoff matchup based on the series opener. We saw both the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics fail to get to the pay window in Game 1, let alone win. And then we saw something entirely different on Thursday, as both teams came through in spades. What will Game 4 have in store?
Game 4: L.A. Lakers at Utah
Saturday, Apr 25, 9:00 p.m. (ET) ESPN
We now have a series. The Jazz (49-36 SU, 45-40 ATS) had to fight tooth-and-nail to pick up the 88-86 victory Thursday, but they cashed in for the second time in a row (as 2-point home dogs) and staved off an 0-3 deficit in the process. This was the kind of hard-fought contest one might have expected from these two clubs had the Lakers (67-18 SU, 44-41 ATS) not taken the first two at home by double-digits.
It should have been expected anyway. The Jazz were 33-8 (22-19 ATS) at the EnergySolutions Arena (the former Delta Center) during the regular season, beating the Lakers 113-109 back in February as 1-point home faves. Andrew Bynum wasn’t around that day, but he was barely visible on Thursday, picking up five fouls in seven minutes of action. And that was with Jarron Collins (5.8 PER) starting yet again at center for Utah in place of the injured Mehmet Okur (17.5 PER).
The Lakers go into Saturday’s Game 4 having won just two of their last 12 playoff games in Salt Lake. In theory, they can expect a more fruitful effort from Bynum, but the work Carlos Boozer has done during this series cannot be ignored. This is the level of play you’d expect from an Olympian: 23 points and 22 rebounds on Thursday, his third straight 20-point game of the series. Boozer and the rest of the Jazz had little trouble getting to the cup in the first and fourth quarters, outscoring the Lakers by a combined 19 points.
This is what can happen when Kobe Bryant tries to take over a game in the dying minutes. His shot selection was poor in crunch time, and the Jazz defense deserves credit for forcing Bryant into low-percentage situations. That’s supposed to be the blueprint – surely you’ve read this Michael Lewis article by now – but Bryant often makes those shots anyway. Just not often enough to enhance L.A.’s betting value.
Game 4: Boston at Chicago
Sunday, Apr 26, 1:00 p.m. (ET) ABC
The Celtics (64-21 SU, 44-41 ATS) could easily be up 3-0 in this series. Actually, “easily” is a bit of a stretch. Without Kevin Garnett (and now Leon Powe, courtesy of a torn knee) at power forward, the defending NBA champions dropped the series opener 105-103, at home in overtime. Then they had to scramble to beat Chicago 118-115 in Game 2, as Ray Allen hit the winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining. Boston was favored by 8½ points on both occasions.
So what happened on Thursday with the series moving to the United Center? The Bulls (42-43 SU, 44-40-1 ATS) went down by 11 points after 12 minutes and never came close to recovering, dropping a 107-86 decision as 3.5-point home faves. That’s a huge swing in the betting odds from the first two games; home-court advantage is traditionally valued as four points better than playing at a neutral site, which is closer to what we saw in the Lakers-Jazz series with L.A. shifting from -11 at home to -2 in Salt Lake City.
The missing ingredient for Boston in the first two games was Paul Pierce. Last year’s Finals MVP scored 13 points in the decisive first quarter and finished the day with 24 points in 28 minutes, including 4-for-8 from long range. Head coach Doc Rivers told reporters after the game that his team worked on spacing during practice, and that work paid off handsomely on Thursday. Point guard Rajon Rondo made it all possible with a monster stat line: 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. Rondo keeps doing this, but all commentators can talk about is his shortcomings as a shooter. Sounds like Jason Kidd.