Sunday, May 11, 2008

How Sweet It Is...to be tied @ 2

How 'bout them Jazz! The Jazz have made a glorious comeback to match the Lakeshow at 2 a piece. Now, it's down to the best of three. Here are my thoughts from this weekend's games.

1. Deron, the Franchise. The Jazz will go the way of Deron Williams. Deron was absolutely phenomenal during Game 4, going 9-13 from the field and scoring 29 points with 14 assists. He was making plays and hitting clutch shots. The big shot that comes to mind was his fadeaway jumper, over the outstretched reach of Pau Gasol to stop the Laker momentum in the 4th. If that shot doesn't fall, the Lakers win the 4th (after we had choked away the lead). See JA Adande's ESPN.com article on DWill.



2. The Homecourt is True. Energy Solutions Arena...aka the Tox Box... gave us the extra momentum and motivation to finish off both Game 3 and the overtime in Game 4. I was worried that we'd lose the OT once the Lakers had come back from 12 down. But, the fans helped the team pull it out. We're truely a "Loud and Proud" bunch. Way to go Jazz nation!


3. Boozer Reborn. While the Booz wasn't spectacular in Game 4, he was a monster in Game 3. 27 and 20! That was a dominant outing. We could use more of it...but hey, he awoke when we needed him most. He overcame the doubters at that point. Now, he just needs to find some dominant consistency. Between Booz and DWill, we'll need to see a huge performance from one of them (if not both) in order to be around to pull out future wins.

4. Priceless Energy. I kinda like having Ronnie Price in the game. He gives his all, doesn't hold back. He's a true Jazzman at heart. His block of Luke Walton was incredible. How did he get back so fast? I can only imagine Jerry Sloan loves the Price.

5. Fisher gives me heartburn. How big were those threes he nailed in the 4th? I just cringe everytime he gets an open look "three". Us Jazz fans have been through alot with the Fish. I can only wish and hope the best for him and his family off the court, but on it...

Honorable Mention:

6. The Elastic Man. Kirilenko had 5 blocks today. He made some huge stops on Kobe and was bugging him all day.


Wednesday can't come soon enough. Go Jazz!

2 comments:

Orlando said...

Couldn't agree more. Loved Kirilenko and Price, but Deron is the Jazz. His 18 footer over Pau was absolutely clutch as we had no idea what to do on offense at that point.

When Fisher fouled out in the OT, I finally felt we had the game wrapped up. Is Derek Fisher the key for the Lakers?

Tucker McCann said...

Play of the Game: Ronnie Price's swat on Luke Walton! I am ETERNALLY grateful that Sloan has decided to play Price instead of Hart. Price is turning out to be a nice little competitor that doesn't lose us ground when Deron Williams has a breather.