Houston Bound

Posted by David Locke on April 28, 2008

 
‘Game 2 Deja vu’? (Bill Baptist – NBAE/Getty Images)

I am off to Houston today with the Jazz for Game 5. Wouldn’t it be remarkable if the Jazz could close out this series in Game 5, and the road team would have won 4 of 5? This series has become a bloodbath out on the floor. Both teams play very hard, both teams are physical, and both teams know everything about the other.

I was exhausted at the end of Game 4 from the tension and the struggle of the skirmish. Nothing is going to come painless in a series against a team as good and professional as the Houston. We are in for again on Tuesday night.

DEFENSIVE SPURTS

This depends on your viewpoint. It is either defensive spurts by the Jazz, or offensive lulls by the Rockets. The key to the wins in Games 1, 2, and 4 was the ability of the Jazz to shut down the Rockets offense for an extended period of time.

In Game 4, the Jazz held the Rockets to just 1 field goal from the 7:50 mark of the 2^nd Quarter, to the 7:30 mark of the 3^rd Quarter.

However, the Rockets are one of the few teams in the NBA that are not dependent on their offense to stay engaged defensively. For that reason, the Jazz have not been able to run away with any of the games, because the Rockets never let the Jazz get comfortable offensively.

EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING

The offenses in this series are really bogged down.

Both teams know exactly what the other team is running on every offensive set. More importantly, every player knows exactly where his opponent wants to get the ball to make his shots. The issue compounds itself, because when a player does get open they are so surprised that they rush the shot. This is what happened on the Jazz 3 point shooting in Game 4 where the Jazz missed every three point attempt.

The best way to evaluate a offense is through a math formula that figures out what they are scoring per offensive possession. In the end you evaluate all teams by what they would score in 100 possessions with the basketball.

Check out the offensive trend in this series. To put it in context the NBA regular season average offensive rating is 110. The Jazz offense was a 117 and their defense was a 110, whereas the Rockets offense was a 109 and their defense was a 99.

GAMESMANSHIP

Can it be gamesmanship or it is whining? You decide.In today’s Houston Chronicle, Rockets Head Coach Rick Adelman has started working the officials for Game 5 on Tuesday.

“You have to look at the tape and send it in to the league,” Adelman said. “Hopefully, they look at it and say this isn’t right. But for the most part, that’s asking someone else to do what you have to do. You have to respond.”

“Harder cuts and moving more make it more apparent to the officials,” Adelman said. “They were laying on Tracy. They were doing more things to him out on the floor than they do out on the post. That is something that has to be addressed by our league. It’s gotten worse and worse.”

It is all part of the playoffs. The Rockets started this before the playoffs began, but when Sloan was asked about it he said, “It sounds like someone is trying to lobby the officials,” and that muted the conversation.

There is some truth to it. The Jazz are playing McGrady very physical, and trying to impede his progress wherever he is going. They are using lots of different bodies on him in the playoffs, Brewer, AK, and Harpring.

In turn, McGrady has been dead at the end of each game both physically and mentally. McGrady is shooting just 3 of 16 in the 4^th Quarter of the series.

A WORD OF CAUTION

I will leave you with a word of caution. It is exciting to be up 3 to 1 in the series, but it is no way done. Some teams might be disheartened, but the Rockets play harder than any team in the NBA and I wouldn’t expect that to change.
Moreover, the Rockets won 22 in a row at one point this season. That must make 3 in a row seem like a stroll in the park.

Tune in today to Locked on Sports on 1320, K-Fan as we will talk with Jazz GM Kevin O’Conner, Jeff Hornacek, ESPN broadcaster Rick Carlisle, and Tom Nissalke. It all starts at 3 PM on 1320, K-Fan.

Talk to you from Houston.

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