Stay Strong

Posted by David Locke on April 30, 2008

‘A Pillar of Strength’ (Stephen Dunn – NBAE/Getty Images)

Good afternoon from a blurry eyed Jazz fan.

On yesterday’s edition of Locked on Sports, on 1320 K-Fan, I talked about how it was impossible for the intensity of the first 4 games to be maintained by both teams.  In the first 4 games, the Rockets and the Jazz had gone all out for 48 minutes.  No one had missed a moment.  There was nothing easy.  There were no let-downs.  Therefore, someone had to blink.

We blinked, and boy did we ever.

However, the good news is we are no different than politics.  Obama and Clinton aren’t battling for the popular vote, they are battling for delegates.  Gore and Bush were after electoral college, not the popular vote.  The NBA playoffs aren’t that different.  The Rockets have outscored the Jazz in the series, but it doesn’t matter.  The Jazz lead the series 3 to 2.

Remember that, we lead the series 3 to 2.

Let me go back to the very first insider letter I sent you.In an entry titled “No Push Over,” I wrote …Considering the Jazz win over the Rockets on Monday night, and the injury to Yao Ming, a Jazz fan might decide this match-up is strongly in the favor of the Jazz.  Let me caution you.Since Jan 1st, the Rockets have the best record in the NBA at 41-10.  The Rockets have won 22 of their last 24 games at the Toyota Center, and the Jazz will have to win a game on the road to win the Series.

At this point, I think every Jazz fan has realized what a formidable opponent we are dealing with in this series.

Here is the good news.  The Jazz have one game at home to win the series.  That is all you could ask for.  When this series started, if you could have told every Jazz fan you can have one game at home to win the series and advance, every fan should have taken that option.

That is what we have for Game 6 at 8:30 at EnergySolutions Arena.This is the game to win the series.  As the road team in a series, all you are trying to do is get to one game at home to win the series.  Last night’s performance didn’t take that away.  The Jazz have earned one game at home to win it in front of the loudest, best fans in the NBA.

Are there areas of concern?  Sure, but for today let’s put things back into perspective, and realize that the Suns, Nuggets, and Mavericks are all out of the playoffs.  The Suns and Mavericks may have just mortgaged their future with ridiculous ill fated desperation trades, that are now ripping apart the core of their franchises.

In contrast, we are playing one game at home to win a series against a fantastic team in the Houston Rockets.

Stay Strong.

1 Comment

Tony on May 03, 2008 said:

You are right about the stupid teams are out of the playoffs and deservingly so, and two teams that do things right still played one last game last night. Houston is a scary team to face next year. The Lakers are a scary team to face next weekend. Go JAZZ.

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