It’s Showtime…

Posted by David Locke on May 02, 2008

 
‘Turning it Up’ (Melissa Majchrzak – NBAE/Getty Images)

Can they win tonight?  That is the question that is being asked all around town today.  You bet they can.  As I have said since Game 5, this is what you want: one game at home to close out a series.  Therefore, our game 6 Jazz Playoff Insider contains the 6 things that have to happen to make sure the Jazz win this game 6.

1)  A 6 minute offensive spurt.  In the regular season, the Jazz had the best offense in the NBA.  The Rockets defense has been able to hold down the Jazz for most of the series.  Tonight, the Jazz need a spurt.  For 6 minutes, the Jazz need to get on one of those vintage rolls where the cutters get the good looks, Okur nails a three, Deron drives and dishes, and then finishes the next time down.  With that, the crowd will erupt, and the energy in the building will be insane.

2)  Crowd insanity.  Tracy McGrady doesn’t think you are the reason the Jazz are so good at home.”No, it’s definitely not the crowd,” McGrady said, “the altitude is the most difficult.  Those first five minutes are very tough on the lungs.  Once you get that second wind, you’re fine.”  So once his lungs are okay, why don’t you make sure his ears ring a little?

3)   Hit the non-paint two.  As we have talked about all series, the Rockets want the Jazz to take non paint twos and shots outside of the paint, but inside the 3 point arch.  The numbers say this is a great shot, to make the opponent shoot.  The Jazz have not been knocking it down.  Until they knock it down, the inside won’t open up, and Okur and Korver won’t get three point looks.  Those need to fall, and they need to fall early.  Carlos Boozer should get a lot of opportunities for these shots.

4)   A great first quarter.  As tight as all these games have been, the team leading after the first quarter has won every game of the series.  Moreover, tonight with all the energy and intensity, playing from ahead will be a huge advantage.

5)  Defend the post isolations.  Without Yao Ming the Rockets don’t have a post game, other than posting up Tracy McGrady and isolating him on that side of the floor.  However, in Game 5 Rick Adelman starting using both Carl Landry and Luis Scola in post isolations.  They were very successful.  The Jazz can’t allow the Rockets to be able to establish a post up game with Landry and Scola, or it opens up the entire floor for the rest of their offense.

6)  Win the momentum plays.  In Game 4 it was Harpring ripping McGrady, and Price with the steal and the dunk.  In Game 5 it was in the first quarter when Battier sprinted the length of the floor to break up a fast break.  In a game where every possession is a battle, where every cutter is bumped and grabbed, and every shot is contested, anything easy is golden.  The Jazz need to win the momentum plays.  Sometimes they will be hustle plays, sometimes it is when the shot clock is winding down and you make a play out of nothing, and other times it is the steal and the lay-up.  The amount of baskets tonight that come easy for either side will be very minimal.  Therefore, anything that comes easily is worth its weight in gold.

Have fun tonight and talk to you from LA.

1 Comment

PAW on May 03, 2008 said:

BEAT-LA! BEAT LA! BEAT-LA! Can it get any better than this!?

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