Nah, he didn't play good at all against The Rockets and then he doesn't show up until Game 3 against the Lakers. That is not superstar status, he may be an all-star but far from a superstar.
and yet the lakers only lost by 5... i see LA taking game 4, some bad mishaps down the stretch did them in tonight, but they kept coming back after the Jazz tried to pull away in the 2nd half.
Hard to say with Jazz, they could be one and done one minute, the next they could end up in the NBA Finals. They're very streaky....play bad for 5 games, play great the next 10, average for 3, all time bad in the next 8, and very good in the next 5. Probably somewhat underrated, though. I think with them they really are more built for championship They are actually built to beat alot of teams, probably even moreso than Dallas, Phoenix, and us. They can run and gun, but they also can win defensive struggles that don't make past 85. Defense is not great, but it is not bad either. They pretty much have two Pfs, but one is closer to a center, while the other is one is more of a traditional pF....and both can score some points. D-Will is probably just as good or not far behind Chris Paul, Williams could easily get 20 ppg and 12 ast in a more open system. Great solid supporting cast...Harpring, Millsap, Korver, and Brewer. This is a big reason why we can't beat this team, we don't have the depth. This series is not over with, the Lakers may win, but it won't be any fewer than 6 games. Gasol might have averaged over 20 against the uninspired and disinterested Nuggets, but I doubt he scores over 20 once in the series....because the Jazz are going to keep pounding especially in Utah and he is not going to get those calls. Y'know if this team gives Duncan and Yao fits....they can certainly take him out of the equation.
Gasol isn't as bad as you guys say. But I'll have to admit he brought a diaper to tonight's game instead of a jock strap. If he plays soft again on Sunday, this series will be 2-2. I think you can blame his pillowsoft defense as a primary reason the Lakers lost. I expect the Lakers to win on Sunday. Pau will play better and I imagine Vujacic and Farmar will do better than 0 points on 0/9 shooting. The Jazz still only won by 5 and that was because the Lakers crumbled and fumbled opportunities in the last 2 1/2 minutes. One comparison between Kobe and Tracy: Notice how Harpring looks like a whipped puppy dog after playing a few minutes against Kobe. You can tell he's receiving almost as much punishment as he dishes out and that Kobe has him psyched out (somewhat). Against Tracy, Harpring is the aggressor and the physicality clearly bothers Tracy while Harprings seems to enjoy it. Harpring loves playing against Tracy while he hates being out there on Kobe.
Did you hear the commetator? He said, "There will be no reaching in on Kobe Bryant" because harpring reached in and Kobe pumped it. He did the same thing with Tracy and Kobe got ridiculous fouls TMAC would never get. Kobe had a horrendous game shooting wise, his 3's didn't even touch the rim, but his FT make up for it mostly because he is excellent in initiating the contact and he gets special treatment
That's because Kobe knows how to dish out punishment as much as he receives it. Loved that elbow he gave to Harpring's kisser, even though he got caught for an offensive foul. Kobe is as crafty as anyone and can get semi dirty when he wants to. Manu, Jaric, Raja Bell, and Ashton Kutcher have either felt the bows of Kobe or the patented backslap to the face while jumpshooting. Kobe had a bad night at the 3 line (some of it forced, almost Tmac like) tonight but the rest of his game was on especially in the 2nd half. He pretty much had his way with any defender on him and drove into the lane at will.
Ken Mauer was reffing tonight. Let me see, that would be a win for the uh, the uh,.......yeah, the Jazz! That's it! Love child of Jerry Sloan and Karla Malone.
Kobe was 10-20 from the field this game. Since when did that become "a horrendous game shooting wise"? In addition, in the previous 2 games.... Game 2 he was 11-18 from the field. Game 1 he was 8-16 from the field.
The flagrant backslap aside, this is exactly what I'm talking about. Does anyone think Ronnie Brewer is still "looking forward to the challenge" of guarding Kobe? Doubtful.
lol my bad, i was on clutchfans and watching the game, not the same room i would watch the game and go on clutchfans...maybe i just watched the plays he sucked on 0_o But yea my bad i guess he didn't have such a bad shooting night
Yeh, Tracy needs to learn how to be dirty. He seems to just take the punishment, he needs to throw elbows. It's probably more of a personality thing, since Tmac isn't as much of an *******/prick as Kobe and Harpring.
We did not beat this team this year because of injuries. I do not think the Jazz are built for a championship, they are built for the regular season, but they do not have enough consistent talent to win a championship. They do not have a superstar player like a Kobe or a Duncan and they have too may guys who are inconsistent offensively, such as Okur and Kirilenko, who have had big games followed by very poor games. Lastly, Sloan's style is conducive to home wins, but not so much on the road, in part because the Jazz rely upon the refs not calling all the fouls they commit.
Was I the only one that got some ROFLNESS after Kobe threw brewer with his arms to get that layup in the pain and Sloan was given a T for complaining! It was too funny lol
Are you for real? You do realise that we played them in the playoffs with half our team requiring surgery. Our starting PG couldn't even play in 3 of the games (did I mention we lost all 3 of those?) And our starting C missed the whole series - he's our top scorer (did I mention that our only struggle was scoring in that series?) The only reason the Jazz gave us ANY trouble is because we were banged up. Bad. Having said that, I agree that they are a mismatch for a lot of teams because of their 3,4,5 combination. Okur, Boozer and Kirilenko provide such an unusual combination that it can be tough to guard - especially when you've got 1 eye on Deron Williams.
Not surprisingly, Bill Plaschke pummels Pau. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke10-2008may10,0,771573,full.column
Don't need superstars to win championships: see 2004 Pistons. Possibly 1988-1990 Pistons. To make it, you don't necessarily need a superstar to make it to the championship.... 2005 Mavs, Nowitzki is a very good player, but those he make an impact on both sides of the ball to be considered a full fledge superstar or great player. 2000 Pacers, Reggie Miller was aging and the Lakers were a far superior team, but they managed to make it a great series anyway. It does happpen, just because you don't have a superstar doesn't mean your team is not going to win a title or even make the championship. Things to consider: Utah is well coached. Great rebounding team. Great passing team. Control turnovers well. Are slightly better defensively than the Lakers. Their play is very physical compared to the usual WC team. We were injured this year, but again that doesn't really matter if you don't win....it's valid excuse....but you still have to play. And we did have alot of chances to win some of the games we lost. I am not afraid to say we lost to a better team.
Yao - he was gone long before the playoffs started. T-Mac - was hurting, but still on his game Rafer - Ummm....this is the same guy Williams was abusing throughout the season and last year in the playoffs. Alston does provide offensive against D-Will, but that match up is still heavily favored towards Utah. Utah's odd combination is very problematic for alot of teams, because Boozer, Okur, and Kirlenko are very athletic and are all good rebounders. Defensively, a bit uneven, especially Boozer. But Okur and Kirlenko, are pretty much above average.
