The best advantage the Jazz have over us is this. We have lost to the Jazz in two playoff series with them using this exact same strategy. One of the reasons we lost last night was a certain play when Aaron Brooks was sitting there complaining to an official as Deron drained a wide open three. Only against the Jazz, our team starts missing open free throws (Brooks/Ron), breaking away from our offense to force the issue even more than usual(see Artest, Ron), bricking open threes (see Battier, Shane), and missing gimmes at the rim (Yao 39%). Everyone needs to take a good look at the one new guy who not only kept his composure, but rose to the challenge. Kyle Lowry. He didn't sulk when Harpring ran him over, he scored. He didn't freak out that they were leaving him wide open at the three point line, he either drained it or drove in and scored with ease. Utah does the same thing every game. And every game they get the mental edge. We get the idea that the refs are "out to get us in Salt Lake". Well, they certainly get the better end of the stick, but it's our lack of composure that ultimately does us in.
This team isn't going to get calls for its stars so the only way it is going to beat the Jazz is with aggressive play. It is like their spirit is broken and they expect to get pushed around and flopped on. Almost like the kid who gets his lunch money stolen everyday. Eventually, he just hands it to the bully to avoid confrontation. We finally have a few guys who seem to play through the adversity in Scola and now Lowry but the rest of the gang just keeps taking it. It's psychological now and if the rest of the guys can't up their intensity or at least act like men and stick up for themselves then they should just forfeit the Jazz games and stay home. This team would have been blown out if it were not for Kyle Lowry. It's a shame the rest of the team did not follow his lead until it was too late.
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Great points you made. It's amazing how far a little mental focus and tenacity can take you. Lowry had a plan in his mind all game, and even at the beginning, when it wasn't working, he stuck to it....and eventually it paid off in the 4th quarter. As tenacious as Ron is, it is INCREDIBLY easy to take him out of his game, and get him to start jacking up shots in an effort to prove himself. And the missed free throws were just a lack of concentration.....we are the 3rd best FT shooting team in the league....there was no reason for guys like Ron, Shane, Aaron, and Von to miss all those gimmes. I really can't blame Yao for shooting so terribly....he was getting pushed away from the basket everytime he shot, plus he was EXHAUSTED. It was the 4th game in 5 nights, and he has taken an inordinate amount of punishment in these last few games. But still, everything you said is dead-on. I just hope the coaches and the veterans have caught on to it.
i was mad at aaron for that open 3 he gave up to williams while arguing with the referees. i know he's still new to his role, but c'mon...
It's a great point you make about getting under our skin. I think the Jazz know full well that if they keep moving on screens, flopping, making subtle fouls, etc., they will eventually frustrate us and take us out of our game. So even if we have advantages in certain matchups or more talent, that's enough to give them the edge in a close game, particularly at home. It's hard to criticize the players for getting frsutrated because we get just as frustrated as fans watching them do what they do. Complaining (like AB on that play) or trying to get revenge (like Artest) rarely seems to work. Our guys just have to be aware of their tactics and keep their composure, and if we stick to our game, I think we'll actually pull some of these games out.
That open three Brooks gave up while arguing with the ref was inexcusable. It was out of a dead ball situation, for crying out loud! How did he not realize that everyone was playing again?
