Well, it should have been us, but the playoffs will move on. I really like this Warrior team, everything about them, and I would love to see them annihilate the Jazz. But the magic might dissapear, and they could get punked by a very physical, tough Jazz team. All those crazy threes might not work against a team like the Jazz who play very tough defense are nothing like the soft Mavs. Boozer will probably destroy them... Go Warriors!!!!!
I hate the Jazz as much as any other red blooded Rockets fan, but they are going to absolutely destroy the Warriors. 1) Jerry Sloan is a much better coach than Avery Johnson. Avery fell right into the Warriors trap and let them run him out of the building. Sloan knows what his team's strength is, defense and offensive execution. 2) The Jazz actually run offensive plays, something the Warriors have failed to master yet. Every Warriors set is dribbling the ball up the court and jacking up a jumper, or somebody taking their defender off the dribble. 3) Utah is tough on the boards. The Warriors are going to be so anxious to get the ball up the floor, I think they'll give up a lot of offensive rebounds. 4) Kirilinko can defend pretty much anybody on the floor. If Baron starts heating up, I think Sloan will put AK on him. 5) Utah plays tough interior defense. The Golden State guards are going to get hammered when they come in the lane, and will start to get tentative and jack up more low percentage jumpers. Basically, the Jazz are the anti Dallas Mavericks. They aren't going to get fooled into trying to run up and down the court. They're going to slow the pace down and force the Warriors to run something that resembles and NBA offense, which they can't. Jazz in 4, write it down...
The Warriors have nobody strong enough to guard Boozer inside. He will destroy them. The bumpy, pushy, physical Jazz defense will rattle GS and those long jumpers will stop falling. Stephen Jackson will be "distracted" by so many non-calls and might erupt. Jazz in 5 or 6.
I thought I would get flamed by picking the Jazz, with the Jazz hate and Warrior love on the BBS. But I think the same thing as you guys. I think the Jazz are going to smack the $hit out of GS. Utah in 5 or 6.
The home team won each game in the season series. Boozer is going to be a mismatch and Harrington is their only shot at guarding him. Everything else should just about equal out with the exception that the Jazz play great D and the Warriors play none. Unless the Warriors steal one, it's going to be Jazz in 7. Home team wins every game.
Of course, I am hoping the Warriors win, but I know for a fact that the Jazz will tear them apart by their sheer physicality and the fact that they're deep enough/talented enough at multiple positions whereas they can counter whatever the Warriors try to do to them. Oh, and did I mention that I haven't seen a team do a better job of defending the three? Jazz in 6 is my pick. I think Baron Davis knew what he was talking about when he said he wanted to play Houston over Utah, because Houston doesn't have that depth to hurt them and aren't nearly as physical and thus won't wear them down/frustrate them as much. Jazz and Spurs in the WCF? If so, Spurs win in 6. If it's Jazz vs. Suns? I would say Jazz in 7.
Everyone picked the Mavs to win easily too. So, we'll see. What if those crazy threes keep on falling - everything they've done so far has defied logic.
i think GS can win. yes boozer can destroy them, but they can double and triple him because the jazz are a poor 3 point shooting team. jumpshots = long rebounds = chance for GS to get out on the break. and you all talk about how physical the jazz are, but that doesnt work as well against guys who are athletic, and i dont think GS will be afraid to attack the paint at all. baron davis is fearless going to the rim no matter who is down there. if they put ak47 on him, i think he will get him in foul trouble.
Never under estimate the warriors. The Rockets missed plenty of open jumpshots/three pointers during the whole series. They lacked the heart to make them. Golden State has that spunky attitude of making their open jump shots which the Mavericks gave to them. I won't put too much stock in the Warriors since Baron Davis's hamstring is a big question mark going into this series. I hate basketball right now because of the Rockets but this could be an interesting series.
My biggest fear in the world right now is seeing a WCF of the Jazz against the Spurs. I will quit watching if that happens and will only watch the Finals if the Bulls or the Cavs make it from the East. I am hoping so bad that the Warriors win this series but I worry about what they are going to do with Boozer. Williams is a tough matchup for them as well (much stronger PG than that punk Terry). Okur is the wildcard with his outside shooting as is Kirilenko. But at the same time, I can see the Warriors running Boozer and Okur out of the gym with their run and gun style. I think Al Harrington plays a big role in this series as he will have to do most of the guarding of Boozer as will Stephen Jackson possibly. One thing for sure, I don't see the Warriors bricking wide open 3's like the Rockets were doing. I am predicting the Warriors to win in 6.
i cant believe people actually think utah has a chance against the warriors lmao, utah is just lucky they played against us. every warrior player can dunk and shoot 3,s. they are gonna run utah crazy
I got to thinking about this as I was out on a jog and if the Warriors play a man and that's a BIG IF, they will have to start Al Harrington in this series. Because I can't see anyone else on their team being able to guard Boozer. If playing a man is what Nellie wants to do, I would envision the Warriors matching up like this: Biedrins vs Okur - about even - Biedrins is athletic enough that he can stay with Okur when he wants to shoot the 3 Harrington vs Boozer - this will be the key matchup and where the series is won or lost if you are a Jazz fan. If Boozer has his way with Harrington like he did with Yao in the last series, then the Jazz win. Harrington MUST put a body on Boozer every time down the court. Get physical with him; don't be a soft like Yao was. Jackson vs Kirilenko - another interesting matchup; AK47 is the wildcard here. Defensively, as much as I am pained to say this, AK47 is a lockdown defender who will hold Jackson under 10 points. This is assuming that the pick and rolls and screens to get Jackson open are ineffective against the Jazz defense. Offensively, I don't think that Jackson is that highly regarded for his defense and AK47 is struggling to get in the flow offensively. Jerry Sloan probably needs to draw up some plays for AK47 if he does get matched up with Jackson. Richardson vs Fisher - Fisher is strong but Richardson is too and is taller. I think this matchup favors GS. Davis vs Williams - This will be a great matchup; Williams already coming into his own as one of the better young PGs around - a very strong guard as well. However, Davis is just as strong (maybe stronger) and more experienced. I think he wins this matchup but man it will be fun to watch them go up against each other. Now, watch the Warriors not even come close to playing a man and go zone, lol. For the oldtimers around here, it's a shame that Swopa doesn't post here anymore. I would love to hear his insight on this series as well as Desert Scar.
I think GSW will have to play a lot of zone and force the Jazz to take outside shots, which is not really how they like to play (they like to take the ball to the paint and get layups/dunks or shoot mid-range jumpers with Boozer/Williams/Fisher/Harpering; this is how they killed us). It will be an interesting series to watch, I think the two teams are so radically different it's a match made in hell.
You my friend know basketball. These other guys were the ones that were saying the Mavs had a chance when they were down 3-2. The Warriors will run Utah out of their building.
