[Salt Lake Tribune] Ask the Expert: Could Utah make it past Houston in a first-round

eff the jazz. i am really surprised he has so many nice things to say about the Rockets.

 

In 2007 with everybody healthy we lost only in the last minutes of game 7.

Since then they added Kyle Korver ,Brevin Knight and replaced Fisher with Brewer.
But Williams and probably Milsap have improved from then.

We added Scola , Artest , Landry , Barry and Brooks.

Head and Hayes who were important players in that series won't even crack the rotation.

If healthy we gonna win imo , we added an all star caliber player , moved a very good starter in Shane to the bench , replaced an old Juwan with a young Landry and we still have Dorsey and Hayes for insurance , and replaced Head with Barry.
Our pg position is still weak.

 

This article is ridiculous. You don't need to know it was written by Utah's writer because it is simple. He favours the Jazz in every category which for me is unbelivable. Thinking this way McGrady, Yao and Ron are nobody...

Just stupid article for stupid Utah's fans. I'd take Rockets in 6-7 games even without Artest. But with him Rockets' win in 5-6 games is a reality for me. Of course they must be 100 %

 

Meaningless. What do you think a Utah newspaper will write about a Utah team?

 

Of course he will say Jazz...he's writing for the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE.

He does make some good points, but none that we haven't heard before.

If they stay healthy...

If McGrady can handle the pressure...

If Artest doesn't blow-up...

 

If not for Rafer's injury, the Rockets would have beaten the Jazz last season despite Yao's absence and McGrady and Battier needing surgery. THERE IS NO WAY the Jazz can beat them if they're healthy.

 

I actually read the article and I thought it was well thought out and pretty decent for a sports article. The guy actually heaped a bunch of praise on the Rockets.

this part should have been bolded:

Seriously, it could have been much worse. We've all read much worse biases in writing.

 

Agreed, but I do think he was looking through rose-colored glasses about everything on the Jazz but Deron Williams.

 

The expert believes we r a 50-55 win team this yr. Someone should point out to this dorkus that we won 55 games last season with Yao out for about 30 games. If healthy, we should have our first 60 win season.

 

Rafer < Deron
T-Mac > Brewer
Artest > Cryalinko
Scola = Boozer (Boozer doesn't play well when he has to defend a legit offensive threat, See Scola and Odom)
Yao > Okur

The only advantage they have is at PG.

He's also forgetting the biggest reason why the Jazz won..... Luther Head(seriously, it felt like we were playing 4 on 6 with him out there). The additions we made in Artest and Barry will push Head further into the bench and hopefully off the playoff roster.

 

people still think Ron will destroy our chemistry...

 

I guess he's counting on us not being healthy, and who can blame him? Tracy, Yao, and Ron aren't getting any younger.

 

Hopefully Artest can help slow Deron down...if that happens, they have no shot.

 

PG for a team is motor for a car.

Utah is better because they got an elite PG, the most important position on the court.

Rockets need best luck to past the 1st round no matter who is the opponent.

 

And neither is the bad refereeing trends and cheap plays. Lets not forget "Stern" vows to put some effort into fixing the refereeing and flops. If that is the case, we're looking to win at least 1 game from that. Lets not forget the AK47 arm pulling technique on bothScola and McGrady that almost cost us a game.

Still, the writer did give props, and made reasonable points. However, it was obvious that he was being bias in a less obvious biasm. You cannot count on a team losing because McGrady is pressured to enter the second round. McGrady has already experienced worse pressure than that the last 2 years. Not to mention, who says we're relying on Artest? We have Yao, Barry, McGrady, possibly landry, scola and even alston. Artest is an addition, not a key piece that cannot go missing.

Also, he mentioned too much williams. What about too much Yao, Landry, McGrady and Artest? McGrady we know for sure now they have a lot more trouble guarding since we have 2 other destructive players in the lineup. Artest we know for sure because they don't have anyone who can guard his size and strength.

Alston did a good job on Deron, and although I'm not counting on Brooks and Francis, I still see them creating a lot of pressure on Deron's defensive and offensive skills. IF Deron is the only PROPER reason why Jazz will win, then the writer fails.

 

the only way we will meet Utah in the first round again this year is if they end up being 7th seed.

 

Utah need a scoring PG we don't more and more Alston is becoming a better fit for this team with the addition of stars around his passing game.

 

The article didn't bother me much actually. I mean, the guy does write for the Salt Lake Tribune. He also gave a ton of credit to Rafer which surprised me.

I don't buy now, and I never have, the whole pressure on McGrady thing. I don't think that plays much of a role actually.

Everybody is wondering what will happen with Artest and team chemistry. Lets be honest, it is a fair question.

Also, he brings up one very important point, that we tend to ignore. Who does Yao guard? He isn't quick enough to check Boozer, and he can't come all the way out to the 3pt line to guard Okur. That was exposed pretty badly 2 years ago. Still, I thought 2 years ago that Yao wasn't all the way back from his injury so that could have explained his lack of domination on offense. If Yao is healthy he can dominate the Jazzhole frontline on offense which mitigates alot of his defensive shortcomings vs the unique Jazz offense (meaning the jumpshooting, driving PF with a long-range bombing center). If Yao can't dominiate on offense, well, then, we would have a some issues with what to do with Yao. A good example is what Yao does to the Warriors. If he is crushing on offense, we don't mind their guys hitting a 3 every now and then.

One thing we learned last year though is that Boozer wilts against aggressive, smart, quick defenders like the PF combo that we can throw at him. He sucked against the Rox last year.

Deron is a major problem though. Man, that guy is really, really good. Still I think with the addition of Artest, a great bench, and a healthy Yao/Mac we win in 6.

 

He did give the Rockets some praise but the guy has to save face, of coarse he has to pick the Jazz or they'll run him out of town.

Personally, the Rockets have too much power and are too deep.
Jazz done in 5!