Jazz deserved their loss in Miami
I suppose the first reaction to the Jazz's 104-102 loss at Miami on Saturday night might be to blame bad luck.
On the Heat's final two possessions, Utah played decent defense. But Daequan Cook beat the 24-second clock with a long three-pointer over Matt Harpring to give Miami a 102-100 lead and -- after Carlos Boozer somehow hit a spinning, fade-away 17-footer to tie the game -- Dwyane Wade knocked down a game-winning 18-foot jump shot that might have bent the rim.
Deron Williams played Wade decently in the last possession, although he needs to remember to stay on his feet when guarding a jump shooter and make him shoot over the top. Wade lured Williams into a foul just minutes earlier by pump-faking, getting into him the air and creating contact.
The same thing nearly happened on the final shot, but Williams managed to avoid fouling Wade, who leaned in and fired. The shot was flat and smacked into the front of the rim. But the ball bounced straight into the air and settled into the basket at time expired.
For Utah, it was their ninth loss in 11 games.
But the Jazz were hardly unlucky.
They deserved to lose this game to the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
--The Jazz missed 11 of their first 16 free throws and finished 29-for-43.
--The Jazz allowed Miami to become confident about its chances of winning with a horrendous start to the second quarter. Utah's first six possessions ended with two missed three-pointers, a missed jumper, missed free throws and two turnovers. Miami stormed to the lead.
--Carlos Boozer was a no-show, at least until the final minutes, when he started the Jazz's late rush to near victory with a 17-footer. Boozer ended up with 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting. He didn't get his first field-goal until the 8:18 mark of the third quarter. But bad shooting nights happen to every player. Defensively, the Heat's Earl Barron torched Boozer for 13 points in the second quarter.
Earl Barron?
A guy who was in the game only because veteran Alonzo Mourning suffered a career-ending knee injury on Wednesday night?
A third-year pro who averaged 2.2 points in his first 36 games with the Heat?
Oh, sure.
That Earl Barron.
The best news for the Jazz is one of the most brutal stretches of schedule I have ever seen confront a team is finished.
The Jazz have played 29 games, tying Toronto for the most in the NBA. They have played a league-high 18 road games. They have done it with Memo Okur and Harpring missing long stretches because of injury and illness.
Yes, the Jazz have had some good excuses for their recent inability to beat teams like Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta and Sacramento -- thanks to the schedule. But that excuse no longer exists.
Utah plays 12 of its next 17 games at home. It plays only 10 games over the next 25 days.
If the Jazz are a top-five team in the Western Conference, the schedule now turns in their favor and gives them a chance to prove it.
-- Steve Luhm
On the Heat's final two possessions, Utah played decent defense. But Daequan Cook beat the 24-second clock with a long three-pointer over Matt Harpring to give Miami a 102-100 lead and -- after Carlos Boozer somehow hit a spinning, fade-away 17-footer to tie the game -- Dwyane Wade knocked down a game-winning 18-foot jump shot that might have bent the rim.
Deron Williams played Wade decently in the last possession, although he needs to remember to stay on his feet when guarding a jump shooter and make him shoot over the top. Wade lured Williams into a foul just minutes earlier by pump-faking, getting into him the air and creating contact.
The same thing nearly happened on the final shot, but Williams managed to avoid fouling Wade, who leaned in and fired. The shot was flat and smacked into the front of the rim. But the ball bounced straight into the air and settled into the basket at time expired.
For Utah, it was their ninth loss in 11 games.
But the Jazz were hardly unlucky.
They deserved to lose this game to the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
--The Jazz missed 11 of their first 16 free throws and finished 29-for-43.
--The Jazz allowed Miami to become confident about its chances of winning with a horrendous start to the second quarter. Utah's first six possessions ended with two missed three-pointers, a missed jumper, missed free throws and two turnovers. Miami stormed to the lead.
--Carlos Boozer was a no-show, at least until the final minutes, when he started the Jazz's late rush to near victory with a 17-footer. Boozer ended up with 10 points on 4-for-16 shooting. He didn't get his first field-goal until the 8:18 mark of the third quarter. But bad shooting nights happen to every player. Defensively, the Heat's Earl Barron torched Boozer for 13 points in the second quarter.
Earl Barron?
A guy who was in the game only because veteran Alonzo Mourning suffered a career-ending knee injury on Wednesday night?
A third-year pro who averaged 2.2 points in his first 36 games with the Heat?
Oh, sure.
That Earl Barron.
The best news for the Jazz is one of the most brutal stretches of schedule I have ever seen confront a team is finished.
The Jazz have played 29 games, tying Toronto for the most in the NBA. They have played a league-high 18 road games. They have done it with Memo Okur and Harpring missing long stretches because of injury and illness.
Yes, the Jazz have had some good excuses for their recent inability to beat teams like Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta and Sacramento -- thanks to the schedule. But that excuse no longer exists.
Utah plays 12 of its next 17 games at home. It plays only 10 games over the next 25 days.
If the Jazz are a top-five team in the Western Conference, the schedule now turns in their favor and gives them a chance to prove it.
-- Steve Luhm
5:23 PM
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