Playoff coaching and free throw shooting
Item: I talked to the Jerry Sloan last week about the differences between coaching in the regular season and the playoffs.
Sloan said the biggest difference is that the time between games allows coaches to focus on what an opponent is doing and make adjustments accordingly.
That said, don't expect the Jazz to make too many changes of strategy in Game 2 against the Rockets.
"You have to make changes, but subtle changes," Sloan said. "Teams try to take things away from you; we have to adjust to that."
He continued: "With a young team, it's a little more difficult to adjust on the run. If you have a veteran team that's run into a lot of different stuff, you can change easier -- change more things. But these guys are young and it's better to try and get them to understand one or two things instead of 29."
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Item: The most overlooked statistic from Game 1 involved free throws.
The Rockets ended up with a relatively modest 29-19 advantage in free-throw attempts.
But did you realize that, after the Jazz shot the game's first three free throws, Houston attempted the next 21? The Rockets' overall advantage in free-throw attempts was 21-3 until Deron Williams was fouled on the Jazz's final possession of the third quarter.
Between the end of the first quarter and the final four seconds of the third quarter, Utah went 25 minutes without shooting a free throw and still won convincingly.
I'm not sure that bodes well for the Rockets in Game 2.
-- Steve Luhm
Sloan said the biggest difference is that the time between games allows coaches to focus on what an opponent is doing and make adjustments accordingly.
That said, don't expect the Jazz to make too many changes of strategy in Game 2 against the Rockets.
"You have to make changes, but subtle changes," Sloan said. "Teams try to take things away from you; we have to adjust to that."
He continued: "With a young team, it's a little more difficult to adjust on the run. If you have a veteran team that's run into a lot of different stuff, you can change easier -- change more things. But these guys are young and it's better to try and get them to understand one or two things instead of 29."
*******
Item: The most overlooked statistic from Game 1 involved free throws.
The Rockets ended up with a relatively modest 29-19 advantage in free-throw attempts.
But did you realize that, after the Jazz shot the game's first three free throws, Houston attempted the next 21? The Rockets' overall advantage in free-throw attempts was 21-3 until Deron Williams was fouled on the Jazz's final possession of the third quarter.
Between the end of the first quarter and the final four seconds of the third quarter, Utah went 25 minutes without shooting a free throw and still won convincingly.
I'm not sure that bodes well for the Rockets in Game 2.
-- Steve Luhm
10:57 AM
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