Rockets 95, Jazz 69 (Ugh)
There was never any pressure last year for the Jazz as the new kids on the block in the playoffs. From the moment they arrived at Toyota Center to play Game 7 against the Rockets, everything was pretty much gravy.
There wasn't supposed to be any pressure in the first round this year, either. Not with Yao Ming last having played in late February thanks to a foot injury. Not after they opened this series with two victories on the road.
What was supposed to be a sweep, though, hasn't exactly gone according to plan. For those who've waited all season to see how the Jazz would respond to pressure, they'll be taking the court Friday night with an aircraft carrier on their shoulders.
They have to win to avoid a return to Houston for Game 7 and the uncertain prospects that brings. They can talk about being in control of the series, but deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that they've lost twice to the Rockets at home this season.
Deep down inside, they have to wonder whether Tracy McGrady finally got rolling in the second half of Tuesday's game. Deep down inside, they have to wonder what happened to the team that averaged 106.2 points a game in the regular season.
Deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that they're 20 points off that average in this series so far. Deep down inside, they have to know that they've been outscored 437-430 through five games, which doesn't exactly leave the basketball gods smiling.
Deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that a Rockets team that won 22 consecutive games during the regular season, the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, is more than capable of winning three straight in the playoffs.
Deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that all the pressure is on them while the Rockets have nothing to lose. Nobody picked the Rockets to win this series and nobody will pick them to win Game 6 on Friday.
"Nobody expected them to win right now," Andrei Kirilenko said. "They beat us by 20. Everybody already gave us a win. As I said, you need to earn it. We need to be way better."
* * *
There's no use spending a ton of time breaking down Game 5. It was almost as if the Jazz knew what the odds were of winning three games on the Rockets' court in one playoff series and decided why even try.
They scored 16 points in the first quarter. Take away Mehmet Okur hitting two three-pointers and tossing in a circus shot while being fouled and the Jazz scored eight points in the quarter.
They scored 16 points in the second quarter. Take away Deron Williams' drives when he realized he had to shoulder the load for his team and the Jazz scored seven points in the quarter.
The Jazz lost the game at the start of the second quarter, when the Rockets scored nine straight points on their way to building a 17-point lead. Their bench outscored the Jazz's 18-0 in the quarter. Not sure I've seen that before.
Here's how it went down: The Rockets pounded the ball inside to Carl Landry, who hit a hook shot over Paul Millsap. At the other end, Matt Harpring missed a jumper and Kyle Korver launched a three-pointer after Mehmet Okur grabbed the offensive rebound.
Bobby Jackson drove for a layup, Millsap was blocked by Chuck Hayes and Jackson hit a three-pointer. The Jazz called timeout trailing 25-16 as coach Jerry Sloan brought Deron Williams back into the game. Okur then committed two turnovers out of the timeout.
Jackson hit two free throws as the Rockets went up by 11 and Sloan opted to replace Korver with Ronnie Brewer. It wasn't just that Korver couldn't keep up with the faster Jackson, Sloan also thought the three-pointer he took was too hasty.
The Rockets carried an 18-16 lead into the second quarter and wound up in front by 17 with 4:11 left before halftime. For the game, the Jazz bench was outscored 26-9 and went 4-for-16 from the field.
* * *
In another five days, the sting from Tuesday's loss might really be felt for Jazz fans. Instead of getting days of rest in advance of playing the Lakers in the conference semifinals, the Jazz might have to turn around and play Game 1 Sunday.
That's if they win Friday, of course, but had the Jazz finished off the Rockets in Game 5, they were all set to open Sunday. The NBA even sent out a save-the-date e-mail (no time, no TV info) on Tuesday afternoon.
If ABC wants the Lakers for a Sunday afternoon game, the Jazz's time between series is going to be better measured in hours than days. They'll play at 8:30 p.m. locally Friday and could be back on the floor at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Los Angeles.
While the Jazz are struggling to close out the Rockets, the Lakers are scouting back at home. If they do play Sunday, Phil Jackson and his staff will have had five days to formulate a game plan for the series. That's never a good thing.
--Ross Siler
There wasn't supposed to be any pressure in the first round this year, either. Not with Yao Ming last having played in late February thanks to a foot injury. Not after they opened this series with two victories on the road.
What was supposed to be a sweep, though, hasn't exactly gone according to plan. For those who've waited all season to see how the Jazz would respond to pressure, they'll be taking the court Friday night with an aircraft carrier on their shoulders.
They have to win to avoid a return to Houston for Game 7 and the uncertain prospects that brings. They can talk about being in control of the series, but deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that they've lost twice to the Rockets at home this season.
Deep down inside, they have to wonder whether Tracy McGrady finally got rolling in the second half of Tuesday's game. Deep down inside, they have to wonder what happened to the team that averaged 106.2 points a game in the regular season.
Deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that they're 20 points off that average in this series so far. Deep down inside, they have to know that they've been outscored 437-430 through five games, which doesn't exactly leave the basketball gods smiling.
Deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that a Rockets team that won 22 consecutive games during the regular season, the second-longest winning streak in NBA history, is more than capable of winning three straight in the playoffs.
Deep down inside, the Jazz have to know that all the pressure is on them while the Rockets have nothing to lose. Nobody picked the Rockets to win this series and nobody will pick them to win Game 6 on Friday.
"Nobody expected them to win right now," Andrei Kirilenko said. "They beat us by 20. Everybody already gave us a win. As I said, you need to earn it. We need to be way better."
* * *
There's no use spending a ton of time breaking down Game 5. It was almost as if the Jazz knew what the odds were of winning three games on the Rockets' court in one playoff series and decided why even try.
They scored 16 points in the first quarter. Take away Mehmet Okur hitting two three-pointers and tossing in a circus shot while being fouled and the Jazz scored eight points in the quarter.
They scored 16 points in the second quarter. Take away Deron Williams' drives when he realized he had to shoulder the load for his team and the Jazz scored seven points in the quarter.
The Jazz lost the game at the start of the second quarter, when the Rockets scored nine straight points on their way to building a 17-point lead. Their bench outscored the Jazz's 18-0 in the quarter. Not sure I've seen that before.
Here's how it went down: The Rockets pounded the ball inside to Carl Landry, who hit a hook shot over Paul Millsap. At the other end, Matt Harpring missed a jumper and Kyle Korver launched a three-pointer after Mehmet Okur grabbed the offensive rebound.
Bobby Jackson drove for a layup, Millsap was blocked by Chuck Hayes and Jackson hit a three-pointer. The Jazz called timeout trailing 25-16 as coach Jerry Sloan brought Deron Williams back into the game. Okur then committed two turnovers out of the timeout.
Jackson hit two free throws as the Rockets went up by 11 and Sloan opted to replace Korver with Ronnie Brewer. It wasn't just that Korver couldn't keep up with the faster Jackson, Sloan also thought the three-pointer he took was too hasty.
The Rockets carried an 18-16 lead into the second quarter and wound up in front by 17 with 4:11 left before halftime. For the game, the Jazz bench was outscored 26-9 and went 4-for-16 from the field.
* * *
In another five days, the sting from Tuesday's loss might really be felt for Jazz fans. Instead of getting days of rest in advance of playing the Lakers in the conference semifinals, the Jazz might have to turn around and play Game 1 Sunday.
That's if they win Friday, of course, but had the Jazz finished off the Rockets in Game 5, they were all set to open Sunday. The NBA even sent out a save-the-date e-mail (no time, no TV info) on Tuesday afternoon.
If ABC wants the Lakers for a Sunday afternoon game, the Jazz's time between series is going to be better measured in hours than days. They'll play at 8:30 p.m. locally Friday and could be back on the floor at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Los Angeles.
While the Jazz are struggling to close out the Rockets, the Lakers are scouting back at home. If they do play Sunday, Phil Jackson and his staff will have had five days to formulate a game plan for the series. That's never a good thing.
--Ross Siler
1:18 AM
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1 Comments:
Haven't you learned you lesson yet, Ross?
STOP TALKING ABOUT THE *$&$%%&# LAKERS!!!!!!!
BTW, when you told us about Javvie being the ref, I knew the game was theirs.
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