Nearly every analyst (if you can call them that) in the SLC sports press acknowledges that watching Game 2 looked like a replay of Game 1. From Kragthorpe at the Trib …
It was close for a quarter, then the Spurs took control, then the Jazz rallied, ultimately coming close enough to make the San Antonio crowd mildly nervous, and that’s all.
In both matches, the Spurs “took control” in the second quarter. The Jazz lost two playoff games in nearly identical fashions, at nearly identical points in the game, and identical line-ups on the floor (three loses in a row, if you count their March 30 meeting). The cause? The Jazz are just “young and inexperienced.” The reason they are losing has nothing to do with the coach’s strategy, his players simply need to play better. As Sloan says …
They have to get themselves going. I can’t do much about it. I can’t run for them. I can’t shoot for them. I can’t defend for them.
When Sloan says this, he isn’t being a hypocrite and shirking responsibility, it's just true—no matter what adjustments he might try, this team simply has no heart. The players just give up, especially Deron Williams (could we still bring back Milt Palacio?) It was a pure fluke when this team became the only Jazz squad in franchise history to win a Game 7 on the road and one of only 12 teams in NBA history to have fought back from a 2-0 deficit.
Alas, the coach is right not to attempt any major adjustments, it would risk proving a valuable point about effort to his young children … excuse me, “team” ... however, let’s play devil’s advocate and examine the line-up on the court during the second quarter letdown. For the hell of it, let’s start with the almost universally agreed upon basketball axioms, defense wins championships and in the playoffs, its all about match-ups. Given these two premises, just for shits and giggles, we’ll examine the worth of the Jazz unchanging second quarter line up.
Point guard – Kingpin; serviceable when playing one-on-one against larger point guards who he can body up, but a natural deficiency of lateral quickness makes it hard for him to keep with speedster points who drive in and around the hoop.
Opponent -- Tony Parker: along with Dwayne Wade he is known for being one of the slowest players in the league bar none.
Advantage: Jazz
Shooting guard – Derek Fisher. While actually a point guard playing out of position, he is remarkably successful guarding shooting guards. All year long NBA two guards feared the day when they would face the Utah Jazz. (Side note: when five shooting guards scored 50 or more points against him in the span of 5 weeks, it was discovered that said guards were in fact communist steroid users who were disbarred from ever playing NBA basketball again.)
Opponent -- Manu Ginoboli: strictly a jump shooter. Terrified to drive into the lane. Atrociously stupid player, makes constant avoidable mistakes. Has never shown the potential to improvise or abuse mismatches of any kind — more than anything, the Olympics proved this.
Advantage: Jazz
Small Forward – Matt Harpring: plays the best defense in the NBA when laying on his backside with his ankles broken. Unfortunately, all other times it appears as if he were posing as a cardboard cutout prop for a basketball instructional video. Still, toughness and a football player’s mentality more than make up for all the unnecessary flailing and offensive fouls he picks up regularly. Oddly enough, every single three-pointer by Bowen has mysteriously been made over Harpring's attentive arms after he scrambles back from help defense in the lane.
Opponent -- Bruce Bowen: one of the most transparent, inept, and inexperienced players in all of basketball. Not an ounce of craftiness in his entire body. When the game gets physical, Bowen runs for cover. Bodying him up has been known to knock him off his game every time. Simply hates physical play.
Advantage: Jazz
Power Forward – Boozer: a shot blocker extraordinaire. For some reason, he is able to make up for his lack of height and leaping ability. Even though he has modeled his game after the Mailman, he does not rely too heavily on taking swipes at the ball when players are going up for a shot -- he tends to meet people at the rim. Kirilenko may make the Sports Center highlight reels, but it is in fact Boozer who does most of the heavy lifting for the Jazz defense.
Opponent – Tim Duncan: quite frankly, the most impatient player in all of basketball. Known for his temper. Also, he is undersized for his position. Many analysts think he’d be better off playing the three spot than the four. Being guarded by a man standing 6’8’’ with normal-length arms is more than enough to keep him in tow. Once a journalist said he was the most versatile post player ever ... that writer however was revealed to have a personal vendetta against Jerry Sloan. He was discredited quickly.
Advantage: Jazz
Center – Jaron Collins: along with Kevin Garnett, Collins is widely considered one of the fastest players in the league over 6’10’’. In interviews earlier this week, Sloan said he would like to see some of the players try to bite the Spurs . As a Standford Alum, Collins is well-versed in nipping at player's ankles as they drive past him toward the hoop. Bill Walton called him the best ankle biter of the last twenty years.
Opponent: Fabricio Oberto: a slow prodding white player, reminiscent of Greg Ostertag. His main purpose is standing flat-footed in the middle of the lane. Oberto basically makes up for Duncan’s complete inability to prevent easy baskets. It is almost laughable to think of him quickly back-cutting for easy baskets.
Advantage: Jazz
In conclusion, the mystery continues ... there is every reason to believe that the Williams-Fisher-Harpring-Boozer-Collins line up will eventually pay defensive dividends. The Jazz second quarter player rotations should not be altered so either Andrei Kirilenko or Paul Millsap are on the floor at all times. Ronnie Brewer and Rafael Araujo are also simply worthless to this series and should remain on the bench at all times. The Jazz players simply need to play better.