SB Nation - Matt Harpring

Matt Harpring calls it a year - prepares to enter the 2010 NFL draft

Basketball John — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:00:15 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

One of the last games of Matt's career.

Matty and the Jazz released the following yesterday

Despite the wear and tear of four collegiate seasons, 11 NBA seasons and undergoing numerous surgeries, I remained hopeful that I would be able to rejoin my Jazz teammates on the court this season," Harpring said. "However, after consultations with the doctors and based on their recommendations, I have reluctantly come to the realization that my body can simply no longer withstand the rigors of NBA games and practices.

First of all, regardless of who it is, it's never good that an athlete has to retire early in their careers because of injuries and physically not being able to do the job anymore. But when some like Harpring that works as hard as he does and does everything he can to prepare himself and keep himself in great shape, it's disheartening. Yet there are other players that coast and waste a lot of their God-given talent and somehow are still in the league when they're 35+. Doesn't seem quite fair.

Matt appears to have moved on to the next phase of his life as he makes some appearances on NBA tv. It's funny that he's sitting in an Atlanta studio interviewing Maynor when he's suppose to be sitting next to him in the locker room.

Saddest of all though might be Sloan.

You'll notice though that he hasn't retired (though he effectively has), being able to keep his salary for this season. And why shouldn't he? He's worked his butt off for a lot of years, played last year when he probably shouldn't have, and tried everything he could to play this year before doctors told him that it would be affecting his long-term health if he did.

He can still help the Jazz though. ~~He and~~ his expiring contract can be traded to a team looking for some late salary relief around the trade deadline. There may be a few teams with huge payrolls that might be out of it by then and are starting to plan for 2010-11.

I don't know how they get around the league's requirements that he has to report though since he's already calling it a season due to injury. There have been similar deals though. I guess it will depend on what type of mood Stern is in.

So bye Matt. There were of course frustrating moments for Jazz fans with your play, but the good out-weighed the bad. But everyone knew that you were giving it all every night and I think that's what fans will remember the most.

Player Season Preview - Matt Harpring

Basketball John — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:52:22 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

What is with the caveman screams from Gasol?

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Since Harpring is still officially on the team, we need to get a player preview done for him. Not even Lloyd Christmas would like the odds of Matt being with the team at some point this year though.

So this preview might turn into a farewell.

Matt had a significant drop in stats last season when compared to seasons passed. His FG% was the lowest it's been since he came into the league. His PPG per 36 minutes was almost 2 points less.

However, he maintained his RPG per 36 average with 6.4 boards. That's right around what he's been averaging the last 5 seasons.

There's nothing shocking in saying that his knees have finally given up on him. He's said himself that playing last season was very painful. Maybe the most telling stat of how much they affected him was how much he fouled per game. After averaging somewhere around 3.8 fouls per 36 for most of his career, that jumped to 5.3 last season. He hasn't been able to keep a lot of players in front of him for a while, but last year it was even more evident. What do you have to do when you can't keep up? You have to foul.

So far this season Matt has spent more time wearing wing-tips than he has basketball shoes. Even if he gets some bionic man treatments, there's no way he's back into basketball shape before the All-star break.

He's transitioning into the next phase of his life. Whether that be in broadcasting, coaching, or starting at QB for the Raiders (he couldn't be much worse, right?), he'll do well.

As far as his future with the Jazz, I just don't see him ever returning to the court again. He still has a contract though, a $6M expiring one at that, which is probably the most that he can contribute to the team right now. He'll stay inactive and I wouldn't be surprised that it (his contract, not him) gets moved before the deadline.

So what will we take away from the Harpring era? We won't miss the missed layups or his man getting by him. His work ethic and locker room leadership won't go unnoticed. I'd like to think that his physical style of play inspired the other guys on the court as well when he was out there.

2009-2010 Season Preview - Utah Jazz

Basketball John — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:16:18 -0000

More photos » by Daniel Ochoa de Olza - AP

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First, thanks to Jeff at CelticsBlog for coordinating all this and setting it up.

Team Name: Utah Jazz

Last Year’s Record: 48-34

Key Losses: Golden State at home (4/11), Minnesota at home (4/3), Morris Almond, Jarron Collins (key?), and soon to be Matt Harpring

Key Additions: Eric Maynor (drafted), Wes Matthews(?), Deron Max + AK Max + Opt Ins + Portland Hosing = Luxury Tax

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?

The Jazz were in wait-and-see mode all off-season. They had three players, Kyle Korver, Mehmet Okur, and Carlos Boozer that could have opted-out. In the end, all of them ended up opting in for various reasons.

Korver decided that the This is The Place Heritage Park reminded him of his home state of Iowa too much to leave.

Okur decided that launching threes in the thin mountain air while making $10M per wasn't such a bad proposition.

And of course Boozer, he who was opting out and getting a raise, regardless. Then, as young people who try to move out of their parents' house find out, things are not as easy financially as they seem. Having no suitors willing to give him a raise with a long-term deal, Boozer opted back in and then went on his nationwide tour of radio stations to drum up interest for a trade.

When that didn't pan out, Boozer headed back to Jazz camp and has so far kept quiet.

The Jazz also didn't make an offer up front for Paul Millsap, though he was their number one priority to re-sign over the summer. They were content to let the market set the price. Due to market conditions, the Jazz were poised to re-sign Millsap for much less than the $8-9M he was looking for. After OKC, one of the last teams with cap space, apparently dropped out of the bidding, it looked like the Jazz were home free. And they would have got a big break too if it hadn't been for those darn kids up north. Portland made a large front-loaded offer for Millsap that looks like it was designed more to adversely impact the Jazz than it was to sign Paul.

The Jazz made two draft picks with Eric Maynor in the first round from VCU and Goran Suton from Michigan State in the second.

Maynor projects to be a third-string backup to Deron Williams and Ronnie Price.

Suton probably would have been signed in any other year, but with the Jazz already over the luxury tax and having enough big men, he will probably not be offered a contract.

Should the Jazz sign anyone else, it would be either Wes Matthews or Ronald Dupree. With CJ Miles out the first 6 weeks or so and Matt Hapring already in the studio, the Jazz are in need of another wing player. Right now, Matthews is the favorite to get the job.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Jazz still have one of the best offenses in the league. Three seasons ago when they went to the WCF, they had the third-best offensive rating. The year after that they were first in that same category. And last season, with injuries littering the Salt Lake valley, they were still a respectable 8th.

While it comes at a very, very high cost (almost $50 M), the Jazz have one of the best front-courts in the league in Okur, Boozer, Millsap, and Andrei Kirilenko. That gives you three former All-stars and at least half of them play respectable D.

As for the logjam at PF, if and when Boozer gets traded, it looks like Sloan will find a way to play both him and Millsap 30+ minutes. There has been some experimentation with Paul at the SF in the pre-season. He won't play significant minutes in that spot, but in some matchups, he could be there. Also, Kirilenko can play SF, PF, and even some C. Millsap and Boozer playing together, mass hysteria.

What I think will be the biggest strength for the Jazz this year is the team chemistry. Most of these guys came into the league around the same time. They've all played with each other for around 3-4 years. They know each other. Whether it's only words, the team has said they've moved on from the Boozer distraction. While I don't have anything to back it up, I believe locker room conflicts was a big cause of the team's stumble down the stretch last season. What I'm hoping to see is the the familiarity and cohesiveness helps eliminate in part some of the team's weaknesses.

And Energy Solutions Arena will be a perennial stronghold for the Jazz

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

I'm not sure that they're any different from last year's preview.

Let's start with the defense again. The Jazz were actually a bit above average last year in defensive rating. Where the Jazz are bothered on defense is length on the inside. They'll clean the glass with the best of them, but most big men can get whatever shot they would like off down low. This comes as being a bit undersized against a lot of opponents This is where the development of Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko, the two seven-footers, would be beneficial. The Jazz also have the propensity of not getting back on D quickly and giving up easy points after a made bucket or drive by one of the guards.

For what it's worth, every other word out of all the players' mouths so far this season has been "defense". It may not be lip service this year.

Second on the list is the inability to win on the road. This has been a problem the last three seasons. Just breaking even on the road the past couple of years would have earned them a two seed two years ago and 53 wins last season.

This is where the next weakness comes in. There was a lack of mental toughness or focus last year, particularly on the road. A good example of this was the Orlando game after a crushing 3 OT loss to Miami the night before. It wouldn't have mattered if the Orlando game was two days later, the blow from that loss, being on the road, and being the second game of a B2B, there was no way the Jazz were going to even compete in that game, let alone win.

They may not have won against a very good Orlando team anyway, but even if Vegas gave them 30 points, I still would have wagered against the Jazz. The late season collapse had more to do with a mental breakdown than anything else. Inexcusable losses at home to the Warriors NBDL team and to the Wolves sealed the team's fate as the 8th seed in the West.

With each of players a little older and hopefully more mature, perhaps we can expect a more focused team this season.

Finally, for the Jazz to be taken seriously, they need to acquire a two-guard that can hit a three and create his own shot. I think Ronnie Brewer is fantastic, but I don't know if his jumper will ever come around. He' would be a great three, but when Kobe can sag 10-15 feet from you, there are problems. The Jazz as a team don't shoot the three well. The top teams shot nearly 40% while the Jazz had just one player (Okur, 44.6%) shoot at least that. That should go up this season.

4. What are the goals for this team?

I'm glad that most previews have the Jazz finishing at the bottom of West this season. Last year they were supposedly the dark house and that didn't turn out so well. According to Hollinger in prior playoffs, they should have gone to the finals. Whenever the team has been counted out is when they've surprised people. So that bodes well.

This is a team that has won 51, 54, and 48 games the last three seasons. For the most part, it's been the same team each year. Last year I had projected that they would win 56 games prior to Deron Williams' injury. Who knew that his pre-season ankle sprain was merely a precursor to the injur-plagued season the Jazz would suffer. There's no doubt that all of the injuries contributed to at least 2-4 losses.

This is the same team that's been here the last three seasons. For good or bad, that's what it is. So when everyone is healthy, there's no reason that this team shouldn't win 50-55 games. Heaven help us (and the league) if they figure out how to win on the road.

Should the Jazz be able to trade Boozer for a true shooting guard and get some expiring deals as well, Kevin O'Connor could be Executive of the Year.

We should see the Jazz challenge the Nuggets and Trail Blazers for the Northwest Division title.

5. Does Andrei Kirilenko need a hair intervention?

I mean, how can he be Ivan Drago with the flat hair?

Projected Finish: 52-30

Check out TBJ's preview as well.

The Best Links In All The World, In All The NBA, In All The Universe... 19 October 2009

Basketball John — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:07:03 -0000

More photos » by Mark J. Terrill - AP

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Giricek, "Something that would have been useful to me 5 years ago!"
The new two-step traveling rule in the NBA
JazzFanz.com • View topic - Here's your Green Jerseys!
I hope they're not that short.
Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap surprisingly still together with Jazz
As much as Millsap, 24, wants to be a starter, he isn't upset at Boozer, 27, for staying and keeping his spot. In fact, the two are good friends, sitting beside each other in the locker room and on the bench during timeouts. The two will also be on the court together this season, with Boozer capable of playing some center and Millsap versatile enough to slide to small forward against certain matchups. "We have fun together," Boozer said. "We're both strong, we're both really explosive and we can play defense pretty good together. ... The good thing is we have a deep team so we can mix up our lineups a little bit."
FanHouse Preview: Jazz -- NBA FanHouse
But whatever configuration of players Utah coach Jerry Sloan has, you better believe he'll coach the heck out of them. Sloan was named to the Hall of Fame last month, but Jazz officials will make sure Sloan, who hates it when somebody makes a fuss over him, won't be introduced before games as any sort of living legend.
I'm loving the low predictions this year
3. Utah Jazz During a long stretch of missed games due to injury last season, Millsap showed why the Jazz could do without Boozer. Now, Coach Jerry Sloan isn’t certain whom to start. Of course, if Boozer’s healthy, he’s the obvious choice. He is, after all, a former All-Star, who’s still in his prime. Another possibility is that Sloan plays Boozer at center some of the time, pairing him alongside Millsap at the four spot. One thing is certain, though, as long as the Jazz have Deron Williams running the show at point guard, they should be competitive. The Jazz should fight for the eighth seed in the West.
I would be very surprised.
The Jazz have a couple of interesting rookies in their camp. Paul Harris from Syracuse and Wesley Matthews from Marquette; Harris is a Jerry Sloan type player, he won't take bad shots and he plays very physical defense. Wesley Matthews is a great shooter who can spread the court. They only have 13 players under contract and it wouldn't surprise me if they kept both of them.
Another Jazz season preview
Of course, the reason the Jazz are so eager to part with Boozer is because they have Paul Millsap waiting in the wings to replace him. Millsap isn’t as good as Boozer, but he’s not much worse, and he is much younger and much cheaper. The best way to describe Millsap is "bull in a china shop". He’s not a guy you’d call "skilled," but he’s really strong, and is constantly in motion. He gets most of his points in the flow of the offense, off of cuts or offensive rebounds, which means you don’t have to call a lot of plays for him. When he does get the ball, there’s nothing fancy going on. He’s going to bull his way to the rim and look for contact. Defensively, he has a similar approach. He’s strong enough to push guys out of post position, and he’s very aggressive going for steals and blocks. That aggressive play helps him make up for his size disadvantage, but it also tends to get him in foul trouble (he had the second-highest foul rate among players who played at least 2000 minutes), and he’s going to have to be a bit more careful if he’s going to be the starting power forward in the future.
Is this a copy and paste from last season?
Matt Harpring is a tough as nails type player that gives his all at both ends of the floor but is out indefinitely after undergoing what was thought to be routine surgery to remove bone spurs over the summer. The swingman suffered an infection that forced him to be hospitalized for four days and treated with intravenous antibiotics for a month.
Sloan Reflects as Career Enters Twilight
SALT LAKE CITY -- Jerry Sloan was in his fourth season as Utah's coach and had just one playoff series win to show for it. So when Sloan's Jazz prepared to play the deciding Game 5 of a first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers in May 1992, there was some uneasiness. via BDL "[The series] was 2-2 and going back to Salt Lake,'' said Charlotte coach Larry Brown, then coach of the Clippers. "Before the game, Jerry told me, if he loses, he might not be the coach next year. "That was 18 years ago.'' We'll never know what might have happened had the Jazz lost. Utah won 98-89 to take the series. The Jazz went on to defeat Seattle 4-1 in the second round before losing to Portland 4-2 in the Western Conference finals. By then, Sloan's job was secure. (via BDL)
Boozer changing his number to Se7en?
What the comment? Of course it's not Stockton and Malone, but I would say the Jazz have more total talent now then they've ever had.
I love Jerry Sloan. He’s as classy as they come and is one of the NBA’s top all-time coaches. Unfortunately he hasn’t had a ton of talent to work with since Karl Malone and John Stockton retired.
The Baseline Sees All: Utah Jazz - Bethlehem Shoals
Why else you should care: Because at this point, the Jazz are no longer strictly Sloan-ball. Internal conundrums aside, this team is, in its own quiet way, pushing toward the future, and nurturing at least one of the league's most scintillating young stars. We might be on the verge of one of those spells where the Jazz put Utah on the national map. Really, is there any pro franchise that can so totally affect the way outsiders see a city or state?
Utah Jazz - It's A Jazz Thing
These aren't the Utah Jazz you're thinking about

The Downbeat - 24 September 2009 - #64 - The Crafty Blazers Edition

Basketball John — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:18:13 -0000

From the official release from the Jazz,

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that veteran forward Matt Harpring will not participate in training camp or the preseason and will miss the start of the NBA regular season. Due to ankle and knee injuries, the 11-year NBA veteran is physically unable to participate in camp or the preseason at this point and his status will be re-evaluated in six weeks.

Maybe a CBA expert can weigh in on this. Harp doesn't have to retire. But if he's physically unable to perform, can the Jazz still collect on insurance? Is there anything the Jazz can do here if they can't trade him or do they just have to bite the bullet?

And I thought I had read a while ago that Matt's contract this year was only partially guaranteed based on games played, etc but can't find anything on it now. Also, if he's traded, the team receiving him may just buy him out as well or release him.

UPDATE, should have read Siler first,

There's been a lot of questions all summer about the financial implications of Matt Harpring's status. To the best of my understanding, here's the breakdown. For starters, Harpring's $6.5 million salary for 2009-10 became fully guaranteed midway through last season.

Although there were injury provisions in his contract, they were all related to Harpring's surgically repaired right knee. He missed exactly zero games for knee-related reasons, so his salary became guaranteed after the Jan. 31 game in Portland.

Siler also goes on to state that the Jazz would have to still sign someone else should Harp retire or not be able to play. With the luxury tax situation, that of course would mean double. But if they're able to recoup some from insurance, then it won't be that big of a hit financially.

My money is still on him getting traded or being bought out and staying on with the Jazz in a coaching role.

@lockedonsports linked to this yesterday and talked about it on his show. Going based on Win Shares, it has the Jazz just behind the Lakers in the west.

My feelings about that are that the potential is there, but like one of the commenters on that post, I'll just wait to see what happens. Too many times we've seen or read that the Jazz should be up with the elite teams only to have them fall far short. There are too many other factors such as injuries to take into account.

Hell, yes (thanks to sharebro nick)

via farm4.static.flickr.com

Quick thought... Is Portland bringing Collins to training camp just to get information from him on the Jazz?

I hope you're ready for tomorrow. I'm going to try to record as much as I can from interviews and put them up tomorrow night for those that don't live in Utah. It may take a bit, but I should be able to get some up.

The season is here.

Loud Links: Oklahoma City Thunder News for July 4, 2009

daddydai — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:00:38 -0000

Happy Independence Day! There is still very little news concerning the Thunder’s free agency targets. There have been reports that the Thunder were interested in David Lee, but since the Turkoglu deal has fell apart Lee is leaning towards Portland. There has been speculation that a retiring Harpring could allow the Jazz enough cap space to match any offer for Paul Millsap. The Deseret News shoots down that notion. Shawn Marion is apparently on the market since the Raptors plan on renouncing his rights. Do you think Presti might be interested?

The Oklahoman has a Q&A with Thunder rookie James Harden. The beard is discussed. Jenni Carlson connects the dots with 66er Moses Ehambe and Serge Ibaka. Both players are from the Congo, and the Thunder needed help translating with Ibaka. Durant praises Harden’s passing skills, and even mentions that Harden could play as a point-forward.

Deseret News | Utah Jazz: No luxury-tax relief if Harpring retires
But because Harpring took part in the playoffs for the Jazz this past postseason, California-based cap guru Larry Coon suggested, a required one-year waiting period before such relief can be granted would squash the notion of the Jazz having Harpring's $6.5 million for next season purged from their payroll. "There is no way they can have his '09-10 salary removed from the books," Coon said.

NBA Basketball Rumors - ESPN Insider
Matt Harpring may retire instead of playing out the final year of his contract that will pay him $6.5M due to an ankle injury that is slow to heal. The Deseret News reports he'll let the Jazz know by late August. "I need to get motion back into that ankle, and if it doesn't happen then not playing is a definite possibility," he said. "I can't function the way. It's not working. I thought this summer would be good for rehab and getting that motion back ... but there's a lot of junk in there.

DAVID MAY LEE-VE THE BIG APPLE - New York Post
The Blazers have long lusted after Lee, who also seeks $10 million per season, exactly the amount the Blazers are under the cap. Bartlestein said because Lee is restricted, the Blazers were fearful of waiting 10 days to see if the Knicks would match and instead jumped at the surer thing in Turkoglu.

Hedo Turkoglu pulls out of talks with Portland Trail Blazers, source says - ESPN
Free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu changed his mind Friday and decided not to join the Portland Trail Blazers, opting instead to accept a five-year $53 million offer from the Toronto Raptors, sources told ESPN.com. The decision left the Blazers livid and was a huge coup for the Raptors, who have promised Turkoglu all of the salary-cap space they will have from renouncing their rights to Shawn Marion, Anthony Parker and Carlos Delfino, which will likely add up to a starting salary in the $10.1 million range, with eight percent annual raises.

The Q&A with James Harden | NewsOK.com
Jenni Carlson: "The Q&A" is all about fun questions, and no subject is more fun than your beard. What’s the story with it? James Harden: My whole freshman year of college, I didn’t have it. It didn’t start growing until maybe the summer going into my sophomore year. It was growing everywhere. And I didn’t feel like shaving. There were times throughout the season where I had to cut it because coach said it was getting too long, but ... it’s my new look.

American dream is alive and well for Moses Ehambe | NewsOK.com
The Thunder, the 66ers’ NBA affiliate, drafted Serge Ibaka last summer, but he spent the past year playing overseas. This summer, he came to Oklahoma City to work with the team, but there was a language barrier. Ibaka is from the Congo. The Thunder needed a translator and asked Ehambe if he knew anyone who could speak Lingala. Of the dozens of dialects spoken in the Congo, it just happened to be the one that Ehambe knows.

James Harden is more than a shooter | NewsOK.com
"He’s versatile, someone who can play the point through the three," Durant said. "He can pass, play defense, is strong and can get to the basket. He’s going to bring a lot to our team." Harden, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, became just the fifth player to lead the Pac-10 in scoring (20.1) and steals (1.7). He will make his unofficial debut with the Thunder on Monday in the Orlando Summer League.

Miss a previous Loud Links Post? Find it quickly Below!

June 2009

| 06-01-09 | 06-02-09 | 06-03-09 | 06-04-09 | 06-05-09 | 06-06-09 | 06-07-09 | 06-08-09 | 06-09-09 | 06-10-09 |

| 06-11-09 | 06-12-09 | 06-13-09 | 06-15-09 | 06-16-09 | 06-17-09 | 06-18-09 | 06-20-09 | 06-22-09 | 06-23-09 |

| 06-24-09 | 06-26-09 | 06-27-09 | 06-28-09 | 06-29-09 | 06-30-09 |

July 2009

| 07-01-09 | 07-02-09 | 07-03-09 |

Six reasons why the Wizards aren't looking to cut salary when they put the fifth pick on the market

Mike Prada — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:09:52 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

7 months ago: Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld, left, looks on during an introductory news conference for new Washington Wizards head coach Flip Saunders Thursday, April 23, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Dear writers and fans of opposing teams;

I've noticed in my daily reading that some of you are still set on the Wizards using their fifth pick solely to get under the luxury tax. I don't necessarily come here to say you folks are dead-wrong, because none of us are prophets. It's true that the Wizards currently have 76 million dollars committed to 14 players for next season, and it's true that the luxury tax level is likely to go down (perhaps way down) from the current level of 71 million thanks to the possibility of the league losing as much as 10 percent of its revenue. It's also true that Abe Pollin, the Wizards owner, was very much against paying the luxury tax as recently as last summer prior to re-signing Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. Finally, yes, it's true the Wizards won 19 games this year and haven't advanced past the first round of the playoffs since 2005.

But times have changed. There are too many facts pointing in the other direction -- the Wizards are trying to add salary, not cut it -- to properly infer that the Wizards will sell away the pick just to get under the tax level. Six of those facts are below the jump. Read them, please, and then come back to me if you are still not convinced.

1. Abe Pollin's health

This is the single biggest factor at play here, and yet nobody has come out and made the proper inference. I understand why nobody has yet -- after all, Abe hasn't given too many interviews and the Wizards are notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to leaks -- but all signs point to Abe Pollin's declining health as the major reason why the Wizards aren't going to cut salary.

During the Wizards' first-round playoff series with Cleveland in 2008, Mike Wise reported that Abe, then 84 years old, was suffering from progressive supranuclear palsy, a degenerative brain disease that slowly impairs motor skills and balance. Wise wrote at the time that the disease is "not directly life-threatening," but corrected himself in a March 10 column this year, writing that "the progressive nature of the disease leads to trouble swallowing, the deterioration of eyesight and eventual death." The second column was written on the date of Pollin's last public appearance, when he was honored by George Washington University's business school. The 85-year old Pollin was wheeled out to the podium, and his voice was barely above a whisper. In short, he looked like his health was declining significantly.

While all this has happened, Abe has made his desire to win an NBA championship pretty clear. He later told Mike Jones of the Washington Times that he would be willing to go over the luxury tax to make it happen. Abe's been called cheap by his detractors, but it takes a lot to question the sincerity of his desire to win at this point. Abe's attempts to improve his ballclub historically have certainly been misguided, and he certainly has struggled in trying to balance his socially conscious actions with the need to win at all costs. But Abe is not Donald Sterling, interested only in his team profiting. He wants to win, and he'll put down his own money to do it (he did pay for the Verizon Center out of his own pocket, after all). When he says he desperately wants an NBA championship, he desperately wants an NBA championship.

What's my point? Abe Pollin is not going to sit through a rebuilding effort, not with his health declining so much that he won't have many more seasons left to win a championship. Selling the top draft pick just to go under the luxury tax line is akin to rebuilding. Teams that want to win a championship don't sell top-five draft picks for nothing. They do everything they can to improve on the foundation they built.

Costs be dammed. As insensitive as this may sound, Abe cannot take his money to the grave. He doesn't have time in his life to wait around for a rebuilding effort, so he's wiling to go all out in order to make one last run at a deep playoff run with the roster he's got.

2. The Wizards haven't been trying to actively cut salary yet

Let's review the actions of this organization since the end of last season.

Re-signed injured superstar Gilbert Arenas to a six year/111 million dollar contract
Re-signed 32-year old Antawn Jamison to a four year/50 million dollar contract
Fired Eddie Jordan after a 1-10 start, eating as much as eight million dollars if Eddie did not sign on to coach another team
Traded Antonio Daniels, who was set to make 6.6 million dollars in 2009/10, for Mike James (6.5 million dollars in 09/10) and Javaris Crittenton (1.5 million dollars in 09/10). To review, the Wizards sent out 6.6 million dollars in salary and added 8 million dollars in salary. That's a net gain of 1.4 million dollars in 2009/10.
Declined to trade Antawn Jamison or Caron Butler to Cleveland (or elsewhere) in exchange for Wally Sczcerbiak and his 13.8-million-dollar expiring contract. Such a move would have cut the Wizards' 2009/10 total team salary down to just over 62 million, which would have put them under the luxury tax.
Hired Flip Saunders, the top coach on the market save for possibly Avery Johnson, and gave him a four year/18 million dollar contract. This, of course, occurred before the 76ers selected Eddie Jordan to be their head coach. Remember, the Wizards must pay the difference between Eddie's current contract and the contract that he had here before he was fired. If Eddie didn't sign anywhere, that's at least eight million dollars.

Do these sound like moves made by an organization desperately looking to cut salary?

3. Where's the market?

Technically, the Wizards have until the 2010 draft to get under the luxury tax for the 2009/10 season. But as soon as the 2009 draft ends, that task becomes incredibly difficult.

Why? The best way to get under the 2009/10 tax line is to trade for contracts that expire after the 2008/09 season, not the 2009/10 season. Contracts that expire in 2010 count on the 2009/10 tax bill. The last real chance to trade for contracts that expired in 2009 was at this year's trade deadline. The Wizards didn't do that.

Now, there are only a few options available for the Wizards to cut salary. One would be to trade for a contract that is only partially guaranteed in 2009/10 on draft day. The only players that have contracts over 2 million dollars that are partially guaranteed are Jerry Stackhouse (7.3 million, only 2 million guaranteed), Greg Buckner (4.1 million, but only 1 million guaranteed), Chucky Atkins (3.8 million, not sure how much guaranteed), Steve Nash (13 million, all non-guaranteed), Steve Blake (4 million, non-guaranteed), Travis Outlaw (3 million, non-guaranteed), Bruce Bowen (4 million, non-guaranteed), Fabricio Oberto (3.8 million, non-guaranteed) and Matt Harpring (6.5 million, not sure how much guaranteed). The Wizards would have to trade a matching salary for one of those players and then cut them in order to save in 2009.

Another way would be to constantly be on the low end of the 125 percent rule. NBA rules dictate that salaries must match by 125 percent between two teams that are over the salary cap. The Wizards could constantly take in just 75 percent of salary, but that would have to occur in multiple trades to make a significant impact.

The final way to cut salary would be to dump a bad contract on a team well under the cap. Currently, the only team under the cap for 2008/09 are the Memphis Grizzlies. If the Wizards wait until after draft day, they could deal with Atlanta, Detroit, Minnesota, Oklahoma City or Memphis, all of whom are under the projected 2009/10 salary cap. But which of those teams wants any of our bad contracts? Atlanta needs their cap space to sign Mike Bibby, while Detroit is hoping to make a big splash in free agency. Etan Thomas is not a big splash.

If the Wizards really wanted to cut salary, they would have started earlier when more options were open. Now, there aren't too many ways to get under the tax threshold. Either the Wizards are incompetent or they don't really mind that they're over the tax. I'm leaning towards the second one.

4. Flip Saunders

We talked a bit about Flip's contract, but another piece of the puzzle is this: why would Flip take the job if the team was looking to shed salary? Flip had his pick of several openings, or he could have just sat on his contract from the Pistons and not taken any position. Instead, he took the Wizards opening quickly. A coach with the pedigree of Flip Saunders would only do that if the Wizards would do everything possible to try to win.

5. Ernie Grunfeld

Ernie's record in previous stops indicates he doesn't really know the meaning of the term "rebuild." In New York, Ernie gave out large contracts to role players like Chris Childs, Chris Dudley, Allan Houston (not the max contract offer, the one in 1997) and Charlie Ward. He did trade old for new once with the Charles Oakley-Marcus Camby trade, but otherwise, he was spending freely. Then, Ernie moved on to Milwaukee, quickly build them into a solid team, and then gave out huge contracts to Tim Thomas and Anthony Mason. When he left the Bucks, he left a team with tons of bad contracts and no real prospect of rebuilding. They're still paying for it now.

Ernie Grunfeld is not a GM who really knows how to cut salary or is interested in doing so. That's what the record says. So unless he gets fired, I doubt we'll see him actively engaging in a rebuilding effort.

6. They still believe in this team

The Wizards have a built-in excuse for last season: injuries. They played the entire year without their best player (Gilbert Arenas) and their best defensive player (Brendan Haywood). They played most of the year without their previous starting shooting guard (DeShawn Stevenson). They saw guys like Andray Blatche get hurt during the year. In response to that, you keep hearing management talking about how they still believe in this team. It could be a smokescreen, but it's a pretty damn big smokescreen to pull.

For all these reasons, I doubt the Wizards really cut salary on draft day. It's far more likely that they'll morgage their youth in order to bring in a high-priced veteran. The bias of this organization is against youth, not money. They're trying to trade the fifth pick because they don't believe a rookie can help this team much, not because they can't afford him.

So if you're very enamored with Nick Young, Andray Blatche, Javaris Crittenton, JaVale McGee or the prospects with the fifth pick, feel free to offer your overpaid veterans. That's far more likely to happen than a move to cut salary.

Preview: Lakers @ Jazz, Game 4

Josh Tucker — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:37:25 -0000

Game 4, the second game of this series to be played in Utah, takes place tonight, and in the the eyes of many, the result should be all but guaranteed. In fact, many have felt certain for quite some time that tonight's game would be a win, regardless of the result of Game 3 — myself included.

If they had won Game 3, tonight would have been a chance to eliminate the Jazz, and one can only hope that the Lakers will be motivated when such an opportunity does present itself. Alas, the Jazz took the first game in Utah, but that should provide the Lakers with even more motivation. They have played at times as though they were bored by this series; having now lost a game, surely their interest has been renewed.

Though Game 3 went into the loss column and was, in the eyes of many, a complete disaster, it's interesting to look at how close the Lakers were to a win despite playing so very poorly. Consider the following:

Kobe Bryant shot 5-24, and in general, had one of the worst playoff games of his career.
Pau Gasol hit only four of 10 free throws, despite shooting 78 percent from the line this season.
Trevor Ariza shot only 3-9, and had zero steals and zero blocks.
Andrew Bynum played only seven minutes, had five fouls, and totaled only four points and two rebounds.
Luke Walton played eight minutes, but had zero assists and zero rebounds, and did not score.
Kobe took just four of his 24 shots from inside the painted area.
The Lakers as a team shot 36.8 percent from the field.
They totaled only 15 assists on 32 baskets — far below average for the best passing team in the league.
The top rebounding team in the league, they were beat on the boards by 15 rebounds.
They shot only 61.5 percent from the free throw line.
They forced six more turnovers than the Jazz, but only managed to cash in on three more points off of turnovers.
Overall, they played horrendously for three out of four quarters, with their only decent stretch being the first 10 minutes of the third — during which time, they built a 13-point lead, only to start giving it away with two minutes left in the period.
During the Jazz' fourth quarter comeback, in which they eventually grabbed the lead, Matt Harpring, of all people, was the key offensive factor.
Boozer totaled 23 points and 22 rebounds, including 16 rebounds in the first half.

Despite all of this — and despite playing in Utah, on the toughest home court in the league — they tied the game with 11 seconds to go, and lost by two on a tough fall-away shot by Deron Williams.

Though the result was a loss, the circumstances have to be encouraging. It required a veritable perfect storm for the Jazz to pull off a last second, two-point victory. The likelihood of the Lakers being this bad again, in this many ways, is extremely slim. Had they improved to their average in just one of any of the above areas, the result would likely have been a win.

Above it all, tonight — having lost a game they should have won, and having gotten a taste of the challenge that is playing in Utah — they should be motivated for the first time since well before the playoffs began. Game 3 will serve to them as a sort of wake-up call, and a motivated, intense Lakers team will show up for Game 4.

Don't expect a perfect game. It's likely that the Lakers will jump out to a large lead early in the game, so don't be surprised if they let up a little once they build a 15- or 20-point lead. The key, however, will be to dominate the beginnings of both halves, as that will keep the Utah crowd fairly silent and minimize them as a factor. Jump out to an early lead, and then squash any hopes of a comeback to start the second half, and the Jazz will struggle to find the energy and inspiration to fuel a run.

Combine that with the fact that the Jazz are simply that much less talented — they have to play very well, at home, to keep the game close, whereas the Lakers have to play very poorly, on the road, to do the same — and it is hard to see how Utah could have very much hope going into this game. The talent gap is large enough that if the Lakers play well at all, and improve on the laundry list of failures listed above, the Jazz will simply have a hard time keeping up.

Let's hope a Game 3 loss in Utah, with another road game about to start, provides LA with the motivation they have been lacking. If it doesn't, then it may finally be time to start worrying about this team's championship hopes.

Lakers vs. Jazz: Position By Position

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:48:34 -0000

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For the upcoming first round series against the Utah Jazz, we've done a detailed breakdown of the point guard position, which is a key position because of the Jazz' Deron Williams. Now, with Game 1 just around the corner, Ryan previews the series at all five positions.

Be sure to weigh in with your thoughts on the positional matchups.

Point Guard

Derek Fisher, LA vs. Deron Williams, Utah:

I don't think there is much of an argument here. Williams is undoubtedly the Jazz' top player and averages 19.4 points per game to go along with 10.7 assists and over a steal a game. The 24 year oldalso has plenty of playoff experience thanks to a Western Conference Finals trip in 2007 and a Wester Conference Semifinals berth last year. Fisher, for all of the leadership and experience, just is not the same player Williams is or even the same player he was a few years ago. Fisher averages 9.9 points per game and 3.3 assists, but his feet have slowed with age and he's a defensive liability at times. Throw in his poor shooting at the end of the year and Williams wins this match-up in a landslide. Edge: Williams, Utah

Shooting Guard

Kobe Bryant, LA vs. Ronnie Brewer, Utah:

This isn't really fair to Brewer because there is maybe only one other shooting guard in the NBA that can play Kobe to a draw. It's not really much of an insult either to say Kobe is clearly the better player here either considering he is the reigning MVP, average 26.8 points per game and 4.9 assists. He can also lock down defensively when needed. Brewer is a solid player in his own right, averaging 13.7 points per game on over 50% shooting, but he's no Kobe Bryant. Edge: Bryant, LA

Small Forward

Trevor Ariza, LA vs. CJ Miles, Utah:

Ariza moved into the starting lineup in the later part of the year following a strong first half in which he made a name for himself for his hustle, athleticism and ability to get into the passing lanes defensively. Ariza has also shown an expanded offensive game to the point that he is making defenses pay for leaving him open on the perimeter. CJ Miles's role for Utah is very similar to Ariza's role for LA. Miles is a fine defensive player and can knock down the open jumper. He is very active and can create havoc. Normally, this match-up would be a draw, but Miles will be playing with a recently healed dislocated left index finger so the edge goes to the healthy. Edge: Ariza, LA

Power Forward

Pau Gasol, LA vs. Carlos Boozer, Utah:

If both were healthy, this would be one hell of a match-up, but ever since Boozer returned from knee surgery it's become increasingly clear that he is not 100%. He lacks the explosion and quickness that he utilized so well in past season. Boozer averaged 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds during the season, which is pretty darn good for a guy that's not 100%, but he's going up against an All-Star who is playing at a very high level. Gasol averaged 18.9 points and 8.9 rebounds this year, while chipping in with 3.5 assists. When asked to, Gasol can up those numbers, but he's more than willing to play second fiddle to Bryant. From a neutrals perspective, you had to be wishing that these two would be healthy, but they're not, which puts Gasol ahead. Edge: Gasol, LA

Center

Andrew Bynum, LA vs. Mehmet Okur, Utah:

Will Okur be able to play or not? It looks like for game one Okur won't be able to go and when he does get into a game he may not be 100% because hamstrings are always tricky. Meanwhile, Bynum is still trying to work himself back into game shape and find his rhythm after missing over two months with a knee injury. Okur will provide Utah a deadly outside shooter as well as rebounding help when he can play, but Bynum will provide the Lakers a tough interior presence and solid rebounder. Most importantly, Bynum keeps his man honest on the offensive end because as soon as his man leaves to help on a pentrator, the ball handler tosses the ball up for an ally oop. If Okur were healthy this match-up would be vastly different, but with Okur such a question mark health-wise, Bynum has an edge. Edge: Bynum, LA.

Bench

With Andrew Bynum returning to the Lakers' lineup, Lamar Odom has been able to return to the second unit and reunite The Bench Mob. Jordan Farmar went into a major slide once he hurt his foot and his confidence is very low right now, but midseason acquisition Shannon Brown has stepped up. Sasha Vujacic found his shooting stroke in the regular season finale and will undoubtedly have chances to hit from the perimeter. The Utah bench is solid with Matt Harpring, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Price and Andrei Kirilenko at Jerry Sloan's disposal. Jarron Collins is also an option off the bench when Okur is healthy enough to start. When each of the second unites are playing at their best though, Los Angeles has the edge because of Odom's versatility and because Utah's best shooter, Korver, has been neutralized by Vujacic in the past. Edge: LA

Coaching

Everybody knows about Phil Jackson's rings, his mind games, his triangle offense. Everybody also knows about Jerry Sloan, but I don't think people realize just how good of a coach Sloan is. Jackson's Bulls teams beat Sloan's Jazz in consecutive Finals, but I wouldn't chalk that one up to PJ. Those two rings come down to the one weapon Jackson had that Sloan didn't: Michael Jordan. When you talk about the best coaches in today's game, Jackson is a gimme for the top group, as is San Antonio's Greg Popovich and many will throw Larry Brown in there, but Sloan deserves to be there too. Phil one of the best this game has seen, but so is Sloan. Edge: Draw

Intangibles

The Lakers finished the season just as they began it, hot. They are on a mission and have last year's Finals loss as fuel. The Jazz have Energy Solutions Arena though, which is arguably the toughest place in the league to play. Edge: Draw

Result

We've got one Jazz win, five Lakers wins and two draw. In the end, it's Williams for the Jazz and everybody else for the Lakers.

Jazz' Offense Vs. Lakers' Defense

Ryan Rosenblatt — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 18:42:43 -0000

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The Laker defense has been a hot topic ever since they acquired Pau Gasol last year. The offense is one of the league's best, but the defense has ranged from the NBA's best to absolutely awful and usually, somewhere in the middle ever since. The problem with being somewhere in the middle though is that in the playoffs, the Lakers will see few, if any team that can be described as somewhere in the middle. If the Lakers are to bring home a title this year it has to start with four wins over the Jazz and those four wins are dependent on the team's ability to lockdown on the defensive end. As anybody who was watched the Lakers knows, this team will score, but their success depends on their ability to defend. They've proven they can defend at the highest of levels, but can they do it game after game like the playoffs requires? Let's start with their ability to defend for four games...against the Jazz.

Breaking down the Lakers' defense, specifically against the Utah offense for this series is a tricky task because nobody is quite sure what the Jazz personnel will be like in the series and how that will affect the offensive scheme. Utah's offense is led by the sensational PG Deron Williams (19.4 PPG, 10.7 APG) who will no doubt give the Lakers' point guards fits. Outside of Williams though, the Jazz could be in trouble. Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur can both give the Lakers issues, but Boozer is not even remotely close to 100% following knee surgery and Okur will be playing with a tender hamstring. The health of those two players, along with that of CJ Miles will go a long ways to determining how much of a threat Utah will be to the Lakers' defense because not only are they skilled offensive players when healthy, but they provide options with regards to the plays and schemes the Utah coaching staff can turn to.

Stats

Taking a look at the Jazz' numbers though we see a good, but not outstanding offense.The number in parentheses is their rank amongst all 30 NBA teams.

Points Per Game: 103.6 points (7th)
Points Per 100 Possessions: 107.1 points (8th)
Field Goal Percentage: 47.46% (3rd)
3 Pointers Attempted Per Game: 13.7 (26th)
3 Point Percentage: 35.0% (T-23rd)
Free Throw Percentage: 77.13 (13th)
Adjusted Field Goal Percentage: 50.0% (T-9th)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.8 (22nd)
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 11.5 (11th)

Now we're going to take a look at the Lakers' defense. For all of the flak the Lakers take defensively, their numbers are pretty impressive, with the NBA rank in parentheses.

Opponent's Points Per Game: 99.3 points (13th)
Opponent's Points Per 100 Possessions: 101.9 points (5th)
Opponent's Field Goal Percentage: 44.69% (6th)
Opponent's 3 Point Percentage: 34.0% (T-2nd)
Opponent's Turnovers Per Game: 15.5 (4th)
Opponent's Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 11.7 (T-24th)
Steals Per Game: 8.8 (T-1st)
Blocks Per Game: 5.1 (T-10th)

Schemes

First, it's important to understand the Lakers' defensive scheme. The Lakers employ basic man-to-man principles, with a twist. They use a strong side zone, which allows the Lakers to be aggressive in their trapping. It also allows the Lakers' defenders to roam a bit more off the ball, which allows them to get their hands in passing lanes and create havoc for the offense. This ability to roam should prove extremely effective against the flex offense that Jerry Sloan's Jazz teams have been running for years.

The flex offense has a few basic sets, but has a number of plays that the offense can run off each set and has a number off options within each play. All of those sets, plays and options are possibilities each and every time down court. The Jazz offense will read the Lakers' defense in both scheme and matchup to best exploit the openings. The flex offense uses many screens, especially those along the baseline that try to free players in the corners to come off those screens and find seams in the heart of the defense on a curl. The set out of the flex offense that Sloan is most fond of, and naturally so with a point guard like Williams, is the 1-4 set, which has the point guard high and the four other players along the baseline. This allows Williams to either work one on one or call for the high pick and roll.

The high pick and roll is something that the Lakers will see early and often. While Sloan has always been partial to his flex offense, he's turned to the high pick and roll as the basis for his offense more and more lately, especially once Boozer went down with his knee injury. The high pick and roll is most effectiive because of Williams' ability to hit from the outside and get to the paint obviously, but also because of Okur's ability to shoot from the perimeter. Okur is often involved in the pick and roll and the threat of the pick and pop to free Okur for the jump shot often gives Williams a lane to basket. Even when he's not involved in the pick and roll, Okur is a threat on the pick and roll because he flashes to the corner and is either open or takes a big out of the paint with him. That frees the paint for Williams should he get to the paint or for one of Utah's athletic wings to cut baseline where Williams will hit him for the easy bucket.

Match Ups

Now, before we get into how the Lakers plan to stop the Jazz, we need to address who will guard who? Whether it be Derek Fisher, Shannon Brown or Jordan Farmar, whoever is in the game as the point guard will guard Williams. Kobe Bryant will be tasked with guarding Ronny Brewer and he may have to rethink his roaming. Bryant hasn't shown Brewer much respect in prior games and has roamed more than usual, but Brewer made him pay to the tune of 16.7 points on 54% shooting against the Lakers this year. At the small forward spot it will be CJ Miles if his injured finger allows, if not Matt Harpring. Trevor Ariza will guard whoever starts for the Jazz at the three. Boozer is the Jazz' power forward, but expect Andrew Bynum to guard him and Gasol to guard the Jazz' center Okur. This could go either way, but especially with his knee still working its way back, The Lakers may not want Bynum to spend too much time on the perimeter against Okur. When Odom enters the game you will likely see him guard Okur while Gasol or Bynum sticks Boozer.

What We'll See

So we know what the Lakers like to do defensively and what the Jazz like to do offensively. We'e talked about who will guard who as well, but now we have to take a look at how the Lakers specifically cater their defense to stop what the Jazz are likely to do.

When the Jazz go to their high pick and roll, the Lakers' point guard aren't going to get overly aggressive and go over the screen. Not only do the Lakers prefer to go under the screens on the pick and roll, but they will be more than happy to turn Williams into a scorer. The Lakers will likely hedge a little bit harder than normal when Okur isn't involved in the pick and roll to string Williams out and keep him from turning the corner. This may leave Williams with the chance to make a pass to the paint which will be rather empty so it will be important for the Lakers' defenders off the ball to be aware of off the ball screens while the high pick and roll is going on. That would be a hybrid flex offense set that would act as a three low, two high set with flex offense principles on the base line. Those flex offense principles is where the screens come into play off the pick and roll to create cutters for Williams to find once he clears the hedge on the high pick and roll. He'll have those opportunities because you won't see many doubles on Williams on the pick and roll.

The only place you're really going to see the Lakers double is in the corners. Their defensive scheme encourages ball handlers to go into the corners and it is at that point that they bring the double to trap the ball handler. This forces the ball handler to pass out of the double team under pressure. The Lakers' in their strong side zone are well positioned at this point to force turnovers in this situation. Not only is the ball handler making a difficult pass, but he doesn't have many options to pass the ball to. The strong side zone takes away the chance to hit a dive man with a pass and you don't want to throw the ball cross court so the only option is to toss the ball back up the sideline where an alert defender can get in the passing lane and further complicate things for the ball handler.

This situation could also provide the Lakers with their biggest challenge and it reared its ugly head in the regular season finale. Williams was often the ball handler being forced to the corner, but he gets to that corner so quickly and is so aware of everyone on the court that he has some time to pass the ball before the double puts him under pressure. While the double is on its way, the strong side zone has already materialized. The man on the strong side zone takes care of the dive man, but that takes him to the top off the restricted circle. This leaves a passing lane alone the baseline. On the weakside, the Jazz use their flex offense principles to set a back screen and free a man coming off that screen. The Jazz used that play effectively in the regular season finale for a few easy buckets. If the Lakers are to better defend that play, they need to be much more physical on the weakside. Not only do they have to communicate well so the defenders know where the screen in, but that man guarding the screener needs to get physical with the cutter and delay him. If the cutter is allowed to come off that screen free without and interference from the screener's man, Williams will find him every time for the layup. If Okur is the weakside screener, the Lakers may have to switch on the weakside screen because Okur will pop to the corner while his man is getting physical with the cutter.

Outcome

The Laker have the players to stifle the Jazz' offense. The Utah offense has not been nearly as potent since Boozer's injury and Williams has had to pick up the slack. The problem is that the Jazz need Williams to be a distributor, not a scorer. As the Salt Lake Tribune mentioned the other day, the Jazz are 3-6 this year in games Williams scores 30 or more points. The problem for the Jazz is tha with Boozer not quite 100%, there is no need to double anywhere on the court or draw defenders to a certain place on the court. That allows the defense to play tight man-to-man everywhere on the court and the Jazz aren't an overly athletic teams so they can't explot it. The Lakers will likely do to Williams what they've done to Steve Nash and Chris Paul in the past. Williams can beat their point guards all he wants, but he's not going to see a lot of help unless it's a layup. If Williams is open from 10 feet or 15 feet, the Lakers will leave him there, even if his man has been beat. If he wants to turn the corner off of the screen, the Lakers will let him without trying to cut him off with a help defender. The goal for the Lakers will be to keep Williams' assist total at five or below, regardless of how many points he scores.

The one thing that could be in the Jazz' favor is their home crowd. Energy Solutions Arena (it really should still be the Delta Center) is one of the loudest arenas in the NBA and the Jazz have used that to their advantage in the past. The flex offense has a lot of off the ball movement and screens, which requires communication from the defense to ensure they know where the screens are coming from and whether or not they are switching. The noise in the arena will make it tough to cummincate and as a result, the Lakers' defense could have a few "breakdowns" defensively in Salt Lake City that are just crowd related because they cannot hear.

If the Lakers are committed to that thinking, their strong side zone and to playing defense in general, the Jazz will have trouble. If Utah can knock down the three point shot at a far higher percentage than they did during the regular season, but that will be their best chance of winning. When committed, the Lakers' defense can shut down the Utah offense and force Utah to win the game from behind the arc. I doubt that will happen and I doubt the Jazz will put up big numbers, meaning the Lakers should be in very good shape.