A message from Alabama to you…......

Alabama’s homecake made with love and a nice message…...

Listen to Post-game interviews of Boozer/Williams/Brewer/Sloan/McGrady/Okur in the audio section of the website.

EARLY FLIGHT IN THE MORNING SO HERE ARE SOME QUICK THOUGHTS.  WE’LL BREAK DOWN FULLY THIS AFTERNOON AT 3PM…

-On the Big Show Tuesday I said I could see a close Jazz win or a Rocket blowout and the latter obviously occurred.  Houston hit shots they weren’t making most of this series.  They were attacking and scoring at the rim and had success along the perimeter.  TMac was on his game (even in the 4th qter), Alston was sinking three’s, they were hitting their free throws, out-hustled the Jazz on the boards and the Rocket bench absolutely dominated the Jazz reserves.  You now have a Rocket team that has a lot of confidence heading to the ESA loose with nothing to lose.

-The Jazz offense was horrific.  They took quick shots and failed once again to consistently attack the inside.  Boozer played slightly better, but his jump shot still isn’t falling.  Williams wasn’t as strong as past games in this series.  Okur scored the teams first eight points and essentially disappeared.  AK was taking shots early in the offense and Brewer I thought was solid again but didn’t play in the 4th quarter.  The bench was flat out awful (outscored 18-0 in 1st half) and when that happens the Jazz rarely win.  Throw in too many turnovers, poor FT shooting and not enough assists and you have a recipe for disaster.  The Jazz have to wrap this thing up Friday because they won’t win a Game 7 here in this building again.  The other unfortunate thing is that even if they do win Game 6 they’ll most likely have to play a fresh Laker team on a quick turnaround Sunday.  That thought should make this loss that much more painful to this team. 

An ode to the Houston Rockets….....

The Rocket’s little rocket couldn’t resist singer Mindy McCready when she was 15…....

After the Jazz won game 4 to put the Rockets backs squarely to the wall, Mr. 4th Quarter (T-Mac), said in the postgame press conference that he couldn’t remember how to pronounce D-Will’s name. “Is it Der-ron…Deron..What is it..”, Mr. 4th quarter proclaimed. I wonder if he’ll remember it now…

Listen to Post-game interviews of Williams/Boozer/Sloan/McGrady/Adelman in the audio section of the website.

GAME 4…UGLY BUT A WIN IS A WIN:

-While I enjoy physical basketball I have to admit this game was a little difficult to watch at times.  The Rockets shoot just 36.7% while the Jazz convert at just a 43.1% clip.  Houston shoots 31.8% from 3pt range.  The Jazz 0-14!?!?  Bodies were flying all over the place, some fouls called, others not, the Rockets complaining about the physical nature, Jerry Sloan saying he loves it.  It may not be pretty but the Jazz will take the victory.

-Sloan credited Phil Johnson with the adjustment in the 4th that allowed Deron Williams to have success driving down the middle of the lane two consecutive possessions to give the Jazz an 82-73 lead.  The Jazz though almost blew it from there failing to score on three straight possessions, allowing the Rockets to pull within two.  That’s when DWill missed the two FT’s and Mehmet Okur made the play of the game with the rebound off the second miss, drawing the foul and draining the two FT’s.  Okur has been up and down in this series but you have to admit he doesn’t shy away when it’s crunch time.

-The Jazz tried to get Carlos Boozer more into the game and while he hit his FT’s (8-8) he continued to struggle with the rest of his game (3-13FG).  I asked Sloan about it and he credited Houston for the way they were playing him.  While the Rockets deserve some credit, Boozer did have open looks and threw up several bricks.  He also missed some in-close shots, and seemed to struggle with his passing at times and catching the ball.  The Jazz are surviving without his best games for now, but if he doesn’t get it together for the next round they are going to be cooked.

-Tracy McGrady asked the media how to pronounce Deron’s name in the post-game press conference.  Either this man is flat out stupid (which I think he might be) or he clearly was taking a shot at DWill.  While you may not know is name Tracy, Deron is something you’re not…a winner.  In the 4th qter Deron was 4-5 with 8pts and 2 assists.  You were 1-1 (just one shot?!), 2-4 from the FT line for 4pts.  Deron is about to go 2-2 in the first round while your about to fall to 0-7.  Deron should should be the one wondering what your name is because you essentially have been a non-factor in the 4th quarter when it counts.

-Once again I thought Ronnie Brewer played a solid game and wonder why he doesn’t get to see the floor in crunch time.  If Sloan is so bent on putting Korver in why not put Brewer out on the floor with him instead of Harpring.  I can’t figure this one out.

Listen to Post-game interviews of Williams/Sloan/McGrady/Adelman in the audio section of the website.

THE FINAL PLAY:

GAME 3…WHAT WENT WRONG?

-Plenty.  The Jazz appeared to lack focus and drive.  I get the sense they thought they could just show up at home with the crowd behind them and waltz through what was supposed to be a devastated Rocket team for an easy win.  The problem was the Rockets weren’t ready to quit.  Houston wanted it more while the Jazz were out of rhythm offensively for most of the game resulting in a lackluster effort that led to an unusually quiet playoff crowd.

-Slow start.  I thought one of the keys going in for the Jazz would be to start fast and step on the Rockets throats early to keep them from gaining any confidence.  Rafer Alston had other ideas providing a big boost of scoring and confidence.  Since Tracy McGrady wasn’t getting it done in that regard I think Alston provided a huge boost to this team’s morale.

-TMac redeemed?  No.  He did play better and finally hit a couple of FG’s in the 4th quarter but he still committed a stupid foul late on AK and bricked a terrible shot late.  I will say it was his best game of the series but the only way he can redeem himself is to continue to elevate his play and lead this team to a round one victory.

-Jazz offense out of whack.  You knew they were in trouble when they scored just 6pts in the paint in the 1st half, 0pts in the 2nd quarter.  That tells you the Jazz were not running the offense and settling for jump shots.  Deron Williams had 21pts on 6 of 9 shooting while the rest of the team scored 23pts on 9-29FG’s.  Not a recipe for success. 

-Free throw problems.  The Jazz went to the line 11 more times than the Rockets but sank just four more FT’s shooting 60.6%.  That’s just inexcusable particularly at home and is a clear indication of a lack of focus.

-Where’s Boozer?  While he recorded a double-double (15pts 13reb) he took only 11 shots and just seemed to be a non-factor much of the game.  In fact he really hasn’t stepped up the entire series.  Is his back still bothering him?  Whatever it is, if the Jazz want to make a significant playoff run he has to return to his old form.

-Where was Brewer?  Ronnie Brewer was playing a solid game when Sloan took him out with 10:15 to play.  He was one of the few players getting inside looks and was hitting his midrange jumpers.  Kyle Korver was off his game.  Why didn’t Sloan bring Brewer back off the bench?  Doesn’t make sense to me.

-Bench play.  The Houston bench finally came to play led by Carl Landry with 7pts 11reb with seven of those coming on the offensive boards.  Overall the Rocket bench provided 17pts and 19reb to the jazz bench 20pts and 7reb.  They played with passion and purpose.  Basically the way the Jazz bench had played in Games 1 and 2 in Houston.

-The final possession.  First off with the way the Jazz were executing offensively and the fact Williams was having problems with the Rockets double-team the Jazz should have called timeout to set up a final play.  Secondly Williams failed to see an open Boozer in the lane not once, but twice.  The double-team was part of it and secondly I think he thought he had to be the hero.  I’m sure most Jazz fans are fine with him taking the final shot but you have to keep your head up.  If he would have passed it to Boozer it would had resulted in a game winning dunk. 

-I would expect the Jazz to refocus and take Game 4 but then again I thought they would take Game 3 as well.  This team really hasn’t played a good game yet in this series but they better put it together because the pressure is now squarely back on their shoulders.  It’s one thing to have to go back to Houston for a Game 5, it’s another to allow the Rockets to regain home court advantage.

I can’t decide which is worse: Andrei’s “acting” in the video or the song…I think I could be a pop star in Russia…....