Ace in the hole

The Lakers were able to overcome a week’s absence from playing and take Game 1  from the Jazz, but it was certainly not an easy win. Had the Lakers not benefited from the presence of Kobe Bryant, they might not have that victory put away.

Utah plays a every physical game, and the Jazz are very determined to win the “small areas” of the game to gain their victories. By “small areas” I mean to say that the Jazz see every possession as a plus for their way of winning. Loose balls, rebounds, steals, turnovers, jump balls and defensive pressure that results in a change of possession will all be utilized to beat you. Their style is very reminiscent of the style of play of their coach Jerry Sloan.

Jerry was emblematic of the term “hard nosed” when he was a player for the Chicago Bulls. I can remember several games he played against my former teammate Oscar Robertson that were serious physical battles with no prisoners taken. The Jazz will use any and every way to beat you, and they don’t tend to make the mental errors that take teams out of contention. On Sunday the Jazz did not shoot the ball very well but were able to overcome that deficit by pounding the offensive boards.  They were able to stay in the game by regaining the ball after missing shots and keeping possession.  The difference in offensive rebounding was Utah 25 and Lakers 8. The Lakers will have to do a much better job of rebounding on their defensive end if they want a happy ending to this series.  The second-chance points that the Lakers gave up (26) were way too much to tolerate for a team that wants to go to the next round. But the Lakers have a serious ace in the hole named Kobe Bryant.

Kobe led the Lakers in scoring with 38 points and also had a team high seven  assists. The series will be definitely be determined by the adjustments that will be made by either team. The Jazz will want to shoot the ball more effectively and the Lakers will want to do a better job on their defensive board and thus limit the Jazz to one shot every time down court. In the end, they will have an ace in the hole (Kobe) that should be a determining factor in this series. 

When I played the Jazz back in ’88, every game was a grind. The Jazz won the first game in L.A., which put a lot of pressure on the Lakers. We went on to win the second game in L.A., then  lost Game 3 in Utah. We overcame them in Utah in  Game 4,  but  the pivotal game for the Lakers was Game 5, because we went up 3-2. We won the game with Michael Cooper's game-winning shot with only three seconds left. Cooper made a lot of clutch shots for us throughout his career, but this was his only game-winning shot.

P.S. I will be moving my blog within the next two weeks to my website www.kareemabduljabbar.com. Please follow me over to my site so you can continue sharing. 

Comments

[ed cook]

I remember that shot of Cooper's. The headline in the Times the next day was "A Little Coop Deuce."

[Amazing_Happens]

What did you do to combat the Jazz's physical play? Did you just ratchet up your physicality?

[Rocky]

I remember that Utah series back in '88. That was the most heart wrenching series that I've experienced as a Lakerfan. That Utah team was tough; Thurl Bailey, Mark Eaton, a young Stockton and Malone.

[Rebecca T]

I remember Coop's shot. I was at the game and waited at your team bus to ask you about cures or remedies for migraine headaches..Let me tell your fans about graciousness...it is what you were . Here you had lost and you guys were out of the playoffs and our Rockets were still in and yet you gave me your time. Riles and the bus driver were honking the horn to leave the arena..My parents thank you. It is why I defend you to this day when people say otherwise about you during that era.