NBA Playoff's have been great. Except....

  The first round of the 2014 NBA playoffs have been absolutely fantastic!  The games have been what every NBA fan could hope for.  And to be completely honest the games should be the story, but unfortunately they are not.  The league is mired in controversy thanks to the ignorance of one "entitled billionaire"  While I have my opinion and share the opinion as many others, I am not going to let this buffoon ruin my love for the NBA or the Playoffs.  Adam Silver will handle his business and I will wait for his decision.

  So lets move on.....

  Lets talk about how great the Playoffs have been thus far.  There have been 7 overtime games already!  There have only been a couple of blowouts and only one series that has been dominated by one team.  There has been drama and excitement in every series.  This is why I watch playoff basketball.  Lets run down the series.

Dallas Maverick vs. San Antonio Spurs-

  This is the best series no one is watching.  For the basketball purist, this series has been a lot of fun.  These two team are the two "old men" teams at the Y or the Rec center that have played together since the dinosaurs walked the earth!  The execute you to death, play good defense and can flat out shoot.  At one point in game two, I watch Jose Calederon hit 4 straight jumpers from the left elbow, all pure.  But that was to be overshadowed by Vince Carter turning back the clock and hitting an unbelievable 3 in the corner for the win.  Right after Manu Ginobli had given the Spurs the lead on a great drive to the basket.  Fantastic series!

Atlanta Hawks vs. Indiana Pacers-

  This is a bad match-up for the Pacers.  The Hawks penetration and kick game has been unstoppable.  Jeff Teague has shown his superior speed and quickness and has given Indiana fits.  The Pacers Roy Hibbert is having a complete melt down and Lance Stephenson just wants to dribble the ball for the entire 24 seconds on the shot clock.  To be honest the Pacers are such a mess I find myself pulling for the Hawks and the upset to see how "Larrry Legend" handles things and if he blows up that team.

Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors-

  This one is going to come down to will....period!  The series is tied 2-2 with both teams having one a road game.  These teams don't like each other and it has been chippy at times.  Paul Pierce did what Paul Pierce does in the playoffs, he closed out game one for the Nets in Toronto.  This series has a bit of a "David vs Goliath" feel to it and Toronto is giving Brooklyn everything they can handle.  Deron Williams really has been a non-factor in the series thus far.  Game four he was held to 10 pts.  If the Nets want to move on Williams will have to be much better and play up to the contract that he received.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder-

  This series has been interesting.  The series is ties 2-2 but could very well be 3-1 for either team.  There have been a number of 4 point plays in this series and some really boneheaded plays to close out games by Tony Allen.  Luckily for him, the Grizz have been able to hold on.  3 of the 4 games in this series alone have gone to overtime!  Gotta love bonus basketball!  Now we have a 3 game series and if it is anything like the first 4, you would be wise to tune in.

Los Angles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors-

  This series is tied at two games a piece but would likely be 3-1 for the Clips had Sterling joined the 21st century.  I can't even call him an owner or Mr. he does not deserve even that consideration.  No one can tell me that this won't be a major distraction for the Clippers the remainder of the playoffs, regardless of Adam Silver's investigation.  Here is a team that had a legitimate chance of making the finals and now who knows where their heads will be.  This will be the ultimate test for Doc Rivers and his staff to get these kids refocused on the task at hand.  Best of luck to the Clips.

Charlotte Bobcats vs. Miami Heat-

  Gotta be honest here, I had hoped that the Cats could give Miami a little better series.  But with Big Al's injury that just wasn't going to happen.  Give it to the big fella, he is out there battling, but he is not 100% and that is what it was going to take to give Miami a series.  Lebron is doing what Lebron does, leading his team.  Dwayne Wade looks relatively healthy but time will tell.  This was the best first round match-up for the Heat as they won't have to overextend anyone and can continue to nurse their bumps and bruises.

Portland Trailblazers vs. Houston Rockets-

  In my opinion, this has been the most entertaining series thus far.  LaMarcus Aldrige has been amazing scoring 46,43,23 and 29 respectively!  The Rockets have had no answer for him.  James Harden has been ineffective and inefficient in the series.  Game 3 had a game winner by a rookie Troy Daniels playing in his first playoff game! Game 4 was all about grit and toughness.  It went to overtime where the Blazers pulled out a win 123-120.  The series is 3-1 Portland with the Blazers looking to close it out in Houston on Wednesday.

Washington Wizards vs. Chicago Bulls-

  Can't say I saw this one coming!  This series has been all Wiz and their team balance.  The Bulls are known as a defensive juggernaut but they simply can not score.  Mike Dunleavy had an outburst in game 3 scoring 35 pts hitting eight 3 pointers and giving the Bulls their only win of the series.  The Wiz will look to close it out on Tuesday in Chicago.

  This is why we watch.  To watch these incredible athletes compete and give it everything physically possible to give their team a chance.  I love this time of year and am not going to let one moron be the focus of this great game and these great series.

Jazz vs Blazers 2.0....Same result Jazz fall 105-94.

  The Jazz could not put together a full 48 tonight.  Enes Kanter and Alec Burks had big games for the Jazz, but it was not enough.  Jazz fell to the Blazers 105-94.  The Jazz just didn't have enough in the tank.  Lets take a look....

• Trey needed to be aggressive with Favors out.
• Not sure if Gordon Hayward is the one the Jazz want initiating the offense.
• Saw Ty do something with Kanter I have not seen him do all season, Kanter came out of the game late in the first quarter, instead of chewing him out and stomping around as Kanter went to the bench, Ty stopped Enes and took the time to teach and coach.
• Jazz were tied at 22-22 at the end of the first.
• Team rebounding for the Jazz was not good in the 2nd quarter.
• Thomas Robinson is really a disappointing player. 3 teams and really no results.
• Trey got the "rook" treatment from the officials in the 2nd. Driving to the basket, not getting any calls.
• Slump is really affecting all facets of Hayward's game. He has not learned how to work himself out of it.
• Jazz did not get any calls tonight. They were clearly the aggressors all night and did not get any calls.
• Alec Burks has been killing it the last 6 games.  
• Burks playing with all the heart for the team.
• Burks played a lot of 1 on 5, was not getting any help from anyone else on the floor.  Portland started to collapse hard on him.
• If the entire team played with the heart and effort that Mike Harris plays with, the Jazz would not lose many games.
• Kanter had another good game offensively.  Still not where he needs to be on the boards.

  Couple of ideas from this game.  How long does Hayward's slump last?  Does this have any effect on what the Jazz decide to do long term with Gordon?  I think we can safely say that Gordon is not a number one option.  I find it interesting that Jazz continually run or initiate the offense through Gordon.  Trey Burke is the one guy on this team that seems to have that "it" factor.  I feel the Jazz should be running more offense through Trey.  When Favors is there I would like to see the Jazz play a little more inside out.  I think these are a couple philosophies that the Jazz should look at.  Couple guys had good nights, but for the Jazz to win it has to be a team effort.

http://www.nba.com/games/20131209/PORUTA/gameinfo.html?ls=slt

Jazz take on the red hot Blazer tonight in Portland!

  The Utah Jazz travel to Portland, Oregon for a dance with the leagues hottest team the Portland Trailblazers.  The Jazz are coming of a battle with the Indiana Pacers Wednsday night at ESA.  They Jazz played a great game, but there is a reason the Pacers are currently the best team in the league.  They were able to get a few stops on the Jazz down the stretch and finish them off.  It was a great game for the Jazz Kanter had 20 pts 10 rebs and Derrick Favors finished with 22 pts and 13 rebs.  Tonight's match-up doesn't get any easier.  Lets take a look.....


Defensively-Tonight's defensive keys are 3 players, LaMarcus Aldridge, Damian Lillard and Wes Mathews.  I feel tonight's game is a mater of not letting someone else beat you.  The way these 3 players are playing currently, you are not going to stop them.  All you can hope for is to play solid defense, make things uncomfortable and difficult for them.  The Jazz will need to make sure guys like Mo Williams or Nic Batum don't have big nights.  LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 31 points and nearly 60% from the field in the 3 games this month.  Wes Matthews is leading the league in effective field goal percentage at 66%, Burks and Hayward will have their hands full with Matthews.  The match-up I will be interested in watching will be reigning Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard vs Trey Burke.  This will be a fun one.  Trey Burke seems to be coming in to his own and seems to have an "IT" factor about him.  Lillard and Aldridge have been running the pick and roll to perfection this season.  The Jazz have struggled in the past defending the pick and roll, this will be a good test for them.

Offensively-As well as Lillard and Aldridge have been running the pick and roll, the Jazz have been have been having and equal amount of success with their pair of Burke and Favors.  Favors was fantastic versus the Pacers, going strong to the hoop when the defense dictated, but also doing a good job with a nice little 10ft pick and pop shot.  Derrick is really developing and its fun to see.  It will be interesting to see if Marvin Williams is a go for tonight.  Enes Kanter played really well starting versus the Pacers.  Granted they do run 2 bigs.  That could be the same match-up tonight for the Jazz, as Portland starts Robin Lopez and LaMarcus Aldridge.  It will be interesting to see what Ty's decision on that will be.  Gordon Hayward struggled from the field versus the Pacers.  Jazz will need a solid game from Gordon.  Look for Hayward to be aggressive early.  This seems to be a catalyst for Gordon to have a good game.  If the Jazz can win the three key stats (rebounds, Free-throws, turnovers) they will have a great shot at picking up their 2nd road win of the season.

  Looking forward to this one tonight.  I want to see the Blazers for myself.  I felt their schedule was fairly soft early on and then they went and beat Indiana and OKC back to back!  Maybe these guys are the real deal.  Lot of great match-ups across the board.  This definitely on that Jazz fans should tune in for....GO JAZZ!

http://www.nba.com/gamenotes/jazz.pdf
http://www.nba.com/gamenotes/blazers.pdf

Utah Jazz vs Portland Trailblazers Preview

  Friday night the Utah Jazz are slated to play the Portland Trailblazer in Boise Idaho.  Should be a bit of a home game for the Jazz even though they have Portland scheduled as the home team.  This will be another good test for the young point guard Trey Burke.  He had a successful first game against Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.  Trey's line was 26 mins, 5-14 shooting, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.  That was the kind of start he needed coming of a poor summer league and all the questions swirling about him.  Lets take a look at some of the keys to this game....

Defensively-
  The Jazz are going to need to be strong in their pick and roll defense again.  Portland will look to run that set a lot with the likes of Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard and new addition Thomas Robinson.  The Jazz will also need to duplicate their work on the boards against the Blazers.  In addition to Robinson, the Blazers added Robin Lopez in the off-season.  Lopez is a work horse on the boards and is a decent offensive rebounder.  The boards will need to be another team effort.  The Jazz should be able to get this win with the likes of Lamarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum being out of the line up.  Its things like that that make this a bit of a trap game.  The Jazz will need to come out focused.

Offensively-
  Look for the Jazz to continue to get out and run.  They did a good job Tuesday night against the Warriors pushing tempo.  Trey Burke has really improved that part of his game since the summer league.  This gave the Jazz opportunities for easy transition buckets.  The Jazz also ran a considerable amount of pick and roll, from both the top of the key and the right wing.  I look for that to continue.  Trey, Gordon and Alec were all effective out of that set.  Also look for Favors to establish early position on his man in the post.  He was effective getting down there early, sealing his man and getting a step to the bucket.  Just another facet of his development.

Bench-
  Last season the Trailblazers had the worst bench in the league.  This year they have added some piece to their bench so that guys like Lillard won't have to play 38 minutes a game.  Some of those players are former Jazz men Mo Williams and Earl Watson.  I would look for Mo to come out with an "I told you so" attitude and try to take it to the Jazz.  If the Jazz bench performs like they did against the Warriors, they should win the battle of the bench.  I feel this is going to be the key for the entire game.  Will Jeremy Evans continue to be effective from the perimeter?  Can Alec Burks continue his attacking style as well as setting up others?  Will JL3 continue to hit his jumper?  X-factors, Dominic Mcguire and Andris Biedrins?  It will also be interesting to see if the staff changes the rotations much.  I know that they would like to look at a couple of other players, but they need to focus on developing the "Core".

  This will be a fun one, with a number of former Jazz faces.  Unfortunately it will not be on TV but you can pick up David Locke and Ron Boone and the radio broadcast on 1280 The Zone and 97.5.  Look for the Jazz to come out with energy to continue to work hard and develop.  GO JAZZ!!!