The Utah Jazz | as seen by Basketball John

Thanks to Golden State for the unforgettable series.  Thanks for taking care  of Dallas.  Thanks for being classy at the end of game 5.  Thanks for the up and down and back up again moments.  Thanks for not taking game 5 when it was there for the taking.  Thanks for missing the crucial free-throws in game 2.  And thanks to losing your cool so many times to bail out the Jazz.  And most of all, thanks for Derek Fisher.

The Jazz tried to give away the game in almost every conceivable way.  Twenty-five turnovers?  Check.  21-33 free throw shooting?  Check.  Deron Williams 1-11?  Check.  The list goes on and on.  You look at the stats and there’s no way GS was in this game.  6-30 from downtown?  Shooting 36% overall?  But the tell-tale stat was the same game after game after glorious game, rebounds.  59-35, Utah.  Four Jazz players were in double-digits in rebounding: Boozer (14), AK (15), Okur (10), and Millsap (12) coming off the bench.

Man those free throws after the technicals and flagrant called on GS were painful to watch.  At one point, they missed 6 free throws in a row.  And after the flagrant on Jackson, they couldn’t convert on the possession.  But to Utah’s credit, they shot 10-12 in the fourth from the line to seal it.

And not enough can be said about Fisher.  He finished 7-10 from the field going 4-5 behind the line.  When everyone else was struggling, he kept them in it.  No doubt this rates about a 7-8 on Bill Simmons’ revenge meter.  I don’t think he had any animosity towards them but it’s always sweet to stick it to your former mates.  Fisher has been criticized a lot during the losing streak to end the season and for getting lit up by other guards.  But you have to hand it to him in this series.  If rebounding was the equalizer to the Warrior’s run an gun, then Fisher had to be the one that put the Jazz over the top.  And wasn’t that the reason the Jazz got him?  I myself groaned when I learned of the trade because I figured Fisher made his money based on .4 of a second.  But he’s made a lot of people look like fools now.

The Jazz are the first  team to punch their ticket to the conference finals.  Back in Nov-Dec you figured they are going to the playoffs.  But I didn’t see many, if anyone, picking them to go the the conference finals.  Now they await the bruised up bodies of whatever team comes out the Suns/Spurs series.  What will the NBA and country do without their media darlings?  The Jazz fever will get to live on at least four more games.

No repurcussions.  Neither Davis nor Richardson will face any punishment for their cheap shot and hard fouls respectively.  I blame Bruce Bowen.  If they didn’t suspend him for his antics against the Suns, I don’t see how they could suspend these two.  Here’s the thing, just how far can you go before you’re suspended/fined for plays like this?  Would a crane-kick do the trick?  Hoffa & Collins playing Red Rover when Davis drives to the basket?  Richardson’s hit was upgraded to a flagrant 2 which means another flagrant would be an automatic one game suspension.  Big frickin’ deal if they’re out of it after tonight.  And this wasn’t even Richardson’s first altercation in the playoffs.  There has to be a line drawn before someone gets hit with a career-ending injury.  Those lines have been crossed with the plays from the last game and those from the Suns/Spurs series.  Doesn’t the NBA have to some in and stop this kind of play?  And what does it take to get refs to call a foul on some of these plays?  The Fisher hit was no better than when a WWF ref is distracted while the manager pounds away on a wrestler.

“But this is playoff basketball!”  That would be sweet if I could cop the same excuse in my every-day life.  You have a deadline approaching at work?  Well, just go Terry Tate on everyone.  You’re driving in rush-hour traffic trying to get to work on time?  Just start driving Burnout style.  “Hey baby, nothing personal.  Just under pressure, you know.”

Anyway, it will be that much more sweet if the Jazz close them out tonight.  I expect the ESA to be riding Davis & Richardson hard all night.  Let’s finally make the NBA’s worst nightmare come a little closer to fruition by closing them out tonight.  And then we can wait for the Spurs or Suns (if either team can field 5 players after their series).