Well, that’s not quite how I thought the Jazz would go out.  I didn’t have  high hopes for this game, but I didn’t think it would be decided in the first 5 minutes of the game.  When I said in the title of my last post, “Could game 5 be over before it even gets going,” I was referring to Williams and Fisher maybe being out.  Carlos Boozer said after the game that some guys were already on vacation.  Now he didn’t name names, but it didn’t take much to realize who he was talking about.  Deron Williams also said that some of his teammates didn’t have heart.  Could this lead to some big changes in the offseason?  The only ones I see that aren’t going anywhere are Williams and Boozer.  Are AK and Okur on their way out?  AK is going to be pretty tough to trade with his contract.  Okur’s is a little better.  Here’s the breakdown:

Utah Salaries

I’ll post more on possibilities later.  But getting back to the series, there were two words that describe all of the Jazz’s losses, one quarter.  In games 1&2, they had poor second quarters.   In game 4, they crapped in the fourth.  And in last night’s game 5, the first quarter, heck, the first few minutes did them in.  Sloan even knew they were done as he put in the reserves in the second quarter and most of the third.  He could tell already that he didn’t have the team that was going to fight back.  Deron wasn’t full strength and Fisher didn’t come until half-time.  No one else even looked like they wanted to be there to me.  And after Boozer’s and Williams’ comments, now I know.

And here’s what makes the Spurs so good even though taent-wise on paper, they’re not as good.  The role players know their role.  Finley and Barry will come in and give you threes.  Bowen will give you defense and threes.  They know that Duncan, Parker, and Manu are the core of the team.  They’re just happy to contribute and they’re satisfied with that.  Maybe because they’ve been in the league a long time they don’t have the desire to be alpha dogs.  We even saw that with David Robinson when Duncan came along.  Even though he was the face of the franchise for so long, he let Duncan become alpha because he knew that was his best shot at getting a championship.  And the rest of the Spurs on this team now know that these three are their meal-tickets.  And they’re fine with that.  They want the rings.  But I don’t think AK and Okur have accepted the fact that they’re not the go-to guys.  They’re putting themselves before the team.  AK needs to be the defensive stopper that he is.  Is it one-dimensional?  Yes.  But that’s when he’s at his best.  And Okur was the go-to man because Boozer was out.  He was a hero so many times early in the season because he played his role.

And this is all sad because it looks like we’re heading towards the days of Stockton & Malone as the two core players and surrounding them with with so-so players.  I still think AK and Memo and the other supporting cast are very good, better than what John and Karl had.  But the players that played with them knew their place.  But maybe AK and Okur need to go visit the Wizard.

Anyway, it was a great season.  One that exceeded everyone’s expectations.  Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer are now on the national map.  It’s been one of the most memorable seasons that I can remember.; all of the comebacks, Deron breaking defenders’ ankles, Boozer’s dunks over girly men, the emergence of Paul Millsap, Williams putting to rest the notion that he was a mistake pick, and finally bringing Utah basketball back to life and winning new fans (not just here in Utah).

They’re not going to surprise anyone next year.  I think Williams brings with him a little flash and attitude that hasn’t been seen in Utah in well, never.  Boozer is a poor-man’s nobody.  I  think when all is said and done in 15 years, we’ll be talking about the next Williams and Boozer.  That’s provided we can hang onto them for that long.  I think they’re going to be pretty vocal this offseason and will probably get the people they want on the team (and off).

As for Basketball John, I’m not going anywhere.  The draft is coming up, the Rocky Mountain Review not too far behind, and what looks like a busy offseason will keep me posting frequently.  There will be some changes to the site as I keep getting more readers.  And when I’m famous, I’ll remember all the people who first started reading!

And finally, a couple of game notes:

1.  What was Clyde Drexler doing there to congratulate the Spurs?  Huh?
2.  Is the NBA providing any brain-cleaning CDs to get the Pussycat Dolls out of my head?
3.  What’s the over/under as to when the Jazz will win in SA again?
4.  Is there a more appropriate owner than Peter Holt for the Spurs?