The New Rivalry - Celtics and Bulls

The Season for Jazz ends, but I am still following the playoff, and try to write something that interests me.

Others,

- Okay, last year, it is Celtics and Hawks. This year, the new rivalry arrives - Celtics and Bulls. 3 OT Game after 5 Playoff Games. Anymore?

- Paul Pierce hit 2-3 very contested shots at the end to force OT and to seal the Win. Just a clutch player.

The Season Ends

Jazz Game,

- Ronnie Price again gave his best efforts. Please stay with Jazz, we need you as D Will back up.

- Compliments from Sloan -

Why did he stick with Price? "I've never seen a guy play that hard in my life in that situation," Sloan said, before drawing a lofty comparison. "[Price] set seven or eight screens while he was on the floor where he nailed a guy. That's how you play basketball. John Stockton used to do it for years."

- I wrote this piece last October when the season starts, (surprisingly) I did give some good predictions - http://jazzfansinasia.blogspot.com/2008/10/lakers-tells-world-they-are-still.html

Others,

- CP3 did impressed me this season. Not necessarily in regular game but in Beijing Olympics and All-Star Game. I saw his talents. I said I won't say D Will is better than him or vice versa. They are both very talented players.

But let's face it, it would be quite difficult for him to do anything in Hornets. Look at the roster. There are not enough supporting cast to help him do better. David West? Not even close with a "normal" Boozer (from my humble opinion). Chandler? Stojakovic? Both pass their best years.

I think the 58-pt loss today can really give the whole team, from management to player, a nightmare-like wake-up call.

We Miss a Piece

Jazz Game,

- Let's face it. We miss a piece to be the Champion - an experienced Centre, 7-ft or above, who puts a lot of efforts in defense. We don't need him to do any mid-range jumpers at all because the Jazz system is all about creating easy baskets, as long as he is capable of doing layups and dunks. I don't think neither Koufos nor Fesenko can fill the spot if we want to be the Champion next season.

- And I hope the Team will enjoy their next game in LA.

Boozer Delivers (Finally); Now a Series (1-2)

Jazz Game,

- Boozer finally delivers - 23 pts, 22 rebs. The last dunk on Gasol is the exclamation mark! Look forward to the same energy level on Sat night!

- D Will, struggles all night, but he is confident enough to take the last shot. This is a star character. He delivers when it matters most. However, he needs to time the last shot better. 2.2 second for Lakers to take the last shot, just too much...

- I don't need to tell how great Harpring and Korver are in the start of Q4. They bring us back!

- I think this Game shows clearly that when our players are doing well, we just don't need D Will to score. For him to score 30+ points means that we are really in trouble.

D Will is no Joke, yet Jazz Lost

Jazz Game,

- D Will did it all - 35pts, 4 rebs, 9 asts, 4 stls, 2 blks. I just hope he won't get too tired. Potentially we have four games to win in this series!!! Go Jazz!!!

- Kobe has a ridiculous shot in front of Brewer at the end of Q3. Brewer did good defense in that play, but somehow Kobe really made that one.

- Kobe said in post-game interview, "He (D Will) is an incredible basketball player". Rightfully so.

Lost, but Commendable Efforts on Offensive Rebounds

Jazz,

- We lost, but commendable effort on Offensive Rebounds - 20 of them!!!

- We will look forward to Okur's back, and hopefully he could play in Game 2.

- Do we miss Donyell Marshall? He is still very efficient (with the limited mins); he is still very professional (keep working hard even though most of the regular season he did not play much); and he is still that clutch in three-pointers.

One thing, he also has a sense of humour, with humbleness - ""You've got to understand, when I come into the game we're usually down 15 points," Marshall joked. "So my job is just to come in and shoot.""

vs perhaps the best athletic player in history - LBJ - Asked about his range afterward, James paused. "Uh," he said. "Pretty much unlimited."

Others,

- Sixers stunned Magic, another very tough clutch shot by Andre Iguodala.

- Hawks really played tough defense. Perhaps their last year success (3-4 lost to Celtics) really gave them some unusual confidence in Playoff.

Playoff Starts; Rose Blossoms; and Lakers, See You Soon

Jazz,

- Okur still can't run full speed with the strained hamstring he suffered in Monday's victory over the L.A. Clippers and pegged his chances as "low" of playing this afternoon when the Jazz open their first-round playoff series against the Lakers.

The Jazz have not officially ruled out Okur, but have made contingency plans, with coach Jerry Sloan saying he would start veteran Jarron Collins in Okur's place, much as he did in Tuesday's regular-season finale against the Lakers.

The chance of upsetting Lakers in the first game is a little bit...slimmer?

- Rockets really kicked Trail Blazers ass today. Jazz, could you remind me how we kicked Rockets out in 1st round, for two years in a row?

Others,

- Rose just showed everyone he is the Rookie of the Year. He scored 36 pts, 11 asts in a playoff debut. The mental strength you seldom found in a rookie.

- Asked about his range afterward, James paused. "Uh," he said. "Pretty much unlimited."

LBJ perhaps is the best athletic basketball player ever, but sometimes I thought he should have shown some more humbleness in his words.

Our X-Factor is in a slump...

Jazz Game,

- I always see Brewer as the X-Factor for us in the playoff. But his recent form is a bit worrying...In last two games, 1/11 in field goals with 5 points in total...

- D Will said after the win over Clippers, "We put ourselves in that position", spot on.

Others,

- It is a consolation that JR Smith does not only fire his three-pointers to us...11/18 from downtown vs Kings...that's just crazy. No team should allow him to get his 3-point momentum.

Lost Again in San Antonio

Jazz Games,

- We lost 20 straight games in San Antonio. That's qutie a record.

- The only thing that we can do is to try our best in the last three games. Try to win them all, and avoid playing Lakers in the first round.

- If not, just lay ourselves out (as Coach Sloan said) and see what could happen vs Lakers.

Others,

- Thanks for Portland's win (we seldom say this), Lakers lost 17 games, while Cavliers lost 15 games. It looks like Lakers won't try to fight for edging Cavliers and we do have a chance to win in the very last regular season games in LA.

Jazz Swept Hornets, Enough Said.

Jazz Game,

- As a Jazz fans, we feel sweet about the Hornets sweep.

- I think the statement - "CP3 is much better than D Will", can no longer stand upright. The media, could we start to say they have the same caliber from now on?

Others,

- Will Bynum, 26 pts of the Team's 36 in the fourth quarter? It is a heart-breaker to Bobcats fans.

Wow...Jazz Lost 3 Straight

Jazz Games,

- no comments. But I insist AK is an important player while CJ is someone that we should use less.

Others,

- Gerald Wallace's rejection on D Wade is strong, clean, and nice. You got to see the Top 10 Video on Friday from NBA.com.