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.