MVN - Most Valuable Network

Game 6 Preview: Lakers vs. Jazz

Tonight in Utah, the Lakers try to end the Jazz’s title hopes by beating them in game six. This will certainly be no easy task, as Utah’s stadium gives the Jazz the best home court advantage in the NBA. Combine that with the fact that it has been ridiculously hard to win on the road in the playoffs so far and it seems nearly impossible.

Just how good are the Jazz at the Energy Solutions Arena? In the regular season and playoffs this year, they’re a stunning 41-5. Wow.

The Lakers can pull it off, though. They somehow managed to win game five with Kobe Bryant attempting just ten shots and the bench being outscored by ten.

Bryant still has back problems, and should be limited again tonight. However, they should be better, and he should take more shots. With Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, though, he might not even need too.

For the Lakers, I think this game comes down to their role players and bench. In an environment as tough as Utah, the bench will be counted on to provide a spark and get some momentum. Trevor Ariza could help with some of that if he is activated.

We all know what Kobe, Gasol, and Odom can do. They can’t do it alone on the road against the Jazz, though, and need guys like Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, and Vladimir Radmanovic to step up and get some points. If this doesn’t happen, than I don’t see the Lakers winning, as you know Andrei Kirilenko will be playing his best defense on Bryant.

For the Jazz, there are two main things that they need to do on offense. The first is for Deron Williams to not get intimidated and suffocated by the traps of LA’s defense and continue the ball movement that makes the Jazz offense so good. If Williams can manage to pass the ball to his guys who can then create good shots, than they should win.

A guy that has to make those shots is Carlos Boozer. In some playoff games, he has looked great. In others, though, he is completely different. He better show up tonight, or Williams will find it rather tough to make things happen.

I can’t see the Lakers coming into Utah and beating the Jazz with the type of crowd that will undoubtedly show up. I think it’ll be a good game up until halftime, but in third quarter, Utah’s superior depth and intensity will help them to slightly pull away and force a game seven.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 4:56 pm and is filed under The NBA Source. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.