推 CarlosBoozer:不OK 04/21 01:39
April 19, 2007
By Tony Mejia
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
No. 4 Utah vs. No. 5 Houston
Nuts and bolts: Two squads desperate to be lumped in with the NBA's best
battle not to be left behind.
50-50 club: This is the only first-round series in the league to be contested
between 50-game winners.
Fragile?: Jerry Sloan called his team "fragile" late in the season, citing
their inability to handle the adversity of being banged up or missing anyone
from the lineup. Blowing huge leads down the stretch, which ultimately ended
up costing them the home-court advantage in this series, made for an
unfortunate end to an otherwise brilliant season. Frustrated owner Larry
Miller even said the Jazz "sucked" last weekend, a remark that drew the ire
of veteran Derek Fisher.
Yao, Okur and chess: It's going to be interesting to see how often Sloan
tries to draw Yao Ming out to the perimeter to defend Mehmet Okur. Meanwhile,
Jeff Van Gundy gets to plant Yao in the paint and force-feed him. Neither
Okur nor Carlos Boozer can handle him inside. Yao scored 35 points and
grabbed 16 rebounds when these teams met on April 1. Don't fool yourself
into thinking he can't do that on a nightly basis in this series.
AK, O.K.?: Andrei Kirilenko returned from a thumb fracture on Monday and
looked like his old self, flying all over the court deflecting passes and
altering and blocking shots. It was an encouraging sign for Utah, which badly
needs his defense, especially in a series where it lacks a guard who can
legitimately match up with Tracy McGrady.
T-Mac seeks breakthrough: McGrady has famously never gotten out of the first
round of the playoffs in his career, missing out with Toronto, Orlando and
two years ago with Houston. He's 0-for-5.
Supporting cast under fire: Popular opinion is that the Rockets simply
don't have enough surrounding McGrady and Yao to be taken seriously as a
championship contender. This is a good series for Rafer Alston and Chuck
Hayes to prove otherwise. Van Gundy doesn't need these guys to be stars, but
rather, fill roles well. Alston will be asked to take care of the basketball
and make life tough for Deron Williams, while Hayes will need to remain
active and knock lunch pails with Boozer. If they perform their roles well,
Houston advances.
How good is this series going to be?: If it's a track meet you want, you
should definitely look elsewhere, because these games are going to be played
close to the vest, predicated on a plodding, half-court style. There should
be plenty of strategy, and I expect multiple games to come down to the final
minute.
The selection: Houston in 7. T-Mac breaks through, and fading late winds up
costing the Jazz dearly.
http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/10137980
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