Jazz come up with clutch plays in Game 7

[RonnieBrewer (Reverse Layup)]

Jazz come up with clutch plays in Game 7
Charley Rosen / FOXSports.com
Posted: 6 hours ago

Seventh games are always a gas! And they are especially memorable when they
come down to the waning moments ─ like Utah's pulse-pounding 103-99 win in
Houston that grounded the Rockets and vaulted the Jazz into the second round.

The enormous pressure of the win-or-go-fishing seventh games has varying
effects on players. Some become sparkling diamonds. Some become inert lumps
of coal. And some remain prisoners of their own strengths and weaknesses.

Let's take a closer look at the key participants and see how they fared under
the bright lights.

HOUSTON

Tracy McGrady started the game in a semi-funk, as though he couldn't decide
if this was really the most important game of his career or not. He seemed
quite passive until he finally scored his first hoop (at 4:10 of the first).
From then on, T-Mac was mostly on his game.

He was quick enough to turn the corner, even though the Jazz tried to double
him on high screen/rolls. Then, when the defense ganged up on him once more
as he entered the lane, McGrady started dropping dimes on all his teammates.
Later on, once the Jazz were forced to stretch their defense to cover
Houston's perimeter shooters, McGrady simply took the ball to the hole and
was totally unstoppable.

For example: Early in the fourth quarter, McGrady was playing one-on-one with
Andrei Kirilenko atop the foul circle, and went through a series of dazzling
fakes that spun AK like a top. By the time Kirilenko had recovered his
equilibrium, all he could do was foul McGrady.

But that's not all T-Mac did. A back-door cut led to a dunk. A dive-cut
earned him a trip to the foul line. And for most of the game, every offensive
play ran through him.

That's a huge responsibility for any player, no matter how talented he might
be. But the true test of how McGrady responded was his somewhat dismal
performance in the last two minutes.

Forget about the dunk he scored with less than ten seconds remaining and the
Jazz up by four points. Utah's defense parted like the Red Sea and gave
McGrady a free pass. What was more important, and more damning, were the two
jumpers T-Mac had previously missed.

There he was, shredding Utah's defense with tricky drives time and time
again. Buckets, assists, free throws ─ all good things came to him when he
attacked the rim.

But then, with the game and the season on the line, he stepped back and
lofted 20-foot jumpers.

It was the easy way. The safe way. A short-cut that led to nowhere.

McGrady had several other bummed-out moments. Like shooting only 5-for-9 from
the stripe. Like getting posted and stamped by Kirilenko, Matt Harpring, and
generally being used on defense. Like going 0-for-4 from beyond the bonus
line, even though the Jazz went under several S/Rs and granted him plenty of
time and space to get his stroke geared up.

So, cheers for T-Mac's 29 points and his 13 assists. But a razz-berry for his
failure to take over when the game was up for grabs.

Yao Ming tooketh and Yao Ming gaveth.

He started the game by making several relatively quick-release, no-dribble
shots that were designed to limit the effectiveness of Utah's double-downs
that had plagued him all series long. A terrific idea.

And as the game wore on, Yao occasionally maneuvered himself into dunking
position under the basket, knocked down some of his turn-around-lifters (he
doesn't really jump), and made his free throws.

On the down-side, Yao had three of his shots blocked, bobbled innumerable
passes, was routinely beaten to rebounds, and was absolutely destroyed by
Carlos Boozer. Indeed, Utah's aggressive attacks at both ends of the court
always made Yao look slow, and often made him look clumsy.

Like McGrady, Yao wound up with 29 points, but his six rebounds weren't
enough. And his defensive deficiencies were the primary reason why the
Rockets went under.

Here's the one play that characterized Rafer Alston's performance. In the
opening quarter, Deron Williams posted Alston and scored on an easy flip-shot.
Alston responded as though he was playing a pickup game in a schoolyard:
He grabbed the subsequent in-bounds pass, then rushed the ball across the
time-line and tossed up a wild 3-pointer that was way off the mark.

Seventh games are no place to play the revenge of Macho Man.

And no place to shoot 3-11 overall, and 2-8 from downtown (including a banker
from straightaway that was more of an accident than a design).

Shane Battier played with grace under pressure. Hitting clutch triples to
rally his team both early and late in the game. Helping on defense. Blocking
shots. Denying entry passes to whomever he was guarding. And playing like the
winner he is. Unfortunately, Battier is a role player and an afterthought on
offense, who's seldom put in make-or-break situations. Too bad for Houston.

Juwan Howard was a mess. Missing both of his free throws and two of his three
field goal attempts (including a gimme 10-footer from the baseline).

Chuck Hayes was usually on the inside looking out. His normally rugged
defense was ragged. And in 28 minutes, he was expected to capture more than
two rebounds.

Dikembe Mutombo played a terrific three minutes. Scoring on a tip-dunk,
making his only free throw, snatching three rebounds, and even blocking a
shot. He definitely should have played more, especially since Yao was getting
chumped by Boozer.


UTAH

Carlos Boozer was The Man ─ 35 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists. What
did he do in the clutch? Come down with two crucial offensive rebounds, and
shoot 2-2 from the stripe.

Give Boozer the Ernest Hemingway Grace-Under-Pressure Award.

Deron Williams was more aggressive with the ball than he had been in recent
games. Driving, shooting, assisting (14), and running the offense with a sure
hand. To say nothing of his lock-down defense on Alston. Except for a few
sloppy passes, Williams played a near-perfect game.

Derek Fisher did a fairly good job in defense of T-Mac ─ using his body and
lower center of gravity to frequently lock up McGrady's legs and hips. On
offense, he made several important shots (in seventh games, all made shots
are important), moved the ball, and avoided making mistakes.

Andrei Kirilenko had difficulty staying with T-Mac (who didn't?), and
generally scurried around on defense as is his wont. If he only came up with
one blocked shot, he menaced at least four others.

But AK gets a big kiss from Jerry Sloan for taking and making a gutsy 3-ball
that knotted the game late in the fourth quarter.

Mehmet Okur pushed, pulled, banged, floored, and fouled Yao Ming, and also
latched on to eleven rebounds. In general, Okur's offense was much sharper
than it had been in the previous games. And his game glittered for the pair
of immensely critical treys that he hit late in the fourth quarter.

As ever, Matt Haring hustled and bustled. If his shot was slightly out of
synch, he made up for all of his failings by managing a last-minute offensive
rebound that helped break the Rockets' back.

Gordan Giricek had a turn at guarding T-Mac and hit enough shots (3-for-5,
including a big 3) to trump McGrady's less than stellar defense.

What did the game come down to?

Utah's coming off the mark with more intensity than Houston and not folding
when the Rockets made their move late. Utah also maintained its discipline
when Houston likewise stepped up the defensive pressure.

The clutch triples by Kirilenko and Okur. Boozer's big-time shot-making.
Williams' poise. Wearing McGrady down by alternating his defenders. Exposing
Yao's flat-footed flaws. And those three huge offensive rebounds at the end.

Maturity. Self-knowledge. Confidence. Mutual trust. Playing hard and playing
smart. 

That's what the Utah Jazz are all about. 



                                http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6778402 

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