Baron and the boys bombarded Jazz
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 day ago
During Golden State's 125-105 mauling of Utah on Friday night, the
visitors had no solution for the home team's energy.
Right out of the box, the Warriors were faster, quicker and more determined
than were the Jazz. The Warriors broke out on top with relentless defense,
fearless drives and a barrage of 3-pointers. It often seemed as though they
were playing five against four. But the Warriors' initial burst of intensity
was surely no surprise to the Jazz.
Indeed, the visitors managed to retain their poise, run their stuff and even
jump into the lead for a microsecond. But when both Deron Williams and Derek
Fisher got tagged with early foul trouble and Andrei Kirilenko had to play
the point, Utah had no chance of executing its disciplined offense. The wrong
players (like Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur) were forced to make precision passes.
Turnover followed turnover and the game was irretrievably lost in the second
quarter.
Of course, the Warriors' relentless defense also had a great deal to do with
Utah's collapse. Nellie's high-flyers contested every pass and every catch,
beat the Jazz to virtually every loose ball, and to the top of just about
every available rebound. And it was primarily the Warriors' hot-footed
defense that generated their offense.
Unlike Games 1 and 2, the Warriors didn't have to run many isos simply
because Utah's turnovers and their own command of their defensive glass
repeatedly got them off and running. When the Warriors couldn't score on
the break, they found good shots in their early offense situations.
When they had to pull the ball out and play halfcourt basketball, Golden
State simply resorted to high-screen/rolls ─ much more of these than they'd
run in Utah, and with a slightly different procedure: Whereas the screeners
had previously been anxious to slip the screens and prematurely cut to the
hoop, in Game 3 the screeners steadfastly held their ground until they made
solid contact. That was enough to enable Davis, et al, to turn the corner and
get into the middle.
The Jazz tried to show big on these S/Rs, but they were usually strung out
because Utah's interior rotations were often late in protecting the hoop, and
when the helpers did arrive on the scene they mostly set up too close to the
baseline to be of any use.
If Utah's interior (and baseline) defense was ineffective, so was its
exterior defense. The Warriors simply had too many good looks from downtown
and were raining treys from everywhere.
To add to Utah's woes, Baron Davis was unconscious.
§ He was faster than a speeding bullet, seemed able to leap tall buildings
in a single bound, and it looked like he could only be stopped by a handful
of kryptonite.
§ Davis was so fast that he easily split a tight double team.
§ He also made a stunning variety of circus shots.
§ He was a ball-hound on defense.
§ He made good decisions with the ball and always looked to make the extra
pass.
§ And he made the nets dance from near and far.
In addition, Adonal Foyle made his first playoff appearance ever. And, after
making a steal and a breakaway dunk, even Monta Ellis got off.
Did the Warriors do anything wrong?
Yes.
They didn't play this hard, this quick and this smart in Utah.
So what must the Jazz do to reassert themselves in Game 4?
§ Get Carlos Boozer more shots. This means totally clearing out the
weak-side when he's fronted in the post. Or hitting him when he's busting
across the lane. Or running clear-outs for him at the high-post.
§ Keep Williams and Fisher out of early foul trouble. This might mean
starting with some kind of matchup 1-2-2 zone pointed at Davis.
§ Avoid overreacting to the Warriors' dribble-penetrations. Too many times,
four (or sometimes five) defenders moved to clog the middle when Davis or
Stephen Jackson or Jason Richardson managed to carry the ball into the lane.
That's why so many quick kick-out passes found so many open perimeter
shooters. Why not just send Kirilenko in there and keep everybody else at
home?
§ Allow only Fisher and Williams to dribble into heavy traffic.
§ Adjust the wing positions relative to the point guard so that wing passes
are made on a sharper angle. Too many too-flat passes led to successful
denials and even turnovers.
§ Drive hard to the hoop and initiate contact, because the tooters usually
favor aggression. (And, in Game 3, allowed ball-handlers to turn the corners
by blatantly hooking their defenders.)
§ Be ready to rumble.
It's axiomatic that in playoff series between competitive teams every game
is like a different season. So who knows which team will have the hammer on
Sunday?
Game 4 promises only a modest number of certainties: The bodies will fly.
The bodies will crunch. And the bodies will fall.
Viva la playoffs!
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6802392
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