What did I say yesterday about Utah winning this series? I know they were at home, and its only 2 games, but still, for all you Kobe lovers that said the Lakers would win today, and take the series in 5, how about rethinking that?
You can have your opinions, but I don't want to hear excuses like "Kobe hurt his back", he still managed to take 35 shots, so suck hit up and cry me a river (or a lake).
Congrats, the Jazz held serve at home. I still like the Lakers chances with 2 of 3 at Staples where they have beaten the Jazz by double digits 4 times this year.
I can hear the Faker fans say "Kobe's back is hurt" or "we had no free throws". Jazz have plenty of hurt people as well, my friend. No excuses in the playoffs.
Utah was 40-for-76 (53 percent). Big advantage.
UtaH Made 37 of 45 free throws. The Lakers had only 25 attempts from the line and missed 11 of them. The Jazz reserves also dominated the Lakers', outscoring them 39-16.
Expected. Utah has been good at home all year. So this comes as no surprise to me that they won. Kobe was not hurt to much. He still put up MVP numbers. Deron Williams is no slouch either. The guy is for real. Now the series take on a different look. It's the best 2 of 3 with the Lakers having home court avantage. I give LA the edge, not because of Kobe but because of Phil Jackson. He and POP for the Spurs, can pull rabbits out of a hat when a playoffs series is on the line and they have a MVP on the team. ROLLING.
Kobe played poorly, it's a fact. His back probably had a large impact, but he shouldn't have let it control him mentally. I can't remember the last time he took 34 shots in a game, and we know that the Lakers tend not to win when his field goal attempts eclipse 30. They shot poorly from the line, the bench didn't produce, and mormons are insane. That's why the Jazz were able to win.
Let's see .. when you guys like Bynum, Ariza in street clothes AND Kobe with a bad back and ligament damage in his hand, as well as Derek Fisher with a partial muscle tear in his foot, then I'll listen to your cockamamie reasoning.
And even after all that, I still think the Lakers will win. And if they don't, I don't think the Jazz should pat themselves on the back too hard.
I'm not a fan of either team. but let me say Jazz in 6.. why not go against the odds..
Well, i dont want to hear about Kobe's hand, he could have got it fixed, but HE decided not to. I never made excuses while my sonics lost, they just sucked.. so get use to people making mistakes while their team loses.
Its funny how all of you Jazz fans come crawling out from under your rocks just because your team won a couple of games. I have always expected this series to go 6 games with the Lakers winning but I CANT STAND when all you Lakers haters become so dramatic and say Kobe is overrated, then say the Lakers arent that good and blah blah blah blah.......... So here we are in a crucial game five in LA. With that being said im still sticking to my prediction of the Lakers winning in six. All you Jazz fans need to settle down and just appreciate that your team has made this a competitve series. Im not worried at all and I know the Lakers will bounce back so lets all enjoy how the series unfolds.
Lakers fans are rediculous, at least most of the ones I see posting on this site. Your team lost two games in a row and still you act as though the Jazz had nothing to do with it. My jazz lost two games in LA because the lakers were more aggressive, shot a better % and used the crowd to keep momentum. Same reason the Jazz won these two games. Unless one of these teams figure out a way to shoot better on the road this will end in 7 going to the lakers. I dont know about any of you, but I am enjoying this series. These teams are competing out there with everything they have. Kobe played hurt tonight, Deron played hurt game 3. All four games have been very similar, home team jumping out to leads for most of the game and then the road team climbing back. At the end the home team has been able to hold on. The refs have been equally rediculous in this series. In my case it seems like it is always against the Jazz but that is because I am a fan of the Jazz and get emotional about it. But if I look at it objectively, it has been even. Now if you talk to me in the middle of a game after kobe trips over his own feet and they call a foul, I will of course be cursing the refs for their blatant favorism. Jazz in 7. (hopefully)
This is coming from a neutral fan of either team. I was big on the Bulls in the 90's so I hated the Jazz, and I was a big fan of the Lake show when they had Shaq and Kobe.
The Jazz have the momentum now. If they pull of an upset in Game 5, they would be the favorites to win the series. Utah is a great team, and can more than hang with the Lakers. In general, more players on the Jazz make contributions in any given game than the Lakers who rely on Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher to carry their team in most games.
This is a great matchup, and I consider it to be fairly even. Both teams are deserving of moving on to the WCF.
About Kobe's back... No excuses. But his injury could have been the reason why they lost the game.
But injuries happen, and it's just a part of the game that teams have to deal with. Thankfully the Lakers have a player like Kobe who plays through these kind of injuries. Most NBA players would have missed the rest of the game if this had happened to them. Kobe is better than that.
Great game. Great finish. Good luck to both teams in Game 5. I know I'll be watching.
