Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Back-to-Back Shaq

After a nice win over the second-place team in the West, the Jazz head to Phoenix to take on the currently lottery-bound Suns, who return the favor by coming to SLC on Saturday. The Suns are riding a five-game win streak after winning in Denver on Monday night. And in the tight Western Conference, all you need is a five-game win streak and, KAZAAM, you're back in the playoff race.


The key to tonight's and Saturday's game will be the teams' benches. If Millsap, Korver, and Kirilenko can get theirs, the Jazz should win both games this week. That's because the Suns' bench (without Barbosa) is paper thin. Their bench studs are currently Jared Dudley, Goran Dragic (that's right, Goran Dragic of CutGoranDragic.com), and ex-Jazzman Louis Amundson. What's that? You don't remember the Louis Amundson era? That game was awesome!


Anyway, I'm not one to go calling games in March a "must win," but if the Jazz want any chance at homecourt in the playoffs, they need two games from the Suns this week.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amundson... did he really play in a game?

And that link... 23 fouls committed and 0 fouls drawn in 2 minutes? What?

Pasty Gangsta said...

We need this game.

Last night's win was nice. But I have to say Boozer vs. Yao in the playoffs REALLY scares me. As does our inability to keep any Rocket over 6'3 off the boards.

What doesn't scare me is D Will matched up against their guards. Has there ever been a team with better big man play and worse guard play?

Orlando said...

OK, I found a better Amundson link. He did play. And he was dominating in his two minutes.

I disagree with you, PG. Yao gets his 20 against Boozer, and Boozer absolutely can't rebound against him. But Yao isn't going to erupt for 40 - to beat the Jazz they will need steady play from Artest (nope) or a monster series from Aaron Brooks/Luther Head.

I would take the Rockets over any other western playoff team.

Pasty Gangsta said...

Fair points. But let's remember that if we play them they're likely to have homecourt (we still haven't beaten a Western Conference team with a winning record on the road this year and had to do it TWICE last season to beat the Rockets).

And I'm sorry, but when a team gets five offensive boards on you in one possession in the NBA, it's a problem.