| 11 May 2010
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers 111, Utah Jazz 96
Game 4 was an interesting game and a microcosm of what this series has been. The Lakers took advantage of their size, jumped out to a huge lead that the Jazz chipped away until the Lakers closed out the game. Kobe had his fourth 30-point game of the series, Pau Gasol had his fourth double-double and the Lakers got their fourth win, closing out the Jazz in Energy Solutions, making Game 4 the Lakers fourth consecutive closeout win on the road in the previous two seasons.
If no other game showed the talent disparity between the two teams, it was Game 4. The Utah Jazz recorded more rebounds, more assists, 18 more fast break points, 10 more points in the paint and had more blocks, yet it never really felt as if the Jazz were in the game. Watching basketball games, sometimes things feel a certain way without box scores telling the same stories. You’ve heard people say, “It feels like Team X should be up by 20 on Team Y” even though it’s a four-point game. The Utah Jazz were always team X in this series.
In the second quarter, it felt like the Lakers were completely outplaying the Jazz, and that feeling coincides with the box score as the Lakers won the quarter by 12 points. In the third quarter, it felt like the Jazz played as well as the Lakers did in the second, but they only ended up winning that quarter by four points. The Lakers have figured out to withstand runs, and continue playing their games after runs have ended. After Game 1, I wrote that if you hit the Lakers first, they usually don’t hit back. For four games, the Lakers countered with haymakers for every jab that the Jazz threw.
With 3:18 left in the third, the Jazz brought the Lakers’ lead, which was once 22 points, down to five points. After that, the Lakers went on a 10-2 run to end the quarter. The Lakers ability to punch back has a lot to do with Kobe’s recent abilities to get to the rim, almost at will. You can also attribute that new-found fight in Derek Fisher’s ability to make shots again. For this series, Fisher averaged just OVER 11 points per game. I keep saying that we can’t expect this trend to continue, but if it does, those are an extra 11 points per game that the Lakers can definitely use next series against that high-octane offense in Phoenix.
Why the Lakers Won This Game
As terribly as the Lakers bench has played all season, they haven’t really been terrible. A huge reason why the bench hasn’t played terribly is because the Lakers have made a slight change in their rotation. Instead of playing Kobe the entire first quarter, Phil Jackson has let Kobe sit at the end of the first quarter so he can be rested enough to start the second quarter with Andrew Bynum instead of bringing him midway through the second, asking him and the rest of the first unit to try and re-gain a lead they already had. Because of this, the bench is not only maintaining the lead, but were on the floor during the Lakers two biggest quarters of the series, including the second quarter in Game 4.
Why The Jazz Lost This Game
Utah went away from their Game 3 game plan where they sent two defenders at both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, which allowed Gasol to GO OFF. Gasol recorded his best numbers of the post season, finishing with 33 points and 14 rebounds and fouling out a Carlos Boozer who had another awful game. Boozer finished, for the third straight game, with more field goal attempts than points, this time with 10 points on 11 shots. You can definitely put the goat tag on Boozer for this series. He never really got things going and allowed Gasol to do what he pleased.
Looking Ahead For The Lakers
Guys like Kobe, Lamar Odom and Luke Walton have to be looking forward to this next series against the Phoenix Suns, the team that eliminated the Lakers from the first round in 2006 and 2007. Although not all of the same faces will step on the floor from the last time they met in the postseason, there are enough for guys like Bryant who hold grudges just to give them that extra edge going into a game.
The Lakers are coming off of sweeping the Jazz, the first time the Jazz had been swept in their franchise, and the Suns are coming off of an impressive sweep of their own. No one predicted that the Suns would win four straight against a San Antonio team that played so well against the Dallas Mavericks. The last time either of these two teams lost was on April 24. Since then, both the Lakers and Suns have won six consecutive games, playing some of their best basketball of the season. In Game 1, something is going to give. Game 1 is a historically important game, expect it to be highly competitive and entertaining. Not many are going to be picking the Suns, but as Adam Sweeney said in his Suns-Spurs Game 4 recap, “stranger things have happened.”
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