Playoff Thread

[Firefistus]

We're in the playoffs and our first round is against OKC. They have home court advantage as we have a tie and they won the tie breakers against us.

This was the team I didn't want among all the teams that arean'y the Rockets. I think Adams is a good defender against Rudy. Not too worried about George, but if Westbrook suddenly realizes he doesn't need to shoot all the time (like last game of the season) then we're in trouble. The best part of OKC is Westbrook shooting 100 shots a game and only making a fraction of them.

[Ironman5219]

I'm not scared of OKC. CarMARSHMELLO Anthoney is slow and can't defend. Westbrook is a ball hog, and they are missing their best defender in Robinson. As long as we make our shots and don't get into the dreaded shooting slump we will come out on top. My prediction is Jazz in 6

[Firefistus]

One thing for sure, we have the coaching advantage.

[Wes Mantooth]

I'm a little less optimistic. Rudy struggles against Adams more than anyone else. We need Rudy to win that battle. I bet they try to blanket Mitchell with George. Series is going to come down to if Rubio can continue to play well. I bet we see a lot of Crowder over Favors with an undersized Melo. Jazz in 7.

[chipurmunki]

Should be super exciting because it's two different styles of play going head to head. Jazz in 6.

[JAZZNC]

Man, PG just can't miss. Kinda crazy we are even this close with him playing like that.

[dhopisthename]

well tough first game, but hopefully the Jazz can make a few adjustments.

[dhopisthename]

we have to find ways to deal with them pressuring us so much.

[Firefistus]

I don't think there's much to adjust honestly, except for cleaning up the loose possessions. We played OKC well defensively, they just couldn't miss anything. They are the second worse free throw shooting team, and until we fouled adams, they hadn't missed a free throw all night. If they shot anything normal they would've lost the game.

This is why I didn't like OKC for a match-up though. We play them well defensively, and have all season, but for some reason they can't miss shots when playing against us. Our only hope to win games in this series is that they will come back down to season average, if they do we will win the series. But if they don't we'll get swept.

[dhopisthename]

well one adjustment is that jonas shouldn't ever be guarding melo. that was just pathetic

[Wes Mantooth]

When a star player Like Paul George get's that hot they will beat anyone. It is not sustainable. Paul George causes a lot of problems for Ingles. Adams plays Gobert as well as anyone in the league. Our playoff inexperience showed in game 1. The refs were bad (as expected) but that is not why the Jazz lost.

My Game 1 grades
Rubio- C Good strategy for OKC to get Rubio to shoot that much
Mitchell- A Can't expect more from his first playoff game
Ingles- C Started the game too slow, PG dominated him on both ends
Favors- F Lethargic unmotivated Favors showed up, he was awful
Gobert- C Some terrible foul calls on him stole his aggressiveness
Exum- B Not bad considering how obviously nervous he was
Crowder- D Jae needs to focus on the game not the officials
O'Neale- Pass He played just like a rookie in his first playoff game
Jerebko- F He was -7 in only 4 minutes, not ready to play

[Raupie]

I think Exum earns an A for potential and a B for production. He and Mitchel are the only Jazz players who are able to consistently get their own shot.

Agree about Favors. I thought he was going to be big for us. He should have dominated Melo.

Gobert was not very good in my opinion. We did not give up many shots in the paint. But our defensive rebounding wasn't great, offensive rebounding was not good, he was not good offensively. I understand he is an elite defender, but his defense is limited to protecting the paint. You can't just put him on their best player to shut them down. So with a good game plan, I think you can limit his impact on the game and I think that happened in this game. He was an average player at best.

Mitchell is just awesome.

I thought Rubio played well, but he took too many contested shots. On the defensive side, we need to put some length on Westbrook.

I also agree Jerebko was not good. Looked like a deere in the headlights, which is surprising since he has a good deal of playoff experience.

I agree with you all that OKC got hot offensively. So defensively, I don't think we need to make too many changes. Offensively, I think we need to attack a little more and force some foul calls. They are not as deep a team, so we want to exploit their bench as much as possible.

When a star player Like Paul George get's that hot they will beat anyone. It is not sustainable. Paul George causes a lot of problems for Ingles. Adams plays Gobert as well as anyone in the league. Our playoff inexperience showed in game 1. The refs were bad (as expected) but that is not why the Jazz lost.

My Game 1 grades
Rubio- C Good strategy for OKC to get Rubio to shoot that much
Mitchell- A Can't expect more from his first playoff game
Ingles- C Started the game too slow, PG dominated him on both ends
Favors- F Lethargic unmotivated Favors showed up, he was awful
Gobert- C Some terrible foul calls on him stole his aggressiveness
Exum- B Not bad considering how obviously nervous he was
Crowder- D Jae needs to focus on the game not the officials
O'Neale- Pass He played just like a rookie in his first playoff game
Jerebko- F He was -7 in only 4 minutes, not ready to play

[dhopisthename]

one thing I worried about, even before this series, was that while we can be a great regular season team, we would struggle in the playoffs because of our style and lack of true play makers. Snyder can be neutralized when the other team gets a week to prepare. Pg completely shutting ingles down was easily the biggest issue I saw and if that can't change i am not sure we can win this series. We need his playmaking out there.

[dhopisthename]

what a win for the Jazz. Favors crushed them out there on the boards. Adams being in foul trouble looked like it was very much on purpose and part of the plan. Mitchell is so amazing.

[Raupie]

Mitchell is a complete stud. Crunch time, Mitchell took on the three stars of OKC and won. Granted, Jazz defense was great as well, but you need that player you can rely on to get you points and Mitchell is our guy.

Interesting stat, Favors led the league in efficiency around the rim this year. Heard an announcer say that. He was 2 of 2 from downtown. If he is a top 5 player around the rim AND he can shoot outside, he is going to be extremely valuable. Also, his passing was extremely impressive. I am not sure if any of the PFs available this summer would be an upgrade to him.

Was pleased with Exum again. He is not throwing up crazy numbers, but is playing well. His shooting is definitely a limitation, you can see that he doesn't want to take a jump shot. But his ability to get into the lane is elite and something he can build upon.

I feel bad for Ingles. You can tell he is frustrated. His lack of athleticism really shows in this series, defensively and offensively. I think he will figure it out. He will find out what works for him, he is a smart player. But he has really struggled the first two games.

Rubio was great. His jump shot is looking much improved. He energy and competitiveness is contagious. I think he is a long term piece for us in Utah.