Jazz vs. Spurs Game 3

For my first entry into this blog I jump into this series right in the middle of the 2007 Western Conference finals. For all intents and purposes, this is the pivotal game of the series. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best of seven game series. This year the Bulls actually won the next two games after going down 3-0 to the Pistons while the rest of the country rolled their collective eyes. Seriously Bulls, was there a single person on either team that thought that you were going to pull this off? or was Stern yet again pulling the strings on another capitalist conspiracy? I mean come on, would a profit minded commissioner like Stern leave all of the Bacardi and Mercury advertising dollars from the extra two games on the table? All but one of the NBA Eastern Conference first round series ended in a sweep while Stern was asleep at the wheel.

So that's my first point on why the Jazz will win tonight. Hopefully Stern realizes how uninteresting it is to watch lame duck teams like the Bulls down 3-0 and can cook up an officiating game plan to ensure that the balls bounce the Jazz way tonight. I can add to that point that in the end no one wants to see three of the most unlikeable players in the entire NBA in the finals AGAIN. Timmah' has his sparkling rep but the charisma of a librarian, Ginobili with his soccer style flopper's charm and Tony Par-queaux who stole Eva Longoria from red blooded America. The French are SO not hot right now.

But besides the calls that are going to go all Utah tonight (sure to leave Duncan and Ginobili with sore jaws from non stop aghast expressions) the Jazz have a lot that they haven't shown the Spurs yet. AK, Okur, Harpring and Fisher have all been MIA, and note that Boozer and Williams cannot be stopped, both presenting matchup problems for the Spurs. The Spurs have been too hot and the Jazz have been too cold. No team can win a series based on 54% shooting to start the series, it will clearly catch up. Look for a lot of missed layups and Timmah's free throw percentage to hit some more realistic levels.

Go Jazz