Lakers - Jazz: Game 5. Back to the Drawing Board

The Lakers and Jazz play a pivotal Game 5 tonight in Los Angeles. I’m not too worried though, since the Lakers have played spotless basketball at home for the past two months. They’ve won 10 games in a row at Staples Center, including two over this Utah team. Further still, the only Lakers game that I attended in the flesh this season was a 123-109 stompin’ of the Jazz in late December, in which Kobe played so viciously that he earned the privilege of resting the entire fourth quarter. I guess what I’m sayin’ is that since the Lakers have been slappin’ Utah around at home since way back in ’07, I have a lot of confidence that our homeownership bubble won’t burst.

I’d be lying to you if I told you that I thought the Jazz were going to walk on the court, play dead, and hand the victory over to Los Angeles; the Lakers have to execute and play within their system in order to win against Utah. They need to play like they have a point guard who’s won some championships; play like they have a coach who’s been to the NBA finals 10 times; play like Odom and Gasol’s versatility make them match-up nightmares; play like they deserve to be the number one seed out West.

Here are some more specific keys to victory:

1. Keeping Derek Fisher out of foul trouble: Fisher is the only Laker that can contain Deron Williams. D-Will has blown games wide open when Fisher has been on the bench.

2. Best Supporting Actors: The L.A. bench needs to step up and drain the shots they get when they’re called upon. In Salt Lake City, Lakers reserves hardly made an impact and were MIA on the stat sheet.

3. Set the Tempo: Hopefully the sour taste of defeat lights a fire under the Lakers and they play with a little excitement. Not even when they crawled their way back into Game 4 were they playing with enthusiasm. Dictate the tone early and stay consistent.

4. Rebound Well: One thing that went right for the Lakers in Utah was that they discovered what boxing out and rebounding is. Eureka! If they continue to limit second-chance points for the Jazz, Game 5 will be easier than arresting an NFL cornerback.

5. Kobe: KB24 just needs to play well in the final 5 minutes of the game. We’re not asking him to build the Sistine Chapel, we just need him to paint the ceiling and whatnot.

And there you have it. How to beat the Jazz in 5 steps. I’m definitely going to CC this post to Phil Jackson for him to disseminate to the rest of the crew. Don’t miss Game 5 tonight at 10 EST!

Although there may be others like it, the outcome of this night will reverberate throughout these walls for millennia.

Stay humble, stay hungry.