NBA Playoffs - Series Insight: Lakers vs. Jazz

Written by Lucky Lester on May, 7th 2008 | 0 Comments

2008 NBA Playoff Match-ups

The Lakers were the only team to sweep their Round 1 opponent, doing away with the Denver Nuggets with relative ease. The Jazz needed 6 games to finish off Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets, but appeared to be in control of that entire series from start (winning the first two games in Houston) to finish. Deron Williams is definitely a key, but if the Jazz want to win, Carlos Boozer will have to do damage against the Lakers front line. 

L.A. Lakers (1) vs. Utah Jazz (4)

Game 2 is in L.A. on Wednesday, as the Jazz try to even up the series at 1 game a piece. The Lakers have won 7 of their last 10 games against the Jazz, dating back to January of 2006. They have also covered in 7 of their last 10. The over/under is 5-5 during that stretch. It was 2-2 this year. These two teams rarely play a game that comes down to the wire, as the final score has been 8 or greater in 8 of the last 10 games.

Season Series:
11/04/07—Utah 109 @ L.A. 119 (Over)
11/30/07—L.A. 96 @ Utah 120 (Over)
12/28/07—Utah 109 @ L.A. 123 (Over)
03/20/08—L.A. 106 @ Utah 95 (Under)

The Lakers took their regular season series against the Jazz, 3 games to 1. L.A. won each of their home games and one of the two contests in Utah. None of the four games were closer than 10 points. The Lakers have covered in 6 of their last 7 games against Utah. The home team is 8-2 in the last 10 games between these two. The Lakers committed fewer turnovers, gathered more rebounds, and had better bench production than Utah. They also scored more points per game than the Jazz. Utah shot a higher field goal percentage and allowed fewer points per game than L.A.

The Jazz won in 6 games against the Houston Rockets, winning two games on the road to start the series, and winning two home games to finish the Rockets off. During the regular season, the Jazz finished 46-36 ATS, and 54-28 SU. They were just 17-24 away from Utah, but held the best home record in the business, going 37-4 in Salt Lake City. The Jazz were 43-38-1 O/U.

The Lakers dominated their Round 1 opponent to the tune of a sweep, ousting the Nuggets in four straight games. The regular season was good to L.A. as the Lakers finished 57-25, good for tops spot in the tough Western Conference. They were 30-11 at home and 27-14 on the road. Against the spread, they were 47-33-2 and 40-41-1 O/U.

Prediction: The Lakers won’t need their brooms in this match-up. I’m telling you right now that this series will go no less than 6 games and my prediction is 7. Kobe is a finisher, so he could cut this one a game short of a phenomenal do or die Game 7, but I think Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams will do enough to take this one the distance. I like the Lakers in 7 games, and that’s mainly because they stole Pau Gasol from the Grizzlies before the trade deadline. The Jazz are a very talented team with all the pieces it takes to win an NBA title. Nobody is giving them a chance, and with the Lakers early success, I can understand that. But you shouldn’t sell the Jazz short. They will most likely take this series the distance, and could easily stun a lot of people if their shots fall in Game 6.

Series Schedule

Gm. 1: LAL 109, UTA 98 (Lakers won in L.A.)
Gm. 2: Wed., May 7: at L.A., 10:30 p.m. (TNT)
Gm. 3: Fri., May 9: at Utah, 9:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Gm. 4: Sun., May 11: at Utah, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Gm. 5*: Wed., May 14: at L.A., (TNT)
Gm. 6*: Fri., May 16: at Utah, (ESPN)
Gm. 7*: Mon. May 19: at L.A., (TNT)
*if necessary, times to be determined

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