Lakers-Jazz: Hey, Basketball Doesn't Have To Make Me Curse The Gift Of Sight

In the late game tonight, and the late games are killing me, the Lakers held off the Jazz all night in a tight, fluid, and wildly entertaining game. It's 3-2 Lakers.

Here's something amazing about this series: there have been no lead changes. The Jazz had a half dozen chances, and were never very far away in this game... but they just weren't able to get over the hump.

Kobe was Nice Mamba tonight, with 26 points on 10 field goal attempts, 6 boards and 7 assists. He got a lot of help from every starter, who was in double figures, and the home team got huge plays from offensive rebounding.

Your count is now 19 win against 1 loss for the home teams in this round... but I'm going to be Charlie Brown with the football and think this one (gasp!) will have an impact on the next game. The Jazz had a mildly hobbled Bryant, some top-notch play from Deron Williams and Andrei Kirilenko, and they just couldn't get over the hump. Carlos Boozer is in a nightmare in this series, because the Laker bigs are just too long and too quick for his earthbound crafty self, and he hasn't been able to adjust his game. The Jazz bigs are all too similar, with the exception of Kirilenko, who has had a great series but isn't really a big anyway -- just not athletic enough to deal with Gasol and Odom. (And yes, if the Lake Show had a healthy Bynum, this series would be over already.)

I think Game 6 will be close, but I like the Lakers to end this on the road. Say this for the Mamba; he knows how to close out a team, and his back didn't seem to be an issue last night. His coach knows how to close, too.