Lakers-Jazz Game Four: Closing Time

Until tonight, the Jazz under Jerry Sloan had never been swept in a 7-game series. Which, considering that the man has been coaching this team for something like 87 years, says something. Mostly how they don't quit, even when they have every reason to... and normally, that would get them at least a win or two, especially against a Laker team that normally doesn't have the stones for pure ruthlessness. But considering that the Suns were watching this game at home, you can see why the Lake Show had the pedal to the floorboards.

In the first half, the Lakers showed they were very interested in ending things early and preventing the Suns from having any rest advantage. With Pau Gasol continuing the series-long story of the Laker bigs providing a comfortable distance from the Jazz, the Lake Show built a strong early lead and made the inevitable Carlos Boozer Dismissal something that won't cause Jazz Fan any wasted tears.

In the third, some sloppiness with the ball and more inspired Jazz offense cut the lead to competitve, with the occasional push all the way down to a six point game. But every time the Lakers needed a hoop, they got one... either from Kobe Bryant, who had his This Ends Tonight face on, or Derek Fisher with his periodic playoff Lazarus act from distance, or Gasol just turning trash to cash on the boards. Boozer finally started resembling a basketball player, Deron Williams started to make some plays, and CJ Miles gave the home team some good energy minutes, but none of it really mattered. The Lakers were like an anaconda, slowing squeezing the life out of a game, but wildly overmatched, group of Jazzmen. It also didn't help much that the Lakers kept taking and making threes out of loose ball situations. Those are just plain back-breaking.

For Utah, the course is clear: move Boozer for any return imaginable. He's a sieve on the defensive end, doesn't do anything that Paul Millsap doesn't already do, and Millsap has the advantage of being younger and quicker. When I see Boozer play, I'm reminded of Armon Gilliam, which is to say a source of emply calorie numbers and exceptionally empty defense that will never be part of a deep playoff squad. Maybe they get Mehmet Okur back to stop exposing the undead Kryllo Fesenko at the 5, and maybe perpetually injured multi-cat dilettante Andrei Kirilenko bounces back to provide value. There are worse things than rooting on a 50+ win team every year... and Kobe's got to get old someday, right? (But even if he does, the Lakers have Gasol. Sigh. That little talent drop by the Grizz will ruin things for the other teams in the West for the next five years...)

Next up: Lakers v. Suns, also known as a series with some doubt. And it will begin... on Monday, May 17. No, seriously. Nothing like duplicating that college football buzzkill to the playoff season, right?