Los Angeles, CA
Nearly seven years to the day, a Lakers big snatched down 13 rebounds in one half of a playoff basketball game. Last time the feat occurred, it was the 7'6" Shaquille O'neal, and the Lakers were just a season removed from winning their third consecutive championship. This time around, it's the young Andrew Bynum. At 7' and just 22 years old, he could very well be the central piece LA needs to win this championship and more.
It is well known that Phil Jackson could go elsewhere after the seasons conclusion. If Bynum and the Lakers win however, it's almost 90% certain the zen-master will comeback to try and taste three-peat for the third time in his career.
The Lakers bigs were so effective in the paint, (64 points, 58-40 rebounding, 13 blocks) that Bynum needed only 1 extra board in the second half to finish with 14, along with 17 points. Pau Gasol netted 22 points and peeled away 15 rebounds of his own as the Lakers pounded the Jazz steadily inside for a 111-103 victory. It is Utah's 16 straight road-loss, including 8 in the playoffs, to the Lakers.
The Jazz look to turn things around Saturday night in Salt lake City.
"We're not going to be frustrated," said Boozer. "We're not going to get demoralized. We're not going to back down. We're going to keep fighting, keep attacking and stay aggressive."That sounds pretty optimistic for a guy that scored 20 points, pulled down 12 boards, and yet sees his team trailing the Lakers 0-2 in a playoff series for the third straight year.
Utah's other star, Deron Williams-- whom most agree is the best point guard in the NBA-- struggled to find his rhythm in game two, managing only 15 points on 4-of-16 shooting with 9 assists for the Jazz.
"We'd try to get in the lane, and there were two or three guys there," said Williams. "Their length bothered us tonight. We've just got to hit some shots [stretch their defense]. We'll do better."
One of Jerry Sloan's players that did keep Utah close for stretches was power forward, Paul Millsap, scoring 26 points and 11 rebounds. Now Utah has three more days to practice, plot, and prepare for a home game at EnergySolutions Arena, where the college-like atmosphere may be just what the doctor ordered to help disrupt the Lakers dominance.
Simply put, Sloan has got to be feeling some angst as he flies back to Utah and tries to scheme a way for his team to contend with the Lakers frontcourt, who all posted double-doubles in their Game 2 win. The longest tenured coach in the NBA is without his inured bigs Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur, and the Jazz are the ones feeling the pain for it. When Andrew Bynum torches the Jazz while playing with a torn meniscus, it emphasizes the importance of Okur and Ak-47. Kirilenko says he will play in Saturday's Game 3 matchup.
"Their rebounding tonight was just something we could not handle, "said Sloan. "I don't like to use the word 'disheartening.' I thought our guys played extremely hard to try and stay in the ballgame."
I'm pretty sure Sloan did use the word 'disheartening', and if the Lakers can win in Utah on Saturday, that will be the only word to describe the Jazzes luck of playing in the west and running into the Lakers year-after-year in the postseason.
All the while, Andrew Bynum, who says he only feels some stabbing pain-- "just like cutting and jumping and landing and pushing off is where I feel it."-- has three days to himself. Three more days to get treatments and prepare himself to cut and jump and land and push Utah's noses into the ground, for the third straight year.
Game 3 will be nationally televised, live from Utah, Saturday at 8p.m. EST.
Also of note, the Lakers Phil Jackson picked up his 215 career playoff win Tuesday night. Scotty Bowman, the longtime coach of the NHL's Detroit Red Wings, has 223 playoff victories. If the Lakers win this years NBA championship, PJ will end up with 225 wins, making him the most winningest playoff coach in the history of the four major professional sports.
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