Gameday Pr0phile - Jazz

Los Angeles Lakers (15-15, 4th Pacific)

Utah Jazz (15-16, 4th Northwest)

Lakers Team Stats
Offense 96.3 ppg, 20.2 apg, 42.5 rpg
Defense 94.3 ppg, 19.7 apg, 41.2 rpg

Jazz Team Stats
Offense 89.2 ppg, 21.0 apg, 43.1 rpg
Defense 91.6 ppg, 17.6 apg, 38.0 rpg

Season Series
Series tied, 1-1.
Last Meeting:

Utah beat a Kobe-less Lakers team, 98-94, Jan. 1st

image courtesy AP / Francis Specker

Top 6 Lakers

PG Smush Parker 11.3 points, 3.0 assists, 3.1 rebounds
SG Luke Walton 5.6 points, 3.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds
SF Lamar Odom 14.6 points, 5.4 assists, 9.5 rebounds
PF Brian Cook 7.4 points, 1.0 assists, 3.3 rebounds
C Chris Mihm 10.1 points, 0.8 assists, 6.7 rebounds
6th Kwame 5.5 points, 0.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds

Top 6 Jazz

PG Keith McLeod 6.8 points, 2.2 assist, 1.2 rebounds
SG Matt Harpring 12.3 points, 1.0 assists, 5.6 rebounds
SF AK-47 13.3 points, 4.1 assists, 8.1 rebounds
PF Mehmet Okur 17.8 points, 2.5 assists, 9.0 rebounds
C Jarron Collins 6.6 points, 1.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds
6th Gordan Giricek 11.6 points, 2.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds

Key Matchup: McLeod vs. Parker

I’m no longer troubled by the PF matchup or even AK. The 23-5-5 Kirilenko put up was a good game, but not dominant. It is not enough to win the game on its own. What concerns me is the way the Jazz PGs lit up the Lakers…again. Deron Williams came off of the bench to combine with McLeod for 20 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals, with just 2 TO. They shot 7-13, hit 2-2 3pt shots, and hit all 6 FTs. Parker had just 8 points and made only 3 of 10.

It’s no secret that the Lakers struggled last season because of a lack of defense. Chucky Atkins was the main culprit. Lakers fans who thought that Smush would be a solution to that problem have probably been unimpressed with Smush’s effort defensively. He needs to step it up, play more physically if he is to give the Lakers a chance to win every night.

Featured Peformers
Lamar Odom 18 points, 10 assists, 13 rebounds
AK-47 18 points, 4 assists, 8 rebounds

Outlook

A close game just two days ago, a change of venue, and the return of one of the Jazz’ starting five likely means that the Lakers are in trouble. I liked the way Cook and Odom responded to the challenge of not having Kobe on the floor. George looked good off of the bench, too. The problem seems to be that Smush and Odom don’t want to play any defense. This is going to be a huge problem until the team gets straightened out.

I think Odom will have a monstrous offensive game, but Smush will disappear again. Mihm and Kwame will outplay Utah’s big men. But Harpring will get separation and hit a few key threes…one of which will decide the outcome.

Jazz 93
Lakers 90