May 10, 2008 5:00 pm US/Pacific
The Lakers Are Human After All
SALT LAKE CITY (CBS) ―
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Who will win the western conference semifinal series between the Jazz and the Lakers?
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Here's why I'm not worried about the Lakers, even after watching them lose game three in Utah:
--Kobe Bryant had a terrible first half, scoring six points on one of six shooting from the field. For the game, he was 0 of 6 from behind the three-point line.
--Lamar Odom had a decent game (13 points and 12 rebounds), but he only took three shots the entire night.
--Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic combined to score zero points, and shot a combined 0 for 9 from the field.
--As a team, the Lakers had 14 assists. They came into game three averaging 26.5 assists per game in the playoffs, first in the NBA. They also had more turnovers (18), than assists.
I don't think any of the above things are going to happen again on Sunday. And you know what? The Lakers still had a great chance to win game three at the end.
If Luke Walton controls a late tip, or the Lakers make a couple of late free throws, they could have overcome all of those mistakes and still won the game.
I don't mean to suggest that the Jazz didn't deserve to win, they did. Carlos Boozer played like he's been playing all year (27 points and 20 rebounds), and Deron Williams had his usual game--18 points and 12 assists. But that's all part of my point. Utah played their normal game, and the Lakers did almost everything wrong....and the game wasn't decided until the final minute.
My original prediction for this series was the Lakers in five. Based on what I saw Friday night, I'm sticking with it.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
SLIDESHOW: Game 2 Vs. Jazz
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