This game, like the entire series, was a classic matchup of quickness versus power. And the Lakers prevailed in Game 6 because they were able to maximize their advantage more than Utah could theirs.
Here's how it all played out.
2008 NBA Finals
Thursday's Game 1
Analysis
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LAKERS
They hit the floorboards running, converted turnovers into easy shots and grabbed control of the ballgame right out of the box.The Lakers also made significant alterations in their triangle offense, simplifying their options, doing away with the double-screens along the weak-side baseline, shunning the center-screen on the baseline-wing entry — and working more than before around Pau Gasol in the low-post. Gasol's quickness and alert passing proved too much for the much slower and much stronger Carlos Boozer to handle.Lamar Odom was able to consistently beat Mehmet Okur to the hoop.Sasha Vujacic drove the ball into the lane and scored a pair of uncontested layups before Utah's slow-footed bigs could appear on the scene.In the end-game, when the Jazz staged a courageous rally, Kobe Bryant was repeatedly able to out-quick Matt Harpring and thereby score several critical baskets.Derek Fisher's fast hands ripped Deron Williams twice.In addition, rapid ball movement generated excellent looks for the Lakers' 3-point shooters — they shot a collective 7-11.On defense, the Lakers were also able to hot-foot their way into the paint to hassle what at first glance appeared to be easy layups for the Jazz. That's primarily why Utah missed 12 layups, including five by Boozer.And when the Jazz made a game of it in the waning minutes, Kobe simply took over by burying a variety of circus shots as well as a huge 3-ball. Kobe's sidekick, Fisher, also contributed a miraculous shot of his own.
Not that the Lakers were without their share of problems.
Their second unit could neither score nor defend.Jordan Farmar was particularly ineffective, making poor decisions at both ends of the court, and demonstrating that he's not quite ready to be a prime-time point guard.The Lakers shot exceptionally well — 50.0 percent — but their offense stagnated for significant stretches early in the third and midway through the fourth quarters when Kobe over-handled the ball.Their sloppy ball-handling was instrumental in their nearly frittering away their lead.JAZZ
Utah flexed their muscles to best effect in the battle of the boards — out-rebounding the visitors by 51-38.
The home team's leading power sources were Boozer, Harpring, Okur and Paul Millsap, who nearly out-rebounded the Lakers by themselves, grabbing a collective total of 37 missed shots.Speaking of "flexing", Utah's flex offense was extremely effective — which is surprising since Phil Jackson used the flex almost exclusively when he coached the Albany Patroons in the CBA.Utah's dominance on the offensive glass — 19-5 — led to the Jazz putting up 96 shots to the Lakers' 70.Because of their edge in bulk and power, Utah's screens were much more influential than were the Lakers'. Indeed, L.A. mostly eschewed setting screens in favor of utilizing a variety of quick cuts.The Jazz attempted to slow down the Lakers by showing a zone defense in the third quarter, but in five possessions, the quick-moving Lakers tallied seven points and the zone was abandoned for the duration.Boozer made only one explosive move in the pivot — and scored a layup. Otherwise, he took too long to gather his body parts before attacking the basket, thereby giving the Lakers enough time to swarm his dribbles and his shots.And Boozer's relative slowness afoot made him a chump on defense and led to his fouling out as the game wound down.Not that all of the Jazz are lumbering behemoths.
Ronnie Brewer showed quick ups near the basket and had an outstanding game. He even hit three springers!Andrei Kirilenko was active on both ends, and hit a brace of important treys — but proved too slow to keep up with Kobe's quicksilver moves in the endgame.And Deron Williams matched the Lakers' speedsters stride-for-stride. Indeed, during Utah's rousing rally that fell one shot short, it was Williams' ability to create something out of nothing that turned the tide until Kirilenko and Okur zeroed in on the basket from downtown.Williams is certainly an outstanding young player. Next to the league's newest superstar, Chris Paul, D-Will is the second-best point extant. But he's no Kobe Bryant. So credit the Jazz with a courageous series against a squad that proved to be, among other characteristics, too quick and too athletic. After all, stronger players can only overpower weaker players if they can catch them.
And credit the Lakers for having the smarts, the resourcefulness, and the emergent MVP that were necessary to overcome a squad that had an overwhelming edge in muscle-mass and rough-and-tumble tactics.
This series proved that sometimes the hare beats the tortoise.
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