http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/179000.html
Ailene Voisin: Sun likely will set soon on Golden State
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Last Updated 12:11 am PDT Monday, May 14, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C6
OAKLAND-The nice little run by the nice little team ends Tuesday. No, really, it came to a crashing halt Sunday night before a stunned sellout crowd at Oracle Arena, when the long jumpers stopped falling, the ball stopped moving and a big bruiser named Carlos Boozer exposed the Golden State Warriors for exactly what they are: a nice little team.
They run, they score. They shoot jumpers. They defend better than people think.
But they rebound poorly and fail miserably at the foul line, and partly because so many of them are 6-foot-7, 6-8 clones disguised as centers and power forwards, someone in these NBA playoffs eventually was going to send Warriors vice president Chris Mullin off in search of a Bigfoot. Or, at the least, a reasonable facsimile of a player capable of scoring underneath and leaning, pushing and otherwise matching muscles with an opponent the caliber of Boozer. And that someone was the Utah Jazz, led by the heirs to John Stockton and Karl Malone.
We know them well, don't we?
We would have expected nothing less Sunday night, right?
Embarrassed in Game 3 two nights earlier, the Jazz adhered to the script according to Jerry Sloan. The longtime coach doesn't keep many secrets. A day earlier, he announced the plan for Game 4 was to pound the smaller Warriors into submission, and, as he has done so many times, he publicly challenged his team to display its toughness, its character, its very essence. He was John Wayne calling in the cavalry.
Deron Williams had to lead, Derek Fisher and the other role players had to contribute, but mostly Boozer had to dominate with his half-hooks, his short jumpers, his drop-steps, his physical presence underneath.
"I can't play him (Boozer) if he doesn't get the ball," Sloan said after his club had secured the 3-1 advantage in this best-of-seven conference semifinals, "and the other night we got a little bit selfish. If we get him the ball ..."
Boozer scores 34 points, relieves the pressure on his teammates to convert from the perimeter and wears down the Warriors. Size still matters in this league -- in these playoffs -- provided it is accompanied by skill. At some point, the Warriors were going to stop running, stop converting at a ridiculous rate from outside and stumble into a situation like the midway point in the third period, when they simply lacked the size and the lift to extend their lead. The 6-9 Boozer -- almost invisible the previous two seasons because of hamstring injuries -- scored from the right side, sank a fallaway jumper in the lane, cut underneath for a layup and, after a go-ahead jumper by Matt Harpring, scored again from the post.
The Warriors recaptured the lead but never really reclaimed their edge. Stephen Jackson forced jumpers, dribbled into the defense and monopolized the ball. Jason Richardson made poor decisions. Baron Davis, who has been so special throughout the postseason with his playmaking, powerful drives and ability to hit huge shots, was no match for the younger, healthier Williams. Were it not for a determined effort by the 6-11 Andris Biedrins, who kept Boozer from collecting an additional 10 rebounds, the Warriors would have been further humiliated on the boards. "We just couldn't handle Boozer," Warriors coach Don Nelson said.
His players' frustration was evident both in the closing minutes, when Davis elbowed Fisher and Richardson was ejected after collaring Mehmet Okur, and afterward in the locker room. They acknowledged their fatigue, their lack of bulk, their inability to withstand Utah's grinding, physically grueling attack. They know they're too small, too slight. They suspect their season is almost over. Winning in Salt Lake City is a longer shot than most of their jumpers, the noise level even more deafening than at Oracle Arena. (Trust us in Sac. They have no idea.)
Then the offseason and the search for an inside player begins.
Kevin Garnett would fit nicely. Darko Milicic would be a lot cheaper. But the Warriors won't be so small next season, their wonderful little postseason notwithstanding.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com
Ailene Voisin: Sun likely will set soon on Golden State
By Ailene Voisin - Bee Sports Columnist
Last Updated 12:11 am PDT Monday, May 14, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C6
OAKLAND-The nice little run by the nice little team ends Tuesday. No, really, it came to a crashing halt Sunday night before a stunned sellout crowd at Oracle Arena, when the long jumpers stopped falling, the ball stopped moving and a big bruiser named Carlos Boozer exposed the Golden State Warriors for exactly what they are: a nice little team.
They run, they score. They shoot jumpers. They defend better than people think.
But they rebound poorly and fail miserably at the foul line, and partly because so many of them are 6-foot-7, 6-8 clones disguised as centers and power forwards, someone in these NBA playoffs eventually was going to send Warriors vice president Chris Mullin off in search of a Bigfoot. Or, at the least, a reasonable facsimile of a player capable of scoring underneath and leaning, pushing and otherwise matching muscles with an opponent the caliber of Boozer. And that someone was the Utah Jazz, led by the heirs to John Stockton and Karl Malone.
We know them well, don't we?
We would have expected nothing less Sunday night, right?
Embarrassed in Game 3 two nights earlier, the Jazz adhered to the script according to Jerry Sloan. The longtime coach doesn't keep many secrets. A day earlier, he announced the plan for Game 4 was to pound the smaller Warriors into submission, and, as he has done so many times, he publicly challenged his team to display its toughness, its character, its very essence. He was John Wayne calling in the cavalry.
Deron Williams had to lead, Derek Fisher and the other role players had to contribute, but mostly Boozer had to dominate with his half-hooks, his short jumpers, his drop-steps, his physical presence underneath.
"I can't play him (Boozer) if he doesn't get the ball," Sloan said after his club had secured the 3-1 advantage in this best-of-seven conference semifinals, "and the other night we got a little bit selfish. If we get him the ball ..."
Boozer scores 34 points, relieves the pressure on his teammates to convert from the perimeter and wears down the Warriors. Size still matters in this league -- in these playoffs -- provided it is accompanied by skill. At some point, the Warriors were going to stop running, stop converting at a ridiculous rate from outside and stumble into a situation like the midway point in the third period, when they simply lacked the size and the lift to extend their lead. The 6-9 Boozer -- almost invisible the previous two seasons because of hamstring injuries -- scored from the right side, sank a fallaway jumper in the lane, cut underneath for a layup and, after a go-ahead jumper by Matt Harpring, scored again from the post.
The Warriors recaptured the lead but never really reclaimed their edge. Stephen Jackson forced jumpers, dribbled into the defense and monopolized the ball. Jason Richardson made poor decisions. Baron Davis, who has been so special throughout the postseason with his playmaking, powerful drives and ability to hit huge shots, was no match for the younger, healthier Williams. Were it not for a determined effort by the 6-11 Andris Biedrins, who kept Boozer from collecting an additional 10 rebounds, the Warriors would have been further humiliated on the boards. "We just couldn't handle Boozer," Warriors coach Don Nelson said.
His players' frustration was evident both in the closing minutes, when Davis elbowed Fisher and Richardson was ejected after collaring Mehmet Okur, and afterward in the locker room. They acknowledged their fatigue, their lack of bulk, their inability to withstand Utah's grinding, physically grueling attack. They know they're too small, too slight. They suspect their season is almost over. Winning in Salt Lake City is a longer shot than most of their jumpers, the noise level even more deafening than at Oracle Arena. (Trust us in Sac. They have no idea.)
Then the offseason and the search for an inside player begins.
Kevin Garnett would fit nicely. Darko Milicic would be a lot cheaper. But the Warriors won't be so small next season, their wonderful little postseason notwithstanding.
About the writer: Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com
