1 Down, 3 to Go! Utah Jazz Already on the Ropes, Lakers Win Game 1

I'm sure there were a few Lakers fans out there that thought that Kobe Bryant and company had it a little too easy in the first round against the Denver Nuggets (me included) and maybe Utah Jazz would give the Lakers a harsh wake up call in game 1, but the Lakers proved that the first round sweep was no fluke and that they are the real deal!

This game was just Kobe, Kobe, Kobe! This season's MVP dominated the Utah Jazz, scoring 38 points, 21 of which was from the free throw line. Not only did the Jazz have trouble stopping Kobe from scoring at will, but Kobe also found the open man when he wasn't scoring by dishing out 7 assists.

Even though 6 of Utah's players scored in double figures, their superstars Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams had very forgettable performances. I think Williams is the key to this series, if the kid has a good game both scoring and distributing the basketball then the Lakers are in trouble, but the 3rd year man out of Illinois played one of his worst games of the year only hitting 5 out of his 18 shots including 1 for 6 from deep. Williams did have 9 assists and 9 rebounds, but his horrible shooting game overshadowed all other stats as he struggled all game long against the Lakers defense.

Carlos Boozer also had a bad shooting game (by his standards) hitting only 6 of his 14 shots. As if the bad shooting wasn't bad enough for Boozer he had 7 turnovers and fouled out with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter.

The only real bright spot for the Utah Jazz was Mehmet Okur who scored 21 points (although it took 19 shots to get there) and grabbed 19 boards.

As for the Lakers, they are still rolling and playing some awesome basketball! Everyone is getting involved from the starters to the role players! I really thought the Jazz would be more of a challenge in game 1, but the Lakers just owned them all game long. I guarantee that they will have their work cut out for them when the series moves to Utah where the Jazz only lost 4 times all season long (the Lakers were one of them), including their series against the Houston Rockets.

Although it will be tough for the Lakers to get some wins in Utah, I think the Lakers are just too deep and too talented to lose to the Jazz.




GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS