NBA Playoffs 2012: Utah Jazz v/s San Antonio Spurs – Game 2 Preview
In the Game 2 on Wednesday at the AT&T Center, Utah Jazz will again have their work cut out as they look to cause the biggest upset of playoffs by defeating the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs have come out this post season by breaking their 4 year old curse of losing Game 1 of the playoffs and they are just getting started.
There have been a total of 5 games played these two teams so far with the Spurs winning four of them. The rare victory for the Jazz came at a crucial time when they desperately looked to make their way into playoff contention.
The ‘Big Three’ of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker however did not feature in that game but the trio will be there every time the Jazz take to the court this series.
Spurs got their post season campaign off and running by defeating the Jazz with a score line of 106-91. Even though San Antonio had trouble putting the Jazz away in the early stages, eventually they were able to carve out an easy
win. Led by Tony Parker`s impressive tally of 28 points and 8 assists, Spurs made sure that they won their first game 1 after 4 years of disappointment.
Duncan also had a fair say in the win by racking up 17 points and 11 rebounds in the contest. Whereas Ginobili who only had 7 points on the night but his lack of production was overcome by the rest of the roster, and having the
best bench scoring in the league did have its influence in that aspect.
On the other hand, Jazz were led by a tally of 20 points from Paul Millsap. Gordon Hayward in his first playoff game of his young career contributed 17 points. However, it all came up short in the end as the experience factor came
into influence the closing stages of the matchup.
For the Spurs side, this dominating performance was due to courtesy of a spectacular playmaking performance by Tony Parker. The swingman who had let down the team last year when the Spurs lost their opening series to the Memphis
Grizzlies felt the need to point that out in his post match interview.
"I think everybody knows what happened last year," Parker said. "Everybody's motivated this year, but we don't even talk about it." – Parker.
Even though on paper it does seem that it would be comfortable win for the mighty Spurs, however, considering the fact that the Jazz did offer resistance in the start of game 1 and if they continue in that fashion they might be
able to turn things around in their favour.
However the key to winning lies with the two back court players - Devin Harris and Hayward - and their ability to handle the ball and Parker. The Jazz have made it very clear that they will be more physical with Parker come Wednesday
night, and it remains to be seen how much effect this change in approach will have on Parker.
Then there are Utah’s turnovers. Jazz sunk themselves in a hole, dug by their own hands as the entire teams were responsible for a high number of 16 turnovers in game-1. If the Jazz are able to control their ball movement and make
the most of their possession, they are surely more than capable enough to matchup along with the number 1 seeded team in the Western Conference.
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