Utah Jazz: Williams not about to let Jazz panic

Deron Williams' initial reaction was to place the blame on himself for the Jazz's 109-98 loss to the Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday afternoon.

He did have a dreadful shooting outing, making just 27.7 percent (5-for-18) of his attempts from the field. Overall, however, his play was solid, and there wasn't a person at Jazz practice on Monday morning who would blame Williams for Utah's Game 1 defeat.

"I played him more than 45 minutes," said coach Jerry Sloan. "If I didn't think he was playing OK, I wouldn't have played him as much. I played him as many minutes as I possibly could. He didn't come out in the second half."

Williams, in fact, did nearly record a triple-double with 14 points, nine assists and nine rebounds against Los Angeles. But those numbers didn't prevent him from being a target for criticism after the game because of his shooting. His percentage stuck out like smeared ink on the box score because it was down from the 50.7 percent he shot from the field during the regular season.

The criticism aimed at Williams irked Sloan.

"It's not all about how many points he gets," Sloan said. "He's a point guard. Sometimes people have the tendency to misunderstand."

"He played a great game," said Andrei Kirilenko. "It's a matter if the ball goes in or not. He didn't score a few shots, but it happens."

The Lakers showed that they will defend Williams differently than the Rockets did in the first round. They put a lot of pressure on the guys Williams wants to pass the ball to, and attempt to deny entry passes. They accomplished their goal of pushing the Jazz's offense far away from the basket, keeping them from attempting close-range shots.

"We got a little stagnant," Williams said. "We'd go one-on-one. That's not our game."

The Lakers' defensive style played a big role in forcing Williams to take difficult shots in Game 1.

"I think he had to take some tough shots," Sloan said. "Some of those shots (were taken) with the 24-second clock running down. It's tough to make all those. I think you have to give L.A. some credit. They put a lot of pressure on the other people sometimes. He's left hanging out out there as the only guy left to try to create something. That's not always easy to do."

It also isn't easy to slow Williams for two consecutive games. In last year's playoff run, and against the Rockets in the first round, Williams has shown the ability to bounce back from perceived sub-par outings with big performances.

He followed up a pedestrian 13-point, six-assist effort in Game 5 against Houston with a superb outing in the Jazz's series-clinching Game 6 win on Friday. He scored 25 points, and had nine assists and six rebounds in that game. He was accused of fading down the stretch in Utah's Game 3 home loss to Houston, then scored 17 points and dished nine assists in Game 4.

The Jazz will be counting on another bounce-back performance from Williams, and so should the Lakers. Don't forget, Williams has been at his best when his team has needed him the most, evidenced by a 31-point, eight-assist effort he had against the Spurs in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals last May.

"I want to get back out there," Williams said. "It's a seven-game series. We haven't lost the series. We lost one game. There's no reason to panic. We just got to stay poised and try to get this next one.

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E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com

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