Comments about ‘Staples Center remains house of horrors for Utah Jazz’

Jazz lost.

The Jazz cannot win at Staples for the same reason that teams can't win in Utah. It is tough on the road. Staples is caverenous and not as noisy as the Forum was, where the noise reverberated, but they have always had supportive fans, every game is a sellout, and the stars do make a difference. Young players get intimidated, and more so, the young Laker players are energized by the Laker fans at home, and on the road, have no confidence, especially in a hostile envirnonment like Utah. It really is that simple. Alan Iverson said playing in LA was like playing in Utah or Sacramento, I don't believe that, but lets face it, they're tough to beat in LA, for those who remember 1988 when we lost in 7, looks like this year might be a repeat.

hey utanians i'm back i told u guys we were going to win in six now it's just a matter of time till u guys go fishing on friday. goodbye good luck watching ur team lose tommorow again.

Personally, it is a mystery as to why the Jazz can't win on the road in general, but playing the Lakers in LA is like playing the Bulls in United Center. Both play in large cavernous arenas where unlike Energy Solutions, the noise gets flattened, but, because of Jordan/Bryant, the home team gets the calls, and more importantly, the bench guys are inspired. Vujacic and Farmer seem to be popular with the LA fans and obviously play much better before a supportive crowd than in Utah, that is the difference, the fact LA gets support at home helps their bench guys just like we help ours in Salt Lake.

there is so much parity in the league now that home court is the difference in the playoffs. There is no "gorilla" in the league that beats everybody else up - just a bunch of pretty good teams that are all about the same talent wise. In anybody is able to break through with a road win it is the Lakers. I doubt the Jazz can beat LA three times in a row at home. Colby will be the big difference and Fisher hitting 3's. The Jazz REALLY need a monster game from Boozer to win this next game otherwise it is summer vacation for the Jazz.

I missed your posts this past weekend when you were losing??? Will we see you again should the Lakers lose on Friday?

Wow, "we can't beat them in staples" the stars "really help them"

Sounds like the Jazz players need to grow some cajones.

Home court advantage has become the biggest joke, and makes the NBA lame. I'm not talking about the location of the game, I'm talking about the blatant favoritism by the refs for the home team. Home teams are 20-1 in the conference semis. Anyone who watched the Jazz Lakers game last night had to have seen it. Lamar Odom blows by Carlos Boozer, Boozer is standing at the free throw line with his pants down, and somehow fouls Odom who is dunking it. Or how about Gasol's two rebounds in the final minute immediately preceded by a two hand shiver to the back of Okur. No call there though. Or the last 10 drives by Williams, where three Lakers hit both arms and Gasol got as much body contact as he could, and Williams looks up from his back, only to see the ref signaling to 'play on'. It was an absolute joke. The NBA is compromising the game. Why can they 'make sure' the home team wins and get away with it, and then if anything is ever said they make their own employees (Donaghy) the scapegoat. I'm just about done with the NBA.

My favorites were the time that Vujacic dribbled the ball off his leg and they called a foul on the Jazz, but it wasn't the ref standing right there that called it, but the ref on the other side of the court; and the time Odom drove to the basket and dunked it and they called a foul when no one even came close to touching him. In fact, no one even attempted to get the ball from him or guard him, and they still called the foul.

Mmmmmm what's that yummy smell?.....could it be home cookin! Lets face it, the NBA wants the Lakers-Celtics match up. It's best for ratings. C'mon if you think a small TV market like SLC has a chance, no way the refs (NBA) won't let it happen. Look how the protect Kobe and send him to the line 200 times a game. Don't believe me look what happened to the Mavs against D-Wade. Watch a reply of that in game 7, Kobe will get at least 25 free throw attempts. As long as we do not have a superstar (D-will is on his way) then no way do we get out of the West. I will predict that LA will eek past SA or NO in the next round. There will be something controversial that will go there way to insure they are in the finals. That makes Phil Jackson a genius.

Amen on the refs. I say boycott Game 6. Sloan should take one for the teams and call out the farce that the Playoffs are. Lakers-Celtics here we go!! Must be the money!!

To - Homecourt: I watched the game did you? Boozer pushed Lamar in the back as he went by for the dunk and Okur acted like he was pushed in the back by Gasol. Okur is injured and he played like it last night. But for his good shooting from outside, Okur is a liability on defenses because his tendon is painful. The Jazz will play well at home on Friday and will most likely win. Unfortunately, the Jazz play out of tune in Los Angeles and the Lakers earned HOME COURT!

the nba is rigged. and after this series i dont know if i'll even continue watching it. the jazz deserve to win so bad but its impossible no matter how good they are because the nba already made celtics-lakers tickets before the playoffs even started. its all ridiculous and i'm sick of it

I think Phil Jackson is a JOKE how he takes credit for all his rings.....what couch wouldn't win if they all had the players he has had. I am with "home court", I am sick and tired of the refs and there inability to call a game as it should be called. Lets get rid of all of the current refs and put in guys that will call the game based on fouls not based on who you are... A FOUL IS A FOUL!!! The game is no longer fun to watch because of all the special treatment the "superstars" get...Basketball is basketball, fouls are fouls, and the BEST TEAM SHOULD WIN instead of who the NBA wants to win!!!

I did not even watch the game except for the first minute. When I saw that Javie and Delaney along with Washington were the refs the outcome was already determined. The NBA does not want Utah to eliminate their TV ratings.

I don't know if there is a "fix" in the officiating for the the Lakers to win. I doubt it. But I do think the referees need to be more careful and look at each play separately instead of treating them all the same.

Case in point: the Odom dunk where absolutely no contact was made, yet a foul was called. It's almost like the refs are used to the shooter getting fouled in that situation, so in their minds they assumed Odom must have been fouled. Fair enough, if they were too busy checking their BlackBerries or something.

Same story with Vujacic fumbling away the ball with no one near him. The refs must have been checking e-mail, then one of them glanced at the game for a moment, saw the ball on the floor near a Laker Euro-flopper flailing his arms, and figured he wouldn't fumble and flail without a foul.

Were there enough bad calls to "steal" the game? No. But it could have been a closer game, and then it's 1998 and Jordan's shove all over again.

The Jazz need to make some adjustments. It's no surprise that some of the superstar players are going to get the call esp. going hard to the basket. If there is a high probability of getting called for the foul, then the Jazz players need to start putting a body on these guys. No more 2 and 1, let them try to get their 2 from the line. But make them know that they are in a dog fight and no freebies.

Not to mention the obvious offensive fouls that weren't called! What a joke!

Isn't San Antonio a small market???? They seem to win championships!!

@BBallLaker

I thought Memo did and excellent job on Gasol. He really is an under rated post defender. Whether he was pushed or not by Gasol (and he was, big time, twice in a row) he needed to man up, hold his ground, and get those boards no excuses.

As far as the fouls go, I suggest you go out and read so commentary from unbiased observers. The consensus is fairly unanimous that home cooking had alot to do with that victory and the Lakers previous home victories.

Try the TrueHoop blog on ESPN or the Game blogs on HoopsWorld.

Here's some interesting facts for you.

The Jazz again scored more baskets than the Lakers, had more points in the paint, more second chance points and outrebounded them by a wide margin. The diffrerence in the game was foul shots just as it has been in every game the Lakers have won.

The Lakers can't beat the Jazz in a game that is called evenly, they simply can't, unfortunately for the Jazz they won't ever have to.