Sports 4 Dorks

Scanning the blogs and beats following the Jazz’s 90-84 win over the Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals …

My Utah Jazz: "I
feel bad for the fans in Houston, McGrady was flat out killing it for
three quarters and then he put a dress on for the 4th. Two games in a
row now
with no field goals in crunch is not going to get it done. Can we quit
calling this guy a superstar now? I need to give a ton of credit to AK
here as well. AK was smothering him for the last six minutes of the
game
and that was the best performance I have seen from him defensively all
year. In fact, AK was the X-factor for the Jazz all night. It seemed
like whenever the Jazz needed a big play he was involved somehow with
a rebound, steal, block or deflection. Have you ever seen a better game
while only scoring three points? How SWEEP it is!!"

Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle:
"The Jazz had a simple defensive approach. They don’t believe the
Rockets can win without a monster game from McGrady. So the Jazz again
ran two and three defenders at him and gambled he’d be worn out down
the stretch. He was. He played magnificently most of the evening,
finishing with 23 points, 13 boards, nine assists and three steals.
Just one of those 23 points came in the fourth quarter. He’s 0-for-7 in
the fourth quarter of this series."

Michael Murphy, Houston Chronicle:
"I tried to do everything I could to get us going, energy-wise,
execution-wise, rebounding and making them (his teammates) better,"
McGrady said. "But come the fourth quarter, I didn’t have enough
(left). I had no legs. I was on empty." As were the Rockets, who, minus
McGrady’s shooting and passing, shot only 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from
the floor in the final period."

The Dream Shake (PG-13):
"That’s it. I am done with you, Tracy McGrady. No more T-Mac. It’s like
Anakin Sywalker has complete morphed into Darth Vader. Except that you
are not a Nubian God and you aren’t the least bit scary anymore. You
have devolved into a giant choking machine. You are far worse than the
Cowardly Lion, because at least the Lion knew what a giant [James
Posey] he was and tried to find courage. You … well, not even the
Wizard could help you I think."

Tim Buckley, Deseret News: "The Jazz had Kirilenko to thank for his work on Houston’s preceding possession, which ended with a foul on Rockets forward Luis Scola which negated a 3-pointer from guard Bobby Jackson that would have tied the game at 85. "It wasn’t that huge (of a) foul, but Scola is holding me. I created a little bit more than it looks, but it was foul," Kirilenko said. "Let’s say 50-50, but it was foul. In this situation, that’s the right call. Because I was trying to get to McGrady in the corner, and Scola was just holding me." Rockets coach Adelman, to say the least, was a bit miffed."

Ross Siler, Salt Lake Tribune:
"As soon as the whistle blew, I couldn’t believe you would call an
offensive foul in the last minute. Watching the replay, it looked like
Scola did clear out Kirilenko with a shove. Kirilenko hasn’t been a
flopper this season and I don’t think he was acting. Referee Tony
Brothers was standing only steps away and must have felt like it was
the right call. Another question you can ask is why Brothers was
working a playoff game in the first place. He’s definitely not in the
same class of referee as Bennett Salvatore and Mike Callahan, who made
up the rest of the crew Monday. One of my old colleagues in Los Angeles
would argue that Brothers was the NBA’s worst ref."

Brad Rock, Deseret News:
"With the series returning to Salt Lake, the Rockets would need
something as special as ‘94, or 1995 when they fell behind 0-2 and 1-3
to the Suns, yet still managed to win the series and go on to a second
championship. But that was then and this is McNow. With superstar guard
Tracy McGrady having gone 16-43 from the field in two games — thanks
largely to the Jazz’s relentless defense — their chances are remote."

Kurt Kragthorpe, Salt Lake Tribune:
"The Jazz took a nine-point lead into Monday’s second quarter, so in
six playoff games in Houston over two years, the Rockets have faced
second-period deficits of seven, nine (twice), 10, 13 and 16 points."