Cuatro: Spurs Dismiss Jazz and Return to Finals

“The day the music died” may be a little cliché, but the Jazz never had a chance in their 109-84 game 5 defeat. They were outwitted, outworked, and outmatched from the first quarter on. It wasn’t a matter of X’s and O’s, but rather determination, focus, and all the other intangibles that separate the Spurs from, say, the Mavericks.

The statistics can be thrown out the window, but this much we know: Fab was fabulous, Parker had no trouble getting to the bucket, and Sloan had given up by the middle of the 3rd quarter, when he had three rookies in the game at the same time.

At one point, I looked at the scoreboard and realized that the entire Jazz offense was running through Rafael Araujo. That’s not just throwing in the towel, that’s heaving the entire bath and beauty section at Target.

Like Matt Bonner, we’re going for 5 points:


- Manu Ginobili is like those physical, rugged 4th quarter running backs. As the season goes on, he just gets tougher, better, and harder to defend. By the time the series is over, you’re just exhausted from dealing with him on every play.

- Derek Fisher may have deserved his 2nd technical in game 4, but not his first. I can see why Jazz fans are livid. Still, they wouldn’t have won this game even if a few of those questionable calls had gone their way. They got beat, and the Jazz fans (who aren’t exactly known as a classy bunch) look like fools for throwing things on the court.

- For how outspoken he was about his teammates already planning vacations, Boozer was a no show on both ends. You can’t blame it on foul trouble, either. He just wasn’t there. Lead by example, and then call out your teammates. It wasn’t as if he left his heart and soul on the court in game 5.

- Horry averaged 1.4 points a game for the series, but forced a few turnovers in game 5 that really broke the Jazz spirit. He tends to hang around the backcourt to swipe at passes…call it crafty if you want, but I think he just really wants to avoid running all the way down court to play defense.

- Oberto and Finley earned their chance at a ring. They are a big part of why this Spurs team may be their best ever.