Coming off of their unbelievable upset over the Dallas Mavericks, the Golden State Warriors are probably feeling very confident. I mean, they just obliterated the NBA's best team and have quickly become America's new favorite basketball squad. Their momentum from that series has many people wondering how far the Warriors can go. Some people seem to think that they'll be able to dismantle the Jazz in the same fashion they dismantled the Mavericks. However, to assume this is rather foolish. Yes, the Warriors still have Baron Davis (and his beard) and the ability to rack up points in explosive spurts. But unlike the Mavericks, the Jazz actually match up pretty well with the Warriors.
Defensively, the Jazz have several players that are going to be able to make it difficult on Baron Davis. Deron Williams is a big solid point guard that has both the bulk and the lateral movement to keep up with Baron Davis. Baron is not going to be able to bulldoze Deron the way he did with Jason Terry and Devin Harris. As well, Utah also has Derek Fisher (another big strong point guard) and Andrei Kirilenko to throw at B-Diddy. Davis will probably still get his, but it just won't be as easy as it was in the last round.
As well, unlike the Mavericks, the Jazz have a very solid post game. When Boozer has a smaller man on him, you better believe he is going to take him to the box and punish him down low. As well, Deron Williams is a very capable playmaker who will use pick and roll and penetration to get easy buckets for Utah's bigs. The Warrirors love to play a scrambling zone, but against Utah, zone buster Mehmet Okur will be ready to kill the Warriors every time they leave him open.
The Warriors can combat the Jazz methodical attack several ways. The best way would probably be to make the game ugly. Utah needs the game to flow as traditionally and as flawless as possible. If the Warriors are able to get Utah to fall into their style of running and gunning, and the game turns into an up and down affair with many turnovers and no flow, the will be in trouble. To do this, the Warriors are going to need Steven Jackson, Baron Davis, Jason Richardson, and Matt Barnes to continue playing at the level they played in the previous series. They are also going to need contributions from Monta Ellis and Al Harrington in this series.
More than anything, I think the key to this series will be the home court advantage. With their rabid crowd, I don't see the Warriors losing a game in Oakland. So it's up to the Jazz to make sure they don't lose at home. If the Warriors are able to steal one of the first two games in Salt Lake, I think they'll wrap up the series in six games. If they aren't able to steal one of the first two games, I see the Jazz winning in seven games. Either way, I think we're in for an entertaining series.
