Jazz plan to counter Laker height News Utah Jazz

Jerry Sloan has a simple strategy his Utah Jazz team can employ to counter the lengthy Los Angeles Lakers' considerable size advantage. And, no, his solution doesn't involve having his bigs wear thicker soles. Executing the offense, rather, will go to great, um, lengths in helping 6-9 Carlos Boozer, 6-8 Paul Millsap and 6-11 Mehmet Okur (if healthy) take on the taller trio of 7-foot Pau Gasol, 7-0 Andrew Bynum and 6-10 Lamar Odom when their first-round series begins Sunday afternoon at Staples Center. "Execution," Sloan said, "is critical ... because we aren't a one-on-one team."

That should be easy for the Jazz, renowned for being perhaps the best-executing team in the NBA for most of the past two decades, right? Not against this L.A. team, which has been effective in exploiting its height advantage in this matchup in recent years. Sloan recalled how John Stockton and Karl Malone were able to perform effectively against other dynamic duos ? he specifically mentioned Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway back in the Orlando days ? despite being outsized sometimes by about a half-foot apiece. This executive gets excited talking about their execution ? something he hopes to see more of in the playoffs. "You've got to get better spacing. You've got to get better screens," Sloan said. "They're going to try to knock you off of your screens, so you've got to be a man out there and be able to hold your position and be able to do your job while you're trying to execute a play." Though he likely didn't have to write "I will execute" a hundred times on Sloan's chalkboard, Boozer said he has indeed learned a valuable lesson about how to play against the Lakers. Much of that educational experience came during some rough times in the Lakers' Western Conference semifinal series win last spring, when Boozer struggled with on- and off-the-court issues. "I've learned a lot ? just come and go play," he said. "Be aggressive, take the shot when it's there, go right at them, attack them, and make them play my style a little bit." The Jazz hope he regains his pre-injury style, which had him scoring 20.5 points on 55.9 percent shooting and grabbing 11.7 rebounds an outing. In 25 games back with a surgically repaired left knee, Boozer has struggled to consistently find his mojo, averaging 14.1 points, hitting just 45.4 percent of his shots, and snatching 9.8 boards. In last year's two playoff rounds, Boozer only shot 41.5 percent for 16.0 ppg with 12.3 rebounds. "I look for him to have a good series," said Jazz assistant Phil Johnson. The coaching staff admits Boozer struggled last spring, and not just against L.A. Johnson even concedes the Lakers have "very long ... excellent big men." But Boozer's versatility, Johnson pointed out, is the reason for the coaches' continued confidence that he'll hold his own this series. "He has a variety of things that he can do. He's not just a three-feet-from-the-basket kind of guy," Johnson said. "He can go out on the floor some, he can drive and he can pass ... so he still helps your team." Having Okur's 3-point threat on the court ? not a certainty as he deals with a mildly strained right hamstring ? will certainly help, too. Millsap believes the Jazz have a couple more things in their favor as well. "Just outthink them, be faster than them, try to work around their height," the backup forward said when asked how Utah can deal with the size disparity. "I think the quickness has got the advantage really. It's a huge challenge for us, but we've been facing it all year. We've played them before. We know what their capabilities are, but we've just got to be more physical than them and outthink them." Defensively, the Jazz bigs have their work cut out as well, especially now that Bynum is playing to his potential. "We've got to meet them early, keep them off the block and try to make them make tough shots over our hands and box them out," Okur said. "If not, if you let (Gasol) catch the ball too deep, he's long and he's athletic. He finishes strong, jam the ball or jump hook, so you've got to meet him early and try to push him off the lane." E-mail: jody@desnews.com