National Basketball Association

Jazz have the edge on Suns

Published Mar. 5, 2010 6:12 p.m. ET

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GAME TIME: Jazz 116, Suns 108

There's no doubt that both the Jazz and the Suns are good ball clubs -- and their continuing head-to-head battle to capture the home-court edge should they meet in the playoffs makes for interesting games. At the same time, each of these outfits is plagued by serious deficiencies.

In any case, the initial three quarters of this particular topsy-turvy game clearly revealed the specific strengths of the Suns and specific weaknesses of the Jazz.

PHOENIX STRENGTHS

When Amar'e Stoudemire can either get involved in a high screen/roll in tandem with Steve Nash, or is able to create some space when he catches the ball at the free-throw line, he can always get off a good shot. Dunks, driving floaters, even a spectacular off-balance/side-arm flip against Paul Millsap. Likewise, when Stoudemire turned and faced in the low post he routinely abused Carlos Boozer and forced Utah to send help. Not trading Stoudemire has paid short-term dividends for Phoenix, which had previously won 7 of 8 before falling to Utah.

At age 37, Grant Hill still has plenty of life in his legs -- as evidenced by a flashback dunk he threw down in a crowd during an active second quarter. Hill's mid-range jumper also remains a viable weapon -- 6-for-9 for 17 points. As a bonus, Hill also knows what he's doing on defense, drawing charges on Deron Williams and Sundiata Gaines.

The emergence of Robin Lopez provides Phoenix with some desperately needed bulk in the middle.

Plus, when Jason Richardson is on his game -- 8-for-14 for 22 points -- the Suns' offense is even more explosive than usual.

And, of course, Steve Nash can still play at an All-Star level.

UTAH WEAKNESSES

Carlos Boozer has no lateral movement on defense and Mehmet Okur's defense is even more stationary, which leaves the Jazz totally vulnerable to a quick-stepping big man like Stoudemire. That leaves Andrei Kirilenko as Utah's solitary shot-blocker.

The Jazz are also deficient in overall team speed. The only warp-speed runners are Wesley Matthews and the seldom-used Gaines. This means very few easy buckets in transition and having to grind out points in their half-court sets.

Okur is awkward with his back to the basket and Millsap needs to turn-and-face to be effective in the pivot. That leaves Boozer as their only low-post scoring threat, but at 6-8 he has difficulty operating against bigger bigs, even against the relatively non-athletic Lopez.

The Suns seemed to have the game well in hand, until they squandered a 12-point lead and yielded 41 points in the fourth quarter. And it was in the last 12 minutes of the game that the balance of pluses and minuses switched.

UTAH STRENGTHS

The precision of the Jazz offense involves perpetual screens, curls and off-the-ball cuts. As a result, they diligently worked themselves into several easy shots. And when the offense did stall, both C.J. Miles and Williams nailed uncontested 3-balls.

In the pivot, Boozer totally abused the frail defense of Channing Frye. In fact, Alvin Gentry was greatly amiss in not substituting Lopez for Frye until there were less than four minutes left in the game and Boozer had hugely helped the Jazz get back in contention.

Although Utah was out-shot by a significant margin -- 57.5 percent to 45.8 percent -- its total of 19 offensive rebounds, compounded by the Suns' 18 turnovers, gave the visitors 10 extra field-goal attempts. At the same time, the quick hands of Boozer (3), Kirilenko (3) and Williams (2) provided the bulk of Utah's 11 steals.

Williams tallied 13 of his 27 points in the deciding quarter, including the go-ahead trey. His power, all-around skills and decision-making -- 9 assists against only 2 turnovers -- are the primary reasons why the Jazz are as good as they are. Indeed, he does as much for his team as Kobe and LeBron do for theirs.

PHOENIX WEAKNESSES

The Suns' interior defense is poor: Lopez is immobile, Frye is a lightweight, and Stoudemire is often out of position. Moreover, Stoudemire can only block shots when the ball comes directly to him, is a less-than-average rebounder, and he NEVER boxes out. Giving up 19 offensive rebounds on 45 Jazz misses is inexcusable.

They must shoot a high percentage of treys to win, but were only 5-for-19 in the game at hand. Also, Frye must shoot better than 1-for-4 from beyond the arc to justify his playing time.

Part of Nash's effectiveness is his ability to produce points (14) and assists (15) by keeping the ball on a string. On the other side of the coin, he tends to force shots and try to squeeze passes through miniscule openings (7 turnovers).

Throughout his career, Hill has been a turnover machine, so his 5 TOs (to go with 3 assists) came as no surprise.

The first time they played Utah, the Suns blew a 17-point lead and lost. These failures indicate an overall lack of concentration, and the absence of an authentic belief in themselves.

Phoenix's dynamic offensive potential will always make it a dangerous team. But Utah's perseverance and discipline make it even more dangerous.

Even so, no matter who winds up with the fourth seed, should Utah and Phoenix meet in the playoffs, they'll only be playing for the dubious privilege of getting swamped in the second round by the Lakers.

If you have a question or comment for Charley Rosen, please email charleyrosen@gmail.com and he may respond in a future column.