This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
OAKLAND, Calif. - As the first half ended and the teams left the floor Monday night, Warriors forward Stephen Jackson held a long discussion with the game's referees. Presumably, he was complaining about the lack of competition.
The Jazz completed their 0-4 sweep of Western lottery teams with a rout so ugly, Golden State isn't even a lottery team anymore. Using a small but lightning-quick lineup, the Warriors tried out alley-oop passes as though seeking college credit, ran fast breaks unimpeded by anyone wearing blue, and swatted away Utah passes like they were flies buzzing around the basket. And maybe flies would have put up a better defense.
While ESPN will love all the fancy bucketeering and can-you-top-this highlights produced by the Warriors' 126-102 drubbing, it stripped the Jazz of something that supposedly means a lot to them. While the Jazz were battling to collect more baskets than turnovers - and failing at that, too, for a while - the Rockets were winning in Seattle and officially taking the lead in the so-called "race" for home-court advantage in their upcoming playoff series.
"That's the biggest thing to me, to win home court," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "You reach one goal and try to go on to the next one."
For the moment, the Jazz might want to set their goals a little lower. You know, win a road game, something they've done just once in their last 10 attempts. Make a team miss more than half of its shots, something that's happened only twice in the past six outings. Or heck, just don't get hurt - this time,
Gordan Giricek and Deron Williams (the latter with a 1-for-8, four-point, three-assist night) were the victims, re-injuring bruised ribs and sore groin, respectively.
Trouble is, the Jazz have squandered the, um, "easy" part of April's schedule, and didn't manage to beat any of the non-playoff squads. Now five games remain, and four of them are against teams that are headed to those same Western Conference playoffs that the Warriors climbed into with the win.
"You look at how we've played and say, 'That's how close we are to turning a great season into a mediocre season,' " said Sloan, whose team is the only current playoff team other than the Gilbert Arenas-less Wizards, to be slumping. "We're in danger of that, the way we're finishing up."
History suggests this is a highway to oblivion, too. The seven previous times the Jazz stumbled over themselves as the playoffs approached, they advanced past the first round only twice, and both times exited in the second round.
The sort of basketball, and particularly the defense, that the Jazz played on Monday - allowing Baron Davis to split two defenders and waltz to the basket, watching four Warriors take on one, giving up 13 fast-break points in the third quarter alone - won't change that pattern.
"If we keep losing for two more weeks, I'd say our finish matters," said Derek Fisher, who made just 3 of 13 shots against his former team to finish with 10 points. "But it really just matters where you are, mentally and physically, when the first game starts. That's the biggest thing. That's what we have to keep our focus on."
Yep, that's pretty important, given how things have gone in the past week. And Fisher understands that it's possible, even if all anybody is going to talk about is the losses.
"Definitely don't panic. That's what we have to remember - eight games, 10 games does not wipe away a season's accomplishment," Fisher said. "We're still the team that won a division championship, that went 12-1 to start the season. We can beat any team any night, and that hasn't changed."
Here's another thing that hasn't changed: The Warriors' ability to embarrass Utah with its small lineup. "We didn't play a team all year that was as quick as they were," Sloan said.
The Jazz allowed Golden State to pile up 64 points in the paint, most all season. They surrendered 30 fast-break points, another season-worst. They committed 25 turnovers and, yes, that too is the worst of the year.
They watched as the Warriors made 55.3 percent of their shots, using an 18-4 run in the second quarter to make the outcome academic.
Ronnie Brewer, given 33 minutes in Andrei Kirilenko's injury absence, led the Jazz with 21 points, but "in a loss, it doesn't do your team any good," the rookie said. Carlos Boozer had 17 points and 11 rebounds, but didn't play in the fourth quarter.