Jeremy Tyler at Day 3 of the LeBron James Skills Academy. 
SALT LAKE CITY -- The venue isn’t the only thing that’s changing for tonight’s Game 3 (10:30 ET, TNT). Utah’s starting lineup is going through a transformation too.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan told reporters today after shootaround that he is going to insert Andrei Kirilenko into the starting five and bring Kyle Korver, who had been starting at small forward, off the bench.
“[Trevor] Ariza has had great runs here on us in these games, I thought I’d try to start Andrei and see what happens,” Sloan said.
Through the first two games of the series, Ariza has skyrocketed his regular season production from 8.9 points on 46.0 percent shooting and 1.8 assists to 17.0 points on 81.3 percent shooter with 5.5 helpers per game.
Meanwhile, Kirilenko has yet to show up. His numbers are down from 11.8 points on 44.9 percent shooting in 27.3 minutes per game to 9.0 points on 38.5 percent shooting while playing 21.5 minutes per game.
“It’s just a different look,” Deron Williams said. “Hopefully it gives AK some confidence, we need him playing well.”
“He gives us a little more length out there. Ariza has been hurting us a lot starting ballgames out with his outside shooting, his defense and his hustle so hopefully AK can match that.”
Several members of the Lakers mentioned Kirilenko’s weakside shot-blocking ability as something to be aware of, but overall preferred to concentrate on their own team execution rather than any personnel moves by Utah.
“I don’t think it changes anything too much,” Ariza said. “We’re still going to have the same game plan and still going to do the same thing.”
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Whether Carlos Boozer knew that no team in the history of the NBA Playoffs has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit or not, he was sure he didn’t want to become the next team to try the feat.
“It’s a must win,” Boozer said. “We’re down 0-2. For us, this is the biggest game of our season to win tonight and get back in the series.”
He hopes that playing on their home court will be what the Jazz need to get over the hump.
“We’re confident at home. We play fast at home. We just … win … here."
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Utah will be without Mehmet Okur again as he continues his gradual recovery from a right hamstring strain.
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Sloan said that the Lakers size down low has been the biggest factor in L.A. getting easy looks outside. When Utah has to double inside, L.A.'s bigs have been able to kick the ball back to the perimeter for open jump shots.
“We’ve got to do a better job keeping them from scoring so many points in the paint and making three-point shots,” Sloan said. “We’ve given up 54 points at the three-point line in two games. That’s inside-out basketball at its best.”
Utah plays the 6-foot-9 Boozer and the 6-foot-8 Paul Millsap at power forward against the 7-foot Pau Gasol and the 6-10 Lamar Odom. Jarron Collins is 6-foot-11 and has to contend with the 7-foot Andrew Bynum.
“We’re playing Paul Millsap against a guy who is 7-feet tall, you give up four or five inches, it’s hard to get to him and block his shot. We’re talking about a size differential here of a huge amount,” Sloan said.
“I’m going to put them on the concrete stretcher and see if I can get them about 7-foot-6 tonight, everybody will stand in the lane, we’ll zone them and take them that way.”
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Williams on the key to preventing the Lakers to getting off to a quick start for the third straight game:
“It comes down to getting stops. We’re not stopping them. We have trouble stopping these guys. Until we figure a way out to stop them on the defensive end, we’re not going to win.”
For those scoring at home, that was four stops in one answer from Williams. Maybe he was saying the word once for every win the Jazz still need in order to beat the Lakers in the series.
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Sloan talked about the mental toughness that Kobe Bryant possesses, saying, “he just walks on the floor and a lot of people are intimidated by his greatness.”
I’m not sure if you can say that Jazz forward Carlos Boozer is intimidated by him, but he has what you could call a “Kobe consciousness.”
“Honestly, point blank, you have to spend so much attention on Kobe because he’s Kobe,” Boozer said. “Because of that, other guys are getting shots and he trusts his teammates.”
There is a different between being mentally tough and playing mind games though. When Matt Harpring was asked if he thought Bryant was one of the five best players in the league at getting in the heads of his opponents, Harpring strongly disagreed.
“No,” Harpring said. “I wouldn’t even put him in my top 20. I don’t think he’s a player that plays mental games.”
Bryant agreed.
“I don’t even know what mental games are,” he said. “I don’t even know what that is to be honest with you. I just go out there and I play. I compete, I play hard and just go from there.”
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Williams and Bryant traded friendly barbs through the media about their time together during the Beijing Olympics.
Williams said he identified with Bryant once he got to know him because of their shared competitive nature, but added that Bryant would stop at nothing to win ... even if it meant bending the rules here and there.
“We had a lot of shooting contests after practices of which he cheated,” Williams said. “We would be shooting shots and all of the sudden for the last shot when I’m about to win, he wants to come over and contest it or foul me or something like that.”
Bryant got the last word when a reporter told him about Williams’ accusation.
“He’s a liar,” Bryant said. “He’s mad I used to kick his butt all the time. He lost all the time … Well, he beat me once, but once out of two months is not very good. Tell him I said that.”
Yeah! 2-1! Go Utah! Dwill and Boozer will win the championship! ^^
Basketball star and giant of the NBA Lebron James explains why he’s currently at the top of his game, talks up the Cleveland Celtics’ hopes in the NBA playoffs and spills the beans on his new movie.
Q: Do you feel this has been your best season yet? And if so, why?
A: I do think this is my best season as an individual thus far and the reason why is that our team was really successful and we continued to play with a great deal of high intensity throughout the whole year. I raised my level also, so I would say this is the best season I have had in the NBA thus far.
Q: What is your reaction to the news that Kevin Garnett could be out for the Playoffs? That certainly opens the door for the Cavs. Also, if you do end up getting through the Celtics, does that mean it is going to be easier for you to pledge your future to
A: I think every team that makes the Playoffs is a threat. No matter what you do in the regular season, the top eight teams make the Playoffs, so your record is thrown out the window.
Q: And about KG being out?
A: I think KG has to do what’s best for him at this point. He doesn’t want to do something that can hurt him for a long period of time for next season. I know the team may be a little bit down, but they still have a lot of veteran guys and they still have two All-Stars that can play the game of basketball really well, so they are going to be fine.
Q: You are 82 games into the season already, you’ve had a fantastic workload and now you have to peak again to go into, potentially, four series in the post-season. How do you prepare yourself mentally and physically to go again after such a long time, seven or eight months already?
A: We all know it’s a new season now. We had a great regular season and no one can take that away from us but that’s over and done with now. We have a bigger goal, and our main goal is to win an NBA Championship, so it’s relatively easy to get back focus for the postseason because we know it’s the best part of the season. The Playoffs is like taking a kid to a candy store – you don’t want to leave. So we’re really excited about it.
Q: How much has
A: I think the Pau Gasol trade goes down in history as one of the biggest trades in sports history along with some of the other great trades in the sport of basketball. He has definitely helped that team become the team they are today. He is a very, very good player and it will be a great matchup if we can get to The Finals, and the Lakers can get to The Finals, to face-off against each other.
Q: How did you manage to make your teammates better this season?
A: Well my game is geared around making my teammates better; it’s nothing I did differently. Maybe being more vocal or being more of a leader. The way I play the game automatically gets my teammates involved because I like to pass, I’m a very unselfish player, a very unselfish person, so it was very easy for me to get my teammates involved and get them better everyday.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about the Pistons? It seems like everyone is saying bring on the Celtics, bring on the Lakers and they are overlooking the first and second rounds. What’s your take on the Pistons?
A: There is no way you can overlook the Pistons. This is a team that has been to the Conference Finals like six years in a row. You can never overlook a team that has been through all the ups and downs of the Playoffs. We know how experienced that team is, and how powerful and dangerous that team is, so we are looking forward to the challenge just like we were in the Eastern Conference Finals. We know its going to be a good test for us.
Q: What’s the difference this year in the Cavs? Is it Mo Williams? Is it that the team adjusted to each other? Or has your game elevated so much to carry the team?
A: I think its all three. The addition of Mo in the offseason has really helped us. The team chemistry from day one, everyone was focused on the championship and getting better every day from the first day of training camp, and then just my game getting better through the off-season and bringing that to implement it in to our team. Everything you just said is the reason we are on top of the NBA and finished with the best record in the NBA, and we have to continue to play like we are one of the best teams in the NBA in the post-season.Q: How much of a motivation is the 4-0 defeat in the ‘07 Finals for you?
A: It’s a big motivation to see how close we were, but how far we were from a NBA championship team. That motivated me a lot and that’s a lot of the reason I am the player I am today. You can only get better when you hit trials and tribulations or bumps in the road. I definitely used that as motivation and that’s why you guys see the player you see today in LeBron James.
Q: After such a great season, would you feel it would be an opportunity missed if you were not to be the champions this time around?
A: I feel like I’m at a point in my career if I’m not competing for a championship, I’m wasting my time and I’m wasting my teammates time. To be in a position to be in the Playoffs and fight for an NBA championship, I’m looking forward to it.
Q: What aspects of your game do you see that you still need to improve on and what will you be doing in the off-season for that?
A: Every part of my game needs improvement and its going to continue to get that improvement in the time I spend on the court in practices and games. There is not one distinct thing that I can look at and say you are drastically not improving in that area. I think everyday I practice I get better and I work on certain things. When you are playing the game of basketball, it really helps because when you are out there you are going against certain defenses and going against certain sets. Every part of my game is always improving every time I step on the basketball court.
Q: Are you going to wear new Nike sneakers for the Playoffs?
A: Yes, absolutely. The new Nikes are called the Zoom Soldier 3. They will be in stores this Friday and I will be wearing them in the upcoming Playoffs.
Q: How are they going to be?
A: They are going to be great. They are going to be like me.
Q: I heard wind about a movie that will be coming out in the fall, can you tell us a bit more about that?
A: The movie is called More Than a Game. It’s about me and my four best friends setting out with the dream of winning a national championship and not knowing that the game of basketball would create friendship and brotherhood. It will be coming out in October and I’m looking to do a world tour where I will promote the movie in a couple of cities in Europe -- in London and Paris, and one more city that is to be announced. It’s going to be great. I think every basketball team and everyone that’s in sports, parents; we should all go out and see it because it’s very inspirational.
Q: Can you give us a little more detail? Is a documentary type approach or is it film? Fiction or fact? How would you describe it?
A: It’s everything. It’s action because the game of basketball and people love to see highlights. It goes to peoples’ backgrounds. It goes through all of my four best friends’ backgrounds. It’s very inspirational so you look at the game of basketball different and you look at life different. Certain people are put in your life for a certain reason, and if you take that opportunity, you might be led in the right direction. And we were led in the right direction because we were put with this guy, Coach Dru Joyce.
Q: Are you excited about playing the Lakers since they were the only to beat you in
A: We lost last night at home also against the
Q: How do you feel about the MVP race between yourself,
A: I think it was three great seasons by three great players. For me, it was doing the things that I did for my team and as an individual. The way D-Wade came back from injury a year ago and having 15 victories to making the postseason wining 40-plus games this year. I think Kobe Bryant is always arguably the best player in the world. He always made sure his team was playing at a high level. It was three great seasons and I commend those two guys on playing the game of basketball the way they do, it was fun to watch. It was fun to play and it was fun to watch those two guys.
Lebron in Hollywood? Why not? ^_^
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