1320 vs. 1280: Advantage 1280

[the Jazz] been without normal production from Carlos Boozer…
G2 13 points, G3 15 points, G4 14 points, and G5 19 points.  And in Game 5 that was mainly in, not necessarily garbage time, but a lot came in garbage time when the pressure was off and when they were down 20. It was funny for a brief stretch in that 3rd quarter, all of a sudden you saw Carlos going to the hoop and you’re going well what’s going on, why doesn’t he do this all game? Part of it had to do with Houston being up 20 and obviously not playing with the same intensity as if it were a tie game, certainly on defense, but I can’t figure out what the difference here is with Carlos.

On Scola/Dikembe/Landry:
I mean Dikembe’s obviously not an All-Star anymore, Landry’s a rookie, I mean, yes, they are playing well and they’re tough, hard-nosed players but Boozer’s an All-Star, and if Boozer can score 40 on Yao Ming, what is the problem going up against Yao Ming’s subordinates?

[Boozer’s] first couple shots in game number 5 were jumpers and not particularly good ones at that and he’s shorting a lot of them, he’s leaving them off the front of the rim and that is mental.Something’s going on. I have a hard time believing it’s 100% these defensive strategies by the Houston Rockets. I just am not buying that. I think a lot has to do with him and the pressure that he feels and a lot of people want to say the media putting all this pressure, he’s gotta do this and that. No, he’s brought this pressure on himself and the same things we criticize Tracy Mcgrady for–disappearing in the 4th quarter, not hitting big shots…but the fact is, you’re an All-Star, you claim to be a superstar TMac, you claim to be a star Boozer, you claim to be a leader on this Jazz team and you know what you gotta make it happen… you’re a star, you’re the scorer on this team and it is your responsibility to carry your weight that’s why you make the big money, that’s why you put yourself in this position. You wanted it, now he’s gotta step up and get it.

Where is he in the playoffs. When it’s down to it, where is he this year? And again, I refuse to believe it’s all in Houston’s defense.

What I’ve noticed: The guys at 1320 KFAN (which is also owned by Larry Miller) refuse to criticize Boozer. Every time a fan calls in and starts questioning Boozer’s decisions/play, David Locke starts yelling at them and won’t even let them talk. 

The guys at 1280 The Zone, however, have no problems calling out Boozer. It’s very true what they said:

“[Boozer] absolutely HAS to improve his effort, he has to improve his focus, he has to improve his productivity because he’s been BAD in this series, and there’s no other way to say it. Anybody who disagrees with that is probably getting paid by the team.” How true.

The long part I transcribed above–when they were saying it, I could not stop nodding. Even as I listened to it the second time through, I found myself nodding through the entire ten-minute segment. It was just so refreshing to hear Utah sports analysts not denying the obvious like the way Locke and Nissalke do.