The Saturday-afternoon sleight-of-hand Jazz defense that sapped the Lakers' offense from their first possession on got its start five games ago in that miserable Jazz loss at Philadelphia.
In that Philly game, Sharone Wright and Jerry Stackhouse effectively posted up against the Jazz."From that game," says Jazz assistant coach Gordon Chiesa, "we went back to the fundamentals." Coaches reinforced daily the idea of defenders pushing the offense off its low-post blocks.
Saturday's game, in which Jeff Hornacek pulled off three steals in the first four minutes and Karl Malone and John Stockton had steals in the first five minutes, was a byproduct of that low-post defense.
"Our post defenders (Malone, Felton Spencer) did a good job of taking on the post player earlier to move him up the block an extra 11/2 feet, making the passing lane easier to guard. It seems so trivial," said Chiesa, "but it's magnified."
And how. The Jazz made six first-half steals, six points off nine first-half Laker turnovers. For the game, Utah had nine steals, 14 turnover points and a 46-32 rebounding edge helped by holding Laker postmen out farther.
Chiesa counts deflections: 42. "When we have 40 or more deflections, we win 85 percent of the games," he says, "even when we don't shoot well. Deflections were a big factor early in the game - we weren't shooting that well."
"When you get five to 10 easy baskets off steals," said Hornacek, "it's a big boost."
Hornacek said post defense made the guards' job easier. "It's difficult for us to reach back and get steals if they're sitting on the box with their postups because you don't want to leave your guy if you have to go that far," he said. If the post is closer, guards can "take a giant step back to swipe at the ball. That's how I got a couple of them," Hornacek said of his steals.
L.A. is a strong low-post team that fights for the blocks, Spencer said, but, "Today we came out aggressively and set the tone for the game." He said the big guys are always looking for help from the guards; quick low-post defense invited them in. "We're definitely pleased when that happens. That's what we're trying to accomplish," he said.
"You know me," said Malone. "I'd rather start offensively, but you make your job easier if you get after a guy on the defensive end and they start pressing.
"You've got to get them big guys out of where they want to be. Then the guards have a shorter distance to travel and can get their hands on the ball," Malone said. "You can set the tone pretty quick if you're willing to get the job done early."
Malone admitted satisfaction over a defense well done. "Sometimes things happen so quickly you don't get that recognition, but it's refreshing when you come over to the bench and John or Hornacek say, `Man, good job, way to push that guy out,' " said Malone. "In a way, you caused that (steal), even though the other guy gets the credit. That's what it's all about."