Well, folks, I might sound pretty crazy, but I would call the Jazz vs. Lakers series the "Deseret vs. Hollywood" series. This is because we have Utah, the center of the Mormon Church, and LA has Hollywood, the center of the worldly things and celebrities that influence most people in this world. I'm sorry if this comment might seem crazy, it's just my opinion. Everyone has certain predictions of their own about the playoffs.

GO JAZZ, and give credit to Fisher for helping us last year!

Lakers in 6
Go Lakers!!!

lakers are a great road team, probably the best in the league. jazz are awful on the road. i think the lakers will win the first two home games b/c they're well rested and steal either game 3 or 4 and then close it out at home in game 5. so, i like the lakers in 5. kobe will probably guard deron williams and the jazz have no answer to pau gasol. i'd expect a ginormous series for gasol.

Now is the chance for the league MVP to show it's really about helping the team win. Oh, and it's also time for the Jazz to send him packing. This should be a tough series.

What a stupid article! Exactly what I would expect from somebody writing off the top of their head without any work. I could read a better analysis on most blogs put up by fans. Give me something new, not just ridiculous and trite comparisons. So the Lakers play in L.A., and because Hollywood is nearby, that makes this all about movies and TV? Well, the Jazz play in the Energy Solutions Arena, which is trying to bring in radioactive waste, so maybe the Jazz will play as though a nuclear bomb could be detonated at any moment. And Deron Williams is the "most underrated player" in the NBA? What a joke. Every time he's on national TV, the announcers go on and on about how good he is, how he and Chris Paul are the jewels of their draft, how he controls the game, yet is dangerous offensively, how he's the best shooter on the Jazz, and that includes Hollywood-pretty Korver. Come on, DN, give us something worth reading. And Jazz fans, please don't boo Fisher when introduced at the ESC. He did what was best for his family and took a huge pay cut to do it.

The Lakers should sweep this series, especially if the Jazz fans boo Fisher again. Remember what happened the last time they did that? It got the whole team so mad that they played like mad demons. So please boo Fisher loudly in SLC. There's no better way to motivate Kobe and the other Lakers than by getting them mad.

Finesse vs. rough-and-toumble, this is going to be a fun series. While L.A. is favored, the Jazz could surprise even the ultra-wishy washy of Utah fans whose loyalty sometime is easily shaken. Diehards are going Jazz all the way. Utah will get blown out in game 1, win a hotly contested game 2 and two straight at home. From there it continues to be a guess. My heart says the Jazz in 6, but my brain says Lakers in 7. Go heart!!

There go the Jazz and their season!!.

You look at the Lakers as worldly and they look at Utah as FLDS. Go figure.

These are exact reasons why I HATE the Lakers. People seem to worship celebrities, who can't hold a marriage, swear up a storm, will do anything immoral for $, yet people follow them like they are the gods of the Earth. It's sickening and disgusting the way people are like sheep and follow such people. The fact that these people root for the Lakers is the only reason I can't stand the team.

I stay as far away from CA as possible. I'm glad I live several states away so I don't have to deal with them. Go Jazz and anyone who plays them.

Lakers in a sweep 4-0. The Jazz can't stop Pau or Kobe. It's gonna be a dose of there owe medicine. Pick and Roll or screen and roll. Lakers #1.

When the Jazz have an LDS player, you can talk. Otherwise, enjoy what will be a good series for Jazz fans to remember and sulk about all summer long.

Kobe will go to the line every time anyone in the stadium looks at him funny. Expect 20+ ppg from him in free throws. Oh, and don't expect Deron or Carlos to get the same treatment.

It was a good article, you are boring. Why knock someone down. If you didn't like it don't read it, that simple. Write something better for us.

Lakers just finished a series that showcased their talent where they could run and gun and leave defense at home. Utah won't allow that to repeat itself. Lakers may have the firepower to beat Utah but will have to do it honestly. They may run into more defense than it can handle. Kobe can deal with it but the rest of his team is mortal, contan Kobe aggravate the remainder of the team and Jazz may have a chance to steal one in LA. After that though, watch out for Phil, he has proven to be an outstanding coach and he has tons of talent to work with. Good thing it is the playoffs as the show will be worth it.

So put the "Jazz Fans Boo Fisher" thing right up there with the DC-8 rocketships bringing the Thetans to our world. By Xenu, that little bit of Laker dogma is getting old.

I was at the game. About 3 fans booed Fish. Those fans are idiots. The rest of us boo Kobe, a great basketball player who is also about as classy as Madonna. So go Utah, it's a long shot, but if anyone can, you can.

People will always boo players that leave their team to go to another team. It isn't personal, it is just sports. We root for our team, when someone ditches our team to make our rival stronger- something even Fisher lovers weren't too happy about- he can expect a few boos for a while. Its not cause we hate Fisher, its because we love the Jazz. Its nothing personal.

Wether won wins or looses should dipict our jot, its that one knows the truth! LDS should stand for latter day satanist...because there is no God glory in the Mormons story...

I agree with Rich, Derek Fisher doesn't deserve to be booed every time he touches the ball. He did great things here last year, and then did what he had to do because his family is more important to him than money or basketball. It was unlucky for us, but definitely wasn't malicious. He's not a traitor.

Response to opinion: Don't hate because the lakers are so popular. They finished first in the west so I think they might have some bragging rights. Lakers will definitely win the series, I hope they sweep but Utah will take one.

Maybe next year

Go Lakers, and go RSL too

Hey, sorry guys, but Lakers will take this series. Expect the Lakers to take the first two games and at least one of the next two, making it an insurmountable 3-1 lead. And if you guys boo such a good guy like Derek Fisher, then you deserve to lose. Watch out - The MVP is coming and there's no way you can stop him!

Lakers all the way!!!!!

I'm glad I read the Laker puffery here before I posted something myself. I was going to say how I looked forward to a competitive series. Boy, was I deluded. It appears that the Jazz have no chance at all against the Lakers. The Jazz--in fact, the entire NBA--should just concede the remaining series and title to the Lakers. And not just this year. Maybe the next ten years. Or twenty. We're not worthy to have our wretched team on the same court with those gods. But we will anyway. Game on, Kobe.

Memo to: Rich and Memo to all Jazz naysayers and Laker bandwagon message board contributors.

1. Fisher is just another opportunist, who elected not to play in Utah....no friends, no place to live, no place to eat (as in Bryant Gumbel). He wanted out of the convoluted California Warrior team issues, and couldn't get a better contract anywhere else....what is this he took a pay cut? From gazillion $ to 80% of a gazillion $...wow, that is tough! He will deserve whatever treatment he receives from the fans.

2. The Jazz will not be able to guard Kobe and the other athletic players on the Lakers. They will need to body up and force turnovers by closing down the passing angles. But most of all, they will need to hold their own on the glass, and not allow multiple shots after Laker misses. Kobe will be protected by the officials. They will need to gut it out and not let the Lakers have multiple runs, and play from behind. D'Will will have to continue to be an ironman, and work 40 minutes per game. So his health is of prime concern. The more athletic players as in Brewer is crucial.

According to Lee Benson the last time the Lakers and Jazz played in SLC...."yes Derek the boos are personal"...

I think the Jazz have forgotten that Derek was a LAKER for many years before he played ONE year in SLC. The Laker fans NEVER booed him after he left for Golden State & why he played for the Jazz.

Jazz Organization has class...can't say the same for the Jazz fans.

Utah, you have more trailer trash coming to your games than any other NBA city. To boo anyone that wants to get the best care for his kids, is sick. I have heard from many Utah fans that agree with me and are embarrassed for their city. What is next? Spitting on the players or throwing your trash on the court? I, for one would not be surprise. I been their, like the people I met, then this. How sad.

Go with the Hollinger rankings baby! Jazz and Celtics in the finals. Wait, thats if the Celts can even make it past the first round! Those pesky Hawks with their losing record (but still in the playoffs), they're just so tough!

Jazz to win it all!

The fact that your comment is barely legible belies your intelligence, therefore I'm not bothered in the slightest by an attack on a religion you obviously know little about. You don't know any better. It's easier to hate than to try to understand something different from what you're used to.

I was on a comment board at the beginning of the playoffs and Celtic fans sounded exactly as the Laker fans do now. Thats worked out really well for them hasn't it? I can't understand why they're still playing when the sweep of Atlanta was such a forgone conclusion. Laker Fans- Your team is good and they may win and eventually get to the finals, but your idea of their superiority is very misguided. If they are the best it's not by much. Take off your purple colored glasses and notice all of the other great teams in the west, including the Jazz. I for one would be very worried about a possible Spurs series if you do get past Utah. Don't let your sweep of a Denver team with no heart shape your idea of what the rest of the Playoffs are going to be like.

runnin and gunnin against the nuggets who refuse to play anything resembling d is different than running and gunning against a more physical team. Pao isn't tough, he is just big, bump him and push him around a little, and he'll get out of his ballerina like rhythm, go jazz!

To Opinion who hates the Lakers. All you know about Calif. is what yu see on tv. You know nothing about us and the people. I dont worship the Lakers or movie stars. For you to HATE makes you no better than these people you write about. Keep on the subject of basketball. The Jazz have a really good team and actually scare me but I think because of the home cout advantagethe Lkers will take it in 6 or 7.

Lakers fans display annoying sense of entitlement....

...what else is new?

If the Lakeshow survives Utah (it's a 50/50 split) then they must beat San Antonio too. And I think L.A. has as much chance at beating the Spurs as the Jazz.

Which means: not much of a chance.

Denver didn't even belong in the playoffs, so that was no test.

This series is going 6 or 7 games, and Lakers fans might find themselves saddened and shocked.

I think Utah steals Game 1.

GO UTAH JAZZ!

anybody remember the last time we swept the lakers in the playoffs? I think the lakers were supposed to outshine the Jazz in that series too. Hmmm.. history tends to repeat itself..

Fisher deserves to be boo'd. Heres a guy who lied about the necessity to be close to NY to treat his daughters condition and then ends up in LA while his daughter is still treated in NY. If he had been upfront and said he wanted out of Utah because he doesnt want to play there, the Jazz could have gotten something in return.
Kudos to Larry Miller and the Jazz organization for being good people and trying to do what's best for someone.

I will be booing loudly at Fisher.

Oh, boy! Here come them godless liberal Hollywood wierdos! The whole lot of them, clad in black, here in podunk Yewtaw to look down on us fat, pasty, insufferably loud racist yokels up here at the nuke-dump arena! Oh, wow! Geez!

The Lakers will win this series in four games. And by doing so, they will give you more fuel to hate their greatness because y'all be some bitter and resentful mo-fos.

As good as your team is. This is NOT your year. And please, have some taste when my team comes to town. I'm tremendously embarrassed to share the same building with you sometimes.

Remember, if you shake a tree, a leopard's bound to fall out. That cat goes by the name KOBE.

Go Jazz. If the Lakers win Gosol will be the difference and they can thank Memphis for the gift.

Go crazy Jazz fans in ESA! Keep up the reputation as UT being a tough place to play.

Have to agree with Fakers (12:37 PM). Fisher lied about his daughters illness to get out of Utah. Im sure he could make up for his salary cut with endorsments. Hip hop players like Fisher, Kobe and Iverson and the Golden State Warrior players hold there teams hostage. Clean cut players like Korver, Harpring, Hornacek and Stockton would never do this.

the worst part about this series is that now we have to endure yet another "star" getting fouled EVERY SINGLE TIME he touches the ball...Game 6 was driving me crazy! Especially when McGrady dribbled the ball OFF HIS OWN FOOT yet the Jazz were called for a foul. It's a shame the NBA allows such unsportsmanlike treatment by the refs!

Yeah you guys sure did sweep the lakers ten years ago congrats, i hope the rings they got for that series are nice. Oh wait they didnt get rings for that? Since the lakers have won three titles....what have the jazz done.

The leopard's skin is beautiful, but his heart evil.

PG Fisher - Williams - edge Williams
SG Kobe - Brewer - edge Kobe
SF Radmanovich - AK47 - edge AK unless Radmanovich hits his 3s.
PF Odom - Boozer - edge Boozer
C Gasol - Okur - edge Gasol

Bench - edge Lakers
Offense - edge Lakers
Defense - edge Lakers

Kobe will average almost 40 points a game. Gasol will average around 30 points a game. Fisher knows how to guard and prefers to guard Williams. Utah needs to score at least 120 points a game to beat the Lakers and that's too difficult. Lakers in 5 games. heres to a good series.

There have been alot of articles talking about how tough Kobe is when you make him mad. "If the big dog is sleeping, you don't poke hime with a stick" was the quote I heard.

I think the Jazz should take the stick and slap "the dog" in the face and then look him in the eye and spit on him.

Here's why I say that, it's not because I hate Kobe (I really don't) it's because of these two facts.

1) Kobe has trouble keeping his cool. He leads the league in technical fouls, and he has a history of getting revenge type flagrant fouls. If you can't beat 'em get them thrown out.

2) "The Kobe Bryant Show" is much easier to defend than the balanced triangle attack they slaughtered the Nuggets with. The more the Jazz can make Kobe think about Kobe the better off they are going to be.

Dude you better not be watching the game, it's on Sunday!. Lets see no one gets a devorce in Utah, no one swears in Utah, there are no celebraties in Utah, no one likes money in Utah. That's why you don't like the Lakers?. What cave do you live in, I'm so glad you stay away from evil California you could go down there and turn into a pillar of salt. You and Warren Jeffs need to get together.

I remember the last two times the Lakers and Jazz played in the playoffs, the Lakers had Kobe and Shaq. The first time the Jazz won in Five, the seocnd time, all we heard from Lakers fans and the media was that this was the best Laker team of all time and it would be over in four or five games. It was over in four games, however the Jazz won. When you are in a small market you get sick of hearing about the skies opening up and the Celtics gods have emerged and they don't even have to play the games because the Celtics are champs (somebody forgot to tell the Hawks). Same thing with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, the second coming of Michael Jordan (what a joke Kobe couldn't carry Jordans jock).
Jazz in seven

I love the Jazz. But the season ends here.

"I will be booing loudly at Fisher."

That's because you're a moron. Quit making us Jazz fans look bad. Get your facts straight before you voice your opinions.

Fisher is a class act.

Jazz in 6!

People think Engery Solutions Arena and the Jazz are a vicious combination to play in....Tracy McGrady said his team absolutely hates the Utah fans. The Laker fans are another breed altogether, they like to tear up stuff when their beloved, spoiled rotten, hollywood team wins. I hope the Jazz take it to them and play like I know they can play. I want to see the forceful, not afraid, dead eye team that I know the Jazz can be. I've seen it before against opponents. They can rack up points in a hurry and leave their opponents tasting their dust. That's what I want and I'm their number 1 FAN. GO JAZZ!!!!!

No. Don't boo Fisher. That's the most unclassy thing you can do.

Boo the Lakers as a team but don't pick out Fisher--especially a guy you probably cheered for a year ago. You don't know for sure why he left. Even if he did leave just to get on the Lakers, you would only be making him feel better about his decision once he sees how unclassy the Jazz fans are.

I grew up in Cal. but I have lived in Utah for the past 15 years. I have attended more Jazz game than Laker games. I have never cheered for the Lakers in past - unless I thought they had a good chance to win the title. Now that I think they will win it all this year....I am a Laker fan!!

I am a huge Jazz fan, I have been for 20 years. With that said, I think it is stupid to boo Fish, and here's why. He played for years with the Lakers, he has friends in LA, his wife is from LA, her family is there. It is logical that while going through a tough time like a child's sickness, an individual would want to be around comfortable surroundings, and friends/family who can offer emotional support. The support system may not be for him. Remember pro athletes spend half of the season on the road, away from their families, if they stayed in Utah his wife would have been home alone without family caring for a sick child. Even if the doc is still in NY. I think the move to LA makes sense for his wife to have additional support. The move was not a knock against Utah, the move was best for his family, because of the family support had only in LA.

Thank you, Utah should be an example to the nation. So we win a title and look like idiots, no thanks. I live in LA and have heard far more compliments about the Jazz than rude remarks. Fisher had nothing but good to say about his time in Utah. Who cares why he came back home to LA. And yes I am a Jazz fan.

You want to shake up the Lakers, cheer everytime Fisher gets the ball!.