[Seuss]

GM/Coach has one day to get his gameplan up. Here's a gameplan template.

Offensive Plan:
Defensive Plan:
Overall Focus:

[#1] Utah Jazz Team:

PG: Nate Archibald
SG: Sam Jones
SF: Paul Arizin
PF: Jerry Lucas
C: Shaquile O'Neal

BENCH: Norm van Lier, Neil Johnston, Charlie Scott, Cliff Hagan, Bailey Howell

[#3] Houston Rockets Team:

PG: Steve Nash
SG: Dwayne Wade
SF: Ron Artest
PF: Elton Brand
C: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

BENCH: Michael Redd, Deron Williams, Mehmet Okur, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Luol Deng

[BadBaronRudigor]

let me throw my two cents into this one since no one has posted yet.

Matchups:

Kareem v. Shaq. Outside of Wilt, the two most unstoppable inside forces in the history of the game. Edge to Shaq offensively, edge to Kareem defensively . . . with the wide variety of scorers around, overall edge to the better team defender . . . Kareem.

Brand v. Lucas. Both excellent rebounders, Brand is the better post scorer and defender, Lucas the better outside shooter and passer. Lucas will bring Brand outside where he is less comfortable and with the middle being clogged up with the battle of the behemoths, that should be the edge . . . Lucas

Artest v. Arizin. Artest has the defensive edge though Arizin was a good defender. Offensively, Artest will also be hurt by the clogged lane since he like to work the ball downlow to use his strength and you can never discount the idiot factor but here, I have to go with the defense. . . Artest.

Wade v. Sam Jones. Both good defenders, good scorers, Wade more the slasher, Jones more the shooter. Wade needs the ball in his hands to generate the foul calls he lives on, Jones can work off the ball waiting for catch and shoot opportunities from Archibald and O'Neal, although I'd say Wade is the better player, in this setting . . . Edge Jones.

Nash v. Archibald. Two explosive high scoring, great passing, no defense point guards. Archibald will be able to explode on Nash, Nash will be able to pass and slide out for high precentage shots on Archibald. The key difference? Nash is a more efficient scorer. . . Edge Nash

Bench. Utah has an excellent bench, Houston's is very weak. HUGE EDGE to Utah.

Houston has the edge in three matchups, Utah in three. Waiting for those writeups to make a final decision.

[tkb]

By just looking at the teams, my first impression goes to the Rockets. A good writeup might change that from Utah.

[BadBaronRudigor]

I have to go with Utah. Houston has too many post players crowding up the inside and too weak a bench. Utah has less dominant players but fits together much better as a team.

[jericho]

This is a toss-up in my mind so far. Shaq and Kareem will drive each other bats. Nash may have a slight edge over Tiny, but he doesn't have the shooters around him he's used to. He'll have to rely on his own ability to space the floor and give Kareem and Wade room to operate. I don't see Jones staying with Wade, and am inclined to give the nod to Houston's starters. And yet Utah has a more impressive bench, at least defensively.

So let's see some write-ups!

[Sunsfan81]

The starting fives are close. I'd rather have Kareem than Shaq, but it's not a big edge for Houston. I'll give Lucas the edge over Brand. But I certainly give Arizin the edge over Artest, who might not even play. If he does play, he'll limit Arizin to below his average, but Arizin will still score some points, and Artest is not a great scorer. I'll take the Hall of Famer over the Hall of Shamer.
I'll give Wade a slight edge over Sam Jones. He's more talented and will probably be regarded as a greater all time player when he retires. Plus I can't say that Wade is too young and isn't proven in big games like Sam Jones, because he was great in the NBA Finals and was the force that gave Miami a championship. Nash and Archibald is about even, hard to decide.

The benches are the difference. Houston only has one major scoring threat off the bench with Redd, and then trot out the likes of Luol Deng, Ilgauskas, and Okur. Plus with homecourt, Utah should win the series.

[Sunsfan81]

We've been eliminated.

I'd like to hear how the Jazz would lose to a team with such a bad bench.