Really?

Well I can't say I'm really surprised by the outcome of Game 3 between the Lakers and the Jazz, in fact I predicted Utah to win this game. I think irritated is probably the best word to describe my mood at the moment. The Lakers had a golden opportunity to put away the Jazz, and they blew it. Consequently, the best of seven series is now 2-1 in favor of the Lakers, after an inspired Carlos Boozer led the Jazz to a 88-86 victory in Salt Lake City. Boozer scored 23 points and grabbed 22 rebounds for the Jazz. Deron Williams struggled from the field all night long, so it was only fitting that he hit the game winning jump shot for Utah with 2.2 seconds left. The Lakers once again blew a big lead, as this time they were outscored 28-18 in the 4th quarter. The Lakers were up 64-51 with 4:31 left in the 3rd quarter before they were outscored 22-8 over the next 8 minutes of the game. A few stats stick out to me and probably will to anyone who will read the box score: First the Jazz outrebounded the Lakers 55-40. The Lakers shot 37% from the field, after shooting 58% in the first two games in the series and Kobe Bryant went 5-24 from the field. The Lakers shot a whopping 16-26 from the free throw line. I don't even know how many Pau Gasol missed in the 4th quarter alone. Oh yeah and Andrew Bynum graced the Lakers with his presence in this game by playing a grand total of 7 minutes before he fouled out in THE 3rd QUARTER. Good lord I could have gone out there and stayed on the floor longer than Bynum, 7 minutes is unacceptable. The players of the game for the Lakers were Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. The two big guys combined for 41 points and 23 rebounds. The consolation I will take in this loss is that even though the Lakers had one of their worst games of the entire season, they were still in position to win. Kobe missed a potential game winning 3 pointer at the buzzer. If you were to tell me at the beginning of the game that Kobe would be throwing up bricks and Andrew Bynum would play 7 minutes in the game, and that the Lakers would only lose by two, I would have been surprised. It's frustrating because the Lakers could gave gone up 3-0 and virtually put away the Jazz. Now Utah is full of life, and they have a chance to even the series in Game 4. I won't be surprised one bit if Utah wins Game 4, but considering that the Lakers can't play any worse than they did in Game 3, I'm picking them to win Game 4 and take a 3-1 lead. The Lakers have lost 10 out of their last 12 playoff games in Utah. I really hope the Lakers rebound from this pathetic performance and take care of business in Game 4, which is Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in Salt Lake City.