Looking toward Game 5 tonight and a chance for the Jazz to close out the series and advance to face the LA Lakers. These are my four keys to the game.

1. Get Boozer going early. 

In the first quarter of the series Boozer is just 7 of 19 from the field.   The real issue he is not hitting his mid-range jumper. He is 3 for 11 on shots outside of 10 feet.   Of his seven field goals in the first quarter of games 3 of them are off follow ups on the offensive glass. 

Despite his age, Dikembe Mutombo is still one of the most effective defensive players in the NBA.   Yesterday on my radio show, Locked on Sports 3 to 6 on 1320,K-Fan, both former NBA Coach of the Year Rick Carlisle and former NBA Coach of the Year Tom Nissalke talked about how tough the match-up for Boozer is with the length of Mutombo followed by the physical athleticism of Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry.

2. Non Paint Two’s Early

I believe we have mentioned this a few times already. The Rockets goal is to make the opponent shot non-paint two’s, shots that aren’t in the paint or from the three point range.

Early in each game the Jazz have fallen into that trap. The Jazz have taken at least 8 field goal attempts as non-paint two’s in the first quarter of Games 1-4. They have not taken that many in any other quarter.

Moreover, the Jazz have been very unsuccessful with those shots. They are a combined 10 for 38 in the first quarter on non-paint twos.

3. Start well

All of these are intertwined. The starts have been very important in this series. The team that has lead after the first quarter has won each game.   The team that has taken the largest lead in the first half has won each game.   As crazy as it sound the team leading at around the 6:00 mark of the 1^st Quarter has won each game.

4. Late Game Stud v. Dud

For all the signs that show that the early parts of the game matter it feels as though end of game heroics are determining this series. Most of the talk has been about the inability of Tracy McGrady to hit shots late in games. He went 0 for in both Games 1 and 2 and only attempted 1 shot in Game 4.   He is 3 of 16 from the field in the 4^th Quarter.

On the flip side, Deron Williams has been outstanding.   In the 4^th Quarter of this series Williams has 10 for 18 from the field.   In the three wins he has been 9 of 14 from the field in the 4^th Quarter.