Doomed from the beginning

I might take some heat from this post, but here are my top reasons why the Jazz will make it no further than the 2nd round of the playoffs this year. I hope I'm wrong...

1. This one is obvious: They don't play well on the road. Yes, they recently won at Boston and New Orleans, but those weren't playoff games. Overall, they were a bad (17-24) team on the road this season. Even if the Jazz knock out the Rockets - I still can't see the Jazz beating LA 4 out of 7 without home court advantage.
   


2. Boozer is a horrible defender. He's just awful. And while this can probably slide in the 1st round, it won't in the 2nd. I will admit that in recent weeks the Jazz's overall team defense seems to have improved. But it's still not great, and I don't think there is a magical switch a team can turn on come playoff time that makes their defense fundamentally sound when it has been so weak all season.


3. Kirilenko is just too much of a wild card. Yes, he's a good defender and a scrappy player, but I just know he's going to launch an ill-advised 3 towards the end of a close game.
   


4. Deron Williams has a bruised butt. I have never had a bruised butt before but it doesn't sound pleasant at all. I hope he has a padded toilet seat. Without Williams at 110%, we're in trouble.
   


5. Memo might be out of "money." Yes, he has been our most consistent player over the past 10+ games, but last year come playoff time he was nowhere to be found. Until he proves he can play when it counts, I'm not going to count on him.

It just isn't meant to be. The Jazz are the Chicago Cubs of the NBA.