FanHouse

In another of our continuing series, five things to keep an eye out for tonight in the Jazz-Lakers Eastern Conference Semifinals Game 5 this evening.

1. Is The Back Back?: All eyes will be on Kobe Bryant and his back tonight. Kobe's been near indestructible throughout his career, rarely succumbing to injury (remember the pinkie? Yeah, neither did I.). So to see him so shaken up is kind of surprising. What's worse, this is not exactly the team you want to have a back injury against. Bryant's going to need to take defenders off the dribble for jumpers tonight, because if he posts, he's getting a stiff elbow in the back, and if he drives, well, just don't drive, Kobester. No doubt Bryant will play through the pain and he'll most likely be brilliant. He's kind of legendary like that. But if he suffers like he did in Game 4, he needs to trust his teammates. Of course that requires ...

2. Backups To Provide Backups: I don't know what exactly else the Lakers should have done in Game 4. I mean, Pau Gasol had 23, Lamar Odom had 26, and Fisher had 15. So maybe all that talk about how the other Lakers disappeared isn't fai ... oh yeah, it was overtime, and they gave up 123 points. The Lakers have to be able to create a consistent effort behind Kobe, or they have to manage to stop the Jazz for, oh, I don't know, a possession or two. With Kobe a question mark with the back, now would be a great time for the Pau Gasol statement game.

3. Take The Bullets Out Of AK: Andrei Kirilenko had 5 blocks in Game 4, which is kind of a lot. You may remember him from such films as "rejecting Kobe and his hurt back into oblivion." The thing with Kirilenko is that if you get him in a funk, he stays there. If you let him roll, he can burn you deep and fast. He's managed to be pretty productive in this series, which is important considering Boozer's struggles. If Carlos Boozer returns to foul trouble, it's important that AK remains a force in the lane for the Jazz to sneak out with a win.

4. You-Know-What-Court Advantage: It's been talked to death, but we'll go ahead and touch on it. If you asked me to name one team with tremendous homecourt advantage, I'd say Boston. If you asked me to name two, I'd say Utah, but if you really wanted me to say LA, I'd say them next. The Staples Center has a tremendous amount of playoff history, and the energy in the building is almost palpatable once the crowd arrives late in the second quarter and before they leave early in the fourth. But for that solid quarter and a half, there's magic in the building. It's helped them to a tremendous home advantage so far in the playoffs. We'll see if it holds tonight.

5. Deron Does LA: Deron Williams finally woke up in Game 4 and realized that he's kind of awesome. Williams had 29 points and 14 rebounds in Game 4, and kept the team settled in overtime in order to make the right decisions. This tide has definitely turned as the series has gone on, and Derek Fisher and particularly Jordan Farmar look outmatched. If Williams is able to repeat his performance from last game in LA, the Lakers might find the Jazz too much to handle.