Is the Lakers-Jazz Series Already Won? Phil Jackson’s History Says It Is

45-0. That's a remarkable number regardless of how you look at it, but considering it is Los Angeles Lakers' coach Phil Jackson' playoff record after winning the first game of a series is nearly inconceivable.

Take a second and let the significance of that number and accomplishment permeate through the depths of your mind, and even then, it would still be hard to grasp the true meaning of the achievement.

This phenomenon has played out 24 times while Jackson was coach of the Chicago Bulls where he won six NBA titles, and another 21 while he has been head coach in Los Angeles, where he is currently seeking his fifth championship.

I'm not sure if Jackson will win his 11th NBA championship, but for the Utah Jazz, the chances of winning this current Western Conference Semifinal series against the Lakers was slim to begin with.

The Jazz were decided underdogs before the series began, and after letting a four point lead in the fourth quarter of Game One slip away, they are now at the mercy of the worst type of playoff history imaginable.

The odds don't just say the Jazz's task of dethroning the Lakers will be difficult, history says Utah is facing an impossible journey.

The Jazz have already lost their last 15 games at Staples Center including the playoffs, and the Lakers have eliminated them from the postseason the past two years.

The Lakers have advantages in the paint against the Jazz, and they have Kobe Bryant, who scored 11 points in a four minute span of the fourth quarter, and seven straight to erase what had been a four point Utah lead.

This was a game Utah dearly needed to win. This fact was evident on each player's face as the realization they were headed to yet another defeat in Los Angeles began to settle in.

I wouldn't say the Utah players were demoralized, but they were cognizant of the long odds they had to overcome in order to pull off a Laker u...

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