The Jazz Man

Sporting News, The, March 15, 1999 by Loren Jorgensen

Jazz forward Bryon Russell may never live down the fact he let Michael Jordan score the last basket of his NBA career--a championship-winning shot to boot--but it certainly hasn't hurt Russell's self-esteem.

Entering this week, Russell is averaging career highs in points (12.8) and rebounds (4.9) per game. It's a far cry from last season, when Russell struggled early and was taken out of the starting lineup after a mere six games. Adam Keefe replaced him at the 3-spot, but Russell regained the starter's role during the playoffs.

Two things account for Russell's success this year: He's in great shape and confident--both in his ability and that he won't get yanked from the game for taking an ill-advised jumper.

"It's nice when the coach doesn't get after you after taking a bad shot or two," says Russell, who is getting second-guessed less and less by coach Jerry Sloan these days.

"Bryon is playing as comfortable and relaxed as I've ever seen him," Sloan says.

The Jazz coach likes to say he doesn't have a player on his team who's good in one-on-one situations, but that's not necessarily true. Russell has worked hard on one-on-one moves during the offseason and has been given the green light to use some of those moves at times, with positive results.

"He was in better shape this year ...," Sloan says. "And he has been playing with ease, so to speak. He has played hard, but he hasn't forced things."

RELATED ARTICLE: TSN's Power Poll

Rk.   Team               W-L    Comments

 1.   Utah              13-3    Stockton is still awesome during
                                crunch time.
 2.   Orlando           14-4    This team would be nothing
                                without Bo.
 3.   Portland          12-3    Good news for the playoffs:
                                It has Utah's number.
 4.   Miami             12-4    The Heat are winning because of
                                their defense.
 5.   L.A. Lakers       12-6    Horry's heart is OK, but he still
                                is on the bench.
 6.   Seattle            9-6    Next up for Payton: The iron man
                                competition.
 7.   Minnesota         10-6    What's on everyone's mind: Can the
                                Wolves re-sign Marbury?
 8.   Indiana           11-5    Miller has had better years.
 9.   Philadelphia      10-6    The play of Lynch has made
                                Thomas expendable.
10.   New York           9-7    Can Sprewell accept the sixth-man
                                role?
11.   Houston           10-7    Barkley has been rusty since coming
                                back from knee surgery.
12.   Milwaukee          9-5    "Tractor" Traylor is in shape and
                                playing a lot minutes.
13.   Detroit           10-7    The team needs Laettner to hurry
                                up and heal.
14.   Phoenix            9-8    Back to the boards: Outrebounded
                                for six consecutive games.
15.   San Antonio        9-8    There has been an Antonio Daniels
                                sighting.
16.   Boston             7-7    So much for the young legs beating
                                every team the court,
17.   Atlanta            8-8    Corbin has been playing quality
                                minutes in recent weeks.
18.   Cleveland          7-8    Sura looks good in one game and
                                awful the next.
19.   Sacramento         8-9    The team can't seem to get it
                                together at the free-throw line.
20.   Golden State      7-10    Delk has been valuable at the
                                2-spot.
21.   Washington         6-9    Owner Pollin should dismantle the
                                team after the season.
22.   Toronto           5-10    Small steps forward, but it can't
                                seem to win the close games.
23.   Dallas            6-12    Don't be surprised if Bradley
                                is no longer a Maverick.
24.   Denver            5-12    Williams is providing some
                                scoring punch.
25.   Chicago           4-12    Simpkins is good on the boards,
                                but he's no Rodman.
26.   Charlotte         4-11    Big distraction this season:
                                Are the Hornets for sale?
27.   Vancouver         4-13    Can't they just hold onto the
                                ball? Turnovers are killing them.
28.   New Jersey        3-12    The bell starts tolling for the
                                the end of the Calipari era.
29.   L.A. Clippers     0-15    They've become a running joke on
                                The Tonight Show.

RELATED ARTICLE: inside dish

Last week, Bucks coach George Karl admitted that had Chris Webber decided not to report to Sacramento, as some presumed, Milwaukee was prepared to make a deal for the talented power forward. "We were hoping for a bomb to happen," says Karl, candidly. "We need a powerful player in the paint, more offense in the paint." ... Tim Thomas' minutes continue to dwindle in Philadelphia. He is the latest in a long line of supposed prodigies to fall into Larry Brown's doghouse. "I know everyone's saying, `Where's Tim?' I'm saying it," Thomas says. "I don't know what I have to do to get going." ... The Cavaliers face a conundrum with Vitaly Potapenko. On one hand, they'd prefer not to meet the power forward's asking price of $6 million per season. On the other, if the Cavaliers allow him to leave as a free agent, they will lack the ability to sign a comparable replacement, with the contracts of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Shawn Kemp, Danny Ferry, Derek Anderson, Brevin Knight, Wesley Person and Bob Sura already pushing them over the 1999-2000 salary cap.... Portland seems to have Utah's number. Entering this week, the Trail Blazers won six of their last eight games against the Jazz. Furthermore, the Trail Blazers have beaten the Jazz five consecutive times at the Rose Garden. ... Retiring at season's end, Pistons guard Joe Dumars says he doesn't want his locker roped off as the Bulls did for Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. "That sounds too much like a funeral to me," Dumars says.... Magic coach Chuck Daly basically has given his team the season off from practices. "My objective is to get our people through this season as injury-free as possible," he says. "That's why our practices are almost null and void.... Our execution may not be as good, but the trade-off is that we keep them in the games." ... Celtics coach Rick Pitino says there is no way his old college team, Kentucky, would have lost at home on a buzzer-beater, as Boston did last week on a shot by New Jersey's Keith Van Horn. "If we were at Kentucky, the scorekeeper would have won the game," Pitino says.... Count Stephon Marbury as the latest to complain about being left off the Dream Team. He says, "I'm the most-headiest point guard in the NBA right now, of the up-and-coming (players)."