The Jazz can't wait to break this tradition

Sporting News, The, April 10, 1995 by Shaun Powell

Same old Utah Jazz. Same old coach. Same old combination - Stockton to Malone. Same old sellouts at home. Same old regular season, 50 victories. Same old final result.

Here's where they'd like to make a break from tradition. The Jazz are searching for a different ending. It would be as radical as switching from Mozart to Snoop Doggy Dogg, or going from the country to the city, or switching allegiance from Clinton to Limbaugh.

The Jazz want their fabulous regular season to translate into a championship. Hey, they aren't picky - they'd like to at least play for one. They never have reached the NBA Finals, which is pretty astonishing when you think about it. Teams have made the Finals with lesser players. With the Jazz, well, their destination always has been as predictable as their journey.

Maybe that changes this year. Maybe, as Malone says, "We have as good a chance of winning a championship as anybody."

Maybe.

We've assessed the Jazz in this space before and come away less than optimistic. That was then, this is now. Their margin for error is slim and they'll need some good fortune, but this is definitely the Jazz's best opportunity to put rings on the fingers of Karl Malone and John Stockton.

There are several reasons. First, the competition in the West has weakened since the season began. The defending champion Rockets are, almost literally, in need of an iron man; Otis Thorpe is gone and Hakeem Olajuwon seems to be disintegrating. The Suns' record is mediocre since the All-Star break and Danny Manning's knee injury.

Also, Malone and Stockton are still producing at their late-'80s level. Malone leads all scorers since the All-Star break and remains among the rebounding leaders. He is also the most durable. Three weeks ago, Malone suffered a badly twisted ankle but refused to sit, scoring 30 points with nine rebounds against Portland, then getting 33 and 12, respectively, in an overtime game against the Kings. Olajuwon says Malone must be mentioned as a deserving candidate for league MVP. As for Stockton, the 15-assist game is still routine for him.

But what makes the Jazz better than previous years is the help. Jeff Hornacek is the most reliable outside shooting guard in a Jazz uniform since Darrell Griffith. He is making more than 40 percent from 3-point range, 52 percent overall, and is capable of putting up 25 points on a given night. Then there are two additions that have fortified the Jazz front line considerably. Adam Keefe and Antoine Carr are no-frills reserves. They rarely make the mistake of playing beyond their roles or abilities and they add to the Jazz signature - a slow, methodical half-court style.

Utah also is the NBA's top road team; it owns the season's longest winning streak at 14; it is holding teams under 99 points a game; and it is the only team shooting better than 51 percent from the field.

Obviously, the Jazz's main handicap is in the middle. After Felton Spencer was lost for the year with a tom Achilles tendon, the jazz tried vainly to locate a serviceable big body before the trade deadline. They bad to settle on James Donaldson, whose effectiveness lasts 10 minutes. Mostly the Jazz make do with the undersized Carr at center.

The Jazz are hardly a best-kept secret. Orlando Coach Brian Hill says Utah is the best team the Magic have faced, and that sentiment is growing.

"They're not getting a lot of respect, and that is the kind of staff that fires up a team," Rockets Coach Rudy Tomjanovich says. "If it makes them feel any better, I've got a hell of a lot of respect for them."

The Jazz have won 50 or more games five times in six years and made the conference final twice in the past three years. Their list of accomplishments ends there. Maybe there's a different ending this time.

There are some things, however, that simply won't change.

"We're not Mercedes Benz types of guys," Malone says. "We're old Chevy Suburban kind of guys."

Storm warning

Three weeks remain in the regular season. The play-offs will take the NBA season through late June. The owners and players were hoping for a labor agreement by then, except the latest developments aren't too encouraging.

The players proposed to increase the salary cap from $16 million to $27 million and eliminate restricted free agency. The league balked. So the negotiations continue. At this rate, the end-of-the-season deadline is a fantasy. Should the impasse and the deadline meet, the June 28 draft may be threatened and any player signings could be placed on hold, unless the courts determine that the current rules will remain in effect until an agreement is reached.

It will be curious, however, to see what value the owners place on Michael Jordan's return. He means instant success - at the gate, on TV and through merchandising, Will the owners be less willing to lock out the players now that Jordan's back?

Eight ball

The streak began in 1987-88. It was John Stockton's first season as a full-time starter for the Jazz. He delivered 1,128 assists t erase Isiah Thomas' single-season record, but just as important his 13.8 average led the league. It's a title Stockton has held since - seven years in a row now, soon to be eight, as he currently has a comfortable lead over Kenny Anderson.