Fusion or fizzle?

Sporting News, The, Jan 27, 1997 by Frank Clancy

In the relative obscurity of the NBA's long and exhausting regular season, some games are by common consent deemed more important than others. Such was the case in Salt Lake City on the night of January 4, when the Heat came to town with a 24-7 record and a remarkable 14 consecutive victories on the road.

Bad blood was in the air. The teams had met in Miami two weeks before, with the Jazz winning in overtime. After that game, Heat forward P. J. Brown criticized Karl Malone, saying he didn't respect the Jazz's perennial All-Star. As important, for the Jazz, was the team's miniature two-game losing streak: Playing with little energy, they had lost on the road to the Clippers and injury-depleted Spurs. After starting 17-2 (the best start in franchise history), the team had begun to look ordinary--especially away from Delta Center--alternating victories and defeats in rough symmetry. This game was an opportunity to right themselves before going back on the road.

Jazz fans, who revere Malone, greeted Brown's every move with taunts and jeers. John Stockton and Tim Hardaway argued. The Heat's Keith Askins, who was held scoreless all night, slammed forward Bryon Russell to the floor and was called for a fragrant foul The officials called six technicals. Sasha Danilovic and Jeff Hornacek waged a fourth quarter wrestling match for position that resulted in two double-foul calls in a 30-second span. This was the rugged, intense, Defensive-minded team coach Jerry Sloan was accustomed to.

The Heat whittled the lead to seven in the fourth quarter as Malone uncharacteristically missed open shots. In the final 5:30, the Jazz scored five points, all on free throws. But the Jazz made three steals. And on the last play. Hardaway, forced by Stackton and Mat one to near half-court, heaved one last desperate 3-pointer at the buzzer. Airball. The final: 83-80. The two-game skid was over, and though the team looked far from impressive, the Jazz showed signs they might be returning to their earlier form.

Then things started to unravel some more.

Stockton to Malone. This combination has been so crucial to the Jazz for so long that to the average fan they are virtually synonymous. An optimist looks at their collaboration and says the Jazz have been among the most consistently good teams in the league, winning 64 percent of their games over the past 10 years. A pessimist points out the team has never won a championship or even reached the NBA Finals. In a game in which 24 seconds can be an eternity, the question haunting the Jazz is virtually a timeless riddle: How do you assemble a supporting cast good enough to help Malone and Stockton reach the promised land?

For 29 days over November and December, it seemed although the Jazz might finally have solved this vexing puzzle. For 29 days, they were, literally, unbeatable.

After losing hack-to-back games against the Rockets, the Jazz beat the Kings, Grizzlies and Mavericks. They beat the Lakers in Los Angeles. They beat the Bulls by five, ending the defending champs' 12-game winning streak. Four-nights later, Utah recovered from a 34-point halftime deficit to defeat the Nuggets--the greatest second-half comeback since the NBA started keeping track of such details. The Jazz beat the SuperSonics n Seattle, where they had lost the seventh game of last year's Western Conference final. They beat the Lakers again, this time in Utah. In all, the team won 15 straight a franchise record, before falling to the Suns.

During the streak, the Jazz won, in large part, because of what Michael Jordan might refer to as the Jazz's supporting cast. Against the Bulls, fourth-year small forward Russell, a second-round pick out of Long Beach State, outscored Scoffie Pippen, 17-16. In Seattle, rookie guard Shandon Anderson--another second-round pick and the brother of Heat swingman Willie Anderson--played superb defense against Gary Payton. Second-year center Greg Ostertag averaged nine points, nine rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots a game during the streak. Sloan used 11 players regularly. "They are the best team we've played so far," Pacers coach Larry Brown said in December after his team became Utah's 15th victim. `They execute. They play hard, and they play unselfishly."

What made the run surprising was the contrast between what the Jazz and so many other teams did last summer. While others overhauled their rosters, the Jazz merely tinkered: For most of the season, Anderson, who is on the injured list, has been the only new face on the roster.

But just because the Jazz avoided the freeagent frenzy does not mean they stood pat Rather, they took 2 very different sort of risk, clearing space in their starting lineup for two young, unproven players, Russell and Ostertag. Russell, 26, the 45th player chosenin the 1993 draft, had come from nowhere to spark the Jazz in-last year's playoffs: After playing in only 59 regular-season games, he played in every postseason game and averaged 9.6 points and 4.2 rebounds--and made 47 percent of his 3-pointers. At 6-7, 225, he's a tremendous athlete with an effervescent smile; he smiles even in the fourth quarters of tight games. He's also that rare player who enjoys playing defense. "I'm the dirty-work man," he says, smiling. "Just call me when you need me."His versatility allows him to cover players as diverse as Jordan and 6-10 Tom Gugliotta. Panked for much of the season among the NBA leaders in 3-point shooting, he has hit 41 percent of his attempts.