UTAH JAZZ

One of the most consistent teams in the NBA, your Utah Jazz will again be led by longtime coach Jerry Sloan. Sloan has been with the Jazz for 22 seasons and from all accounts, his 23rd will rank as one of his most talented teams in recent history. After losing Carlos Boozer to the Chicago Bulls, the Jazz turned around and picked up disenfranchised Minnesota center Al Jefferson and this could be the most talented team Jefferson has every had the opportunity to play on.

Look for your Jazz to have a spot in the playoffs for the Western Conference.

The starting lineup consists of Deron Williams at PG, C.J. Miles at SG, Andrei Kirilenko at SF, Paul Milsap at PF and Al Jefferson at Center. The bench includes players like Mehmet Okur, Raja Bell, Ronnie Price and Gordon Hayward. Look for the Jazz to be in competition for the Western Conference crown come the end of the season.

Throughout the 2008/09 NBA Season, the Utah Jazz struggled with injury which led to a lack of chemistry within the team. The team finished the 8th seed in a talent laden Western Conference and were promptly booted out of the playoffs by Kobe Bryant and his LA Lakers.

In the offseason, the Jazz had an all Euro draft, picking up Ohio State center Kosta Koufos, Croatian forward/center Ante Tomic and Serbian power forward Tadija Dragicevic and traded third string point guard Jason Hart to the LA Clippers for PG Brevin Knight. Those were all the changes Coach Sloan made to his team other than resigning Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Kyle Korver and eventually Paul Millsap.

As of this writing, the Jazz were sitting at 16-11 heading into the Christmas break and positioning themselves for a playoff run, as long as the team remains healthy, they should be able to compete at a high level against the West.

The Utah Jazz began life in the NBA in the city of New Orleans in 1974. After a string of seasons where the team lost money, by 1979 the losses reached over $5 million. The teams owner, Sam Battistone, moved the team to Salt Lake City after witnessing that the city could support a team (ABA’s Utah Stars). The team continued to struggle and would so until the luck of the 1984 draft graced the team. The Jazz selected point guard John Stockton with the 16th overall pick in the draft. One season later, the team picked up Louisiana Tech power forward Karl “The Mailman” Malone.

It would take a few seasons together before the Stockton/Malone combination became one of the most respected, feared and deadly duo’s in NBA History. In the 1988/89 season, head coach Frank Layden stepped down, becoming the President of Basketball Operations for the franchise. Assistant Coach Jerry Sloan then took over the reins of the team and has been there ever since.

The era of Jerry Sloan (which is still ongoing) is one of near yearly perfection. As of the end of the 08/09 season, Coach Sloan’s record was 1136 – 747 for a .603 average. Although the highest his team advanced into the playoffs were the back to back Conference titles in 1997 & 1998, Jerry Sloan has demanded and received both a hard work ethic and consistent success.

The 1997 finals had some of the more memorable moments of the last 20 years. One of the moments that true NBA fans likely won’t forget was the “flu game” where Michael Jordan was running a severe fever and was very dehydrated but still continued to play in the elevation of Salt Lake City. On numerous stoppages of play, Pippen and other teammates would have to pick Jordan up to carry him to the bench so he could hydrate himself again. Another moment that will live on forever will be the moment Jordan “created space” to hit the game winner in game six in Utah. The Bulls were down late and the Jazz knew Jordan would be taking the shot so they put defensive specialist Bryon Russell on him and took their chances. Jordan took the ball to the left elbow and used a bit of a push-off with his right arm to create space and hit the game winner with only a few seconds left. After hitting the shot, Jordan stood in place with the follow through of his arm in position, almost tempting Russell to look at him. That game six winner will also be known as the last championship in the career of Michael Jordan, a moment that many people will also never forget.

The Jazz teams of old were led by future hall-of-fame players like Karl Malone and John Stockton and Coach Jerry Sloan but the teams now have a different feel to them. They’re still led by Sloan, but we don’t see the same “pick-and-roll” flavor from the new Jazz. This team is led by Andrei Kirilenko, one of the best all-around players that you’ve never heard of. Last year, Kirilenko averaged 16.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, and also had steals and blocks. He also played in 78 of the 82 games and almost led the Jazz to the playoffs in what was to be a “rebuilding” year. This year, he’ll have help in the form of Carlos Boozer, one of the top young forwards in the league that the Jazz signed in free agency. The team also signed Mehmet Okur from the Detroit Pistons. Okur who will bring experience after helping the Pistons win their final championship.

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