1983-84 Team

[homeytennis]

JL3, Clark, and Garrett were also in the D-League not that long ago. Now that I think about it, they are helping the Jazz this year.

Garrett yes but JLIII and Ian are helping them win ping pong balls. I wish the coaches would give some of the fringe talent some run to see if they can be productive at this level for extended minutes. It appears that Rush and Beans are both done in the league and RJeff will sign with somone next year. It would be nice to know if Garrett, Ian and Thomas have what it takes.

 

[Getting Traded]

Stock and Malone were still All-Star caliber, and on one leg Horny was better than any of our wings right now.

 

[homeytennis]

All true. The Jazz players 6-11 need to be much, much better next year.

 

[seattlejazzfan]

Two thoughts:

As some have pointed out, the team wasn't bereft of talent. Dantley, Griffith and Bailey (although a rookie) were high draft picks. Eaton and Green, while they had taken the non-traditional path to the league, clearly belonged. Those five are the reason the Jazz won the division. Drew was a very good scorer off the bench and Kelley and Wilkins provided backup minutes, but the other guys simply didn't play much.

I'd also point out that while the Jazz won the division title, they did so with 45 wins. That's not a typo: 45 wins was better than the other 5 teams in the Midwest at the time. It's not like they set the world on fire; they were just the best of a subpar division. You know what 45 wins gets you in the West this season? A trip to Secaucus in May to watch ping pong balls.

as usual, kenwood delivers the goods.

 

[Kenwood]

as usual, kenwood delivers the goods.

Stop it, I'm blushing.

As I read my own comment about how the 45-win Jazz weren't that great just because they won the division, they were still the team that won me over. If I ever finish my book you can read all about the season from my perspective, but at the time it felt like every single star was aligning:

Dantley & Green All Stars and Layden coaching
The first winning season
The first division title
Dantley NBA scoring leader and 2nd team All-NBA
Griffith led league in 3-point percentage
Green led league in steals
Eaton led the league in blocks
Bailey All-rookie team
Layden COY & Executive of the Year
Winning the first ever playoff series (Jazz have heart!)
Competitive in the second round (lost by 1 point in OT of game 4 and could have tied the series)

It was quite a run from January to May of 1984.