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Remember the Jazz After Stockton and Malone Retired?

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homeytennis

Well-Known Member
Basically that team was a bunch of ragamuffins but Sloan willed that team within a game of the playoffs if memory serves. This Jazz team has as much or more talent as that one did and that is what makes this year so frustrating.
 
Sloan was special. Plus he had legacy.

Quin seems like a great coach to me. But he's a rookie coach. He's a rookie coach. He's a rookie coach.

See what I'm saying?
 
When Jerry Sloan spoke, you shut the **** up and listened. And then did what you were told. Some of that, of course, came from just having the personality he does, but a lot of it came from the résumé. In 2003, he already had 875 regular season and 78 playoff wins under his belt.

In his idiosyncratic way, he was one of the greatest motivators among NBA coaches ever. How many former players have you heard speak ill of him? Even ones he butted heads with? He was old school in that Red-Foreman-from-That-70s-Show way. You didn't have to like him, but you had to respect him. And as a player, you knew that he was fair and that he had your best interest in mind, even if you didn't see it at the time. Remember the Ostertag suspension incident? When Tag was being a tool and Coach decided he was going to suspend him for the next game? And the league said that team suspensions result in a fine equaling 1/82 of your salary per game suspended? And Jerry instead told him to dress for the game but didn't play him, resulting in a DNP-CD instead of a suspension? And he justified it by saying that he may have a right to punish you by not playing you, but he has no right to take a man's paycheque away? That's some real **** right there. How many coaches today are that old school and that principled?

He may have been a curmudgeonly hard-***, but players were willing to do anything for him.

ostertag-sloan-111228-300.jpg
 
The league as whole also sucked back then. The competition level is a lot higher right now.
 
Totally different circumstances. The West was a good conference then, it's unbelievable now. Plus, we had some underrated talent that year. Also, sometimes veteran teams that lose talent still manage to win a lot of games because they know their roles and the system. Look at San Antonio. They are still a good team even when their best players sit out.

We are a young team, with a new coach, new system, and have played a fairly difficult schedule. Only one or two games on our schedule that I feel like we should have won.
 
homeytennis said:
Basically that team was a bunch of ragamuffins but Sloan willed that team within a game of the playoffs if memory serves. This Jazz team has as much or more talent as that one did and that is what makes this year so frustrating.
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In hindisght, the Jazz had some very solid players and a ton of depth. Five players averaged double figures (AK, Harpring, Arroyo, Bell and Stevenson/Giricek). Also had decent center production from Osterag and Collins and Lopez was actually healthy and a force off the bench. Not great starters by any stretch, but also some decent subs.

Contrast that with the youth of this team.
 
To repeat, our bench is 3 rookies, a seldom used sophomore, and Booker. Does anyone want to go sign some journeymen to fix that?
 
homeytennis said:
Basically that team was a bunch of ragamuffins but Sloan willed that team within a game of the playoffs if memory serves. This Jazz team has as much or more talent as that one did and that is what makes this year so frustrating.
Click to expand...

Where does Sloan place on the championship list? You've got to break some eggs in order to make an omelet.
 
Cy said:
The league as whole also sucked back then. The competition level is a lot higher right now.
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Really? Is it? Portland was a force, the Lakers had kobe, malone, payton, and shaq, Dallas had a young Dirk, same with San Antonio, Phoenix with Nash and Amare', Seattle was a force with a young Ray Allen and Rashad Lewis, Minnesota had Garnett... I would argue that the west back in 01-02 was better than it is now.
 
All I hope is that Lindsey knows what he's doing and that this is the beginning of the end of the 'lost years'. We can't afford to go through another era of mediocrity. We made a good run with DWill, Boozer, AK and Okur and I hope this team grows to those same standards, at least...
 
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