Jazz Exceeding Expectations By Bill Ingram for HOOPSWORLD.com Mar 14, 2007, 20:38 The Utah Jazz came into the 2006-07 season as a team on the bubble. Most pundits thought they would be tough, but few imagined they would be able to capture and hold onto the fourth seed in the Western Conference as they have for most of the year. Head coach Jerry Sloan says health has been a big part of their success. "I thought if we could stay healthy we'd be competitive, but I didn't have any idea what our record would be or anything like that," says Sloan. "Last year Carlos Boozer missed 56 games and our team won 41 games without him. Kirilenko was out, Matt Harpring was playing seven minutes at a time. I had to take him out and he couldn't play in back-to-backs, so I thought if we could stay healthy we'd be a lot more competitive. In the mean time, obviously Deron Williams is a better player, Paul Millsap has given us great play off the bench. We certainly didn't expect that from a young player. He's given us credibility with our bench and we didn't have that a year ago." Another important part of the success the Jazz have enjoyed this season has been the improved play of point guard Deron (pronounced "Darrin") Williams. Deron went from being a part-time starter averaging 10.8 points and 4.5 assists last season to getting a very Stockton-like 17.1 points and 9.2 assists per game this year. "Deron's a very intelligent player, a very intelligent person, who understands the game of basketball," says Sloan. "Obviously he's played around the league a couple of times and he's gotten better. Whatever he wants to do to get better, I'm sure he'll continue to do that. It's basically up to him to gradually get better and better every day." There have been few constants in the NBA, but one of the names that continues to be associated with his original team is that of Jerry Sloan. Few head coaches have been able to maintain the kind of continuity that Sloan has enjoyed with the Jazz, something he attributes to a patient organization . . .and a little bit of luck. "I've been very lucky," says Sloan. "I've had good players and owners and I think everybody in our organization has been patient. When things got tough - when Karl and John left - I think we knew we had an uphill battle to be somewhat credible. Kevin O'Connor and our organization brought in Okur and Boozer - people got a little impatient I think because Boozer got hurt - but you have to fight through that. We stood the test a little bit there and fought through it and ended up with a good player in Deron Williams. I think I've just been lucky. It's not anything we've done, it's just a matter of having good players, guys that are willing to play every night and sacrifice a little bit of their own personal game to make your team have a chance and we've had that for the most part." It also helps to have an excellent coaching staff . . . "I have an excellent staff and that's been the biggest thing for me. You don't make it in this business by yourself. A lot of people may think they do, but you have to have good players. Like that old saying goes: They don't line the Kentucky Derby up with jackasses, they have to have thoroughbreds. We've been fortunate to have a couple of those." As the playoffs approach the Jazz are expected to suffer from a lack of experience. Sure, they have Derek Fisher, who has been through the playoff wars, but he alone can't compensate for the youth and inexperience of this Jazz team. It's very likely that the Jazz will fall flat this playoff season, only to come back stronger for having done so. "That's where we are," explains Sloan. "We're a young group of guys that played in Miami last night for a long period of time. Miami's a very experienced team that knows how to take advantage of a situation and how to take advantage of everything they do and Pat does a great job coaching them. Our guys panicked a little bit, as they tend to do when things go wrong. We'd make two or three plays and then panicked and from that point on each guy felt that they had to do it alone. We can't play that way, and in order to be able to play in the playoffs those are the things that you have to learn. It's imperative that they do get to the playoffs so they have a chance to know and understand that. If they don't, then I think we'd just be treading water with guys that ten years from now would be doing the same thing." Finally, the Jazz are one of the organizations that truly emphasize the importance of the character players have off the court as much as their talent on the court. Fans in Utah have little tolerance for off-court stupidity, and their head coach has always approached the game with a very high level of expectations for his players, as well. "That's huge," says Sloan. "We're not perfect, but that's one of the things that our organization tries to teach guys and get them to understand that they're here to work for us. We're not going to try to take advantage of them. I'm not going to play guys 48 minutes or anything like that, and we really expect them to come and try to play hard and play with some semblance of order as far as the team's concerned. Anything other than that and we start to get a little bit out of synch. I think players have to be held accountable for things, like when they don't play hard. We have a lot of people who come to games and expect to see the team play hard. Every coach wants that. I'm not the only coach that wants that, but sometimes you get guys that think they're bigger than the game. This game will go on long after they're gone and long after I'm gone. It's a wonderful game to be a part of and we hope that our players appreciate that, too, as they develop and play and go forward." The Utah Jazz may not be picked to win the title this year, but they are certainly a team that will be looking to contend in the very near future. A proud tradition and an outstanding group of talented players should make them one of the up and coming teams next season and for years to come. http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_21233.shtml --

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