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SALT LAKE CITY -- If there's any justice in the world, Utah
Jazz owner Larry Miller thinks aging stars Karl Malone, John
Stockton and Jeff Hornacek will have an NBA title before they
retire.
|  | | The Jazz are hoping that John Stockton can lead them to a division title. |
"They're important to the Jazz, to be sure," Miller said last
month. "But also for what they mean to the game, these guys
deserve to win a championship."
Problem is, sentiment won't help against the younger teams of
the Western Conference and the Jazz know it. Utah opens the season
with modest pledges to work hard but vague answers about team
goals.
"Every team has question marks and anything can happen,"
Hornacek said. "You're always going to have your favorites out
there, by the fans, the media, whoever, but you never know who's
going to win it."
Such cautious talk is not surprising from a team that has been a
serious NBA contender for three straight years, only to be denied a
championship.
Utah reached the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998, losing twice to
the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan. Last year, with Jordan
retired and the season shortened by the lockout, the time-tested
Jazz were the team to beat.
Despite Utah's NBA-best 37-13 record, that's what the Portland
Trail Blazers did, stunning Utah in six games. In the first round
the Jazz struggled to beat a young Sacramento team.
Three times Miller's dream has seemed to be within reach. If
nothing else, the Jazz are resilient.
"The toughest thing to do is come back after you've lost, when
people are talking that you should have won it," said coach Jerry
Sloan. "A lot of teams go completely downhill after they've won
it, but these guys keep firing back. I think that says a lot about
who they are."
One issue has persistently dogged the Jazz for years: age.
Malone, 36, has missed the exhibition schedule with a strained
lower back. Stockton, 37, had offseason elbow surgery. Hornacek,
36, had surgery for a nagging knee injury and indicated this will
be his final year.
Questions about Utah's aging bodies have become so routine that
the Jazz shoot back predictable answers. The older players have
stayed in outstanding shape, but nobody knows for certain how long
they can hold up.
"Age is always a concern, but we've been told that for many
years now," Stockton said. "Could this be the year that the straw
breaks the camel's back? You never know."
On the other hand, experience and their familiarity with each
other will still help the Jazz challenge in the West. If they're
healthy, the veteran nucleus of Malone, Stockton and Hornacek still
makes Utah formidable.
Malone won his second league MVP award last season, averaging
23.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists a game. He and Stockton,
the league's career leader in assists (13,087) and steals (2,701),
were on the NBA's list of its top 50 players of all time.
Utah's offseason moves weren't spectacular, but Miller did what
he could to get Malone, Stockton and Hornacek closer to a ring. The
Jazz signed journeyman Olden Polynice to spell Malone and push
underachieving center Greg Ostertag.
For years, Polynice has worn jersey No. 0, and the younger
Ostertag agreed to switch from No. 00 to No. 39. He would not say
why he chose the new number, but it should be enough for Jazz fans
that he hopes to reinvent himself.
"I'd like to think it represents a new start," Ostertag said.
Utah also added free agent Pete Chilcutt and drafted shooters
Quincy Lewis (19th overall pick) and Scott Padgett (28th pick) in
the first round. Veteran forwards Bryon Russell and Adam Keefe and
guard Howard Eisley are back.
The Jazz couldn't keep swingman Shandon Anderson, who reportedly
was offered as much as $7 million and a starting slot in Utah but
signed as a free agent for $2 million with Houston.
While the Jazz will miss Anderson's young legs and his 8.5
points a game, Stockton said they'll find someone else to fill the
role.
"We don't have Shandon on our team anymore," Stockton said.
"To cry over spilled milk or wonder about what could have been is
wasted energy. Right now, we're looking ahead."
It sure beats looking back.
"We didn't get where we wanted to be last year," Sloan said.
"I'm sure we'll take another swing. I think our guys will come
back with that in mind and we'll see where we are."
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