Jazz's struggles away from home could prove fatal

Carlos Boozer and the Jazz haven't been able to get a grip on the road, where they have one of the worst records among Western Conference contenders. AP

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It's one of the great mysteries of the NBA this season, right up there with the Rockets continuing to soar without Yao Ming, the Bulls' misplaced mojo and Isiah Thomas keeping his job.

Why do the Jazz play so much better at home than on the road?

"Maybe it's the altitude," coach Jerry Sloan said. "We're at 4,200 feet. Does that sound like a good reason? If it is, I'll take it."

Sloan told me this Tuesday night, shortly before his team went out and laid another egg on the road, this time in Chicago. To say the Jazz looked Charmin-soft against the Bulls would be an insult to tissue products everywhere. It followed similar stink bombs in recent road losses at the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota, which were added to embarrassing pratfalls at Miami, New York, Charlotte and Indiana earlier this season.

The Jazz bounced back Wednesday night with a last-minute victory against the bottom-feeding Bucks in Milwaukee, improving their road record to only 15-20.

Compare that to Utah's NBA-best 28-3 home mark (including a current 18-game winning streak) and it is more than a little puzzling, even taking into account that it's not unheard of for a team to have such a wide home-road disparity (the Mavericks are in the same situation).

"We know we're a good team. We just haven't showed it as well this year on the road," All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer said. "We've got to figure it out so when the playoffs get here, we're more confident."

The Jazz's road woes indeed are a timely issue because the team is in the midst of a four-game trip, matching its longest stretch away from home this season. On Friday, the Jazz visit Boston in what should be a real test of their championship mettle.

Can a team realistically expect to win an NBA championship if it can't win on the road? No team with a losing road record has won the title since the 1977-78 Bullets. In this year's highly competitive Western Conference, it seems almost unfathomable.

The Jazz players don't want to talk about it, but they seem to know. While it's true they beat the Rockets in last season's first round without home-court advantage, they know they probably won't get far without it. That's why Utah, more than most teams, can't afford to let up for even one game over the remaining month of the season.

Keep in mind, winning a division doesn't even guarantee a team will get home-court edge in the first round. In fact, if the playoffs were to begin today, the Jazz would have to open on the road at New Orleans, which has a better record than Utah.

"For us, it's huge," Jazz swingman Kyle Korver said of his team's quest to gain home-court advantage. "We play a whole lot better at home."

So why are the Jazz so much more successful on their home floor?

Opponents often blame it on the officiating. Under Sloan, the Jazz have been notorious for playing a hard-nosed, physical style featuring hard screens and rugged positioning inside. In the raucous din of EnergySolutions Arena (formerly known as the Delta Center), some foes say refs tend to go along with the crowd and allow the Jazz to get away with more than they would in another setting.

"It's been like that since the Stockton-and-Malone days," one veteran Eastern Conference assistant coach said. "The crowd gets into it, and it just seems like the refs follow suit."

Not surprisingly, Jazz players dismiss such talk as sour grapes. They point out that all teams tend to get favorable calls at home. They say the difference lies in the energy boost they get from 20,000 fans who cheer with an extra passion resulting from having no other major pro sports team in the city.

"When we play at home, you can feel it," forward Andrei Kirilenko said. "You can feel the push, especially in tough moments when you need a spark. On the road, you need to find that spark."

"Absolutely, you feed off it," center Jarron Collins added. "You make plays, hustle plays, and the crowd gets very energetic and you get this feeling that you can do no wrong on your home court. You start to get calls and the momentum builds."

Sloan says the energy lift from the home fans can be particularly helpful to young teams such as the Jazz. With players such as Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Paul Millsap, C.J. Miles and Ronnie Price all with three of years of experience or less, the veteran coach says his team sometimes needs the kind of kick in the pants that only a roaring home crowd can deliver.

"They push you over the hump," Sloan said. "Older teams have knowledge how to get over the hump, younger teams maybe need that."

As for the altitude, it definitely can't be overlooked. Other than Denver, Salt Lake City boasts the highest elevation of any NBA stop. Visiting teams unaccustomed to the thin air can find themselves easily winded.

Of course, the Nuggets' preparedness for the thin air didn't help them at all last week when they went into Salt Lake City and got waxed 132-105. Buoyed by their home fans, the Jazz looked like a team capable of winning a championship. Too bad for Utah it can't play every game in the playoffs at home.