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He is Utah's savior, the reason the Jazz are still alive in their quest for an NBA title.
No one on this star-laden team has been more clutch than Anderson, who almost single-handedly brought Utah back from the brink of elimination -- not once, but twice, in the first round against the Sacramento Kings.
Anderson averaged 8.5 points a game off the bench this season for Utah, making him the biggest bench scorer behind a group of veteran starters. All season long, he was the one coach Jerry Sloan called on when the Jazz needed a spark.
In Game 4 against the Kings, with the Jazz already down 2 games to 1 in the best-of-5 series, Anderson scored eight points in the fourth quarter, helping set up John Stockton's game-winner with .7 seconds left. Then, in Game 5, he scored six points in overtime as the Jazz finally beat back the Kings.
He scored 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and added six rebounds in the deciding game.
Anderson shot 59.5 percent from the field for the Kings' series, and had a solid start to Utah's second-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, too, scoring eight points, grabbing four rebounds and handing out three assists.
"He's put together three great games in a row now," veteran forward Karl Malone said of Anderson after the Game 5 heroics. "He came through when we needed him most."
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Anderson was Utah's top scorer off the bench this season. 