U T A H   J A Z Z
Go-To Guy | Weakest Link | Burning Question | Outlook

Jazz at a Glance Coach: Jerry Sloan Last Year: 44-38 (Stats) Key Additions: C Curtis Borchardt, G Calbert Cheaney, F Matt Harpring, G Raul Lopez Key Losses: G Quincy Lewis, F Donyell Marshall, F Scott Padgett, G Bryon Russell, G John Starks Projected Starters PG John Stockton SG Calbert Cheaney SF Andrei Kirilenko PF Karl Malone C Jarron Collins Key Subs PG John Crotty SG DeShawn Stevenson SF Matt Harpring C Greg Ostertag

By John Hollinger, CNNSI.com

The Utah Jazz are living off two good draft picks they made in the mid-1980s. You would think they would have gotten a little help by now, but Karl Malone and John Stockton are still carrying the team. The next best scorer from a year ago, Donyell Marshall, signed with the Bulls in the offseason, and forward Andrei Kirilenko is the only other player on the roster who has anything approaching star potential.

Stockton, Malone and Kirilenko are a good nucleus, but the rest is strictly filler. The center and off-guard positions are major question marks. Furthermore, the underlying impression is that the Jazz can't evaluate talent anymore. Disturbing signs keep cropping up like when they thought signing John Amaechi last year was some kind of coup, or when Jerry Sloan actually let Quincy Lewis start a playoff game last year, or the draft-day trade of Ryan Humphrey for Curtis Borchardt, who immediately broke his foot, just as he had done multiple times in college.

Stockton is 40 and Malone will be there next July, but the duo is still playing at an extremely high level, and nobody is ready to predict when they'll succumb to Father Time. It's the help that is severely lacking.

Karl Malone, F -- Sure, he's 39 years old. He's also in better shape than almost any player in the league, and that's why you can book Malone for another year of 20 points and nine rebounds a night.

He did show subtle signs of decline last year, though. Most notably, he is settling for jumpers and not taking the ball to the basket nearly as often. As a result, he shattered his career low by shooting just 45 percent.

However, his demise shouldn't be overstated. After an early-season plague of turnovers, he settled into his rhythm and once again led the Jazz into the playoffs. His continued excellence is a testament to his unreal conditioning -- how many other 38-year-old players can you think of who set career highs in steals?

Calbert Cheaney, G -- Whether it's Cheaney, DeShawn Stevenson or a waaaaaaaaay out of position Matt Harpring, the Jazz are in a world of hurt at the off-guard spot. The odd thing is that last year their shooting guards were a nightmare, too, but the team did nothing to address the need in the offseason.

OK, technically they did something. They signed Cheaney, who a) will be injured a month into the season (the 68 games he played last year were his most in four years), and b) isn't good enough to be starting in the NBA. Cheaney is a decent defensive player, but he will further exacerbate the team's lack of perimeter shooting -- he didn't make a 3-pointer all last season -- and isn't nearly aggressive enough to help the offense.

Can they stop the roster rot?

Maybe they can find a combination that works at shooting guard. Perhaps they still have a trick up their sleeve to upgrade the backup point guard spot now that Raul Lopez is done for the season. At center, it's possible that Jarron Collins could develop into a solid center.

Whatever happens, somehow, some way, the Jazz management needs to stop the general decline of the supporting cast around Stockton and Malone. The backup point guard situation has gone from Howard Eisley to Jacque Vaughn to just praying Stockton doesn't get hurt. As first Jeff Hornacek and then Bryon Russell aged, no suitable replacements have been found at shooting guard and small forward. The center spot was a weakness five years ago and remains so today.

Jazz fans will continue to enjoy watching Stockton and Malone torment opponents half their age with their mastery of fundamental basketball (not to mention their thespian skills), but the slow creep downhill in the standings won't stop until the Jazz figure out how to get them some help.

Slipping

Fast Facts • The Jazz kept the officials busy. They shot the most free throws in the league, and also had the most free throws against. • Despite the aging legs of Stockton and Malone, the Jazz forced 16.7 turnovers per game last year -- the best figure in the league.

For all the talk about the window shutting on Stockton and Malone, the truth is that the Jazz have slammed it shut for them by continuing to make horrific personnel moves. Signing free agents like John Starks, John Amaechi and now Cheaney and Harpring isn't going to make the Jazz more competitive in the Western Conference. However maddening it was to watch Donyell Marshall play, the fact is he was the team's third-best player the past two years, and now he's gone.

Utah's bench is terrible, their shooting guard mess is still unsettled, and their two best players qualify for seniors' discounts at most major restaurant chains. More important, the organization has given no indication that it has any clue how to fix the problems. The Jazz haven't missed the playoffs since 1983, but all indications are that this may be the year the string ends.