Jazzhoops   Jazz, This is Your Wake up Call by Stef Siepel The famous artist Phil Collins began his latest album with the song “Wake up Call”, in which he sings the line: “This is your wake up call, you're gonna miss it all.” Unfortunately for the Jazz, this song could be quite true in their case. If the Jazz don’t start winning, they might miss it all. And in this case, “it all” is the play-offs. Since the 83-84 season the Jazz haven’t missed the play-offs. Ricky Green, Adrian Dantley, Darrell Griffith, Mark Eaton, and all the other Jazz players clinched a play-off berth for the first time in Jazz history. In that year’s draft the Jazz picked John Stockton from Gonzaga, and they haven’t missed a play-off since. That automatically means that John Stockton and Karl Malone haven’t missed a play-off in their whole careers, which is quite an accomplishment. They and the rest of the team have created some historical moments for the Jazz franchise. Stockton’s three-pointer against Houston to send the Jazz to the finals, his buzzer beater against the Kings in 1999, and so on. But there also were some heart-breaking moments, like the second round of the 2000 play-offs, in which the Jazz lost to Portland. Jeff Hornacek retired after that series, and since then the Jazz have yet to make it out of the first round. Some people secretly hope that this is the year the Jazz will advance to the second round. The Jazz and the Kings, which would be the most likely match-up in the first round this year, have started a real rivalry. Last year the Jazz came very close to defeating the Kings, but the Kings still managed to beat the Jazz three games to one. This year the Kings lead the season series 2-1, but all were very close games. The Jazz, definitely the underdog, could cause a pleasant surprise. But in order to cause a surprise in the play-offs, the Jazz need to get there first, and they are struggling. At the time of writing, the Jazz lost six of their last nine games, while their opponents aren’t slowing down. Quite the opposite actually, a lot of their rivals have started streaking. "They're coming from a long way back, and they're going to be coming at us pretty hard," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said of the many challengers. The Suns, Rockets, Warriors, Lakers, Jazz, and even the Sonics are fighting for the last three play-off tickets. The Lakers don’t look like they will slow down, while the others have all continued their winning ways. With one exception: the Jazz. The Jazz are struggling with their shot, with their rebounding, and with winning games. But if the Jazz keep losing games, they will also lose their play-off ticket. "Every game we've got now coming down the stretch should be important," Sloan said. "Hopefully the guys will take it as though it's important and not just another game, because you've got some teams that look like they want to make the playoffs." If the Jazz don’t start treating every game like a play-off game, then they might not play a play-off game at all. That would almost certainly mean the end of the Stockton-and-Malone era, since it is hard to believe both will return if the Jazz don’t make the play-offs. "You lose a few games and your mind goes in one direction that it wouldn't have a week before," Stockton said. "I don't think you make [a decision] the next day, but maybe you do. I'm as new to pulling the trigger as anybody." That is another reason to make the second round of the play-offs, since that would positively affect Stockton’s--and probably Malone’s--decision. And next year the Jazz really could surprise people, as Harpring will be in his second year with the Jazz, Borchardt and Lopez will be healthy (hopefully), and Kirilenko will be another year wiser. And Stevenson will be another year wiser as well, and he might be ready to contribute consistently. Stevenson has been one of the few bright spots in the Jazz recent slump, and he could really help the Jazz next year, especially if he could watch and learn from Stockton and Malone for another year. To surprise people this year, the Jazz really need to make the play-offs. That won’t be an easy task, as the Jazz have a pretty hard schedule coming up. They will meet the Spurs twice, and in recent years that has equalled two losses, and the last three games are against the Mavs, Spurs, and the Kings. Also two meetings with the Trailblazers, another team the Jazz could face in the play-offs, are coming up. The teams I have mentioned above are all teams that the Jazz could face in the play-offs, if they indeed succeed in acquiring that ticket. Wins against those teams could have a positive effect on the team in the play-offs. The Jazz have proven throughout the year that they can keep up with those teams, and it almost certainly will be a great play-off series, no matter who the opponent is. But making the play-offs is the biggest concern the Jazz currently have, and they will have their hands full with the task at hand. The Jazz will need to get out of their recent slump sooner rather than later. There are a lot of teams eager to take the Jazz' place in the play-offs, and those teams are all winning at the moment The Jazz will need to wake up and play hard every game. And, most importantly, they will have to win those games, and that is something they haven’t done a lot of lately.