A cumulative look at an inspiring Jazz season, and an intriguing summer ahead.

The Jazz started the season without Stockton (retired) and Malone (bolted for a ring). Then comes the oft repeated story of signing restricted free agents, only to have their teams match the offers. In the end, the Jazz had a team whose main players were Fred Flintstone, Jerry Sloan Jr., The Russian Rifle and a Blocking Machine on 2 sticks. Others were picked up from the discards and leftovers. Injured rookies from the previous season, Lopez and "Glass-Man" Borchardt joined new rookies Pavlovic and Mo, Florida International products, Puerto Rican Arroyo and Bell from the Virgin Islands, inconsistent kid DeShawn, ACL+MCL repaired Collins and training camp dudes Ruffin and Handlogten filled out the roster.

Clark was questionable from the start with ankle injury. AK became the starter at PF. Right from the beginning it was noticeable that this team had heart. They competed because that was all they had ever done. These players had struggled to play in the NBA, struggled for minutes, struggled to play in position. And when they got the chance, they did not let go. They hustled and bustled. And they won. When they knew they could win, they won some more...

Heartbreakers

Clark was already down. Then came the hand of fate. We found that Borchardt's bones were made of glass. This time he broke his wrist. Handlogten went down. He led the jazz to victory on a torn ACL, hustling and rebounding without caring for the pain. Team captain Harpring, who was struggling early because of bad knees, finally decided to go under the knife. In mid-January, at 21-17, fate made it seem all over. The Jazz lost five straight and went under .500 for the first time. But they came back slowly and steadily. At the trade deadline, Clark and Handlogten were unloaded for Gugliotta in a luxury tax motivated trade by the Suns. Stevenson was traded for streaky shooter Giricek. Mikki Moore was added from the NBDL. At the end of February, a four game winning streak had them back at .500. They went below for one game after that and then stayed above .500 for the rest of the season, marking their 21st consecutive season at .500 or better, and 19th consecutive season over .500.

Jerry Sloan took a bunch of nobodies within one game of making the playoffs. The Jazz probably would have won some of the games they lost in their struggle to cope with injuries in mid-Jan to mid-Feb, 17 games where they went 5-12. Remove that from 42-40 and you have 37-28 (0.569). If they had gone, say, 8-9 instead of 5-12, they would have a record of 45-37. Ifs and buts. Fate!

Heartwarmers

Ben Handlogten was a 30 year old rookie. He had played in Europe and just wanted to try it in the NBA when he got the chance. The rest is history. From "who is this guy" bench warmer role, this guy with the unconventional looks and name (a fan website was dedicated to his name) soon became a fan favourite with his hustle, till his season came to an end with injury. He was later a part of the trade for Gugliotta, but expect the Jazz to call him back for camp.

Raja Bell was known for defense. It was simply because he never got to play in a position where he was asked to score. Bell thrived in his new role with the Jazz, and looks to be a definite keeper.

Mo Williams provided instant offense from the bench in a number of games. Although he struggled at times and played only in 50-odd games, he provided enough flashes to prove the critics draft preview that he would be a first round pick if he stayed back in college. Expect the Jazz to stick with him.

Mikki Moore was signed after the trade deadline. Paul Grant was tried earlier, so this was expected to be another filler 10 day contract. But Mikki's game made the Jazz sign him for the rest of the season, and a rejuvenated Moore contributed with a good field goal percentage and offense around the rim. He meshed well with the second team and deserves a call for training camp.

Giricek remained as streaky as ever, but the coach liked his willingness to shoot the ball. There were not many 24 second violations with him on court. He single handedly shot the Jazz to victory in a couple of tough games. He says he would like to continue with the Jazz.

Tom Gugliotta came in on trade deadline washed up, past his prime and lingering on the end of the Suns' bench, watching Amare Stoudamire play. Gugliotta was probably waiting for his contract to get over before retiring. He started his second game with the Jazz and stayed there... and proved he can still rebound and defend, giving his future an entirely different perspective. "I can't say I was certain when I got here, but I feel good about my game," was his new tune at the end of the season. The Jazz will probably not have him back, but expect him to get a solid bench role on a veteran team.

Injured players Jarron Collins (torn ACL+MCL) and Lopez (torn ACL) played all 82 games, which was a good sign.

And finally, Carlos Arroyo had proved that he can play in the Olympic qualifiers where he led Puerto Rico to an Olympic berth. Although he outplayed Nash in the qualifying game, one always knows that playing in the NBA is totally different and very difficult. Playing point guard is four times more difficult as you need to control the game. Though he frustrated the coaches at times, Arroyo showed a lot of capability and proved he can play at a very high level. His future with the Jazz is uncertain, and it could depend on free agent acquisitions. If the Jazz get a good point guard from free agency, they would like to do a sign-and-trade with Arroyo as bait. Otherwise, expect the Jazz to match any offer for him.
 

Coming in Part II

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Expansion Draft
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Draft
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Free Agency
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