How did the Utah Jazz rebuild so fast? The lost two superstars back-to-back to retirement. Then they dropped Ostertag. The are in a FA deadzone. Boozer went there but he is from Alaska. Harpring? Who else? They never had the "luxury" of a Yao-type draft selection. Their coach is every bit the badass that van Gundy is. Yet they hardly skipped a beat. It took us how many years to get back into the playoffs? Why? Why? Why?
The Jazz haven't been to the playoffs in the last 3 years. It didn't exactly happen overnight. The last bout of Rockets playoffs doldrums lasted 4 years.
Well, they HAVE missed the playoffs four straight seasons, but a part of that has been injuries. Plus, they had the third pick in 2005, so it's not like they have had nothing but picks in the 20's. That being said, though, the Jazz are the anti-Rockets. They draft well, have a good scouting department, and don't sign mediocre free agents. The past decade of draft picks (sans Yao) pretty much speaks for itself. Bonzi, Stromile, Mo Taylor, and Pippen is as bad as it gets when it comes to major free agent signings. The Mobley/Francis era was a disaster, and the McGrady trade doesn't look very good right now with his back problems. By the time the Rockets get somebody to replace McGrady (unless they find a really stupid GM), Yao will be over the hill.
This is the heart of the matter. I had forgotten that the Jazz took their lumps for a few years, but they seemed to sink less deep and rebound more quickly with fewer "assets". .
Jazz 3 year lotto period: 109-137 .443 Rox 4 year period 150-178 .457 Pretty much the same, just we took an extra year (in fairness to the Rox, we missed the playoffs by one game twice in that span, even posting the best non-playoff record ever in 2001.
As far as FAs go, they don't want flashy superstar types. They want workhorse guys. And the money is the same as everywhere else. In fact, I think the cost of living in Utah is quite low.
as mentioned above, they went through the same period we went through. How the hell do you go mentioning Stockton/Malone as big losses and follow that with "then they dropped Ostertag" ?? What value did Ostertag really have? Just had to question that one. They rose with some luck on the draft of Kirilenko (just based on the fact that a lot of Euros haven't panned out)...luck that Cleveland tried to skirt the system with Boozer...and some solid pickups. And they got a high pick with Deron. How is that any different than Houston? Some luck, a high pick or 2, some good pickups.. a couple of trades. The way any team rebuilds..
And according to Tim Leglar, Carlos Boozer is outplaying Yao. Take a look at this article on ESPN stating the early FAV's for MVP by Greg Anthony, then see the Rocket Hater debunk Yao as a candidate AT ALL!!!! Leglar is a JOKE!!!! http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-061215
Didn't the Rockets have a 3-year or so dryspell before that one playoff appearance? I don't have time to check on the history right now, but weren't they out of the playoffs until Franchise's 4th year or so? One year in the playoffs and then several more years out? I'm recalling it was one out of 7 years out of the lotto.
I assume you're talking about Yao's career because there is no way he would have developed into the beast he is now with Francis and Mobley (not) feeding the post.
I would be curious to know how they "hardly skipped a beat" when their playoff drought was as long as ours... Ah well, new p*ssy is new p*ssy, I suppose.
Yeah they had Boozer from Cleveland.. But they also paid big bucks to get Mehmet Okur.. Plus drafting Deron Williams with #3 helped alot.. and Utah lucked out in drafting Kirilenko late in the '99 draft
I suppose it's all subjective. Most franchises after losing players the caliber of Stockton and Malone would take a decade to find their bearings. How a franchise in a place like SLC could bounce back so fast is remarkable. ... Still not satisfied, I went back and checked the season records for both the Jazz and the Rockets between 1996-7 and 2003-4. Taking into account 7 of those 8 seasons (dismissing the shortened 1998-9 season) the Jazz's average season record was 52-30 while the Rockets was 42-40. I reckon the 05-06 season would about be a wash and the 04-05 season would tilt the scales a bit toward the Rockets but I doubt enough to make up an 10-game deficit on average. WINS U 64 62 55 53 44 47 42 H 57 41 34 45 28 43 45
So is the lifestyle... Just ask Jim McMahon http://www.amazon.com/McMahon-Jim/dp/0446347728 or Wilkipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_McMahon "McMahon, thrilled to be "released" from what he considered an oppressive culture in Utah, strolled into his first public function with the Bears holding a cold beer in his hand." The Utah Jazz has got to be the worst professional sports team name ever - it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! Maybe the Utah Salts, Mormons, Floppers or Polygamists, even the Lakers would make more sense than they do in LA. I may have to start a poll on this. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I think the Jazz are severely over-rated. Yes, I said it. They've played well thus far this year, but seriously a team banking on Boozer, etc. with no superstar, or even close to a superstar in the mix. let alone two (a la Rockets), there is NO Championship in their future.
big, big, big time collapse against a struggling team... jazz look like an ordinary team now, probably even more ordinary as the season progresses.
