Dallas coach Richie Adubato could only laugh. What is it with those people in Utah? The water? The altitude? The alignment of the stars?
It was late last season, and for several years the Jazz had been among the healthiest teams in the league; they had barely had a hangnail among them. Meanwhile, the Mavericks were spending enough time in the hospital to have a ward named after them."I don't know what they breathe here or what they eat," said the former Dallas coach, "but I would like to have some of that down in Dallas."
Indeed Adubato had reason to complain. He was near the end of a season in which Dallas players would miss a club-record 240 games due to illness or injury. The year before it was 199. By comparison, the Jazz missed a league-low 14 player-games last year. Had it not been for Isaac Austin stepping on a ball during warmups and fracturing his foot - missing the last five games of the year - the Jazz would have set an all-time league record for fewest player-games missed in a season.
In recent years, the Jazz have been perhaps the luckiest team in the NBA. "We've been lucky for a lot of years," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "The last five or six years, we've had no injuries to speak of. For the most part, we've been fortunate."
The Jazz's run of luck has carried over to this year. Going into tonight's game against the Lakers, the Jazz have a league-low 14 games missed to injuries or illness. That number will change, however. Forward Larry Krystkowiak, out with a torn plantar facia, will be on the injured list for the next five games. It is only the second significant injury the Jazz have suffered this year.
"They're on injury away from being in trouble and they have not had an injury to Stockton or Malone for I think five years," said Seattle coach George Karl earlier this season.
Although he allows the Jazz have been fortunate, Sloan says the numbers don't tell the whole story this season. Mark Eaton missed nine games at the start of the season, following knee surgery, but was only able to play 10 or 12 minutes a night for weeks. "He was there but he wasn't," said Sloan. "It was almost like not having him."
Whatever the case, the Jazz know they could be playing on borrowed time. Besides being lowest in the league so far this year in player-games missed, they were also lowest last year. In 1990-91, Jazz players missed 36 games - but it were still the fourth-lowest in the league. The previous year they missed 27 games - also fourth-lowest. The last time a Jazz team truly struggled with injuries was the 1988-89 season when 65 player-games were missed, which was 10th-lowest in the NBA.
In 1987-88, the Jazz missed 69 player-games, but it was an injury-plagued league that year. Though they missed four more games than the previous season, they were still the fourth-lowest team in that category.
So far this year, the Jazz have continued with good health. Besides Eaton's nine missed games, Jeff Malone missed three with back spasms and Jay Humphries two (strained back, hamstring).
Jazz owner Larry H. Miller said before the season began that he was uncertain whether it was good conditioning or just blind luck that has kept the Jazz so healthy. Nevertheless, he and Sloan both acknowledge that a team's luck can run out at any time.
"I guess injuries are something people have to deal with all the time," Sloan said. "But I don't think people should use it as another excuse."
He added, "Injuries are one of those things you have no control over. We've just been very lucky."
Player-games missed for Jazz
1992-93 14
1991-92 14
1990-91 36
1989-90 27
1988-89 65
1987-88 69