The Utah Jazz got something they didn't want Thursday night: An expense-paid weekend in Seattle. Some places aren't appealing in May and right now Seattle is at the top of the Jazz's list. By virtue of their 93-80 loss to the Seattle SuperSonics in the Delta Center, a trip to Seattle means a fifth and decisive Round One playoff game in the Seattle Coliseum Saturday afternoon.
The Jazz could have done themselves a big favor last night. A win would have sent just the Sonics back to the Puget Sound. The Jazz could have had the best of both worlds. They could have still been in the playoffs but had the weekend off. They could have kicked back and watched the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers wear each other out in their conclusive Game 5 in Houston. The whole team could have eaten nachos and dip together and scouted their next opponent on the big screen. Your basic film session to savor.But 1992-93 has not been a season of taking the easy road for the Jazz - and the playoffs are proving to be no exception. Every time they put themselves in position for a shortcut they choose the wrong door. As Mark Eaton said, "We can't stand prosperity."
The Jazz's only plus about going back to Seattle is that they do have a history this season of playing well at odd times and in strange places. Their most recent game in Seattle - an unexpected win in Game 2 last Sunday that gave them the luxury of losing once in Salt Lake - being a prime case in point.
As for Jazz minuses, their year-long identity crisis continues to plague them. At no time in the past seven months has it manifested itself more than the past two games in the Delta Center.
Figure this: On Tuesday, the Jazz entered the fourth quarter down by six points and proceeded to blow the Sonics away, 27-11, en route to a 10-point win. They used a small, quick lineup, took advantage of a raucous home crowd, and exploited the visitors. The rout got to such an extreme that it seemed unfair at the end as the Jazz scored on 10 of their last 11 possessions. The Sonics looked as confident as a deer frozen in a four-wheel drive's headlights.
On Thursday, the Jazz entered the fourth quarter down by six points and proceeded to get blown away, 23-16, en route to a 13-point loss. They went to the same small, quick lineup that was so effective Tuesday and came up with baskets on just three of 16 possessions during crunch time. They helped take the crowd out of the game. Now it was them looking for the Excedrin PM.
So excited were the Sonics about A) Not suffering through another fourth quarter like Tuesday's and B) Getting to take the Jazz home with them, that they carried on with what some would call excessive emotion as the game wound down to its conclusion. Sonic forward Eddie Johnson hit a three point shot and pumped his arms a la Kirk Gibson about two feet away from the Jazz bench. Sonic guard Gary Payton began a stream of chatter at about the three minute mark that did not let up until well after the final buzzer. The gist of his remarks was that now the Sonics would have a certain part of the Jazz's physiology in their place.
The Jazz could do nothing but endure such antics. But they did not go unnoticed. "You let a team come in and beat you and then watch them carry on like that," said the Jazz's Karl Malone, "and if we can't get ready for game five because of that, well then I don't know."
"It's degrading (for them) to act that way," said Malone. "If that's how they play, that's how they play, but it's a lack of class."
"Basically we had the ball in our court tonight," said Malone, speaking quite literally. "And we didn't do anything with it. We didn't respond. That's what's disappointing."
"Maybe we were thinking we had a game to give, I don't know," added Jeff Malone. "It seems like if we're going to do it, we're going to do it the hard way."
"We've beaten them up there," he said. "It's not like it's over yet, or they're up 100 to 80. It's zero-zero and they've still got to play us. We've got to stay confident. I really think we'll be all right. I think we'll respond."
He could be right. The Jazz may just feel terrific Saturday in Seattle. At least the team that can't stand prosperity won't have a lot of it to worry about.