IT COULD HAVE been any night in the career of Jazz forward David Benoit. Last week's Utah-San Antonio game at the Delta Center was only a minute old when he sank a perfect baseline jumper. But two minutes later, John Stockton hit Benoit with a perfect lead pass for a layin. This time he botched the shot, putting the ball up too softly off the glass.
Soon to follow was a two-handed slam off a Jeff Hornacek pass. The crowd roared. Benoit clenched his fist. Benwaasome was back in business.For the time being.
However uneven Benoit's performance was that night, it wasn't atypical. Since signing with the Jazz as a free agent by the Jazz in 1991, his game has been as unstable as a truckload of nitroglycerin. One moment Jazz fans are rising to salute a highlight-film dunk, the next moment they're smacking their palms against their foreheads when he bobbles a pass out of bounds.
If you want security, get on a 401K plan. If you want suspense, give Benoit the ball.
Benoit's consistency troubles are hardly a surprise anymore. His ups and downs have become as much a part of the Jazz persona as the pick-and-roll. No player has been more tantalizing than Benoit. Look up the word "enigma" in the dictionary and you'll find his picture. At times he looks like he's in line for the NBA All-Star Game, at others like he's waiting for a bus ticket to the CBA. One minute he's coming on stronger than last year's Dow Jones, the next minute he's drifting off in a cloud of hesitant moves and missed shots. One trip downcourt he'll be softly dropping a 3-pointer through the net, the next he's firing mortar off the rim.
It isn't as though Benoit hasn't shown promise. Last year, he had his best season ever, averaging 10.4 points. He also had his best playoff series, shooting .467 from the field and averaging 11.8 points, including a career playoff high of 20 points in a game at Houston. He is capable of making both spectacular flying dunks and soft arching 3's. Nevertheless, he became the most-maligned Jazz player since Luther Wright when he missed three outside shots in the closing minutes of the Jazz's Game 5 loss to the Rockets.
Since then, Benoit has been every Jazz fan's favorite trade idea: Why not Benoit for a draft pick? Benoit for Doug Christie? Jerome Kersey? Donald Royal? What the heck, why not Benoit for Prince Charles and a duke to be named later?
"When people start pointing fingers, I've always got to be the guy," says Benoit.
But a deal hasn't happened, and Benoit continues to roll along in his fifth season in Utah, having one good game, then a few bad ones. A 5-for-7 shooting night against Atlanta is followed by back-to-back 2-for-8 nights against the Lakers and Denver. A 20-point night against Sacramento is followed by a 1-for-6 game against Chicago.
For his part, Benoit tells the same story as other players who have found the Jazz system stifling: limited scoring opportunities, no time to work into a rhythm, few plays run his way. Changes made in his role, his game, his totals.
"I've never been put in the position, as long as I've been here, to do everything I can do," Benoit says. "I try to make the big plays, but somethimes the plays don't fall your way."
And so Benoit rolls along through another spotty season, tantalizing his fans, tantalizing his coaches. Trying to be effective more often then every five or six games. Trying to change a pattern that has been going on for five seasons.
"The expectations get so high, some people expect him to be the next (Michael) Jordan or (Scottie) Pippen," says Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "David's a good player and he continues to work. He doesn't put his head down."
Sloan's defense of Benoit actually contains the answer as to how to watch Benoit: Stop waiting for him him to become the next Pippen. He's not even the next Derrick McKey. He is what he is - an undrafted player who began his pro career in Spain.
So the next time you're ready to throw your cup of Golden Swirl when he misses an important shot, don't curse him for not being Pippen. Just remember who you're watching.