THE AUTUMN SKY was a brilliant blue. I was sitting in my fifth-grade class at Burton Elementary, looking out the window and dreaming of scoring the winning basket in an NBA game, when Mr. Widdison's voice came from across space and time and ruined everything.
"Mr. Rock, would you mind answering the question?"I don't remember the question, which makes sense because even then I didn't know the question. Mr. Widdison was a couple of hundred light years away when he interrupted my daydream. I was thinking big. Unfortunately, reality returned in a hurry and there I was, under pressure and needing an answer.
Such is the case with the Utah Jazz. They're off to their worst start since 1991 and looking for answers, thinking of doing big things when John Stockton returns and pretty much spacing out the present. They are 1-3 and looking more like the cast of "Ernest Scared Stupid" than the defending Western Conference champions.
Although there is more than enough blame to go around - not the least being the fact that Stockton is out following knee surgery, waiting patiently until he comes back isn't an option. If they try to tread water until his return, they'll be drowned by then.
Which brings us back to my experience with Mr. Widdison. He didn't want an answer when I was finished daydreaming. He didn't want to know what I'd be doing in 12 years. He wanted his answer now. So it is with the Jazz, and in particular two of its future stars, Greg Ostertag and Bryon Russell. You can come out any time, guys.
Russell and Ostertag, of course, aren't the entire problem. The guards are playing fairly well in Stockton's absence, but they can't time the passes the way Stockton does, can't get the offense going. Malone is playing with an injured finger. Jeff Hornacek is off to a slow start, as he was last year. Shandon Anderson is playing well enough but clearly didn't practice his layups over the summer. Don't even ask about Chris Morris.
Nevertheless, for Russell and Ostertag, playing well isn't just important, it's imperative. These are guys who signed multiyear, multi-million dollar contracts over the summer; guys averaging close to the same money as Stockton, Malone and Hornacek. It's also guys who made it no secret they intend to be the big men on this team when Malone/Stockton/Hornacek retire.
Unfortunately for them, the future came quicker than they thought.
So far, their production has been abysmal. Ostertag has been the better of the two, getting nine rebounds in two games and 11 in the other two. However, of his nine rebounds against L.A., seven were in the first half. He got six of his nine rebounds against Washington in the first half and eight of his 11 against Phoenix in the first half. What that means is he isn't in playing shape. He's taking off fast and running out of gas.
His shooting is only 37 percent, thanks in large part to a 1-11 night against the Lakers in the season-opener.
It's enough to make you think it's Jerry Sloan who should have slapped Ostertag upside the head last week, not Shaquille O'Neal.
Russell isn't even playing well for a half. For a player who confidently predicted during the exhibition that his shot would come around when the regular season began, he has a strange sense of timing. Earth to Bryon: The season has started. So far he is shooting .318 from the field. This is the guy who scoffed at the moving back of the 3-point shot, yet is 1-11 from that range. His only 3-pointer was the desperation runner that banked in at the end of the third quarter against Phoenix - a shot that was more luck than skill.
So far, he and Ostertag are on the same track as Dallas center Shawn Bradley: take the money and then plead for patience.
As Malone pointed out in the exhibition season, it's all fine and good the Jazz have their future stars in place, but maybe they should start acting like it. If Russell and Ostertag really plan on carrying the load, this would be a good time to prove it.
As Mr. Widdison said the day I was looking out the window and all eyes were turned toward me: "We're waiting . . ."