It has been just two nights since Jason Kidd's elbow went flying into John Stockton's face.
His knocked-out-of-whacked nose was reset shortly after Utah's victory over Phoenix on Monday, and not long after Stockton started making plans to rejoin the Jazz in time for Wednesday morning's shootaround at the Delta Center.If he plays Wednesday night against the Grizzlies, which Stockton apparently intends to do, no one will be less surprised than Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
It's a matter of anatomy.
Broken nose: "That's too far from your heart to worry about," Sloan said.
Especially when it's Stockton's heart we're talking about.
The veteran Jazz guard is virtually impervious to pain, and in the rare cases when he does not play it is only because his body simply will not permit him. He has missed just 22 games in an NBA career that started in 1984, and 18 of those were due to knee surgery.
"He's the kind of guy who likes to play basketball," Sloan said. "You can't play this long and that hard if you don't like to play. I mean, I'm not going to make the decision for him by any stretch of the imagination, but if he can play he'll play, and if he can't so be it."
Jazz trainer Mike Shimensky said the ideal scenario might be for Stockton to take off until the Jazz's next game after tonight, which comes Monday against Denver.
"We'd probably rather have him not play (tonight) so he's ready for (Monday), but knowing how he is, he's going to want to play," said Shimensky, who knew the nose was dislocated as soon as he saw it.
If Stockton does play, Shimensky said it likely will be without any sort of extensive protective gear.
"Normally a guy would wear a mask," he said, "but as a point guard, that's pretty difficult."
And, as Stockton, it may very well be out of the question -- even if he really did need one
If Sloan hadn't said something after the game, after all, few would have even known the injury had occurred. Stockton -- who did not practice Tuesday -- kept right on playing after his nose was broken, the result of an apparently errant elbow thrown as Kidd made his way around a pick for the Suns' last basket of the game.
"I would hate to think he would (throw the elbow on purpose)," Sloan said of Kidd, whose fourth triple-double of the season was spoiled by his failure to hit a last-second shot that would have won the game. He doesn't need that kind of advantage to play. I have a lot of respect for his game. But things can happen, too."
Sloan knows.
His players, Stockton chief among them, have absorbed their fair share of criticism for the hell-bent style in which they have been known to play.
To call it aggressive is one thing. To suggest some line has been crossed, however, is quite another.
"One of the things that I've heard: John Stockton is a dirty player," said Sloan, who is quick to counter the notion. "John Stockton has taken as many lumps out there on the floor, as a player, as anybody. And he's a dirty basketball player because of it? I think that's very unfortunate."
Stockton's mere reaction to the injury -- or lack thereof -- is reflective of his toughness, Sloan said.
"He didn't run around and make a big display of it," he said. "If you've ever had your nose broken -- it'll sting you. But he went out there and did the best job he could under the circumstances. He didn't complain, lie down, roll to the floor.
"If he wanted to make the guy (Kidd) look bad, he could have lain there long and stayed there a long period of time -- which is what's happened against him sometimes. Guys have been bumped, or he's fouled somebody -- they lie down like it's a three-week recovery period."
For some of them, it may just be. For Stockton, it's usually not nearly so long.
ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE: Many took notice Monday night that Jazz backup center Greg Ostertag did not play until the fourth quarter against the Suns. Many noticed, too, what Ostertag finally did once he got into the game: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 big blocked shots and a steal in 12 minutes.
"I think (sitting) got under his skin a little bit," Stockton said, "and he came out and played well."
He had no other choice, Ostertag said: "I could have got off the bench with a (bad) attitude, and gone out there and not done anything. But I didn't. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity I had to go out there, and let him (Sloan) know I was ready to play no matter where he put me."
Sloan swore no sort of message was being sent to Ostertag, who snapped back at him on the sideline during a short exchange of words on the Jazz's last road trip.
"They put smaller guys out there, and we went with Adam Keefe," Sloan said. "It wasn't anything against Greg. We just felt like maybe we would match up better a little bit against them, because they have a lot of guys who are going to shoot the ball out on the perimeter."
Once Ostertag did get in, Sloan was happy with what he saw from him.
"I thought Greg did a terrific job," Sloan said. "He stepped up and made some of his free throws. He looked real comfortable on a couple of them and had a couple of nice blocked shots, and then made some cuts to the basket whenever (Karl) Malone had the ball. Those were good cuts to the basket. Those things are really important."
Malone, too, was pleased with what his much-maligned teammate had to offer.
"I've never seen that part of him at all," said Malone, who added, "he was as alive as I've ever seen him in four, five years."
The effort was the kind both Malone and Sloan hope happens night in and night out.
"I think he needs to realize whatever they expect out of you, just do that -- and that's all they want you to do," Malone said. "If you're in there for 15, 20 minutes a game -- give us every single thing you've got."
"I thought he ran the floor hard, he tried to rebound hard," Sloan said. "Yeah, we're all going to make some mistakes. But you make a lot more when you don't work hard. Now: Do we have to wait another two or three weeks to get something out of him? We shouldn't have to."
AND FINALLY: Jazz rookie Quincy Lewis has had a strong stretch lately, including 7 points in 17 minutes Monday. The key to continue playing like that, Malone suggested, is for Lewis to not be satisfied with what he has done to date.
"Hopefully," Malone said, "he won't get in that mode where he thinks he's got it whupped already."