SEATTLE -- A few seasons back, at a time when it seemed like the Jazz could never get past the Houston Rockets, the Jazz made a startling discovery.
After putting all sorts of effort into coming up with ways to contain Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon, the coaches decided to try something new. They'd concede Olajuwon his 30 or 35 points, while focusing on not allowing the other Rockets to have big games.It worked. The Rockets were still formidable but not unbeatable. In 1997, the first year the Jazz went to the NBA Finals, the only games won by Houston were those in which forward Charles Barkley had productive efforts. When the Jazz held him and the rest of Houston's supporting cast down, they won.
Now the Seattle SuperSonics are taking a page from the Jazz book. A critical part of their game plan for Wednesday night's Game 4 in this best-of-five series involves recognition that, since they can't defend Karl Malone, they might as well not worry about his point totals. Instead, they want to keep the other Jazz from exploding.
"We have to neutralize four or five of their guys," said Sonics guard Gary Payton. "(Jeff) Hornacek, (John) Stockton, (Bryon) Russell and (Howard) Eisley are the guys you have to contain."
In Game 3, that quartet wasn't just contained, it was boxed up and shipped back to Salt Lake. They combined to make 10-of-37 shots for 27 percent. The Sonics credited their defense for that shooting effort, but some of those shots were open, and the Jazz missed those, too.
Seattle coach Paul Westphal is aware of that fact and doesn't expect all of those players to continue missing.
"We can't expect to shut down everybody," he said. "But we want to limit their overall effectiveness. The main thing we want to do is make them earn everything they get."
One way Westphal hopes to do that is with continued good defensive rotation, which the Sonics had in Game 3, after offering only rare glimpses of that in the first two contests. And another way is by putting a "big" lineup on the court, with 6-foot-10-inch Rashard Lewis playing big guard and 6-foot-5-inch Ruben Patterson at small forward.
Sonics players have rallied around that combination like it's some sort of magic anti-Jazz talisman.
"That's an advantage, me and Rashard in there at the same time because who they gonna put Hornacek on?" Patterson said. "They can't put him on me, and they . . . sure can't put him on Rashard."
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan might counter that lineup with small forward Adam Keefe playing alongside Russell, except that Keefe is injured. So in Game 3 he went to Quincy Lewis, but the rookie was ineffective.
While recognizing how that lineup helped his team on Saturday, however, Westphal didn't sound like it was something he'd go to exclusively this time.
"It gives us some size and athletic ability," he said. "The downside is we don't have a lot of ballhandling out there. Gary has to handle all of that. But when we can get away with that, it's a nice lineup for us."
Regardless, Westphal said he doesn't expect the Jazz to do anything drastic to counter his unusual lineup.
"I'm sure they're going to do what they've done for the last 15 years, just a little better," he predicted.
One factor that apparently has worked in the Sonics' favor, though just about everyone thought it would favor the much older Jazz, was the long time off between games. Guard Brent Barry said the youthful Sonics needed all of that time to learn how to deal with the Jazz's precise execution.
"Had we had one or two days, I don't think we'd have been as effective as we were," he said.
Westphal agreed and said his team appears ready to play.
"We're fired-up," he said. "We understand this will be the toughest game of the series."
"At this point, more than anything, it's going to be about intensity," said forward Vin Baker. "Who wants it more?"
STONE HANDS: One of the overlooked aspects of Game 3 was the inability of the Jazz centers -- Olden Polynice and Greg Ostertag -- to perform the seemingly simple act of catching a pass. Westphal noticed.
"They struggled catching the ball," he said. "Several times they were open. Things could be different if they catch some. You can't expect them to keep missing those."
Some Jazz fans might argue that last statement.
CONFUSED CENTER: Former Utah center Greg Foster was surprised when Jazz fans booed him lustily the first time he took the court in Game 1, since he didn't criticize the team when he left and, in fact, wanted to return. Unlike with certain other free agents, it was the Jazz who didn't want him back.
"What did I do?" he said, laughing. "I thought I had some good years out there. I didn't say anything wrong."
Ultimately, Foster said, the lukewarm reception wasn't an entirely bad thing.
"It kind of got me going," he said. "I hope they do it again."
You can reach Rich Evans by e-mail at rich@desnews.com