Thing about Kevin Duckworth, who died Monday at 44, is that he was always an entertaining guy.
"I'm always better with the game on the line,'' he once said. "I'd rather be one of the guys taking the shots.''
The Jazz got to see a lot of Duckworth in the late '80s and early '90s when Utah and Portland met regularly in the playoffs. Duckworth had some great games, including Game 4 in 1991 (a series won 4-1 by Portland), in which he poured in 31 points.
After another game against the Jazz, Duckworth criticized referees by saying, "It seemed like no matter what, things were going very strong the other way. He referred to the officials as ``three blind mice.''
You don't get many quotes like that any more.
And while Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter got most of the ink, Duckworth had his moments. He averaged 21.5 points and 11 rebounds in the 1988 playoffs -- a year the Blazers lost to the Jazz in the first round. In Game 4, Duckworth rang up 33 points.
It's not exaggerating to say he contributed much to the rivalry that developed between Utah and Portland in that era.