NICE block, er, I mean, screen, Karl Malone. Jazz won’t cheat Bulls
out of NBA titleWhy was John Stockton so wide open for the buzzer-beating jump shot last night that put the Utah Jazz into the NBA finals?
The answer depends on your perspective. It was either a heady, unselfish, fundamental play by the NBA's Most Valuable Player. Or it was a brutish, inelegant, street-punk move by a pretender to Michael Jordan's throne, just another example of how the Jazz routinely cheat their way to victory.
I agree more with the first explanation.
"I was bear-hugged, not picked," Houston's Clyde Drexler said. He fought desperately to get past Malone and back to cover Stockton. But it was like a moped trying to get through or around an 18-wheeler, like the one Malone drives in the off-season. Charles Barkley came off his man to help, but he got nowhere near Stockton -- not nearly close enough to get a hand in his face, nor to body slam him in frustration as he did in Game 2 of this series.
Talk about surreal. That last second, as he watched Stockton shoot the ball, must have seemed an eternity to Barkley, who remains crownless.
Stockton's shot -- like everything he did in the fourth quarter last night -- was pure.
And there was no flag on the play, even though Malone could've been called for holding. He almost pancaked poor Clyde, who had to be feeling miserable enough after missing a short bank shot that would have given the Rockets the lead with two seconds left.
EVEN Jazz fans must admit that Utah likes to set moving picks, and Stockton looks and acts like a miniature Bill Laimbeer at times. He knows which buttons to push that will irritate opponents and take them out of their game without getting himself a foul: a little elbow here, a little shot at the thigh there.
As for Malone and the way he uses his lumberjack body to free up teammates: Hey, if the officials are not going to call traveling, what's wrong with putting a little extra into a screen? A good defensive player anticipates a pick and avoids it.
Put these little indiscretions aside, and the Jazz play textbook basketball. Which is refreshing.
And Stockton took control of the game in the fourth quarter last night. Which is fascinating.
He's old, small and slow. There's been talk for years that he's a basketball parasite, getting cheap assists as Malone does the dirty work down low and Jeff Hornacek creates his own shots.
But last night, Stockton proved to any doubters that he has a game of his own that he can elevate when needed.
He scored 13 points in the final 3:13, including Utah's final eight. He also assisted on two late 3-pointers by Bryon Russell, meaning Stockton had a hand in the Jazz's final 19 points.
I said early on that the difference in this series would be experience at point guard.
Where was Rockets rookie Matt Maloney -- whose game resembles that of a young, but inexperienced, Stockton -- during crunch time?
He was on the bench while Sedale Threatt, who isn't much of one anymore, played the crucial minutes.
It's doubtful Stockton will be able to get the same kind of offense going against the Chicago Bulls, especially if Jordan stays off the golf course.
Although Utah will be tough at the power spots with Malone and Greg Ostertag (who held his own with Hakeem Olajuwon) against Dennis Rodman and Luc Longley, the Bulls will be better at the finesse spots -- assuming Scottie Pippen's foot is better.
Even if it isn't, look for Chicago to win in five or six. The Bulls seem to have found a couple of rallying points during the Miami series: the old family theme ("Dennis may be a freak, but he's our freak), and the realization that the greatest team ever may be broken up after this year.
Dave Reardon is a magazine editor and freelance
writer who has covered Hawaii sports since 1977.
He can be reached via the Star-Bulletin or
by email at reardon@aloha.com.
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