This team with Stockton & Malone and without Deron & Boozer

[FJS]

Would be contender?
Those guys are better than supporting cast of Utah from 95-98??

Think in that roster:

C Okur, Fessenko, Koufos
PF Malone, Millsap
SF Kirilenko, Miles
SG Matthews, Korver
PG Stockton, Price, Gaines

Jazz in 95-98
C Ostertag, Foster
PF Malone, Carr, Keefe
SF Russell, Morris,
SG Hornacek, Anderson
PG Stockton, Eisley

[HammerDunk]

I would say it's a wash. Hornacek is much better than any of our SG, AK is better than BRuss, Okur is a bit better than Tag. I think the difference of Hornacek is huge though.

[StocktonShorts]

No question. This team with Stockton/Malone instead of DWill & Boozer wins 60 games.

Stockton > DWill by a fair amount. DWill's a great player, but Stockton was amazing.
Malone > Boozer by about the same as Stock > DWill. Boozer has better footwork than Karl and is a better finisher at the rim, but Karl played better D, had a better face-up game and ran the court like an express train.
Hornacek by a nose over the CJ Miles/Matthews tandem. He was fantastic in almost every way on the offensive end but was a liability on defense.
Memo > Ostertag - at least the way Memo's been playing lately. Even though Memo has been wildly inconsistent, Ostertag was maddeningly more inconsistent. Tag could be GREAT defensively and on the boards, but he brought next to nothing offensively. Memo has shown he can be good on D and the boards and has a very nice offensive game.
AK/CJ > BRuss.

[GP]

Its funny, I recall that during malone and stockton the jazz were always looking for that scoring center. Now the jazz have that scoring center, but would like a defensive center. Okur would have been perfect for that Malone Stockton team.

[Soul Patch]

Exactly GP. Okur would have given the 98 team the third scorer they needed against the Bulls.

[tylero87]

I would say it's a wash. Hornacek is much better than any of our SG, AK is better than BRuss, Okur is a bit better than Tag. I think the difference of Hornacek is huge though.

I would argue AK is more of a difference maker then Hornacek. You're right Horny was better than any SG the Jazz have but having AK run with Stockton and Malone is his prime would've been sweet. AK would have been able to take pressure off Stock with his passing ability, plus can you imagine having two of the best weak side defenders (Malone and AK) on the defensive end.

Jazz would be one of the best defensive teams in the league with Stockton/Malone and their isn't a big out there right now in todays NBA that Malone couldn't body up. He had a great way of making other teams bigs look soft...Just ask David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

As much as I love Deron's game and this current team, you just can't beat Stockton to Malone, pure nostalgia.

[Sean Reynolds]

I don't think it's really a contest. The 1995-1998 Jazz were the best teams in franchise history. Williams & Boozer's Jazz are probably more similar to the 1988-1994 Jazz (the '94 Jazz were very similar to the 2007 Jazz - even down to lucking out in the second round when the 8th seed upset the overall #1 seed).

So if you were to take Stockton and Malone, when they were at their peak, and put them on this Jazz team - they would, without question, win 60+ games and probably hover around the top-spot in the entire NBA.

And their success would come on the defensive end. Malone was, in my opinion, the greatest defensive power forward to ever play the game. The way he defended down low is a thing of beauty. Stockton also gets a leg up.

But beyond that, those Jazz teams took time to grow into that role. Stockton and Malone were in their 30s by the time their great run started in 1995. That experience really helped get them over the hump and to the NBA Finals (Horny, obviously, helped a great deal, as well).

The Jazz still have something like the 8th youngest team in the NBA. Boozer and Williams probably aren't at their best yet. Specifically seasoned by the postseason.

There, Stockton and Malone trump Boozer and Williams because they were battle tested, even prior to 1995.

Stockton had played in 18 playoff series prior to their run from 1995-1998. Out of that, the Jazz won 8 of those series. They advanced to the WCF twice. They made it beyond the first round five times. Malone was apart of that but for one season.

Now compare that to Boozer & Williams - who have made the playoffs three times and have played in only six playoff series. Of that, they have made one conference final (2007) and advanced beyond the first round twice.

That growing. The first round losses, the upsets, the tough series against Portland in the 1992 Conference Finals, the five-game series against the Sonics a year later and the embarrassing loss to Houston in the '94 Finals, hardened the Jazz. I think you can even throw in the first-round loss to the Rockets in 1995.

That made Stockton and Malone. Gutting it out. Forcing a seventh game in the conference finals in 1996 against Seattle after falling behind 3-1, really made 1997 possible.

Because for so much of the 90s, the Jazz came up just short. Finally, in 1997, that changed. I think the experience of past playoff struggles made them a team capable of finally beating Houston in 1997 and then sweeping the Lakers in 1998.

These Jazz have taken their lumps and they seem like a stronger team today for it. But Boozer & Williams still aren't at the level Stockton & Malone were from 1995-1998.

Those Jazz were incredible. If it weren't for a major choke job in game five in 1995 and Michael Jordan returning to basketball, I firmly believe they would have three World Championship rings right now.

Unfortunately, they produced the second best record throughout that stretch and had to settle for no better than second place. :/

1995: 60-22
1996: 55-27
1997: 64-18
1998: 62-20

Hard to beat that.

[BarneyGumble]

There isnt a center or a PF in the league today that could handle MVP Malone in the paint, and nobody would do a great deal of scoring on MVP Malone's defense in the paint. The spread between Malone and Boozer is greater than the spread between Stockton and DWill....

Malone and Stockton would win the whole thing this year. Think if they faced the Cavs in the Finals, you've got AK playing LeBron on the perimeter...then Malone sending LeBron to the hardwood if LBJ tries to get in the paint. Today's league is full of a bunch of cupcakes. Malone would destroy the competition....

[Sean Reynolds]

There isnt a center or a PF in the league today that could handle MVP Malone in the paint, and nobody would do a great deal of scoring on MVP Malone's defense in the paint. The spread between Malone and Boozer is greater than the spread between Stockton and DWill....

Malone and Stockton would win the whole thing this year. Think if they faced the Cavs in the Finals, you've got AK playing LeBron on the perimeter...then Malone sending LeBron to the hardwood if LBJ tries to get in the paint. Today's league is full of a bunch of cupcakes. Malone would destroy the competition....

Unless Malone chokes...

[Soul Patch]

There isnt a center or a PF in the league today that could handle MVP Malone in the paint, and nobody would do a great deal of scoring on MVP Malone's defense in the paint. The spread between Malone and Boozer is greater than the spread between Stockton and DWill....

Malone and Stockton would win the whole thing this year. Think if they faced the Cavs in the Finals, you've got AK playing LeBron on the perimeter...then Malone sending LeBron to the hardwood if LBJ tries to get in the paint. Today's league is full of a bunch of cupcakes. Malone would destroy the competition....

Unless Malone chokes...

Malone would kick it to the Money Man for three.

[Racer X]

Stockton and Malone would have won multiple championships if they had Mehmet Okur.

I also think they could have made more noise with an AK circa 2004. Imagine Jordan taking that final shot with AK in his grill instead of BRuss.

[MeestR]

this thread hurts my heart knowing that either of these teams were/are so close. ak and memo on that team or stock and malone on this team. i feel like ralph wiggum on his date with lisa.

[carrottop12]

Stockton and Malone here would be a gigantic boost over Deron and Boozer.

I love Deron, he is no doubt my favorite player to watch, but he gets frustrated sometimes and he has a mental block against beating some teams. Stockton knew they could beat any team any night. He wasn't afraid of anyone. It toughness would destroy any PG not named Deron in the game today.

Malone would simply be the best PF in the league today, something Boozer is not. The Jazz could face Dirk, K-Mart (rofl) Gasol, Amare, anyone and Malone would have a very clear edge over all of them. His defense was also superior.

This team with Stock and Malone over Boozer and Williams would be favorites to win it all.

[idajazz]

It isn't even close, Stock/Malone would win it all with this cast in this era.

[oaktownwarriors87]

Horny was what, 6'3 190? He was a huge defensive liability, especially against a team like the Bulls. Pippen/Jordan/Harper, like most quality back courts, had a huge size advantage over Russ/Horny/Stockton. AK and Matthews definitely make the Jazz a better defensive team on the perimeter, but not offensively. Okur makes up for a lot of that offense, but you lose the interior D (and interior D is the most important part of a defense)

I don't think the Okur team is better offensively, so I think it's a case of picking your poison... sacrifice the interior D or the perimeter D?

[drivewayball]

I would have to say Williams and Boozer get the nod over a couple players that are just too old to do much anymore. I think Williams is clearly better than a 45 year old Stockton. Malone, of course, might be heads and shoulders better than Boozer well into his fifties, according to most Utah fans, but I heard he hasn't been working out.