How Good Were the '98 Jazz?

dennythedino · Post #21 » by **dennythedino** » Fri May 22, 2020 11:07 pm

They weren't all that great from a talent standpoint.

But everybody knew their roles + great coaching = very disciplined team.

ejs78 · Post #22 » by **ejs78** » Fri May 22, 2020 11:23 pm

Who could forget the Big Dawg who was another very solid Jazz role player.

The Jazz players knew their roles and out executed pretty much everyone. They just weren't a sexy team.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

BigtimeNBAfan · Post #23 » by **BigtimeNBAfan** » Sat May 23, 2020 12:04 am

I think they are two of the more underappreciated teams. People who didn't watch those finals don't realize how close they were. Even Jordan's Flu game in 97 and game 6 in 98 should give respect to the Jazz. Why do we worship those amazing performances? They were because Jordan had to be incredible to barely get the Bulls to escape with a win. If Karl Malone didn't get in foul trouble in game 5 the Jazz likely win. He was dominant on the court that game. The famous last shot game 6 Jordan needed 45 and the game winner to beat the Jazz by 1 pt. If the Eisley 3 wasn't taken off the board the Bulls might not win regardless of how well Jordan played.

I don't know how the 64 and 62 win Jazz teams with 2 legendary hall of famers and a hall of fame coach (RIP Jerry Sloan) weren't a great team. Out of the 6 playoff series wins those two years 5 of those teams had multiple hall of famers on them. The Clippers in 97 were their only gimme series. They were battle tested. A very good team both years.

DaPessimist · Post #24 » by **DaPessimist** » Sat May 23, 2020 12:05 am

2nd best team in the league that year.

Eric Millegan · Post #25 » by **Eric Millegan** » Sat May 23, 2020 12:14 am

Catchall wrote:Jeff Hornacek was an elite shooter.
Bryon Russell was a good 3D wing who took tough defensive assignments.
Adam Keefe was a very solid rebounder and decent defender.
Howard Eisley was a decent backup point guard.
Greg Ostertag was a legit defensive presence and rim protector.
Antoine Carr was a versatile two-way big.

They could have used another player, sure, but their role players weren't crap either.

Shandon Anderson was good too. The Jazz really pushed the Bulls in 97 & 98. As it was said, they owned a Lakers team with Shaq/Kobe twice. One bounce here, once bounce there, and they beat the Bulls. And that's not a slight on the Bulls.

Post #26 » by **HomoSapien** » Sat May 23, 2020 12:32 am

Catchall wrote:Jeff Hornacek was an elite shooter.
Bryon Russell was a good 3D wing who took tough defensive assignments.
Adam Keefe was a very solid rebounder and decent defender.
Howard Eisley was a decent backup point guard.
Greg Ostertag was a legit defensive presence and rim protector.
Antoine Carr was a versatile two-way big.

They could have used another player, sure, but their role players weren't crap either.

Shandon Anderson was a good reserve as well and Greg Foster, although not very good was capable of hitting jumpers.

To me, starting Keefe was always the weak link. Looking at his numbers, he's probably a bit better than I gave him credit for, but at the time I really didn't feel like he was an NBA level player.

I think people on this forum discredit Jeff Hornacek way too much. He averaged 14 points in 30 minutes that season. That's not too shabby.

Catchall · Post #27 » by **Catchall** » Sat May 23, 2020 12:40 am

HomoSapien wrote:
Catchall wrote:Jeff Hornacek was an elite shooter.
Bryon Russell was a good 3D wing who took tough defensive assignments.
Adam Keefe was a very solid rebounder and decent defender.
Howard Eisley was a decent backup point guard.
Greg Ostertag was a legit defensive presence and rim protector.
Antoine Carr was a versatile two-way big.

They could have used another player, sure, but their role players weren't crap either.

Shandon Anderson was a good reserve as well and Greg Foster, although not very good was capable of hitting jumpers.

To me, starting Keefe was always the weak link. Looking at his numbers, he's probably a bit better than I gave him credit for, but at the time I really didn't feel like he was an NBA level player.

I think people on this forum discredit Jeff Hornacek way too much. He averaged 14 points in 30 minutes that season. That's not too shabby.

Adam Keefe's rebounding enabled the Jazz to play Antoine Carr or Greg Foster at the 5 and create more space on the floor.

ejs78 · Post #28 » by **ejs78** » Sat May 23, 2020 1:13 am

Let's not forget how dominate they were at home those finals years.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

KGtabake · Post #29 » by **KGtabake** » Sat May 23, 2020 1:22 am

Just look at those they eliminated in the 3 rounds before making the Finals.

homecourtloss · Post #30 » by **homecourtloss** » Sat May 23, 2020 1:33 am

MrSparkle wrote:Utah had great 1-5 chemistry and a deep bench. Pretty much every single player on the roster was a + defender, and they had high-IQ two-way shooters. In no era ever could you win 60+ NBA games with 2 good oldplayers and a bunch of scrubs.

To put it simply, they weren't scrubs.

It seems that way, but overall, Utah was 18th in DRtg out of 29 teams and was +.4 rDRtg.

It was a great offensive team but not a very good defensive one.

Championships99 · Post #31 » by **Championships99** » Sat May 23, 2020 1:38 am

They were good enough to make it to the NBA Finals. They should have won in 1999 or 1994.

GregOden · Post #32 » by **GregOden** » Sat May 23, 2020 1:41 am

HoopsterJones wrote:Good enough to sweep a 61 win Lakers team with 4 all stars in the WCF (including a 35 point blowout in game 1).

Not to mention they easily beat next year's champions (the Spurs) 4-1. A Spurs team so many seem to think a hypothetical 1999 Bulls team would have no chance against.

RGM_SU · Post #33 » by **RGM_SU** » Sat May 23, 2020 7:58 am

homecourtloss wrote:It seems that way, but overall, Utah was 18th in DRtg out of 29 teams and was +.4 rDRtg.

It was a great offensive team but not a very good defensive one.

They turned it up in the 1998 playoffs though. They allowed the lowest defensive rating of all teams in the playoffs, especially clamping down on the Rockets and Lakers. The Lakers had the 2nd-highest offensive rating in the regular season that year (behind Utah) at 111.9. The Jazz in the 4 game sweep held them to 101. It was their offense that collapsed against the Bulls, with the lowlight being that 54 point outing in game 3.

Alonzo_Morning · Post #34 » by **Alonzo_Morning** » Sat May 23, 2020 8:27 am

Galloisdaman wrote:Hornacek was a really solid SG. His daughter (who is a knockout) makes some incredible basketball shots as well.

I just looked her up, she is incredible

dhsilv2 · Post #35 » by **dhsilv2** » Sat May 23, 2020 9:28 am

Galloisdaman wrote:
GSP wrote:
Galloisdaman wrote:Hornacek was a really solid SG. His daughter (who is a knockout) makes some incredible basketball shots as well.

He was like a rich mans Ingles without the size

As for the thread the 97 and 98 Jazz were both really good.

I and many others thought theyd beat the Bulls in 98. I think Vegas mightve even favored the Jazz slightly to win it was def close to even odds either way.

He would be a very very rich man Ingles. He was close to a 20ppg all star type player at one time. Was traded for 2 pretty good players. He wasn't all NBA but was a very solid starter.

His 20 ppg times were 5 years before this (well 19.1, gotta go 6 years for 20 and allstar). By 98 he was a good shooter who tried enough on D to not be a liability.

dhsilv2 · Post #36 » by **dhsilv2** » Sat May 23, 2020 9:32 am

GregOden wrote:
HoopsterJones wrote:Good enough to sweep a 61 win Lakers team with 4 all stars in the WCF (including a 35 point blowout in game 1).

Not to mention they easily beat next year's champions (the Spurs) 4-1. A Spurs team so many seem to think a hypothetical 1999 Bulls team would have no chance against.

Given the aging of the bulls that's more a knock on the bulls than a complement to the spurs and frankly it's rather fair.

This was about as down as the nba ever was. That ~97/98-03ish was just a really weak era of basketball and really it didn't get back to higher quality for a few more years after that.

Sgt Major · Post #37 » by **Sgt Major** » Sat May 23, 2020 10:10 am

Galloisdaman wrote:Hornacek was a really solid SG. His daughter (who is a knockout) makes some incredible basketball shots as well.

Noice

TheRealKaboom · Post #38 » by **TheRealKaboom** » Sat May 23, 2020 11:32 am

They were losers.

Galloisdaman · Post #39 » by **Galloisdaman** » Sat May 23, 2020 12:06 pm

Alonzo_Morning wrote:
Galloisdaman wrote:Hornacek was a really solid SG. His daughter (who is a knockout) makes some incredible basketball shots as well.

I just looked her up, she is incredible

Did you see how she can shoot and dribble a basketball? Holy cow!

Homer38 · Post #40 » by **Homer38** » Sat May 23, 2020 12:31 pm

Almost lost also in the first round against the 41-41 Houston Rockets.