Spider's Last Stand

Players love playing for D'Antoni. There are few rules, and a system designed to maximize shot attempts, and exhaust defenses is also seriously fun to play (providing you're in shape).

Jerry Sloan will fine a player for arriving at practice with his drawstrings on the outside of his sweats. This is pro basketball - a business - and in a system designed around percentages and productivity, every possession is a sacred trust.

In the first half, the Suns forced the tempo they wanted. The Suns are known to try and run throwing inbounds on a shot clock violation. The Jazz made a few bad passes, and they were off. When halftime sent everyone back panting, the Suns were up by twelve points.

Charles Barkley wondered aloud during TNT's half-time show if the Jazz players were even listening to Jerry Sloan anymore. After all, he hasn't done well since Dream-teamers John Stockton and Karl Malone retired. Maybe he was too old school to reach this new batch of kids, especially without any veteran leaders.

Once upon a time, "Spider" Sloan was the star, captain, heart, backbone, defensive stopper and starting shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls. He could will his team to win games they had no business winning and orchestrated a string of 50-win seasons. And during that run, only two guys went to the all star break in a Bull's uniform (though they each went more than once). Sloan had his only appearance in his second year, when the Bull's were still an expansion franchise.

Tonight, at least, the Utah Jazz were still an instrument of Spider Sloan's will, and the second half was played more to his rhythm. The Jazz came out with a purpose: stifling the Suns in the paint, crashing the boards, seizing loose balls, and running to perfection all those staggered-pick, back-door plays that lead to lay-ups. By the fourth quarter, a flustered Sun's squad was not having any fun at all.

Jerry Sloan allowed himself to smirk - just for an instant. The Jazz might make the play-offs after all.