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Why are the Spurs on pace to win 72 games, yet the Jazz are floundering again?

I think Hakeem is one of the most under-appreciated players of all time. He's the only player I know of in my limited historical reference (1980 and later) that really won it all without another star. Sure, he had a bunch of nice (but nothing that great) role-players, but in '94, it was him and a bunch of role-players. The next year, he made Shaq CRY. He's blocked more shots than anyone in NBA history. He's accomplished a quadruple double and a 5x5.

Anyway.
 
NUMBERICA said:
I don't think you meant superior draft position, because the Jazz almost always pick before them. And with exception to Deron and AK (still too early to say either way for Hayward) the Spurs out-draft THE **** out of the Jazz, at least in the first round. And even though the Jazz have found some very good finds in the 2nd round, the Spurs getting Ginobili in the 2nd round eclipses all of our choices by itself.

And let's not forget that while Splitter isn't destroying the league (at least not yet), he does contribute above the league-average when he does get time and we passed on him (or rather, passed on waiting 3 years) for Morris Almond.
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Sorry, I should have used the sarcasm marks around the superior draft position comment. It was meant as a criticism and accusation against the Jazz. They draft badly, then when they finally find someone that can play alittle-the jazz let him go and get nothing or next to nothing in return.... for example: Mo Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Mathews, Maynor, Humphries.
 
What is rather sad is that Sloan has the propensity to make those internal changes that Pop has made over his career. Humans are not static. Well maybe not in Sloans case.
 
While it is true that Humphries sucked, his current girlfriend allows him to suck at anything he wants.
 
NUMBERICA said:
I think Hakeem is one of the most under-appreciated players of all time. He's the only player I know of in my limited historical reference (1980 and later) that really won it all without another star. Sure, he had a bunch of nice (but nothing that great) role-players, but in '94, it was him and a bunch of role-players. The next year, he made Shaq CRY. He's blocked more shots than anyone in NBA history. He's accomplished a quadruple double and a 5x5.

Anyway.
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Nah they won because they had Big-Shot Rob. Wasn't it a league requirement that Robert Horry be on every championship team until he retired?
 
vslice02 said:
Those were Jazz teams posted some terrific records but the Rockets were just the better team (they did win championships both years). Houston was vastly superior in 93-94 - better role players and the Jazz had no answer for league MVP Hakeem.
In 94-95 Utah was better but after sleepwalking through the beginning of the regular season Houston turned it up - partly due to the Drexler trade. And if David Benoit doesn't miss 3 WIDE-OPEN 3's in the 4th qtr of Game 5, the Jazz probably win that series. Hard to blame Sloan for that, and hard to blame Sloan for Malone missing 2 FT's in the final minute of Game 7 of the 1996 WCF in Seattle.

The two years the Jazz went to the Finals they went definitely the superior team - both times going beating Houston.
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Not sure you can say that Houston was clearly better in both cases. In 1995, Jazz had better record and were higher seed but lost in first round to Houston. Had David Benoit made his 3 point shot, things might have turned out quite differently. Jazz lost in Conference Finals in 94 and in 92 to Portland (who I believe lost to Bulls).

Jazz and Sloan have had chances, probably best was '95, but failed to capitalize. It wasn't just Jordan. So to say that Jordan the reason for never winning it appears to me to be clearly false.
 
jimmy eat jazz said:
Jazz and Sloan have had chances, probably best was '95, but failed to capitalize. It wasn't just Jordan. So to say that Jordan the reason for never winning it appears to me to be clearly false.
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No. If you understand the NBA - you know teams make championship pushes. Unless you have a dynasty like the Bulls in the 90's or the Lakers/Celtics in the 80's you're talking about a 3-4 year window of legitimately competing for a championship. You can't just look back at the entire Stock/Malone era and say each year they didn't win it all was a massive failure to capitalize. The Jazz's peak championship window was 96-99, and they got hit by MJ twice and the lockout the 3rd time.
 
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