The J-Notes
Fansided

Four playoff series the Utah Jazz really should’ve won

By Ryan Aston

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - 1995: Karl Malone #32 of the Utah Jazz drives against Hakeem Olajuwon #34 of the Houston Rockets in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals as part of the 1995 NBA Playoffs at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah circa 1995. Copyright 1995 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - 1995: Karl Malone #32 of the Utah Jazz drives against Hakeem Olajuwon #34 of the Houston Rockets in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals as part of the 1995 NBA Playoffs at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah circa 1995. Copyright 1995 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Utah Jazz Portland Trail Blazer 1999
PORTLAND, OR – MAY 27: Damon Stoudamire #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket for a layup against Jeff Hornacek #14 and Greg Ostertag #00 of the Utah Jazz in Game Six of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 1999 NBA Playoffs at the Rose Garden Arena on May 27, 1999 in Portland, Oregon. The Blazers defeated the Jazz 92-80. Copyright 1999 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3) 1999 West Semifinals vs. Portland Trail Blazers

We continue our list with what might be better defined as an entire season that should’ve gone differently — the lockout-shortened 1998-99 campaign.

The Jazz finished the year with the league’s best record at 37-13. However, they somehow entered the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference. How is that even possible? Well, the Jazz were actually tied with the San Antonio Spurs at the top and lost the tie-breaker. Also — the Portland Trail Blazers were guaranteed a top seed as the Pacific Division champion.

Really though, the Jazz not locking down the No. 1 spot and, subsequently, losing to PDX in the second-round came down to the crazy, abbreviated schedule completely wearing down the veteran team.

The Jazz played 19 games in April alone, spent most of their off days traveling and only got in one full practice all month. As a result, they tanked their last 10 games, going 5-5 to close the year, which facilitated the weird drop to No. 3. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan later had this to say about the year, via the Deseret News —

"“It’s been the most difficult season I’ve ever had in coaching — including when I got fired,” said Jerry Sloan. “First of all, you can’t get the attention of the players. This is probably the hardest time we’ve had getting the attention of the players, to get them to do what we ask them to do.”"

Despite having the home-court advantage in Round 2 against the Blazers, the Jazz lost in 6. The sprint of a season followed by a tough first-round match-up with the up-and-coming Sacramento Kings had taken all the tread off their tires.

If it had been a normal season, or if the Jazz had been properly seeded, it would’ve gone differently. The Jazz were less than a year removed from an NBA Finals appearance. Malone was the MVP of the league that year. Stockton and Jeff Hornacek were still doing their thing. Also — Russell had one of his best years, Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson were entering their primes and ‘Big T’ Bailey had returned to the fold.

In the end, none of that mattered. A good (not great) Blazers team led by the likes of Rasheed Wallace, Damon Stoudamire and Isaiah Rider won out. The Jazz had won two of the three regular season match-ups by double digits, but the Blazers’ youth prevailed come playoff time.

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