Four playoff series the Utah Jazz really should’ve won
By Ryan Aston
1) 1998 NBA Finals vs. Chicago Bulls
Finally, the one you’ve all been waiting for. In Utah’s second trip to the NBA Finals, the Jazz band was so close to taking home the Larry O’Brien Trophy that fans along the Wasatch Front could taste it.
After the Bulls walloped the Jazz by a record 42 points in Game 3, then hung on for a four-point win in Game 4, Chicago went up 3-1 in the series, but there was still hope. These were the days of the 2-3-2 format, and if the Jazz could win Game 5, the final two games would be contested at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
When the Mailman dropped 39 points in that game to secure an 83-81 win, it was hard not to buy-in to the home cooking idea. Unfortunately, it was the referees who cooked the Jazz in Game 6. You can forget the aforementioned push-off, too; the real harm came on a series of dubious clock-beating calls.
During the second quarter, Eisley nailed a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. Replays of the shot showed the ball was several feet off of his hands when the horn sounded. Nevertheless, referee Dick Bavetta called it a shot clock violation. Later, in the fourth quarter, Bulls point-man Ron Harper hit a runner that replays showed was still in his hands as the clock struck zero that was counted.
That was a five-point swing for Chicago in a game the Jazz still led by one when Jordan shoved Russell away to knockdown the game-winner.
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It was a scenario that should never have come to fruition. Had the game progressed properly, the Jazz win, then take all their momentum into a Game 7 close-out situation at home against a tiring MJ and an injured Scottie Pippen. It’s hard to imagine the Jazz falling short under those circumstances.
But I guess we’ll never know what might have been.