Remembering Jerry Sloan

                                         (Credit: Bob Leverone/Getty Images) 

On Friday, the basketball world lost a legend in 78 year-old Jerry Sloan, who averaged 14.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game during his 11-year NBA playing career, 10 of which were spent with the Chicago Bulls. Sloan was drafted 4th overall in the 1965 NBA draft by the Baltimore Bullets before getting selected by the Bulls in the 1966 NBA expansion draft one year later. As a result of being selected by the Bulls in their first season, Sloan received the nickname "The Original Bull." Sloan would go on to make two All-Star teams and six All-Defensive teams with the Bulls, becoming one of the franchise's most iconic players and the first to have his jersey retired (#4).

Known for his toughness and grit, Sloan epitomized what it means to come from the Midwest (McLeansboro, Illinois). He did all the things that a lot of today's players don't want to do: He played defense, he rebounded, he fouled hard, and he never backed down to anyone. Players like Jerry Sloan are a rare breed nowadays and with him no longer with us, it feels like the end of an era.

After a stellar playing career, Sloan took a shot at coaching. After three bumpy seasons as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1979-1982, Sloan joined the Utah Jazz as an assistant under then head coach Frank Layden. After spending four seasons on Layden's staff, Sloan took over the reins in the 1988-89 season. From then on, the rest was history as they say.

During his 23 years as head coach of the Utah Jazz, Sloan had a coaching career that earned him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame alongside his two best players, John Stockton and Karl Malone. Together, the trio would take the Utah franchise to new heights, culminating in back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Sloan's former team. Sloan finished his career with 1221 wins, 1127 of which came with the Jazz. Sloan is the 4th winningest coach in NBA history and without a doubt the greatest coach to never win an NBA championship.

The loss of Sloan is dear to my heart because I grew up as a fan of the Utah Jazz. I have fond memories watching Sloan's teams battle in the playoffs. I remember the shot that John Stockton hit to send the Jazz to the NBA Finals in Houston and the look of sheer jubilation on Sloan's face. Those were the teams that first got me interested in basketball.

What stood out to me the most about Sloan during those days was his competitiveness and how much he backed his players. Getting ejected from games felt like a regular occurrence for him as he would loosen his tie and blow up at the refs for a call that they missed or for no reason other than that he just felt like popping off. At the same time, he was always classy in defeat and knew how to connect with his fellow man.

In the end, Jerry Sloan became much more than a great basketball coach. He became an icon in the state of Utah for the way he connected with the state and the passionate Jazz fan base. He gave it his all and demanded the same from his players. He will truly be missed.

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The Utah Jazz are on fire

                                          (Credit: Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune) 

The two hottest teams in the NBA right now are the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz, who have both won nine games in a row. I've blogged a lot about the Lakers this season, so it's time for me to focus on the Jazz. At the moment, the Jazz are 27-12, putting them at third place in the Western Conference standings.

During this nine game winning streak, the Jazz have posted the following results (home in bold; road in italics): Jazz 121 Trail Blazers 115. Jazz 120 Clippers 107. Jazz 104 Pistons 81. Jazz 102 Bulls 98. Jazz 109 Magic 96. Jazz 128 Pelicans 126. Jazz 128 Knicks 104. Jazz 109 Hornets 92. Jazz 127 Wizards 116.

As you can see, the Jazz have won most of these games away from Salt Lake City, which is scary considering the fact that they are historically not a very good road team. On that note, the Jazz are now 15-3 at home on the season and 12-9 on the road. If they can keep up their success on the road and continue to dominate at home, they'll be serious contenders come April, May, and possibly June.

What's made this streak all the more impressive is the fact that the Jazz are doing this without their big offseason acquisition Mike Conley (13.6 points and 4.6 assists), who is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury. This is truly a testament to their depth and versatility. Donovan Mitchell (24.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals), Bojan Bogdanovic (21.0 points and 4.3 rebounds), Rudy Gobert (14.8 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks), and Joe Ingles (10.8 points) have done a great job at picking up the slack.

Ultimately, how far this Jazz team goes will come down to whether or not Conley and Bogdanovic make the impact in the playoffs that everyone thinks they will and whether or not Mitchell and Gobert can raise their level of play. If this team stays healthy and continues to ball out like they have been, there's no reason to doubt their ability to make some serious noise in the playoffs. I'm not ready to deem them the favorites to come out of the Western Conference, but I could absolutely see them reach the conference finals. Pending on who they face, it's conceivable they play their way into June.

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