Karl Malone doesn’t like to sugarcoat anything. He’s a straight shooter and he’ll tell it like it is. So, when given an opportunity to talk about the sudden resignation of Jerry Sloan as coach of the Utah Jazz, the Jazz’s all-time leading scorer got some things off his chest and offered his support to his former coach.
“I just want to throw some things out there. I know Coach Sloan. We can call it resigning, quitting, whatever you want to call it. The man I know never quit anything. And Phil Johnson [Sloan's assistant] never quit anything. So it had to be a lot worse than what anybody is saying,” Malone said on NBATV’s Game Time on Friday.
“I know this guy. This guy wouldn’t quit anything,” Malone added. “He’s challenged me in the huddle before. He said, ‘I’ll fight you as long as I could see you.’ That’s Coach Sloan, and that’s his attitude.”
Malone is a loyal guy to the core, so it is no surprise that he’s got his longtime mentor’s back. Malone and Sloan may have had their differences over the years, but it never went so far that it destroyed their friendship and trust in one another. “It don’t matter if we had Coach John Wooden; the players as a whole have to buy into the system,” Malone said. “That’s the whole issue here.”
The issue Malone is referring to is the reported rift between Sloan and All-Star guard Deron Williams. The situation boiled over earlier in the week when Sloan and Williams were involved in a heated confrontation which may (or not) have led to Sloan’s resignation.
Malone says he’d like to carry on Sloan’s tradition, but he has a young son who is playing football and he wants to spend time with him. However, if given an opportunity to become a head coach some day, Malone admitted it’s a challenge he’d love to test. “That’s definitely something I want to do. It’s something I feel strongly about and I’ll have some opportunities, I’m sure. I owe that to Coach Sloan because of what he taught me,” said Malone, who promises he won’t be bringing donuts and roses to practice.
All championship teams have great role players – guys who play their position, make all the hustle plays and knock down shots when called upon.
Magic Johnson’s Laker teams had Michael Cooper. Larry Bird’s Celtic teams had Danny Ainge. Robert Horry, who was instrumental in helping Hakeem Olajuwon’s Rockets, Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers and Tim Duncan’s Spurs win titles, is probably the NBA’s ultimate role player.
Since Horry retired, his former teammate, Derek Fisher, has now become the best role player in the NBA.
Fisher showed his value during a hotly contested Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against his former team Saturday night when he knocked down a key 3-point shot with 28 seconds left that put the Lakers ahead, 109-108, a lead L.A. never relinquished. The Lakers won, 111-110, and now have a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-series against the Jazz.
“He’s done that before. He’s one of those guys who is a tough guy. He played for us and was a great competitor,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Fisher, who played for the Jazz in 2007, but asked to be released so that his ailing daughter could get better treatment and L.A. was one of the places she could receive better care.
“A big loss for our team when he left. But that’s life,” Sloan added. “He gave us toughness, and he made a lot of shots like that for us. He was a wonderful guy to coach, a real professional.”
Fisher was 3-for-7 from 3-point range in Game 3 and finished with 20 points. And even though Deron Williams had 28 points, Fisher made him earn every point and even frustrated the Jazz All-Star point guard at times. And Fisher’s knowledge of Utah’s sets on offense has been a very valuable scouting tool for the Lakers’ coaching staff.
“Fish just being Fish. What more can you say. This is something he’s done his career,” Kobe Bryant said of his 35-year-old backcourt partner, now in his 11th season with the Lakers. “Even with things that don’t show up on the stat sheet: his recognition, his ball movement, his spacing, and obviously knocking down big shot after big shot. That’s something that he does.”
Laker guard Derek Fisher (right) has done a decent job defensively on Utah's Deron Williams. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)
The Lakers attempted 29 3-point shots in Game 3, and Sloan said that was by design to try to combat the Lakers’ size advantage. Unfortunately for Sloan and the Jazz, the Lakers converted 13 of them.
“To try to help out our big people to keep the ball out of the middle, we gave them a lot of 3-point shots. We felt that gave us a chance to win the ballgame, and that probably got us,” said Sloan.
Fisher, Bryant and Ron Artest were a combined 10-for-21 from behind the arc.
Phil Jackson says he never worries about Fisher because the Lakers coach is confident the 14-year veteran will always make the right decision. That trust is the main reason why Jackson makes sure the dependable Fisher is on the court during crunch time, affording the Lakers two fourth-quarter closers – a luxury most playoffs teams don’t have.
Fisher has delivered timely shots during his outstanding Laker career, a career that includes four NBA championships and six trips to The Finals. No other role player on a current NBA roster has four championship rings.
In 2001, Fisher came back from a stress fracture on his right foot to help the Lakers sweep through the playoffs and finish 15-1. Fisher established an NBA postseason record for most 3-pointers made in a four-game series with 15 in the Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio.
Then, in 2004, Fisher killed the Spurs again when he made one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in playoff history when he sank a game-winning shot in 0.4 seconds.
The Fisher Fling was the defining moment of his career until the 2009 NBA Finals when he made two clutch 3-point shots against the Magic in Game 4. With his team down by three, Fisher drained a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. He then buried the dagger 3-pointer late in OT to seal the deal.
Defensively, Father Time has taken away Fisher’s foot speed and he’s never going to be mistaken for being a shutdown defender. However, he is still a scrappy defender and never backs down from a challenge. He always finds ways to contribute, taking charges, helping out on close-outs, sacrificing his body by bullying his way through screens and diving for loose balls. Those are the little things that lead to big parades in June.
“He played a great game,” Jackson said of Fisher’s Game 3 performance. “He hit some shots, made some defensive plays I thought were good out there on the floor. Just his tenacity is a factor for us.”
Fisher is one of the most physically and mentally tough players in the league, and his calming influence in the locker room should never be underestimated. He’s probably the only player inside the Laker locker room who has earned Kobe’s trust. Because of Fisher’s reputation for being a stand-up guy, he can act as a buffer between Bryant and Jackson.
Since Fisher returned to L.A. in 2007, it is no coincidence the Lakers have been to the NBA Finals two years in a row and are about to reach their third consecutive Western Conference finals.
His true value can’t be measure by statistics, and he’s the glue that holds the Lakers together.
Despite being manhandled by the bigger and more talented L.A. Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals, the Utah Jazz remain undeterred.
But, is Utah’s absolute best good enough to win? That’s the question head coach Jerry Sloan and his never-say-die Jazz face when the series switches to Salt Lake City for the next two games.
“I’m proud of the fact that our guys fought back in the ballgame,” Sloan told reporters after Game 2. “I thought we had a chance if we stayed after it, and when we did have a chance they blocked three shots as we came down the stretch and then Kobe made that big three with the ball out of bounds with seven seconds on the clock. I thought that did us in.”
The Lakers are ahead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series mainly because Utah has yet to find a way to neutralize L.A. big men Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Bynum, Gasol and Odom combined for 50 points, 44 rebounds and nine blocked shots in Game 2.
“Their rebounding…we couldn’t handle them,” Sloan said. “We still outrebounded them on the offensive end, but we couldn’t keep them from getting the ball on the defensive end.”
Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan needs to find a way to neutralize the Lakers' size advantage. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)
The Jazz also missed several easy shots in the paint, and Sloan said the Lakers’ length was the main culprit. “That’s their size. They block a lot of shots, especially when we come down the stretch. We just seem to be in a hurry.”
L.A. outrebounded the Jazz, 58-40, and held Utah to 39% shooting in Game 2.
When the Laker big men are not controlling the paint, the Lakers turn to Kobe Bryant to dictate the action on the wing.
Whenever the Jazz made a push in the fourth quarter, which they have done in both games, Bryant has been able to carry the Lakers in crunch time with some timely baskets.
“That’s one thing about Kobe, he’s a terrific player, a terrific competitor and the shot that he made doesn’t surprise anybody. He’s tenacious and he’s a no-nonsense guy,” Sloan said of Bryant, who is averaging 30.5 points in this series.
Utah’s history against Phil Jackson’s teams is not good, dating back to Jackson’s days with the Bulls. The Zen Master is 45-0 when he wins the first game of a series and the Lakers have already won a regular-season game in Salt Lake, so the odds are definitely stacked against the Jazz.
Michael Jordan was named NBA regular-season MVP five times; John Stockton holds the all-time record for assists and steals; and David Robinson was the league MVP in 1994-95 season. (GETTY IMAGES)
When a Hall of Fame class includes arguably the greatest player of all time, arguably the greatest point guard in NBA history, arguably one of the best centers of his generation, arguably one of the greatest coaches in NBA history and arguably one of the best coaches of all time in women’s basketball, then it’s officially the greatest collection of inductees that will take the podium in Springfield, Mass.
Hard to argue against the selection of Michael Jordan, John Stockton, David Robinson, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer – a star-studded list that make up the 2009 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class.
Jordan, Stockton, Robinson and Sloan were all elected in their first year of consideration into the Hall of Fame, while Stringer has been named a finalist in prior years. To be elected, finalists need 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Basketball Hall of Fame. The class of 2009 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield on Sept. 10-12.
A closer look at the newest members of the Basketball Hall of Fame:
Michael Jordan – Player, is one of the most recognized figures in the sporting world. Jordan was selected as a unanimous collegiate All-American twice (1983, 1984) at the University of North Carolina where he won an NCAA Championship and received both Naismith and Wooden Award Honors. He went on to a storied NBA career with the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards and was a 14-time NBA All-Star, a five-time NBA MVP, a six-time NBA Finals MVP, and won multiple All-NBA First Team honors while winning six NBA Championships. Jordan was also named NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1988) and was a nine-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team. The NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 1985, Jordan was also named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team and won two Olympic Gold Medals including one with the original “Dream Team” in 1992 and one as a collegian in 1984.
David Robinson – Player, spent his entire NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, guiding them to two NBA Championships while being named to 10 NBA All-Star Teams, four All-NBA First Team Selections, one NBA League MVP and was selected to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team. Robinson also won two Olympic Gold Medals, including his participation on the legendary 1992 “Dream Team” and with the 1996 Gold Medal Olympic team. During Robinson’s college career at the U.S. Naval Academy, he earned Player of the Year, Naismith and Wooden Honors while leading the nation in rebounding and blocked shots.
Jerry Sloan – Coach, began his coaching career as an Assistant Coach with the Chicago Bulls before beginning his tremendous career with the Utah Jazz. He is the only coach in NBA history to win over 1,000 games with a single team while compiling a winning percentage of over .600. Sloan led the Jazz to two NBA Finals, 18 playoff appearances and is fourth on the NBA list of coaching victories. Sloan was also named as the Sporting News NBA Coach of the Year in 2004.
John Stockton – Player, spent his entire NBA career with the Utah Jazz, accumulating 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals – both NBA records at his retirement. He was named to 10 NBA All-Star teams and was selected as a member of the NBA’s 50th Anniversary Team while leading the Jazz to two NBA Finals. He was also named to the All-NBA First Teams in 1994 and 1995. Like Robinson, Stockton won two Olympic Gold Medals (1992, 1996) and was a member of the original “Dream Team.”
C. Vivian Stringer – Coach, has won more than 800 games in her career and currently ranks third on the women’s all-time career wins list. She is the first coach to lead three different schools to the NCAA Final Four including Cheyney State, the University of Iowa and Rutgers University where she is currently. Coach Stringer is also enshrined at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Note: The individual profiles were provided by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., the birthplace of basketball. The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level worldwide – professional, collegiate, men and women.
