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No. 2 Utah vs. No. 7 Seattle
Utah defeats Seattle 3-2
| REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS (Series tied 2-2) |
| Date |
Final Score |
| 11/6 at SEA |
Seattle 99, Utah 94 |
| 12/10 at UTA |
Utah 101, Seattle 83 |
| 2/1 at UTA |
Seattle 104, Utah 96 |
| 3/24 at SEA |
Utah 98, Seattle 95 |
| HEAD COACHES |
Jerry Sloan, Utah
12th year in Utah, 15th year overall
Playoff record: 70-64
Best finish: Took Jazz to Finals in 1997 and '98, losing both years to the Bulls
|
Paul Westphal, Seattle
Second year with Sonics, sixth year overall
Playoff record: 25-19
Best Finish: Took Phoenix to NBA Finals in '93 where the Suns lost to the Bulls in six games
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| STARTING FIVE |
| Utah Jazz |
| John Stockton, G |
38-year old had better season this year than last
|
| Jeff Hornacek, G |
One-legged guard's last stand |
| Bryon Russell, F |
Breakout year for Jazz' second-leading scorer |
| Karl Malone, F |
Put him down for 25, 10 every night |
| Olden Polynice, C |
At 32 percent, he's worst free throw shooter in NBA |
| Seattle SuperSonics |
| Gary Payton, G |
He's the No. 1 scoring option and the team's best defender. Too much to ask for even The Glove. |
| Brent Barry, G |
The team's best 3-point threat |
| Ruben Patterson, F |
Bench player for Lakers last season has been biggest surprise for Sonics this year. |
| Vin Baker, F |
One of the largest finesse players
in the league. |
| Horace Grant, C |
Warrior mentality, but undersized in the middle. |
| THE BENCH |
| Utah Jazz |
| Howard Eisley, G |
Backs up Stockton and Hornacek at both guard positions |
| Armen Gilliam, F |
Picked off scrap heap at midseason, and he's been solid off bench |
| Greg Ostertag, C |
Team's second-leading rebounder |
| Quincy Lewis, G |
Rookie made key contributions during the season |
| Seattle SuperSonics |
| Vernon Maxwell, G |
Gary Payton's partying partner has been off on the court this season. |
| Rashard Lewis, F |
Athletic 6-10 swingman has most upside of any Sonics' reserve.
|
| Shammond Williams, G |
Mighty mite can light it up when in the groove.
|
| Jelani McCoy, F/C |
Second-year player is Sonics' best shot-blocker. |
| HOW THEY GOT THERE |
| Utah Jazz |
|
A six-game losing streak heading into the All-Star break heated up
the old-guy talk and the Jazz looked to be done for the season. But then
they pulled it together -- as they've done so many times over the past
several years when the critics said they were over the hill. A 14-2 March
and a solid April gave the Jazz their 17th consecutive trip to the playoffs
and the Midwest Division title.
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| Seattle SuperSonics |
|
The Sonics were looking at a top-four finish in the West
until they forgot how to win at home, losing five straight at one point in
late-March -- the longest losing streak at home in 15 years. Still, coach
Paul Westphal must be given props for getting this team -- superstar Gary
Payton, a bunch of new faces and the underachieving Vin Baker -- to the
postseason after last year's hiatus.
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| SERIES OUTLOOK |
| The Sonics breathed a huge sigh of relief after they beat Sacramento on
Tuesday to lock up the seventh seed and avoid the Lakers in the first
round. True, the Jazz won't be the challenge L.A. would've been, but in
Hornacek's last season and with future Hall of Famers Malone and Stockton
winding down, the pressure is on Utah to make one more push for the Finals.
It'll be a case of who exploits their opponents' weakness the most: the
Sonics have the big edge in the backcourt with Payton going against Utah's
graying guards; but the Sonics have no answer for Malone.
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| PREDICTION |
GP on a mission. Sonics in 5.
Prediction by Simon Fishler, Sportsline.com NBA Editor
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