Team page/schedule | Stats: Preseason | Roster
Last year: 53-29, T-second in Midwest, fourth in conference
Coach/VP: Jerry Sloan/Kevin O'Connor
Arena, first game: Delta Center (19,911); Nov. 7, 1991
All-time franchise record/NBA titles: 1,188-994/0
Notable: 18 consecutive playoff seasons, 16 winning years

THE ROTATION
Pos	Player	Key Stat	Skinny
PG	John Stockton	8.7 apg	Old? Was second in NBA in assists
SG	Bryon Russell	12 ppg	Finally off hook for MJ pushoff?
SF	Donyell Marshall	.503 FG	Put him on good team and voila!
PF	Karl Malone	23.2 ppg	Slipping just a bit, but still a bulldog
C	Greg Ostertag	142 blocks	He's no Mark Eaton, but he survives
6th	John Starks	.398 FG	Not accurate, but it's this or retirement
7th	John Crotty	31 games	First Eisley, then Vaughn bolts
8th	Andrei Kirilenko	--	Leading team in scoring in preseason

		With Karl Malone and John Stockton as their core, the Jazz have been aging for a long time, but they still remain in the playoff hunt. They could be a little better. John Amaechi will help them at center. And Andrei Kirilenko is a good player, kind of a Tom Chambers type who is long and lean and can shoot. Stockton can play with anyone, and Malone has become such a great team player. But they need other good players around them. Donyell Marshall was one who stepped up a year ago, and they still have Bryon Russell and Greg Ostertag. But the Jazz still don't have a enough to win their division or challenge for the championship.

By Marc Stein
Special to ESPN.com

Mark it down. This time, third time lucky, Karl Malone and John Stockton and the pushed-off Bryon Russell will sweep Michael Jordan. It'll be Utah 2, Washington 0 ... and so what if it counts for nothing?

Those games might be two of the more memorable outings from a regular season that will probably be just that for the Jazz. Regular. Average. Nothing we haven't seen before -- lots of picking-and-rolling and a solid record -- but nothing to compare to the back-to-back Finals trips of yesteryear against MJ. Utah will undoubtedly extend an impressive playoff streak that dates to 1983-84, because StocktontoMalone are reunited and won't miss games and still have a couple solid starters (Bryon Russell and Donyell Marshall) at their side. Throw in two promising prospects, Andrei Kirilenko and DeShawn Stevenson, and you've still got a squad that reeks of efficiency. That said, the Jazz looked awfully old in drop-kicking their 2-nil lead over the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. They won't be any younger next April.

Who's Who
You might have noticed that Stockton and Malone and Jerry Sloan generally don't like to tinker much. So the off-season tweaks were typically minor. Danny Manning, Olden Polynice and Jacque Vaughn are gone, replaced by John Amaechi and Kirilenko. With Stock signing on for two more seasons -- at just under $16 million combined, compared to $11 million for last season alone -- it's clear that the Jazz isn't interested in starting over quite yet. Mail certainly has other interests, sitting 5,468 points away from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record. He'll be lobbying Stock to stick around for three more seasons, not just two, to make the record his. By then, the team will belong to Kirilenko, Stevenson and Raul Lopez. Unless, of course, Mail decides to go for an even 40,000 points and Stock (40 in March) figures he might as well stick around until he's 45.

	FANTASY SLEEPER
	Andrei Kirilenko, F -- The 20-year old Russian rookie has opened eyes in preseason, leading the Jazz in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots. His versatility -- off guard, small forward and power forward -- and energy have head coach Jerry Sloan contemplating giving him 25-30 minutes a night.

The Big Question
Are Kirilenko and Stevenson ready to contribute right away? That's probably the only way the Jazz can maintain its longstanding position among the West's powerhouses. StocktontoMalone need help, an infusion of young blood, and we all know free agents don't go to Salt Lake City. With finances tighter than ever now, as Larry Miller strives to avoid the luxury tax, the draftees are going to have to deliver something as well. Sloan is desperate for a trace of athleticism when he turns to the bench.

Best Case Scenario
Malone will continue to play at the Tim Duncan/Kevin Garnett/Chris Webber level. Stevenson will surprise everyone and eventually break into the starting lineup at shooting guard, to form an opposites-attract backcourt with No. 12. Kirilenko and John Starks will provide off-the-bench firepower. Amaechi will either revert to his old overachiever mode or spark Greg Ostertag into some outlandishly productive behavior, like waking up. Yet again, they will all embarrass the experts (hi!) who have predicted Utah's long-awaited demise for the umpteenth straight season. They will win 50-ish games.

Worst Case Scenario
No they won't. Malone will -- gasp -- finally get hurt. Or Stockton will. OK, scratch that. We can't picture it and don't want to see such a thing happen to either one of the bookend living legends. Instead let's just say that the two bonus babies will not be impact players just yet, the bench will look as thin as it does on paper and Amaechi will become the focal point of Sloan's ire after Ostertag gets traded to the Knicks. They'll still sneak into the playoffs with 42-45 wins but exit even more meekly than last spring.

OVERRATED	UNDERRATED	TEAM MVP
John Amaechi. Can't shoot or board. Must wish he took that sweet Laker deal now.	Bryon Russell. Been a dependable, unheralded scorer/defender for years.	Karl Malone. It's not 26 and 12 anymore, but give the old guy a break.