1997–98 Utah Jazz season

The 1997–98 NBA season was the Jazz's 24th season in the National Basketball Association, and 19th season in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] The Jazz entered the season as runner-ups in the 1997 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in six games. Without John Stockton for the first 18 games due to a knee injury,[2] the Jazz slowly got off to an 11–7 start to the season. However, Stockton would eventually return as the Jazz won 31 of their final 36 games after the All-Star break, and finished first place in the Midwest Division with a 62–20 record. The Jazz's top scorer Karl Malone, who averaged 27.0 points per game, was part of a Jazz offense that had two other players, Stockton and Jeff Hornacek, averaging double-digits in points. Malone was the only member of the team to play in the 1998 NBA All-Star Game.

1997–98 Utah Jazz season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachJerry Sloan
ArenaDelta Center
Results
Record62–20 (.756)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Midwest)
Conference: 1st (Western)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Bulls 4–2)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKJZZ-TV
Fox Sports Utah
RadioKFNZ

In the first round of the playoffs, the Jazz trailed 2–1 to the 8th-seeded Houston Rockets. However, they won the series in five games. In the semifinals, they defeated the San Antonio Spurs in five games. After that, the Jazz swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in four straight games to advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year, and once again, met the Chicago Bulls in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals, in which they lost to the Bulls in six games, just like last year's NBA Finals. Following the season, Antoine Carr signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets, and Chris Morris signed with the Phoenix Suns.

Offseason

NBA Draft
Main article: 1997 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 27 Jacque Vaughn [3] PG  United States Kansas
2 56 Nate Erdmann  United States Oklahoma

The Jazz used two picks; a first round pick on point guard Jacque Vaughn and a second round pick on Nate Erdmann. Vaughn would play with the team for four seasons before going to the Atlanta Hawks and Erdmann was cut from the team right before regular season, therefore signing with Idaho Stampede in the CBA.

Roster
Roster listing
1997–98 Utah Jazz roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 40 Anderson, Shandon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1973-12-31 Georgia
PF 55 Carr, Antoine 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1961-07-23 Wichita State University
C 45 Cunningham, William 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Temple
PG 10 Eisley, Howard 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1972-12-04 Boston College
C 44 Foster, Greg 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1968-10-03 UTEP
SG 14 Hornacek, Jeff 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1963-05-03 Iowa State
PG 25 Hudson, Troy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1976-03-13 Southern Illinois
SF 31 Keefe, Adam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1970-02-22 Stanford
PF 32 Malone, Karl (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1963-07-24 Louisiana Tech
SF 34 Morris, Chris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1966-01-20 Auburn
C 00 Ostertag, Greg 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1973-03-06 Kansas
SF 3 Russell, Bryon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1970-12-31 Long Beach State
PG 12 Stockton, John (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1962-03-26 Gonzaga
PG 11 Vaughn, Jacque 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1975-02-11 Kansas
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Salaries
Player Salary
Karl Malone $5,118,578
John Stockton $5,000,000
Jeff Hornacek $4,195,000
Chris Morris $3,000,000
Bryon Russell $2,857,144
Adam Keefe $2,300,000
Antoine Carr $1,600,000
Howard Eisley $1,240,000
Shandon Anderson $1,200,000
Greg Ostertag $647,400
Jacque Vaughn $601,320
Greg Foster $504,000
Troy Hudson $242,000
Total $27,305,442

Regular season

Season standings
Midwest Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
z-Utah Jazz 6220.756–36–526–1522–2
x-San Antonio Spurs 5626.683631–1025–1618–6
x-Minnesota Timberwolves 4537.5491726–1519–2214–10
x-Houston Rockets 4141.5002124–1717–2414–10
Dallas Mavericks 2062.2444213–287–349–15
Vancouver Grizzlies 1963.2324314–275–364–20
Denver Nuggets 1171.134519–322–393–21
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Utah Jazz6220.756–
2 y-Seattle SuperSonics6121.7441
3 x-Los Angeles Lakers6121.7441
4 x-Phoenix Suns5626.6836
5 x-San Antonio Spurs5626.6836
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4636.56116
7 x-Minnesota Timberwolves4537.54917
8 x-Houston Rockets4141.50021
9 Sacramento Kings2755.32935
10 Dallas Mavericks2062.24442
11 Vancouver Grizzlies1963.23243
11 Golden State Warriors1963.23243
13 Los Angeles Clippers1765.20745
14 Denver Nuggets1171.13451

[4]

Record vs. opponents
1997-98 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHX POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA VAN WAS
Atlanta —2–14–01–34–02–02–02–22–01–11–32–00–21–33–10–21–22–22–23–10–21–12–01–11–14–00–22–04–0
Boston 1–2—1–21–31–31–11–12–21–11–10–42–01–10–42–21–12–22–22–23–10–21–11–10–21–13–00–22–03–2
Charlotte 0–42–1—1–32–22–02–03–11–12–03–12–01–13–13–11–12–21–33–12–11–12–01–11–11–14–01–12–02–2
Chicago 3–13–13–1—2–21–12–03–12–02–02–22–01–12–14–01–14–04–03–12–11–11–12–02–01–14–00–22–03–1
Cleveland 0–43–12–22–2—1–12–03–12–01–12–22–01–11–32–22–03–11–22–23–12–01–12–00–20–23–11–12–01–2
Dallas 0–21–10–21–11–1—3–10–21–30–41–11–30–40–20–22–20–21–10–20–20–40–40–40–42–21–10–44–01–1
Denver 0–21–10–20–20–21–3—0–21–30–40–22–20–40–20–21–30–20–20–20–20–42–21–30–40–40–20–41–31–1
Detroit 2–22–21–31–31–32–02–0—2–01–11–32–00–21–22–20–22–22–21–23–11–10–21–11–10–24–00–20–22–2
Golden State 0–21–11–10–20–23–13–10–2—1–30–21–31–30–20–20–40–21–11–10–20–41–32–21–31–30–20–41–30–2
Houston 1–11–10–20–21–14–04–01–13–1—1–14–01–30–21–11–31–11–10–21–11–31–34–02–21–32–00–43–11–1
Indiana 3–14–01–32–22–21–12–03–12–01–1—2–00–23–14–02–02–12–13–14–01–11–12–00–20–24–01–12–04–0
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–20–20–23–12–20–23–10–40–2—0–40–20–20–41–10–20–21–10–40–43–11–30–41–11–31–30–2
L.A. Lakers 2–01–11–11–11–14–04–02–03–13–12–04–0—1–12–04–01–11–11–10–22–22–24–04–01–32–03–14–01–1
Miami 3–14–01–31–23–12–02–02–12–02–01–32–01–1—3–11–13–12–23–14–00–22–02–00–20–24–01–12–02–2
Milwaukee 1–32–21–30–42–22–02–02–22–01–10–42–00–21–3—1–10–43–12–12–20–22–02–00–21–13–10–21–11–2
Minnesota 2–01–11–11–10–22–23–12–04–03–10–24–00–41–11–1—2–01–10–22–03–11–33–11–31–31–11–34–00–2
New Jersey 2–12–22–20–41–32–02–02–22–01–11–21–11–11–34–00–2—2–23–13–11–11–12–01–10–23–10–22–01–3
New York 2–22–23–10–42–11–12–02–21–11–11–22–01–12–21–31–12–2—4–02–22–01–11–10–21–13–10–22–01–3
Orlando 2–22–21–31–32–22–02–02–11–12–01–32–01–11–31–22–01–30–4—4–00–22–00–20–21–13–10–22–03–1
Philadelphia 1–31–31–21–21–32–02–01–32–01–10–41–12–00–42–20–21–32–20–4—1–11–11–10–20–22–20–22–03–1
Phoenix 2–02–01–11–10–24–04–01–14–03–11–14–02–22–02–01–31–10–22–01–1—2–23–13–12–22–01–34–01–1
Portland 1–11–10–21–11–14–02–22–03–13–11–14–02–20–20–23–11–11–10–21–12–2—3–12–20–42–03–12–21–1
Sacramento 0–21–11–10–20–24–03–11–12–20–40–21–30–40–20–21–30–21–12–01–11–31–3—0–41–31–12–22–21–1
San Antonio 1–12–01–10–22–04–04–01–13–12–22–03–10–42–02–03–11–12–02–02–01–32–24–0—2–22–01–34–01–1
Seattle 1–11–11–11–12–02–24–02–03–13–12–04–03–12–01–13–12–01–11–12–02–24–03–12–2—2–02–24–01–1
Toronto 0–40–30–40–41–31–12–00–42–00–20–41–10–20–41–31–11–31–31–32–20–20–21–10–20–2—0–21–10–3
Utah 2–02–01–12–01–14–04–02–04–04–01–13–11–31–12–03–12–02–02–02–03–11–32–23–12–22–0—4–00–2
Vancouver 0–20–20–20–20–20–43–12–03–11–30–23–10–40–21–10–40–20–20–20–20–42–22–20–40–41–10–4—1–1
Washington 0–42–32–21–32–11–11–12–22–01–10–42–01–12–22–12–03–13–11–31–31–11–11–11–11–13–02–01–1—

Game log
1997-98 Game Log

Total: 62-20 (Home: 36-5; Road: 26-15)

October: 0-1 (Home: 0-0; Road: 0-1)
November: 9-5 (Home: 6-2; Road: 3-3)
December: 10-5 (Home: 5-1; Road: 5-4)
January: 10-3 (Home: 8-1; Road: 2-2)
February: 9-2 (Home: 6-1; Road: 3-1)
March: 15-2 (Home: 5-0; Road: 10-2)
April: 9-2 (Home: 6-0; Away: 3-2)
1997-98 Schedule

Playoffs

Western Conference First Round

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (8) Houston Rockets Last Playoff Meeting: 1997 Western Conference Finals (Utah won 3-2)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(UTA-HOU)

 Venue Box score Television
1 April 23 Utah 90 Houston 103 0-1 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 1 TBS 9:30et
2 April 25 Utah 105 Houston 90 1-1 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 2 TNT 10:30et
3 April 29 Houston 89 Utah 85 1-2 Compaq Center, Houston, Texas 3 TBS 9:30et
4 May 1 Houston 71 Utah 93 2-2 Compaq Center, Houston, Texas 4 TNT 9:30et
5 May 3 Utah 84 Houston 70 3-2 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 5 NBC 3:00et
Utah wins series 3–2

Western Conference Semifinals

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (5) San Antonio Spurs Last Playoff Meeting: 1996 Western Conference Semifinals (Utah won 4-1)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(UTA-SAS)

 Venue Box score Television
1 May 5 Utah 83 San Antonio 82 1-0 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 1 TNT 10:30et
2 May 7 Utah 109 San Antonio 106 2-0 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 2 TNT 10:30et
3 May 9 San Antonio 86 Utah 64 2-1 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas 3 NBC 3:30et
4 May 10 San Antonio 73 Utah 82 3-1 Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas 4 TNT 9:00et
5 May 12 Utah 87 San Antonio 77 4-1 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 5 TNT 8:00et
Utah wins series 4–1

Western Conference Finals

(1) Utah Jazz vs. (3) Los Angeles Lakers Last Playoff Meeting: 1997 Western Conference Semifinals (Utah won 4-0)

Game Date Home Score Visitor Score Record

(UTA-LAL)

 Venue Box score Television
1 May 16 Utah 112 Los Angeles 77 1-0 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 1 NBC 3:00et
2 May 18 Utah 99 Los Angeles 95 2-0 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah 2 TNT 8:30et
3 May 22 Los Angeles 98 Utah 109 3-0 Great Western Forum, Los Angeles 3 TNT 10:30et
4 May 24 Los Angeles 92 Utah 96 4-0 Great Western Forum, Los Angeles, California 4 NBC 3:30et
Utah wins series 4–0

NBA Finals

With home-court advantage, the Jazz were favored by many to end the Bulls' dynasty, as they took Game 1 at the Delta Center. However, the Bulls rallied to take Game 2 and jumped out to a 3–1 lead by taking the first two games in Chicago. Facing elimination, the Jazz edged the Bulls by two points to send the series back to Utah. In Game 6, the Jazz had a late lead, but Michael Jordan, playing in his final game with the Bulls, led the Bulls to an 87–86 win, hitting the game-winning shot with 5.2 seconds left.[4]

[5] Legend: OT denotes a game decided in overtime

GameDateHome teamResultRoad team
Game 1June 3Utah88–85 (OT)Chicago
Game 2June 5Utah88–93Chicago
Game 3June 7Chicago96–54Utah
Game 4June 10Chicago86–82Utah
Game 5June 12Chicago81–83Utah
Game 6June 14Utah86–87Chicago

Bulls win series 4–2

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shandon Anderson 82219.5.538.219.7352.81.1.8.28.3
Antoine Carr66816.5.465..7762.0.7.2.85.7
William Cunningham626.3.444..1.3.2.3.01.3
Howard Eisley 821821.0.441.407.8522.04.2.7.27.7
Greg Foster784918.5.445.222.7703.5.7.2.45.7
Jeff Hornacek 808030.8.482.441.8853.44.41.4.214.2
Troy Hudson802.9.429.000..3.5.3.01.5
Adam Keefe 807525.6.540..8105.51.1.7.37.8
Karl Malone 818137.4.530.333.76110.33.91.2.927.0
Chris Morris54110.0.411.306.7212.1.4.5.34.3
Greg Ostertag 632320.4.481..4795.9.4.42.14.7
Bryon Russell 82727.1.430.341.7664.01.21.1.49.0
John Stockton 646429.0.528.429.8272.68.51.4.212.0
Jacque Vaughn4509.3.361.375.706.81.9.2.03.1

[6]

Playoffs
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shandon Anderson 20018.9.515.273.6763.21.0.3.16.7
Antoine Carr 20014.6.456..7502.1.6.1.64.4
Howard Eisley 20018.3.368.296.9232.04.1.6.35.6
Greg Foster 201616.8.453.500.6003.4.3.1.34.1
Jeff Hornacek 202031.8.416.467.8462.53.21.0.210.9
Adam Keefe 151010.3.345..6472.3.1.3.12.1
Karl Malone 202039.8.471.000.78810.93.41.11.026.3
Chris Morris 17014.1.406.304.7002.8.6.3.24.5
Greg Ostertag 19117.7.565..4804.3.3.41.93.4
Bryon Russell 201334.9.469.365.7164.71.11.1.311.0
John Stockton 202029.8.494.346.7183.07.81.6.211.1
Jacque Vaughn 703.4.200.5001.000.4.6..1.0

Awards and records

Transactions

Free agents

See also

References
  1. 1997-98 Utah Jazz
  2. "Jazz Loses Stockton for 2-3 Months". Los Angeles Times. October 15, 1997. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  3. "NBA Draft 1997". Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
  4. 1997-98 NBA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com
  5. http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/utah/jazz.html
  6. 1997-98 Utah Jazz Statistics - Basketball- Reference.com
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.