The Sacramento Kings believe their training for the second round of the playoffs is nearly complete.
Sacramento can advance to the Western Conference semifinals for the third straight season with a victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 5 on Wednesday night. If the Kings finish off their third playoff series in five seasons against the Jazz, they'll feel well-prepared to face the tougher tasks ahead.
Mike Bibby and his teammates compare a series against Utah to a training camp for the later rounds of the postseason.
"They toughen you up, and they make you play their style of tough basketball," said Bibby, who had 11 points and nine assists in Sacramento's 99-82 victory over Utah at the Delta Center on Monday night.
"Once you've played a bunch of games against them, you're in a better playoff frame of mind. You're ready to compete, and you remember that you can't back down from anything."
Despite the Jazz's famed toughness, they were given almost no shot to slow down the title-contending Kings in the best-of-seven series. The predictions have been accurate, though a slim line divided the teams in all but Game 2's blowout win for the Kings.
In the series opener, Utah kept its deficit close throughout the second half. The Jazz won Game 3 with an avalanche of foul shots reflecting their tough-nosed play, and they were close in Monday night's game until Sacramento broke through with a spectacular third quarter.
"By far, they have played us tougher than anyone we've faced," said Sacramento's Bobby Jackson, who won the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award on Tuesday. "It's tough playing them, because they know what we do. They know how to slow us down."
The 18-year partnership of John Stockton and Karl Malone might end with a Sacramento victory in Game 5, and that possibility is even more compelling than the increasingly one-sided rivalry between the teams. Sacramento has won 16 of the clubs' last 19 meetings.
Stockton will consider retirement this summer, while Malone might leave the Jazz as a free agent to join a team in title contention. Even coach Jerry Sloan, the longest-tenured coach or manager in the four major pro sports, is thought to be considering retirement.
None of the three principals in Utah's lengthy renaissance will make any public comment on their fates, preferring to remain focused on the enormous task at hand.
And nobody will be receiving lifetime achievement awards at Arco Arena on Wednesday night, either. There's still at least one game to play.
"We don't need to win three in a row. We need to win one in a row," Stockton said. "I think if you start to think about three, it looks like too much, so you think about the one. We've been in this situation before and got a tough win on the opposing floor, so now's the time."
The Jazz have never lost three straight first-round playoff series during Malone's 18 years with Stockton, but it will take an unbelievable comeback by Utah to avoid it.
If the Jazz need inspiration, Stockton could point to his performance four years ago. Utah trailed the Kings 2-1 in a best-of-five series, but Stockton hit an incredible clutch jumper for the winning points in Game 4 in Sacramento. The Jazz won the series ?? and they've won just one playoff series since then.
"It's not over. We know we can beat this team," Utah's Matt Harpring said. "We have to win there. We have to do that anyway to win the series. We have to win there one time and come back home."
(Agencies via Xinhua April 30, 2003)
