nuraman00
Well-Known Member
Stockton, I believe was more aggressive in the playoffs in general and when he succeeded in being aggressive, that obviously brought us good things.
That was one thing that stood out in that 1988 series. I believe in at least 5 of the 7 games, if not 6, Stockton took a shot before Malone did.
In at least 2 of the games, most of the rest of the team took a FGA before Malone did.
I don't have an answer as to why. I don't know if it was something conscious, or unconscious, or maybe Malone wasn't getting open, or maybe they were keying on Malone. As I said, I don't have a conclusion.
And regardless, I don't think Malone's slow first quarters were deciding factors in any of those games.
Offensive fouls, and lack of rebounding, were the deciding factors in all of those losses.
So, even after watching that series, I don't have a feeling that Malone could have played better. I think whatever the Jazz did was generally the best decision on offense, outside of the offensive fouls and missed free throws.
Also, Hansen and Thurl Bailey had some really good games. As I said earlier, I really liked the depth of that team.
So I don't look at that team and think someone didn't play well on offense. I was happy with the offense in every game, even in one of the games that was a bad blowout loss.