Don't make the mistake of dismissing the Jazz.(Utah Jazz)

When I had the occasion three weeks ago to bore Jerry Sloan with some interminable story about lovable goofball John Starks' misadventures in New York, Sloan jumped into a long and strange soliloquy about where his team was at that time.

What he said there in the Delta Center corridor probably was intended as praise for Karl Malone and John Stockton--in tandem, as always, and not in any particular order--and for the way they somehow maintained order amid some tense episodes this season.

"These guys have done a pretty good job holding us in there," said the Jazz coach, whose team was fourth or fifth in the West at the time. "We're an older team, if you're going to be fair and honest about it. And if you look at the first part of the season, I'd say we're pretty fortunate to be where we are.

"Why? We're playing a 39-year-old point guard (38 for two more weeks) and a 38-year-old power forward (actually 37), and I don't know who the hell else could do that and still be the focus of a team. So that's a tremendous compliment to them. And to come to play every day and still make their team competitive. That's not easy. I see younger guys around the league with similar talent who can't do it.... I marvel at it every day."

But a lot seemed to be going on in that assessment other than praise for his cornerstones. Sure, Malone and Stockton helped hold it together, even though both their games had slipped noticeably. Held it together through two Starks suspensions and the subsequent distractions. Held it together through a bizarre dustup by and suspension of Greg Ostertag. Held it together through Bryon Russell's injuries. Held it together through the Olden Polynice-as-Joe Friday bit. Held it together through Donyell Marshall's slow start. Held it together through a very difficult first-half schedule.

Reading between Sloan's lines that day--sentiments that were not so much a surrender to time as a concession to reality--the thought lingered that he was somehow lowering the bar. That's how I interpreted it, anyway.

Now the joke is on me. The Jazz hasn't gotten any younger in the last three weeks, but it has lost only three times. Malone and Stockton aren't playing as fluidly as they did just two or three years ago, but they are as driven as they've ever been. Utah has been the best team in the league the last month, particularly on defense, and came out of February with the best record in the West after victories at Portland and Sacramento.