When was the last time any reasonable person - if there really are such creatures among us - could even think those six little words without busting out in laughter, let alone actually speak or write or believe them?

What - nine, 10 years?

Well, it's time to believe, again.

Not that it will or should happen. It's just that it can happen.

Ask the New York Giants.

But this bit of sunshine has more to do with the Jazz's clear emergence than anybody else's surprise ending. It's not so much a prediction, rather a realization.

There's no need to check your optimism or hammer a lid down on the positive vibes you've felt, and no reason to shield your tender feelings, still rubbed raw by the disappointment suffered a decade ago after Game 6.

Michael Jordan's cigar smoke no longer swirls in the air here, although he supposedly has bought a house in Deer Valley.

The Jazz are good enough.

That sentiment isn't about rooting or cheering or being any kind of homer. I couldn't care less. The sooner the Jazz lose, the sooner I can go on a Mediterranean vacation. Just for kicks, I even left some travel brochures around the Jazz locker room where Deron Williams could find them. It has to do with what this team pulled off this season against some of the NBA's best teams. What it did against some of the NBA's worst teams is another story.

But unless the Jazz run into Minnesota, the Clippers, or the Knicks in the playoffs, they are worthy of real consideration and an authentic threat to win a championship.

It's up to them.

Jerry Sloan told his players that last part before the season started, and he still firmly holds that it's not some sort of goofy, stupid talk, as long as two conditions are met: if the players top out where they're capable of topping out, and if the coaches don't screw things up.

"We have to play well," he says. "Everybody has to do their job. We need everyone to help. Everyone has to compete. When we do that, we're really good."

The chase through the back half of the season in the Western Conference has turned a bright spotlight directly on that fact. The Jazz have sported the second-best record over that difficult span, when all the best teams in the West have dialed in on winning games to better position themselves.

The Jazz thumped the best teams in the East - the Celtics in Boston and the Pistons - as well as the Spurs, the Hornets, the Suns, the Nuggets, the Rockets, and they nearly beat the Mavs in Dallas when the home team was fighting for its playoff life. They were crushed by the Lakers a couple of weeks ago, but the Jazz have been competitive enough for long enough to indicate that a series with the Lakers, or any other team, would be for the Jazz, as Williams puts it, "nothing to be afraid of."

He adds: "We want to play the best."

Confidence, that mystical ingredient that transforms good teams into great ones, bouncing contenders straight through successful playoff runs, appears to be in ample supply.

"We're playing great ball right now," says Carlos Boozer. "We've just got to keep it going."

Everyone knows the playoffs are different, filled as they are with a sudden injection of intensity. But that stands to help the Jazz, not hurt them.

When there's focusing to be done and the stakes are raised, they tend to respond in a positive manner. That's based on what they did against better teams in the aforementioned back half, and on the way they made that adequate adjustment a year ago during their impressive postseason.

Matt Harpring says he doesn't know why the Jazz sometimes dropped off against lesser foes, but he knows why they did well against good teams: "We get everyone involved. We share the ball and help out on defense. We're so deep, who are you going to stop? The best thing is, we have a team that can match up with all the other teams. That's a great advantage."

The Jazz, who recently got 37 assists in a game against Denver, can overwhelm opponents with numbers, both offensively, and even, at times, at the defensive end. Aside from the starters, who have been bolstered by the development of Ronnie Brewer, the bench has become a weapon, what with Kyle Korver, Paul Millsap, Ronnie Price, Matt Harpring, and C.J. Miles on hand.

They still struggle with their interior defense, but no longer are shooting guards having career nights against them, a notion that will be severely tested in the playoffs if Tracy McGrady or Kobe Bryant show up on the schedule.

The Jazz also have settled any questions about team leadership, which is so necessary in the playoffs. It begins with Williams, who has not only been given that mantle, but grabbed it for himself. It's obvious he hates to lose. That sounds so trite, as though it is a quality all players possess. It's not so, and now is the time where the competitive haves distinguish themselves from the have-nots.

"D-Will and Booze are our anchors," says Brewer. "It begins with them, but everyone has stepped up their games. We're playing together. When we defend, we're a real tough team. If we do that on the road, who knows what can happen."

Yeah, there is the road problem. With their losing record outside EnergySolutions, the Jazz would have to buck an overwhelming trend to become NBA champs. No team with a negative road record has won a title for 30 years.

"It's about imposing our will," Boozer says. "When we do that, I'm optimistic."

There's no sure reason for him not to be.

It's OK, then, to go ahead and believe again.

These guys are capable of doing it.

They might not, but for the first time in a long time, the Jazz can win it all.

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* GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 1280 AM The Zone. He can be reached at gmonson@sltrib.com.