"It's tough," he said. "It's tough losing at home and ending the season at home, especially for me. I'm getting to the twilight of my career and I only have a few more chances to do this. This is one that could have happened. There are very few people who can say they've won a ring in this league and I'd love to be one of those guys one day."
Harpring, who is in the middle of a four-year, $25 million deal he signed with the Jazz in July 2006, doesn't have any immediate plans to retire. He takes his career year by year, he said. It was clear Friday night that while his knees might ache and his minutes may dwindle from season to season, Harpring would feel like he had cheated himself of an opportunity to win an NBA title if he quit now.
A veteran of 10 seasons, two with Orlando, and one each with Cleveland and Philadelphia before he came to Utah in 2002, Harpring believes the Jazz have the talent to win it all.
"We definitely grew this year; guys played well, and I think we have a better team than last year. Personally, I think even more than the Lakers," he said. "We have a good group of guys here. That is just my personal opinion; I know we have the talent in this locker room. Sometimes it doesn't mesh."
Frustratingly, Friday night was one of those times. When the Jazz most needed to be in sync to push the series to a Game 7, they were out of sync, getting down by 19 before fighting back and losing 108-105.
"If we had just come out with the mentality we needed to, with our backs against the wall. . . . I know people say that all the time," Harpring said. "But we needed to come out fighting. We needed to play like we did in the fourth quarter in the first, second and third."
lwodraska@sltrib.com
