This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Jazz awakened Wednesday to a playoff position in the NBA's Western Conference standings, while enjoying their first .500 record since March, when they never even paused to acknowledge that status before continuing an epic slide to end the season.
They're getting better now, having won all three home games in 2011-12. Yet the Jazz's mild resurgence mainly is attributable to the succession of lousy, limping teams that have visited EnergySolutions Arena and the horribly inconsistent basketball being played in the post-lockout NBA.
Through 1/11th of the 66-game schedule, coach Tyrone Corbin described his mission as "mixing and matching, trying to find out who you are and create an identity we're looking for."
Who the Jazz are, exactly, is the issue.
I'm giving them one month to answer that question. Super Bowl Sunday is my official re-evaluation date for this team, following a home-heavy stretch that will tell us more about where the Jazz are and what they should be playing for this season.
Amid the flashes of goodness that second-year-players Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors and rookies Enes Kanter and Alec Burks have shown, it is too soon to write off this season, give them major minutes every night and look forward to the draft lottery.
"It's too early to define us," said veteran guard Earl Watson. "We're still in transition, but we're progressing the right way."
But the dilemma about who they are right now and what they want to be remains perplexing. Are they a young, developing team, not worried about this season's results? Are they capable of making the playoffs? With four rotation regulars between ages 19 and 21, are they playing for the future? Or with veterans (if not that old) Al Jefferson and Devin Harris as the focus of their offense and Raja Bell (who is old) playing the historic Marc Iavaroni role of token starter, are they trying to squeeze out every possible win?
Who are these guys? Only the marketing staff seems to know. The Jazz have launched a branding campaign with a "We Are Utah" theme. I like it, except that considering what's happening with the University of Utah's basketball program, some kind of disclaimer may become necessary.
Ute coach Larry Krystkowiak attended Tuesday's Milwaukee game — the former Bucks coach publicly was acknowledged as an ex-Jazz player — and witnessed a 30-percent shooting performance, which probably looked good to him. There's a lot of bad basketball going around in the NBA, even among good teams. Memphis scored 64 points at Chicago, then the Bulls scored 42 in three quarters against Atlanta, before somehow winning.
Nearly every team has produced an inexplicable performance or two, the Jazz included. What we do know about the Jazz is that by beating Philadelphia, New Orleans and Milwaukee, they've balanced their disastrous road efforts against the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver and San Antonio. They've come out of this opening stretch of six games in eight days appearing respectable.
They hardly resemble the Jazz of old — which is to say, two years ago. Their perimeter shooting is hopeless, with Kyle Korver and Mehmet Okur gone. The Jazz are shooting 27 percent from 3-point range, which will enable opponents to pack the paint. On the other end, though, a franchise that went years with Jarron Collins as its only shot-blocking threat leads the NBA with 45 blocks through six games, including 12 against Milwaukee.
Favors posted six points, seven rebounds and five blocks in 21 minutes, naturally making everyone wonder what he could do with more time on the floor. Answer: not as much as you may think, just yet.
His time will come. So will the Jazz's, although their self-discovery will take awhile.