PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Tuesday, May 27, 1997

Dropoff by Karl Malone may help the cause

By CHRIS SHERIDAN

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY - Karl Malone hasn't yet received a congratulatory phone call from Michael Jordan. Nor has he earned one with his play in the Western Conference finals.

Malone has been performing a notch below his regular season standard, and his dropoff was extra notable over the weekend as the Utah Jazz lost two road games to the Houston Rockets to tie the series 2-2.

"I haven't played the kind of basketball I have to play. I'm due for one," Malone said. "Even though we've won, I haven't had the kind of games I need to have."

After grabbing only six rebounds in Game 3 and then complaining too few plays were called for him, Malone came out in Game 4 and took 28 shots, missing 18, and went to the foul line only two times.

Many of his misses were layups or 3-footers, and some said Malone looked timid.

"I wouldn't say he's tentative, I'd say he's trying to be as quick as he can be because (Hakeem) Olajuwon is back there and he knows that," coach Jerry Sloan said Monday. "Maybe he got a little more reserved. If anything, he's probably trying to be too quick."

Malone has scored 21, 24, 21 and 22 points in the four games, an average of 22.0. That's a considerable dropoff from his averages of 28.6 in the second round against the Lakers, 30.7 in the first round against the Clippers and 27.4 in the regular season.

Malone's many misses from close range contributed to 14 missed layups by Utah. Sloan was particularly upset about poor execution on Utah's final offensive play when the ball was swung to Bryon Russell instead of Malone.

Russell rushed a 3-pointer and missed, and Eddie Johnson won the game for Houston on the ensuing possession with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Because Malone beat out Jordan for the MVP award - and because many people think Jordan should have won - Malone's game is being picked apart and scrutinized like never before.

"He's been picked at pretty good in the past. People have always said: 'He's never won a championship, he's never won a championship," Sloan said. "But he has nothing to apologize for. A lot of people said this is upsetting Michael Jordan. Well Karl didn't vote for himself, and nobody in our organization disrespected Michael Jordan."

Malone wasn't sharing any new thoughts after practice Monday - the first time in this series he has avoided the print media. He did so by bolting to his 4-wheel drive vehicle with more determination than he showed the previous day driving to the basket.

On Sunday, however, Malone acknowledged the ongoing debate over his MVP selection.

"Michael never said he had any problem with it," Malone said. "Some people didn't like it that I got it, but a lot of the great players acknowledged me when I got it. That's what's important to me.

"A lot of guys that are jealous, they have nothing to be jealous about. They're jealous about the way I play."

Malone said he hadn't heard from Jordan, but he didn't think it was a big deal. He said the two are not close friends, although they occasionally speak to each other when the Jazz play the Bulls during the season.

Jordan has been nothing but complimentary about Malone's selection, although many people suspect Jordan wants to play the Jazz in the finals so he can prove the voters wrong.

Malone simply wants to get to the finals because he's never been there before. And he hasn't lost any admiration for Jordan despite beating his out for the MVP award.

"What he does every night, everybody guns for him and he comes out and still raises him game, even after all these years. So I have a lot of respect for him."

If Malone can lead the Jazz past the Rockets - Game 5 is Tuesday, Game 6 is Thursday at Houston and Game 7, if necessary, is next Sunday back in Salt Lake City - it might finally bring closure to the MVP debate.Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: