The Utah Jazz, one of the oldest teams in the NBA, had a little more energy than the Bulls in the second half Monday night to win their eighth straight game, 87-79, at the United Center.
“Even though they’re old, basketball hasn’t changed,” said Bulls guard Chris Carr.
The Bulls led by as many as 10 in the first half and 48-41 at intermission. But Utah, winners of 13 of their last 15, outscored the Bulls 23-11 in the third quarter to assume control.
“Their ability to execute a half-court offense is supreme,” Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. “I don’t think there is anybody better execution-wise in terms of countering what you are trying to put in front of them defensively. There are basically four or five ways to play against the screen-and-roll. And they all look like they have seen it 1,500 different times. They have the ability to counter with pinpoint accuracy and split-second decisions.”
Karl Malone scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Utah. Bulls rookie Elton Brand had 26 points and 12 rebounds. But Brand turned the ball over eight times and the Bulls doubled Utah’s total with 24 turnovers.
“Elton needs to guard a player like Karl Malone. It’s a part of his development, because ultimately that is what he is going to have to do night in and night out,” Floyd said.
“What surprises me about their age is how hard they run the floor. And consistently they run the floor. Karl Malone still runs the floor like he is 23 or 24 years old. And I have never seen a guy put up the kind of numbers he has put up at his age. It is absolutely incredible. It doesn’t appear like he has lost anything.
“Those are a lot of the things we talked to Elton about. I think a lot of who [Malone] is right now is the result of what he did when he was 21, 22, 23 years old, in terms of his conditioning and his off-season commitment to his body.” The Bulls (13-49) shot well from the free-throw line uncharacteristically, connecting on 27 of 33 (82 percent). But turnovers, especially late in the game, led to their third straight loss.
John Stockton had 19 points and nine assists.
“I said earlier that I thought Sacramento was the best passing team in the NBA. I might qualify that now. Utah, I think, can pass more accurately, and most of their passes lead to shots. I have never seen a great passing team that wasn’t a great basketball team. And they are,” said Floyd.
Hiring freeze: Floyd said he is in no rush to hire a replacement for assistant coach Jim Wooldridge, who was hired as the head coach at Kansas State on Sunday.
“I am sure that I will get some phone calls,” said Floyd. “I will accumulate names and put them in a file, then check them after the season. Now is not the time to be interviewing. I don’t have time to talk to my wife right now. There is no real need right now to bring anybody in at this point. Jim will be missed, but we will probably tackle that maybe as late as after the draft.”
Case worker: An NBA grievance arbitrator is scheduled to meet with John Starks’ representatives Tuesday in New York regarding his request to be released from the Bulls.
“It might affect [roster decisions], but there will be other factors also,” said Floyd, who plans to activate Ron Artest and possibly B.J. Armstrong from the injured list before Wednesday’s game in Charlotte.
Ready to be wired: Floyd says he would have no problem being wired with a television microphone.
“I probably would be real excited, because that would mean we were playing on national television and our product would be worthy of national television,” said Floyd.
