This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If the Jazz intend to go anywhere in the coming years, the rebuilding effort must begin at home.
Only by re-establishing the aura that disappeared from EnergySolutions Arena can the franchise hope to make any progress this season and satisfy fans who need to have a certain amount of understanding during this process.
How much, exactly?
"It depends on our record," Jazz CEO Greg Miller said during an offseason when the Jazz became even younger. "If we're winning, then it won't take much patience."
The reality is the Jazz won't be winning a lot this season, which means where they win is important. Not to discourage them from competing on the road, as they open the season Tuesday against the Lakers in Los Angeles, but the Jazz's biggest, and most attainable, goal is rewarding their home crowd.
If the ticket-buyers are going to endorse the recent overhauling of the roster and any long-term strategy, they need to witness some signs of improvement. They got cheated last season, when the Jazz went 39-43 while delivering most of their highlights away from home.
The Jazz's 18-23 road record tied for the 11th best in the NBA, more than adequate for a playoff team. But they were only 21-20 at home, tied for 22nd. Beyond that, only a few memorable performances came at home: The Jazz scored the game's last 11 points against the Lakers, Deron Williams and C.J. Miles combined for 58 points against Orlando, and Gordon Hayward scored 34 points in the finale against Denver.
That's not much return for nearly 800,000 ticket purchases, and a 21-20 record was a major hit for a franchise that had gone 133-31 (.810) at home over the previous four seasons.
"I want to get back to where people hate coming to play here," Miles said.
Having taken over the team in February, coach Tyrone Corbin spent the summer trying to analyze everything. His analysis of the team's home-court demise? Good question.
"Traditionally, we've always been great here," he said. "For whatever reason, we just didn't get the results were accustomed to getting. … I can't put my finger on one thing. It was a weird situation last year."
Or, as Miles said, "There was never any turmoil like that. For everything to blow up that way, it was crazy."
Yet the Jazz already were wobbling at home, even before coach Jerry Sloan walked away and Williams was traded. The changes have just kept coming. During the 2008-09 season, the franchise's 30th year in Utah and 35th overall, a Tribune-commissioned panel ranked Williams (No. 7), Carlos Boozer (No. 9), Andrei Kirilenko (No. 12), Mehmet Okur (No. 14) and Matt Harpring (No. 18) among the Jazz's best players ever. They're all gone now, and who knows how long it will take any of the current Jazzmen to play their way to that level?
The turnover led Sports Illustrated to place the Jazz among "five intriguing young teams" with Denver, Indiana, Minnesota and Sacramento, although the "destined for the lottery" list would have fit them just as well.
The Jazz do have a promising future, with Hayward, Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Alec Burks and the potential of two more lottery picks in 2012. The issues are how long it will take them to get back to the playoffs, just how bad they will get before getting better and how their fans will view them during that process.
The oddsmakers' over-under number of Jazz victories this season, according to Bovada, is 25.5 — a .386 percentage, or the equivalent of 31.6 wins during an 82-game season. That's how far the perception of the Jazz has fallen outside of Utah.
It's up to them how they'll be regarded at home, where unconditional support of their recession and recovery would be asking too much.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
By the numbers
Oddmakers' over-under numbers for the 2011-12 NBA season, via Bovada:
Jazz wins • 25.5
Al Jefferson's points and rebounds averages • 19.0, 10.5
Devin Harris' points and assists averages • 16.5, 6.5
Paul Millsap's points average • 16.5
C.J. Miles' points average • 13.0
New Jersey's Deron Williams' points and assists averages • 20.5, 10.5
Sacramento's Jimmer Fredette's points average • 13.5
Fredette's season-high points total • 27.5