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In something of a startling development, the Utah Jazz get a home game, for the first time since Feb. 2, and return to the Delta Center in better shape than when it left. Speaking of startling developments.

The Jazz went away because of the Olympics, but didn't go away. It won six in a row on the road, the end of a run of nine victories in 11 games. The young guys continued to contribute, making this the first Utah season since the Eisenhower Administration that is about the future.

	The Jazz are getting a good glimpse of their future in rookie forward Andrei Kirilenko.

One of the old guys, Karl Malone, starred and had coach Jerry Sloan talking about best stretches ever for the Mailman, which is only totally noteworthy considering the standards that had already been established on the route. And, as if just to make sure there was some normalcy during a crazy time in the schedule, the Greg Ostertag issue remained as constant ever, which is to say he remained a constant pain for Sloan.

So what that most of those five straight victories were against the East. And so what that one of them that should have stood for an important benchmark against a contender from the other conference instead turned out to be a game against the Raptors. Nine in a row away from the Delta Center is still a major challenge, even with the All-Star break in there for rest and only three back-to-backs in the space of nearly a month. There were victories at Indiana, Philadelphia and Toronto, and all in a row. Only two of the opponents broke triple digits in scoring, the Rockets at the start and the Kings at the end.

In what was supposed to be the spring of their disconnect, the Jazz hung together.

In what was supposed to be the season when the bottom fell out, finally, the Jazz still stand for respectability.

"I'm worried every day I go to work," Sloan said. "There's no comfort zone. We're not good enough to just know we're going to go out and beat anybody automatically."

So the Jazz remain what it was at the beginning of the season, or at least should have been considered by anyone who was paying attention to something besides birth certificates: no threat for a playoff run, but still capable of being a regular-season factor in the West.

It's not just the part about the extended roadie, either. That time everyone figured Utah was going downhill faster than Bode Miller after four losses in seven games? One was bad, a double-overtime setback to Memphis, but the others were at San Antonio by four points, at Dallas by three and in Salt Lake City against the Spurs by six. No problem. Things turned real bad with the home-and-home against the Kings -- 113-80 at Arco Arena, 114-90 at the Delta Center -- but then that was followed by three consecutive victories, including against rejuvenated Portland.

They won't blow you away anymore, but at least they didn't get blown away by the schedule.

Did the nine games bring them together? No.

"It's overstating it," John Amaechi said. "That's a college-type phenomena. This team was already together."

Did the nine games show them anything they didn't know on the court? No.

Malone was already producing on offense and pushing his defense to limits that Sloan said was the best he'd ever seen from the Mailman. "He's been very good defensively," the coach said. "Everything about his game has been very good." Second-year guard DeShawn Stevenson had dropped off, but two of the other kids, Andrei Kirilenko and Jarron Collins, were as prominent as ever.

But did the nine games send a message to everyone else? Yes.

There's still room in Salt Lake City for basketball. There's still room in the middle of the Western Conference for the Jazz.

There's still the ability to stick it in everyone's ear.

"I don't know if I'd word it like that, because we're not that kind of team," Malone said. "But I always said we'd have our bumps and bruises. But as long as I have the energy to play at this level, we're going to be competitive. And as long as John (Stockton) is here, we're going to be competitive."

The great irony is that while the doubters were cutting to the quick with the last rites early on, suggesting the Jazz were too old to still hang tough in the ultra-competitive West, the truth is that the Jazz were too young. Never in memory has there been a Utah season like this, one in which the Jazz have taken a first real step on the bridge to the future, and that's why there were the four losses in the first eight games. For the first time, the Jazz had to learn how to win, with Kirilenko playing in the United States for the first time, Stevenson playing in the NBA for the first time in reality (given that his experience as a rookie was so limited), Collins being very much in the formative stages and Scott Padgett and Quincy Lewis also getting chances. That's how 4-4 isn't as bad as it seems because one of the losses was in overtime to the Bucks, two others were by four points each to the Lakers and another was by one in overtime to the Nets.

	“	It's a transition phase without a doubt. They don't want to own up to it. But I'll say it. I said it early in the season. If you're a young guy, this is absolutely the best situation to be in. ”
		— Karl Malone, Jazz forward

In the end, that's what will make 2001-02 so special, whether or not the Jazz reach 50 wins for the eighth consecutive non-lockout season. It's that the roster remained representative as the first step into the future, with the biggest dip to come when Malone and Stockton retire or Malone gets traded, which he still won't discount. This isn't a team trying to hang on, contrary to the common assumption. This is one moving ahead.

"It's a transition phase without a doubt," Malone said. "They don't want to own up to it. But I'll say it. I said it early in the season. If you're a young guy, this is absolutely the best situation to be in."

Stranger words rarely having been said about the Jazz.

But look. Team officials are thrilled about the development of Kirilenko, who arrived to summer league as the very raw, athletic small forward everyone expected but has already made major strides in gaining fundamentals, especially in becoming a much better defender in a little more than a half season. Padgett, finally making a big contribution in his third season, has been a major part of the success. Collins has only been infinitely more than the Jazz expected this soon, earning particular praise from Malone.

Meanwhile, Donyell Marshall returned after about a month on the injured list because of a bruised hip, hoping to continue what had been a very successful season just in time to become a free agent. Malone got the All-Star break to rest. The trade deadline passed, and so did the distractions. The kids were all right and some of the old guys, too, as everyone got ready to take on a new challenge.

Remembering how to get to the Delta Center.

Scott Howard-Cooper covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.