For every NBA team that is on a roll, there is a team that isn't. That's why we need the doctor -- Dr. Jack Ramsay. Each week in Dr. Jack's Prescription, the Hall of Fame coach will analyze a team in distress, and offer a cure to what ails them.

This week: Utah Jazz

	Stockton

	Malone

The Symptoms
The Jazz (5-9) are off to its worst start since the 1990-91 season. They are 3-5 at home, where they were once nearly invincible. The only victories are over Atlanta and Seattle and Orlando. The fans, once known for their unbridled enthusiasm and support, and capable of filling the Delta Center with an ear-numbing noise level, are expressing their discontent with quiet apathy and an occasional chorus of boos.

The most damaging factor in this lackluster beginning is the Jazz's inability to handle the ball, a severe departure from what was a strength of former teams. Utah ranks last in the league in number of turnovers (18.4) and in the recent loss to Toronto, committed 25, which the Raptors converted into an eye-popping 37 points. The team's premier players, John Stockton and Karl Malone, average over 8 TOs per game between them.

The Jazz also allows 100.9 ppg (29th in the league), yield a .452 field goal percentage (22nd in ranking), and are 19th in the league in total rebounds per game (42). Those are ominous stats.

After the Toronto loss, Coach Jerry Sloan noted that most of his team's turnovers in that game were unforced and labeled his team's defense as "casual" rather than aggressive. John Stockton asserted that defense was the main concern -- especially against superstar quality players like Vince Carter (43 points). It should be noted that the Lakers' Kobe Bryant also lit them up for 39 and 38 points in wins, and Milwaukee's high scorers, Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson, combined for 60. Sloan concluded the obvious ... there was much work to be done.

	Ostertag

	Marshall

The Diagnosis
The Jazz are scoring enough points (96.6) to win. Malone and Donyell Marshall are among the best scoring pair of forwards in the game (just over 43 ppg). Rookie Andrei Kirilenko, a lean runner with a versatile, Tom Chambers-style, is getting about 8 ppg and 5 rpg off the bench, and nicely complements the MandM forward combo. The center position is still a soft spot with Greg Ostertag and John Amaechi, but should improve as Amaechi gets more comfortable with the Jazz' unique offensive style. In the backcourt, no one has really stepped up to fill Jeff Hornacek's shoes since he left at the end of the 2000 season.

Sloan has given Quincy Lewis first shot at it, but he's not taken advantage of the opportunity so far (about 5 ppg). John Starks is inconsistent as a backup there. Bryon Russell, off the bench at either the small forward or 2-guard, is the most reliable (7 ppg) and provides steady defense as well. Stockton and John Crotty take care of the point guard chores more than adequately. Both are heady, team-first players, capable scorers, and bulldog-type defenders. It's significant that in Utah's first two wins, Stockton had a total of 25 assists against only 6 turnovers -- an average of 12.5 to 3 per game. In the first 5 losses, he had 43 assists and 24 turnovers -- an average of 8.6 to 4.8, and a ratio of less than 2-l.

Defensively, the Jazz is vulnerable to fast break attacks and haven't come up with a consistent "stopper" -- especially at the 2-guard spot to handle players like Bryant, Carter and Allen. Both Malone and Marshall, the team's best rebounders, average less than 8 boards a game. No one else grabs more than Kirilenko's five recovered misses.

Although there's reason for concern among the Jazz faithful, it's far too early to write this team off. Stockton, Malone and Sloan have been successful in the NBA forever, it seems. They are great competitors. It should be remembered too, that the Jazz started 2-5 in 1990-91 and finished the year with a 54-28 record.

	Russell

The Cure