Who's that atop the Northwest?

Perhaps you might have.  But by that logic we should disqualify Phil Jackson and others.

Sloan coached the Jazz to 40 wins in 2003-2004 with *nobody* on the team.  Remember, they were projected to win less than 10 games and were considered in the preseason to be the "worst team ever".  He came in second to Hubie Brown.

900 wins and two finals or a 300% outstripping of expectations, either way he should have had one somewhere along the way.

You're probably right.  Funny though, that's what made them enjoyable to me.  I admitted earlier that I'm a fair weather fan when it comes to the NBA.  The reason being it has become a fast break, slam dunk and three point contest.  No fundamentals and entirely based upon superstars going showtime.  Sure it's an impressive athletic display but it barely resembles basketball.  I haven't watched ten minutes of the NBA in the past five years.

$0.02 and worth less than half that.   

The old Stockton/Malone offense was indeed effective, but I've always maintained that it had more to do with Stockton and Malone than the pick and roll. The biggest issue I have with Sloan is that he has, until this season, appeared unwilling to adapt to the modern game. He's always claimed that if it's a running contest, the Jazz won't compete. With Malone, Stockton, Hornacek, Ostertag, etc. he was probably right. He's now, with the exception of Matt Harpring, got a very young and athletic team who can run with the best of them. For the most part he appears to be letting them, and I'm impressed.

Look at the team stats so far, it's quite obviously still a team game as far as the Jazz are concerned. They're fun to watch this season and hopefully that doesn't change down the stretch. Plus they're winning without Kirilenko, which gives a lot of optimism about the future to this Jazz fan.

As far as "knowing it's coming but they can't stop it," Jazz fans have those frustrations too. Pay attention next time they play a team known for shooting 3s (Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, etc) and notice how the defense will always collapse to the inside to double team the guy in the lane, leaving the perimeter wide open, every damn time.