The Salt Lake Tribune – Mar 20, 2008 – Lya Wodraska and Chhun Sun – Asked about the significance of Utah’s franchise-record tying 19th home win on Monday and Jazz guard Deron Williams shrugged off the milestone.
“It means nothing,” he said.
He is wrong, and he is right.
It means nothing in the sense that for Williams, the most important thing is to win games and better Utah’s place in the playoff race. He doesn’t care if franchise records are set in the process.
But he’s wrong in that Utah’s 19-game winning streak does matter. Utah, with the best home record in the league at 29-3, has more confidence and more of an edge when its on their home court.
Think about it this way: Where do you like Utah’s chances of beating the Los Angeles Lakers better, at home or on the road where the Jazz are just 16-21?
It’s what sports psychologist John F. Murray refers to as a “physical acceleration,” that sets in with each win.
“Whatever we do tends to be repeated because that’s what you know,” he said. “It’s the definition of confidence. You are expecting the best and you become more efficient in the things that will continue the streak. You don’t have to force the issue because you have a feel of it.”
While Utah’s streak matches the longest for a single season, and is one shy of the record set for a streak that extends more than one season (20 from Feb. 26, 1998-March 5, 1999
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[due to strike Jazz played first home game on Feb. 5, 1999]) it pales in comparison to the longest home streaks the NBA has seen.
The longest home streak was set by the Chicago Bulls from March 30, 1995 to April 4, 1996, a record that came in an era when the Bulls were winning three straight NBA titles. Seven of those wins were in the 1994-95 season. The Bulls won 37 games in a row in the 1995-96 season before the streak ended with a loss to Charlotte on April 8.
Invincible was often how the Bulls were described during that time, and that is exactly how they felt, said former guard Steve Kerr, now the general manager of the Phoenix Suns.
“It was an amazing feeling of invincibility,” Kerr said. “You didn’t think you could lose. You kind of felt from other teams they sensed their fate.”
If the Jazz win their last nine home games, including tonight’s crucial game against the Lakers, it would give them 28 straight wins which would rank Utah’s run as the sixth longest in NBA history for a single season home winning streak. The Bulls’ 37-game streak is the longest.
“You kind of knew going in you were going to win,” Kerr said. “It was just a jolt that motivated you for the rest of the season.”
Whether it is blowing out good teams like Denver, coming back from big deficits to win or prevailing in the close contests, the Jazz have shown a similar confidence at home and opponents are aware how hard it is to beat the Jazz, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
“It’s a big edge,” Jackson said, thinking back to his run with the Bulls, and also of Utah’s current streak. “The Celtics had it in the 80s. This is a place that’s always tough to play. It gives them a confidence.”
It takes more than showing up and waving to the crowd during introductions, something Jazz coach Jerry Sloan hopes his team remembers, especially as they prepare for tonight.
“It doesn’t matter until we get this thing and try to win every time we step out there to get in the playoffs,” Sloan said. “That’s still a long road ahead of us.”

37: Chicago, Nov. 3, 1995-April 4, 1996
33: Orlando, Nov. 3, 1995 – March 19, 1996
31: Boston, Dec. 10, 1985 – April 13, 1986
19: Dec. 29, 2007 to current
19: Jan. 19, 1996 to March 29, 1996
19: Dec. 13, 1989 to March 3, 1990
17: Nov. 9, 1991 to Jan. 22, 1992
Most consecutive home wins
in professional sports:
NFL: 27 by the Miami Dolphins, 1971-74
NBA: 44 by the Chicago Bulls, 1995-96
NHL: 20 by the Boston Bruins, 1975-76
MLB: 26 by the New York Giants, 1916
www.sltrib.com/sports

Streaking Jazz

Most consecutive home games won in more than a single NBA season 44 – Chicago, March 30, 1995 – April 4, 1996 40 – Orlando, March 21, 1995 – March 19, 1996 38 – Boston, Dec. 10, 1985 – Nov. 28, 1986

NBA single season

Most consecutive home games won in a single NBA season:

Jazz single season

Utah’s longest home winning streaks for single season:

Fisher’s return, Part 2

In town for today’s game against the Jazz, Lakers guard Derek Fisher said Wednesday he isn’t sure what to expect from Utah’s home crowd. Maybe the fans will boo him, maybe they won’t, but he’s not taking anything personally anymore.

Dr. John F. Murray is a sports psychologist and clinical psychologist providing sports psychology and counseling services based in Palm Beach, Florida.

Defeat is a way of life for Shawn Faust – Mar 18, 2008 – Craig Belcher – Since 2003, hes been on the losing side hundreds of times and is likely to lose every game he plays this year. To make matters worse, every loss hes logged as a member of the Washington Generals has been consecutive and against the same opponent — The Harlem Globetrotters.

The games between the two teams are largely believed to be staged events, with the Generals playing the role of a helpless basketball squad victimized by the Globetrotters practical jokes and superior athleticism. But Faust, 29, a point guard for the Generals and one of their coaches, says the outcome of the contests arent predetermined.

“We try to win. We play hard. Every time we have the ball, we try to win, Faust says. Being a competitive guy, nobody likes to lose.

If Faust doesnt like losing, he must certainly be used to it by now. Sports psychologist John F. Murray, who counsels professional athletes, says that players normally go through a grieving process after a defeat. So after hundreds of humiliating losses to guys in pinstriped shorts, should the Generals should be on suicide watch during halftime?

Maybe it could affect you in other aspects of your life, Murray says by phone from Palm Beach, Fla.œI think if youre a somewhat intelligent individual who can interpret this … as your role, you can have some fun throwing the ball around. It like being an actor.

Faust says he enjoys his life as a General. Unmarried and without children, hes free to travel the world, and does so, playing about 200 games a year. Hes had offers to play in leagues overseas, but that would require him to adjust to another countrys language and culture. As a world-traveling basketball player, hes able to visit other countries and return home on a regular basis.

Its a priceless opportunity, he says.

The Colorado Springs, Colo., native is complimentary of his co-workers, the world-famous Harlem Globetrotters. On the road, though, he says the teams don’t mingle much. But if Faust, who played college ball at the University of West Florida, can’t beat them, would he consider joining them?

Not really. I kind of like to be the person people love to hate, he says, offering an unlikely scenario. One day we will get that victory and everyone will jump on our bandwagon.

Faust claims the Generals were only two points behind the Globetrotters at a recent game in Tupelo, Miss., when time ran out. He also cites a two-point loss suffered in France a couple of years back.

Maybe winning isnt everything. If these games are staged, as some believe, and if the Generals actually intend to lose the game, couldnt their inevitable defeat be seen as a successful achievement of a goal?

If youre trying to lose, and you lose, what great accomplishment is that? Murray says. œAnybody can fail. Just dont try. I dont see how anybody could see that as success.

The culture of losing is one the team, which allegedly hasnt won since 1971, appears to embrace. The spirit of competition seems absent from marketing materials for the team, which proudly displays their pitiful record on their Web site and on a team logo that portrays a General about to be dunked on by a Globetrotter.

Getting dunked on might be the least of your worries when youre playing against the world-famous Globetrotters. The teams juvenile-yet-still-hilarious antics include yanking down the shorts of the opposing team while they stand at the foul line. If Faust is weary of such antics or the whistled version of Sweet Georgia Brown, he conceals it well.

Thats what they do, he says. Theyre basketball players, but theyre entertainers as well.

Teams that play each other frequently are often able to discern each others weaknesses and shortcomings and exploit them. That hasn’t worked for the Generals and Faust says hes not sure why they keep losing.

Theyve got good players, good athletes, he says. I™ve been trying to figure out that for the longest.

Murray, who counseled tennis pro Vincent Spadea out of his long losing streak, describes the Generals’ role — the perennial Globetrotters foil — as an unnatural sports phenomena.

Theres some interesting psychology there, he says. It would be fun to talk to those guys and see what it’s like to lose day after day.

Faust will likely keep playing and waiting for a win that may never come.

That one victory would be worth all the losses you have to take, he says. It would be so great to get that win. Man, it would be great so say youre part of it.

The Harlem Globetrotters play the Washington Generals at the Richmond Coliseum at 3 p.m. on March 23. Tickets are $18-$92. Smart moneys on the guys in red, white and blue. 780-4970.

Dr. John F. Murray is a sports psychologist and clinical psychologist providing sports psychology and counseling services based in Palm Beach, Florida.