Youthful Jazz come of age

SALT LAKE CITY – It’s the middle of May and Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan still has some coaching to do.

His annual trek back to his farm in Illinois will have to wait because Sloan and the Jazz are back in the Western Conference finals for the first time in nearly a decade. Utah advanced by beating the Golden State Warriors 100-87 Tuesday to wrap up the series in five games and get a break before the next round.

The Jazz have survived a late-season slump that cost them homecourt advantage in the first round, won Game 7 on the road in Houston to advance and then beat the Warriors despite averaging 23 turnovers in the series.

Sloan sees some grit in the new Jazz, who haven’t been in the conference finals since John Stockton and Karl Malone led them there in 1998.

“In the past, when Karl and John were here, that was expected,” Sloan said. “Guys have to experience some difficulty if they’re going to learn how to play in tough games.”

Sloan, the farmer from southern Illinois, is a big believer in learning through experience. The Jazz had little of it entering the playoffs, but have had their mettle tested repeatedly over the past month and have passed often enough to keep the season going.

“I said a long time ago we have a young team that needs to grow up,” said 26-year-old Andrei Kirilenko, one of Utah’s veterans. “We’re still growing up. We’re getting to where we can have concentration for the full 48 minutes.”

Utah will play either San Antonio or Phoenix in the next round, starting early next week. That will give the Jazz time to rest after playing every other night against the Warriors since the series opened on May 7.

Sloan gave his players Wednesday off after they celebrated late Tuesday with their sixth playoff win at home in as many games.