By Chris Ahl

1)Stockton and Malone. Sure, they're one year older, but everyone said the same thing in 1998. Their skills defy age and even at forty, both are upper-echelon NBA players that can out-perform opponents half their age on both ends of the floor.

2)Experience. With age comes experience and the Jazz have both. They bring in playoff-savvy performers to fill out their roster each year.

3) Defense. How soon people forget that the Jazz played up to the level of the Kings last year. All of the four games were ultra-competitive, most notably the Jazz stealing game two at Arco. They combatted the high-octane Kings with defensive prowess, and kept the games close. Winning games on the defensive end will be a huge factor for the Jazz.

4) Expectations. Around the country (again), there are none. While the big dogs of the West get the publicity, the old-timers in Utah will be able to sneak up on people all season.

5)Jerry Sloan. Lon Kruger, Eric Mussleman, Frank Johnson - who are these guys? In a league where teams spend decades looking for a decent head coach, the Jazz have found theirs. Sloan has a knack for developing schemes to outwit opponents and for getting the most out of his players. Somehow, this man's work goes unnoticed.

6) Andrei Kirilenko- This second year man could be a budding star in the NBA. He can score. He can defend. He can block shots (ask Doug Christie). If Kirilenko gets his shooting stroke down, the Jazz could have a third superstar for the first time. Ever.

7) Greg Ostertag- Yes. That Greg Ostertag. There is talent here. Ostertag worked hard to fight his way out of Sloan's doghouse last year, and thanks to solid play (and John Amaechi's disappearing act), Ostertag found his way onto the court at crunch time. He showed flashes of being a good center down the stretch next year. If he's motivated and focused as he was in the Sacramento series, teams will be forced to double Malone a little less.

8) Mark Jackson- He is aging and has regressed a step or two, but John Stockton just can't play 48 minute games anymore. Jackson will keep a veteran presence at the point even with Stockton on the bench. The Jazz will no longer be forced to throw an untested player like Rusty Larue into the fire when Stockton needs a breather.

9) The Supporting Cast- Matt Harpring is a swingman that can shoot and will fit in well with the system. Deshawn Stevenson is still only 21 years old and may be ready to make the same leap to stardom that Kobe Bryant and Jermaine O'Neal made. Jarron Collins held his own as a rookie starter last year. Curtis Borchardt is another post presence that the Jazz coveted so much, they traded for him. Calbert Cheaney, a veteran, will do his best Bryon Russell impression. The roster seems to fill out much deeper than last year.

10) Stockton and Malone- In the end, it all comes back to this dynamic duo. They will still employ the pick and roll. They will still get beneficial calls. They will still make that clutch shot in the final minute. They will still play winning basketball. And for the 20th straight year, they will still be playing come playoff time.