The point is not that DeShawn Stevenson cannot make a good one.
     
It's just that playing point guard in the NBA is no simple chore, and ? especially at 20 years old, without a lick of college experience on the r?sum? ? it's a task not to be taken lightly.

In Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan's ideal world, in fact, the position would not be force-fed on Stevenson quite so soon. But circumstances dictate that they occasionally must, and so far ? though he has a long ways to go ? the kid is catching on.
     
"His progression is very quick, to where he understands about playing both positions. He's getting better at it," assistant coach Gordon Chiesa said of Stevenson, who until recently had been the Jazz's starting shooting guard. "But don't forget: He should only be a college sophomore.
     
"Eventually, in his development," Chiesa added, "he'll have the ability to play, hopefully, both positions, and play them with a high level of skill."
     
In the meantime, the Jazz live the fate of a team that depends on youngsters much more than in the recent past.
     
With Stevenson and two rookies ? starting center Jarron Collins, and sometimes-starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko ? all getting significant playing time, Utah's road in John Stockton's 18th NBA season and Karl Malone's 17th has been rocky.