During the 1966-67 NBA season, Jerry Sloan played for an expansion Chicago Bulls team that was expected to put up little fight against its opponents. Instead, the Bulls made headlines by finishing 33-48, the best record for an NBA expansion team, and qualifying for the playoffs.

Now in his 16th season as coach of the Utah Jazz, Sloan recalled that story to motivate his rebuilt team as this season began. The Jazz wasn't expected to play much better than an expansion team, according to many preseason predictions. Drawing inspiration from Sloan's former Bulls squad, this young and inexperienced Jazz team (42-38) is fighting for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference with the Nuggets (42-38). Two games remain for both teams.

"This team is no different than an expansion team I played on that made the playoffs," said Sloan, whose team visits Minnesota tonight. "You run into teams that take you lightly. That's an advantage sometimes, and you still have to win those games. They have been able to win a couple games that way.

"It just gives guys a chance to believe that they belong."

"Nobody expected us to win 10 games," said forward Andre Kirilenko, who is averaging team highs of 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. "We proved to everybody that we can play some basketball, and we proved to ourselves that we can play good quality basketball."

Said Sloan, a coach of the year candidate: "We weren't supposed to be fighting for anything except a lottery pick. Young players have to learn how to play. The more they get to play in games that are supposedly meaningful, they either succeed or get a good lesson."