"It's true that Tracy McGrady is 0-for-5 lifetime in the first round and that Kirilenko is back in Utah's lineup now to harass him, but it's also true that none of T-Mac's previous teams has ever been as deep or feared as this one," Stein added. "I'm betting it winds up even more true, by series' end, that the Jazz have more trouble trying to guard Yao Ming than the Rockets have with Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur."

Whether the Jazz have an answer to that — or whether they'll end the series with eyes covered, and questions abound — remains to be seen.

Until it is, ring fingers — or at least first-round win digits — await with hope.

"The mentality now is basically you've got to steal one," said veteran forward Matt Harpring, who — despite the Jazz's late-season slide — thinks Utah can indeed overcome the naysaying of its doubters.

"I think the playoffs are gonna be a different type of game. I really do. I really believe that. I think our style of play helps us in the playoffs," he added, "because we've kind of played the same style all year, and we run an offense. We don't run-and-gun, we don't play a pick-up style game. We work the clock.

"I wouldn't call us 'a great team,' but we have the potential to be a good team, and we've shown we can beat Houston (winning the regular-season series 2-1), so we're looking forward to it."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com