Time has a way of softening harsh memories. Just last week, I was thinking about the time I scored a basket for the wrong team. I actually laughed about it, which is strange, because it was so painful when it happened.

Time has a way of softening harsh memories. Just last week, I was thinking about the time I scored a basket for the wrong team. I actually laughed about it, which is strange, because it was so painful when it happened.

Similarly, I was watching the New York Knicks drive the lane and/or score inside repeatedly, Monday against the Jazz, and a thought occurred that I never expected: Bring back Greg Ostertag.

It scared me so bad I wanted to put a cold cloth on my forehead and lie down.

I didn't hate the idea.

Greg Ostertag?

Isn't that like wishing for a return of smallpox?

I know this is irrational. I have always been a critic of 'Tag, even though the coaches insisted he was a valuable commodity. I remember sitting in a construction trailer at Miller Motorsports Park, asking Larry H. Miller why he was bringing 'Tag back, after a one-year absence. The 7-foot-2 center had been tormenting Jazz fans for a decade prior.

Miller said if Ostertag could make the difference in three or four games that season, it could affect playoff positioning, so it was worth the risk.

I was thinking, 'Great, but what about the games he might lose for them?'

But the Jazz brought him back, anyway. He did block 66 shots, but that was way below Andrei Kirilenko (220). Meanwhile, the Jazz went 41-41 and failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Whatever difference Ostertag made wasn't enough.

I read the other day that at 36, Ostertag is looking to get back in the NBA. I won't go so far as to say he could help the Jazz at that age, but I am crazy enough to think the old 'Tag, in his late 20s, could have.

If you've been watching the Jazz this year, you know they have no interior defense. Opponents are roaring into the paint like it's an HOV lane. It happened consistently in the Jazz opener against Denver. The Nuggets got 54 points in the paint — 16 more than the Jazz.

The problem almost spelled disaster for the Jazz in their home opener against the L.A. Clippers. Chris Kaman scored inside with ease, which was expected. But Eric Gordon drove inside with ease, too, which wasn't.

Losses to Houston and Dallas were much the same. Dirk Nowitzki is a phenomenal player, but shouldn't someone have stepped between the Dallas star and the basket at least once?

Monday, the Jazz wasted a 21-point lead against New York, thanks to awful defense. Especially glaring was a string of Knicks drives to the rim.