They Can All Do Without the Sideshow

SALT LAKE CITY —  What will the Utah Jazz do for Game 4 of the NBA finals after trotting out Michael Buffer for his trademark “Let’s get r-r-r-eady to rumble!” before Game 3, shooting off fireworks and releasing 10,000 balloons?

Heaven only knows, but players on both sides are braced for the worst.

“I don’t really like ‘em,” Karl Malone said of the rockets’ red glare. “Only thing they do is make my kids cry. . . .

“I guess they [Jazz management] did it and it worked throughout but that $10,000-$15,000 they spend on it, they can do something else with it, I think.”

Chicago Bull Coach Phil Jackson complained about it. Nor does Jackson like the Delta Center seating, which has fans next to the bench, even if he did get to sit next to Sen. Orrin Hatch.

“The West does this often,” Jackson said. “Seattle does it. Where else, guys? There’s a couple other places where they have the fans sitting on the bench with you.”

How about the Forum, where opposing coaches sit about two over from Jack Nicholson and Lou Adler?

“I think it’s real crazy,” Jackson said. “The bench is the bench, it’s where you’re supposed to be doing your work for the basketball game, but they like to sell those seats here. It’s hard for the players, it’s hard for the coaches.”

However, fans’ proximity is not expected to stop Jackson from going to a Western Conference team if he needs a job a year from now.

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Malone will stick with his Game 3 routine, letting Karl Jr. pick one of dad’s three motorcycles to ride to the game. “I wanted to own one for 20 years and no one had ever let me get one,” Karl Sr. said. “My mom wouldn’t, my college coach wouldn’t and when I first got here, before I got to be the Mailman, Larry [Miller, Jazz owner] and them wouldn’t let me get one.”

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With the Bulls leading the flaying of Dennis Rodman for his Game 3 no-show, Jackson notes Rodman usually comes ready, if he arrives by a different route.

“There’s a psychological process that you go through to get yourself ready to play and Dennis is a master at doing that,” Jackson said, “a lot of times, to the bewilderment of the rest of the team.

“He has taken a shower about 35 minutes before the game. . . . Usually, he’s the last one out of the locker room, [with] about 15 minutes to go.”

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One injury: The Bulls’ Ron Harper suffered a bruised shoulder in Game 3, but Jackson expects him to play.

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Utah Coach Jerry Sloan, on the arrival of Greg Foster, who played at two colleges, UCLA and Texas El Paso, plus five pro teams:

“He’s been a number of places, but he’s helped us where we needed it. Playing with Karl Malone, if you have guys who shoot the ball out on the perimeter, it makes a big difference.

“Karl draws a lot of attention, they’re concerned about him, they know he can get to the basket, and if you can make shots out on the perimeter it’s like any team. If you have a guy who plays inside, you have to still make shots outside if they take that away from you, if they double you.”

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NBA Finals

Bulls lead best-of-seven series 2-1:

* Game 1: Chicago 84, Utah 82

* Game 2: Chicago 97, Utah 85

* Game 3: Utah 104, Chicago 93

* Tonight--at Utah 4:30

* Wednesday--at Utah 6 p.m.

* Friday--at Chicago 6 p.m.-x

* June 15--at Chicago 4:30 p.m.-x

x-if necessary