When the Utah Jazz takes the court on Thursday at Salt Lake City, against the Lakers in Game 3, there will be an empty, lost feeling, a sentiment having absolutely nothing to do with an emotional state of the series.
The emptiness won't only come from a courtside absence of a khaki-clad, auto-sales mogul but a loss of a larger-than-life, excitable presence in the huddle, and, at times, in the locker room.
Larry Miller, who owned the Jazz for 24 years, died on Feb. 20 of complications related to diabetes. He was 64.
"It is tough," said Jazz guard Ronnie Brewer. "Sometimes you still look over there where he used to be sitting and don't see him."
Brewer was talking Tuesday at Staples Center shortly before the regular-season finale against the Lakers. He told stories about how Miller was the antithesis of a detached corporate executive.
The team was not some fancy toy.
"A lot of people don't understand," Brewer said. "It was hard when he passed because, to me, a lot of owners in the NBA don't come to games or are they in a suite.
"You might see them if you make the playoffs, or a big game on ESPN or something like that. He was front row every game, screaming and cheering, getting on the officials."
That passion wasn't merely directed at the officials or the other team. Through the years, he would get after a Jazz icon such as Karl Malone, airing his discontent through the media, or Jerry Sloan, the old-school coach with a Clint Eastwood-like bearing.
"If we weren't playing well, he came to the locker room at halftime. If we weren't playing up to our potential," Brewer said. "He'd come in there and let us know. Even when Coach Sloan was talking, he'd cut him off.
"Coach Sloan did it because, I mean, that was his boss. And Coach Sloan would pick up from where [Miller] left off, 'Hey, I'm not just getting on you. Everybody sees it.' "
There wasn't just passion from Miller. Patience forged an interesting if, at times, uneasy alliance with his passion for the team.
All you need to do is look at Sloan's resume. He just finished his 21st season with the Jazz and was recently elected to the basketball Hall of Fame.
Sloan brought up Miller when he was talking with reporters in the hallway at Staples Center before Tuesday's Lakers game, noting he felt blessed to be able to operate with such longevity in what has become such a knee-jerk, quick-fix society.
