The psychology instructor had just finished a lecture on mental health and had proceeded to give an oral quiz to the freshman class.

Speaking specifically about manic depression, the instructor asked, “How would you diagnose a patient who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits in a chair weeping uncontrollably the next?”

A young man in the rear of the room raised his hand and answered, “A basketball coach?”

Like this old but favorite joke, we’ve all witnessed Sloan exhibit the former behavior on the Jazz sideline. But the latter would be unthinkable…right? Maybe one of the players, but never tears from Sloan. Still his emotions are probably in conflict during this pre-season. He is all about the fundamentals, and while there have been some good moments, there are a few concerns.

Last year, through the first six games of the pre-season, the Jazz had 266 total rebounds as compared to 253 this year. And this year’s number was skewed a bit by the 55 we got in the game against the Pistons. Rebounding was the area the team excelled in last year, leading the league in rebound differentials at 5.48 per game. I’m a little nervous that total rebs are lower rather than higher so far.

In the turnover category, the team has had 116 turnovers so far, with a whopping 28 against Phoenix. There has been a lot of wild ball handling (can you call it handling when really you aren’t?) and some seriously sloppy play. There were another 22 TOs last night against the Kings. On the other hand, we had 120 at this point last year. I guess I gotta call that an improvement.

I mitigate my anxiety by telling myself that Harpring (Matt’s always been one of my favorite players) isn’t even playing, and Boozer only barely got here. It’s early, and the real season is still before us. I just don’t want to end up spending the year like that manic depressive.