With his team having played three games in four nights, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan normally wouldn't have held practice Tuesday, especially with Deron Williams , Andrei Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer all injured.
But Sloan decided something had to change with the Jazz now 8-16 on the road and 1-11 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season, coming off Saturday's 122-108 drubbing at Portland. "I've got to do something to figure out how we can either get in a little better shape to win on the road, maybe go over a couple things and see how we're doing," Sloan said.
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Motivated man
The last two times he's visited Utah, Dirk Nowitzki has been involved in incidents with Jazz players that resulted in NBA suspensions. As a result, Paul Millsap has an idea of what to expect from Dallas' All-Star forward when he returns Thursday.
"I think he'll come out with it on his mind, come out just trying to attack," Millsap said. "He's going to be in attack mode all night. It's going to be hard for me to try to get out there and guard him, but I've got to make it tough for him."
Nowitzki scored 39 points and hit 16 of 20 shots as the Mavericks beat the Jazz in Dallas last month. The Mavericks lead the Jazz by two games in the playoff race, with Dallas hosting Portland tonight.
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Brown's take
Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor worked as an assistant on Larry Brown 's coaching staffs and remains a confidant to this day. With that in mind, Brown was asked Monday if O'Connor had commiserated about the Jazz's rash of injuries this season.
"For them to still be in the hunt with that kind of situation, it's pretty incredible, especially with the depth of the West," Brown said.
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Crowd control
Ronnie Price gave credit to Jazz fans for still showing up to Monday's game even after the news that Williams would not play with a bruised right quadriceps and swollen knee.
"Even though we had guys out of the lineup," Price said, "to see that our gym is still packed and crowded and people are still cheering, that's always a plus."
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Injury report
Williams did not practice Tuesday and received treatment instead. He is listed as day to day and could play Thursday if the swelling in his knee decreases.
As expected, the Jazz have ruled out Kirilenko for the four games remaining before the All-Star break after he had surgery Friday to remove bone fragments from his right ankle. Kirilenko could do some initial rehab and conditioning during that time.
The Jazz previously announced a four-week rehab program for Boozer following his Jan. 9 knee surgery. That would take him through Friday, but Boozer has not yet been cleared to start running again.
