Saturday report
My favorite part was how many people Deron Williams did talk to on his way out of United Center. Bernie Bickerstaff and Del Harris, both Chicago assistants, ran into Williams as he came out of the locker room on crutches and checked to see if he was OK.
A little farther down the United Center hallway, Williams stopped to talk with a woman who I presume has some connection to the league office/a sneaker company/whatever. Kirk Hinrich was walking out with his wife and baby and stopped to check up as well.
Who Williams didn't talk to were the two Jazz beat writers, two guys who have driven across Illinois the past two days on a three-game preseason trip that has felt more like five. Two guys who, for better or worse, are supposed to be the public's conduit to the team.
"I'm going to practice tomorrow," Williams said in response to questions about how he was doing after spraining his ankle. You can take that smart-aleck answer for what it's worth since the Jazz are off Sunday after traveling home late Saturday night.
I assume Williams is either scared about his ankle or wants to wait until Monday, when he knows definitively about how much time he will miss. But by blowing off the beat writers, all Williams did was generate more speculation about how hurt he is.
Here's a little perspective about sprained ankles: If Williams did suffer a severe ankle sprain, he's out for a month. Back when I covered the Lakers, Kobe Bryant suffered a severe sprain and was able to make it back in exactly a month.
Bryant had to basically treat the injury 24/7 to do so. When he came back, I'll never forget that his ankle was wrapped so tightly that he had to play with his shoelaces untied. He was probably 70 percent at best for those first games back.
Chris Paul suffered a severe ankle sprain in the 2006-07 season and was ruled out of a month's worth of games from the very start. That was about right: Paul suffered the injury Dec. 27 and returned Jan. 31.
There are three degrees of ankle sprains - - mild, moderate and severe - - and the distinction comes with whether there is no, partial or complete ligament tearing. The Jazz offered no initial assessment as to the severity of Williams' injury.
* * *
There was still a game to be played Saturday, although I wouldn't have blamed Jazz coach Jerry Sloan if he'd sat his starters the entire fourth quarter. Having seen one starter go down, it would have been disastrous to lose a second.
But Sloan did bring back Ronnie Price, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur in the last 6:13, giving the Jazz a crunch-time lineup that also included Andrei Kirilenko and Kyle Korver.
The biggest plays down the stretch came as Mehmet Okur drained an 18-footer a tick before the shot clock expired and Chicago's Derrick Rose threw away a pass looking for Joakim Noah in the final minute.
Roger Powell made it closer for Chicago, hitting two free throws and a three-pointer to bring the Bulls within five. But the Jazz were able to win and split these two games in Champaign, Ill., and the United Center.
* * *
Before the game, Sloan pretty much confirmed the obvious: C.J. Miles is going to start and Andrei Kirilenko is going to come off the bench for opening night.
"I've got to give [Miles] a chance to see if he's going to be able to play," Sloan said. "Right now is as good a time as any because we're not playing him in spots. We're trying to give him an opportunity to relax and understand what we're doing."
Sloan was happy with MIles' shot selection in Friday's game - - Miles nailed a three-pointer in rhythm that came as the result of an extra pass - - and thought Kirilenko was lively, especially with his block of Tyrus Thomas.
What Sloan wasn't willing to do was fully commit to starting Miles and using Kirilenko as a sixth man just yet. "I don't know if it'll be a consistent thing," Sloan said, adding that his lineups had not yet been tested in the regular season.
--Ross Siler
A little farther down the United Center hallway, Williams stopped to talk with a woman who I presume has some connection to the league office/a sneaker company/whatever. Kirk Hinrich was walking out with his wife and baby and stopped to check up as well.
Who Williams didn't talk to were the two Jazz beat writers, two guys who have driven across Illinois the past two days on a three-game preseason trip that has felt more like five. Two guys who, for better or worse, are supposed to be the public's conduit to the team.
"I'm going to practice tomorrow," Williams said in response to questions about how he was doing after spraining his ankle. You can take that smart-aleck answer for what it's worth since the Jazz are off Sunday after traveling home late Saturday night.
I assume Williams is either scared about his ankle or wants to wait until Monday, when he knows definitively about how much time he will miss. But by blowing off the beat writers, all Williams did was generate more speculation about how hurt he is.
Here's a little perspective about sprained ankles: If Williams did suffer a severe ankle sprain, he's out for a month. Back when I covered the Lakers, Kobe Bryant suffered a severe sprain and was able to make it back in exactly a month.
Bryant had to basically treat the injury 24/7 to do so. When he came back, I'll never forget that his ankle was wrapped so tightly that he had to play with his shoelaces untied. He was probably 70 percent at best for those first games back.
Chris Paul suffered a severe ankle sprain in the 2006-07 season and was ruled out of a month's worth of games from the very start. That was about right: Paul suffered the injury Dec. 27 and returned Jan. 31.
There are three degrees of ankle sprains - - mild, moderate and severe - - and the distinction comes with whether there is no, partial or complete ligament tearing. The Jazz offered no initial assessment as to the severity of Williams' injury.
* * *
There was still a game to be played Saturday, although I wouldn't have blamed Jazz coach Jerry Sloan if he'd sat his starters the entire fourth quarter. Having seen one starter go down, it would have been disastrous to lose a second.
But Sloan did bring back Ronnie Price, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur in the last 6:13, giving the Jazz a crunch-time lineup that also included Andrei Kirilenko and Kyle Korver.
The biggest plays down the stretch came as Mehmet Okur drained an 18-footer a tick before the shot clock expired and Chicago's Derrick Rose threw away a pass looking for Joakim Noah in the final minute.
Roger Powell made it closer for Chicago, hitting two free throws and a three-pointer to bring the Bulls within five. But the Jazz were able to win and split these two games in Champaign, Ill., and the United Center.
* * *
Before the game, Sloan pretty much confirmed the obvious: C.J. Miles is going to start and Andrei Kirilenko is going to come off the bench for opening night.
"I've got to give [Miles] a chance to see if he's going to be able to play," Sloan said. "Right now is as good a time as any because we're not playing him in spots. We're trying to give him an opportunity to relax and understand what we're doing."
Sloan was happy with MIles' shot selection in Friday's game - - Miles nailed a three-pointer in rhythm that came as the result of an extra pass - - and thought Kirilenko was lively, especially with his block of Tyrus Thomas.
What Sloan wasn't willing to do was fully commit to starting Miles and using Kirilenko as a sixth man just yet. "I don't know if it'll be a consistent thing," Sloan said, adding that his lineups had not yet been tested in the regular season.
--Ross Siler
1:52 AM
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