Utah Jazz Notes

Here are the credentials of two Western Conference players who commissioner David Stern considered as replacements for injured All-Star Brandon Roy:

Player A averages 20.2 points, nine rebounds, 1.9 assists and shoots 49.7 percent from the field for a team with a 21-29 record, including 4-11 in its last 15 games.

Player B averages 19.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and shoots 54.5 percent from the field for a team with a 32-18 record, including 12-1 in its last 13 games.

The choice seems clear.

Player B deserves the All-Star recognition over Player A.

The only problem is that Stern (or whoever decides these things in the league office) selected the Clippers' Chris Kaman (Player A) over the Jazz's Carlos Boozer (Player B) to replace Roy in Sunday's All-Star Game.

Of course, Kaman did complain after not being originally selected to play in the All-Star Game, so maybe that got somebody's attention.

-- Steve Luhm

For the first time during their eight-game winning streak and 12-1 stretch, the Jazz were left less than satisfied with their play in Saturday’s 116-106 victory over the Nuggets, who played without Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

“We’re not too happy with this game,” Deron Williams said. “We’re happy we got the win, but at the same time, we wish we would have came out and played better.

“We had them down 17 in that first half and that’s when we should have jumped on them and put them away. They’re a tired team that just played in L.A. and won in L.A. They’re missing their two best players. It’s a team we should have put away early.”

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan seemed more impressed with the Nuggets battling back without Anthony and Billups than anything the Jazz did. “That shows you how strong their team is,” Sloan said of the Nuggets. “They’ve got a terrific team.”

Sloan went on to describe the Jazz as playing “selfish” in the second half, adding, “Some of our three-point shot selection was really questionable.” The Jazz went 5-for-17 from long range, including two misses by C.J. Miles as Denver closed within single digits.

Sloan described the Jazz as being foul-prone on defense and once again confused about shading players to their weak hands and not giving up the baseline on drives. “We’ve got to be stronger than that mentally, Sloan said.

“Sometimes when you have success, if somebody else makes a mistake, it’s just their fault, I never make one,” Sloan said. “You have that a little bit when you start having success.”

More Sloan: “The way we finished the game the second half, I didn’t think we played as well as we’re capable of playing.

“This team, they drove on top of the basket. You’ve got to come off your man once in a while and try to give help. It looked like we were stuck in the mud.

“Defensively, you’ve got to be consistent with that. I understand missing shots. But you’ve got to be better defensively than what we were.”

* * *

Lost in everything, of course, is what the Jazz did well in the first 2 1-2 quarters.

Williams pushed the ball and used a slick crossover to beat Ty Lawson for a layup down the lane in the first quarter. Andrei Kirilenko got behind the defense for layups and knocked down an open three-pointer off a seemingly endless look.

The Jazz hit 14 of 21 shots (66.7 percent) with 11 putbacks, layups or dunks in the first quarter. They scored 38 points in the quarter and forced Denver into eight turnovers. It was one of the best quarters the Jazz have played all season.

With Williams on the bench to start the second quarter, the Jazz stretched their lead to 17 off Ronnie Price’s follow-up dunk. Paul Millsap came off the bench to hit three jumpers and change hands quickly with the ball before tossing in a tough layup off the pick-and-roll.

The Jazz took a 66-55 lead into the second half, which Kirilenko opened with two three-point plays and a steal in the backcourt, then flipping the ball behind him to Carlos Boozer for a short hook and 19-point lead.

The Nuggets fought back, though, and actually had a look at a tying three-pointer that Anthony Carter missed early in the fourth quarter. Boozer helped finish off the Nuggets in the last two minutes with two putback baskets as well as a steal on Kenyon Martin.

* * *

Kirilenko seems to grow more impressive by the day since his return to the starting lineup. Williams described him as playing like an All-Star. Denver coach George Karl said Kirilenko looked like the player from three or four years ago.

“We’re a team where if you’re open and you’re aggressive, you’re going to be able to score,” Williams said of the Russian forward.

“And I think he’s just taken that upon himself. He sees that we need a third scorer out there and he’s taken it upon himself to go out there and do it and he’s doing it in a variety of ways.”

* * *

It was a tough night for a handful of Jazz players, most notably Kyle Korver. Despite shooting better than 60 percent from three-point range this season, Korver did not play for the second time in three games . . . on a night the Jazz were 5 of 17 from beyond the arc.

Mehmet Okur was 3-for-10 with eight points while Wesley Matthews went 1-for-8. “We have a couple guys who we’ve got to get going and want to get going consistently,” Williams said. “Once we do that, then I think we’ll be playing our best basketball.”

* * *

The Jazz can look ahead to Tuesday’s game against the Clippers as a warm-up of sorts for the second half of their season, when they will play 19 of their final 31 games on the road after the All-Star break. The Clippers lost to San Antonio on Saturday, shooting 41.3 percent and committing 21 turnovers, including eight by Baron Davis.

--Ross Siler

The Nuggets are going to be super-shorthanded tonight when they play the Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.

Just got word in the Hot Rod Hundley Media Center that Chauncey Billups, who made nine three-pointers and finished with a career-high 39 points in a 126-113 win over the Lakers on Friday night, won't play.

Billups sprained his ankle in the third quarter of the impressive victory over the Lakers.

The Nuggets will also be without Carmelo Anthony, who  has a sprained ankle and will not play. He averages 29.7 points per game, which ties him for the league-lead with Kevin Durant.

-- Steve Luhm

As expected, Carlos Boozer went through practice Friday and shootaround Saturday and plans to return for tonight’s game against the Nuggets. Boozer described his strained right calf as feeling “great” and plans to play regular minutes.

Asked if he ever feared he was going to be out through the All-Star break, Boozer said: “I talked to my doctors and they told me it wasn’t going to be that bad. It was just a matter of taking it one day at a time.”

Although he has a trip planned to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Boozer said he would be honored to be chosen as an injury replacement for next weekend’s All-Star Game if Denver’s Carmelo Anthony or Portland’s Brandon Roy cannot play.

Anthony has missed six games with a sprained left ankle and is not expected to play tonight while Roy has been out for 11 games with an injured right hamstring.

“If I do get the call, I’m going,” Boozer said. “If I don’t, I’ll be on vacation getting a tan.”

Williams, meanwhile, said he was looking forward to playing for Denver’s George Karl, who will coach the Western Conference team. Although the Nuggets are second in the conference, the Lakers’ Phil Jackson is ineligible to be the All-Star coach two years in a row.

“That’s a coach that I respect a lot,” Williams said of Karl. “I’ve gotten to know him over the last couple years. I think it’s going to be great. Hopefully, I can get some [playing time].”

--Ross Siler

I have not heard anything from the Jazz public relations folks, who promised to call if anything unforeseen happened, so I am assuming that Carlos Boozer participated in a closed-to-the-media practice on Friday morning without suffering a setback in his return from a strained calf.

Pencil Boozer into the starting lineup for Saturday night's game against the Nuggets.

Denver plays in Los Angeles tonight against the Lakers, and Kobe Bryant is reportedly going to play. That can't hurt the Jazz's chances against the Nuggets, who will tip off in Utah about 20 hours after their game with L.A. ends.

It should be a huge advantage for the Jazz, although coach Jerry Sloan downplayed the idea when talking to the media before practice.

Asked about playing back-to-back games, Sloan said, "I've always thought, as a player, I always shot the ball better the second [night] than I did the first. You don't have time to worry about what's happening. You just get yourself ready to go. I think a lot of teams play much better the second day than the first day."

---

The Jazz have won 11 of their last 12 games and it's obvious by the players' behavior on the court that they are having a lot of fun.

Andrei Kirilenko has been smiling for three weeks.

Boozer addressed the issue, saying,  "Winning makes it fun. But we're also playing together. You can see the trust out there. You can see us growing as a group of guys. We've all been around basketball our whole lives. We know when it's fun and we know when it's not. And we're having fun. We're working together as a group. We're working together and we're sharing the ball. We're helping each other on defense. We trust each other and, when you look behind you and see 12 guys have your back, that's when it's fun."

-- Steve Luhm