Utah Jazz Notes

Thought you might like to glance at the Jazz-Spurs story by Jeff McDonald in Thursday morning's San Antonio Express-News.

Note Tim Duncan's reference to the Jazz's always-physical style of play.

Obviously, coach Gregg Popovich hasn't made the Spurs watch any Jazz tape lately:

SALT LAKE CITY — There are times when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich can't help but feel overwhelmed by the crush of modernity.

He is an old-school coach and an older-school guy, the type who would rather get his news from CNN than a PDA, doesn't care to know how to check his cell phone voice mail, and still thinks of a “tweet” only in terms of avian communication.

That's why it is comforting, a handful of times each year, when Popovich can look down an NBA sideline and see one time-worn face that seemingly never changes, crooked nose and all. In a fleeting world, thank goodness for death, taxes and Jerry Sloan.

“You know exactly what you're going to get,” Popovich said. “Every single game, every single year.”

Sloan has been on the Utah bench for 22-plus seasons, calling for the same steady diet of pick-and-rolls and preaching the same basketball-as-a-wrestling-match philosophy since John Stockton was in short shorts.

Popovich and Sloan, the NBA's two longest-tenured coaches, renew their relationship tonight at Energy Solutions Arena, in a game that kicks off the stoutest early-season test of the new-look Spurs to date.

After venturing into Salt Lake City, where the Jazz were 33-8 last season, the Spurs travel to Portland on Friday for a game at the Rose Garden, where the Trail Blazers were 34-7.

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili did not downplay the significance of the trip.

“Huge,” Ginobili said. “Two really tough opponents that always give us trouble, back-to-back, on the road. They're going to be really tough games to win. They are good squads, and in their building, they are even stronger.”

The Blazers, especially, tend to ride the crest of their home crowd dramatically.

Led by scoring star Brandon Roy, forward LaMarcus Aldridge — fresh off a lucrative contract extension — and one of the league's deepest benches, the youthful Blazers are a handful for visiting foes. Portland's home mark was second-best in the Western Conference last season, trailing only the L.A. Lakers.

“A lot of times with young teams, you see that,” Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. said. “They've got great talent, one of the most talented teams in the league. So their fans get behind them, and they get juiced.”

The Spurs' first attempt at negotiating a back-to-back this season did not go well. After routing New Orleans at home to open the season Oct. 28, the Spurs came out flat in Chicago the next night and lost 92-85.

“It was really bad,” Ginobili said. “We didn't play good at all. We didn't bring that energy we need to beat any team.”

With four days off since their last game, energy should not be a problem for the Spurs. Their two opponents, backed by two of the league's more raucous home crowds, could be.

Before the Spurs can get to Portland, where they haven't won since April 6, 2008, they must first make a stopover in Utah.

Despite a hot start from Deron Williams, Utah has struggled out of the gate, going 1-3, including a rare home loss to Houston. After that game, Rockets rookie Chase Budinger wondered what all the EnergySolutions Arena fuss was about.

Tim Duncan, who has received his share of lumps in Utah during his 12-plus seasons, knows better than to question the Jazz's home aura. Visiting teams know what is in store “every time,” he says.

“You're going to get beat up,” Duncan said. “It's going to be a very physical game. There are going to be a lot of fouls. That's set in stone from the get-go.”

It's a hard-nosed approach to the game that Sloan has instilled in his roster since the 1980s. For an old-school guy like Popovich, that consistency can be a comforting thought.

“He is a great coach,” Popovich said. “The discipline and work ethic they display night after night is always the most impressive in the league.”