Utah Jazz Notes

The most important thing the Jazz must do to have some success on their upcoming road trip to New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Cleveland is shoot better  from the outside.

Sacramento exposed the Jazz's inability to consistently make shots during its 104-99 win Saturday night. The Kings went to the zone, the Jazz failed to get the ball inside and Sacramento rallied from a 15-point deficit.

In one 20-minute stretch -- from early in the second quarter to late in the third quarter -- the Jazz converted only 11 of 38 possessions. They made seven baskets and were outscored by Sacramento, 57-23.

The Jazz ended up 5-for-15 from the three-point line, but that's misleading. Memo Okur and Deron Williams knocked down three-point shots in the final seconds. Up to that point, the Jazz were 3-for-13.

Since going 6-for-10 in the opener at Denver, the Jazz have gone 15-for-53 from the three-point line as a team. That's 28 percent ... and that's why the Jazz have missed Kyle Korver and C.J. Miles.

Combined, Korver and Miles shot almost 37 percent from the three-point line last season.

"... If you make shots," coach Jerry Sloan said, "then the game comes a little bit better for you. When we brought Kyle Korver here, he gave us a guy that could help spread things out a little bit more. Teams had to guard him and that makes the game a little easier for our bigger people because there is a lot more space for guys around the basket."

Sloan cites Tim Duncan and the Spurs as an example of a team where the outside shooters help their dominant low-post player score.

"... You look at San Antonio's team -- with the guys they put out there who can make three-point shots," Sloan said. "Duncan has a lot of leeway in there and you can't handle him most of the time one-on-one. So you make a decision -- and hope they aren't making threes or moving the ball well."

Closer to home, Sloan offers another example.

"Karl Malone had a lot more space to work with when we got Jeff Hornacek," he said. "I don't know why it works that way."

-- Steve Luhm