Utah Jazz Notes

After a slow start, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan knows the upcoming schedule gives his team a chance to get rolling.

Utah plays 11 of its next 14 games at home, starting Wednesday night against Toronto, which will be playing back-to-back after tonight's game in Denver.

"It would be great for us to get back on track and win some games and get some confidence back," Sloan said before practice Tuesday morning. "We've got an opportunity to do that here at home. Sometimes you can do it on the road but, when you've got home games, you'd really like to do it then."

The Jazz, who have had only one losing record at home in the last 27 years, are off to a 2-2 start at EnergySolutions Arena. They have beaten the Clippers and Spurs but lost the Houston and Sacramento.

"These games stick out a little bit more at this time of year, it seems like, especially if you don't win them," Sloan said. "But we need to win these games at home."

The Jazz come off a 107-103 loss at Cleveland. Besides the 113-99 win over San Antonio, however, it was probably Utah's best effort of the season.

"I thought we played pretty well," Sloan said. "I thought we competed harder."

Just three nights earlier, the Jazz got waxed in Boston by the Celtics, 105-86.

It wasn't that close and Sloan hopes it was the season's low-point.

"The Boston game, we got beat up pretty good," Sloan said. "But that's part of basketball. At least we fought back after that. It wasn't like we fell over. We kept fighting back and that's all you can do."

-- Steve Luhm