Utah Jazz Notes

Some quick thoughts from Jerry Sloan regarding tonight's opponent, the Houston Rockets:

Question: Without Yao Ming, who is out for the season after foot surgery, I assume the Rockets are playing differently? Is that true?

Sloan: "They play bigger than what they are. They are a tough team. They push the ball on you a lot. They take three-point shots. They are capable of scoring a lot of points and they put a premium of your ability to change ends."

Question: Does coach Rick Adelman deserve some credit for the Rockets' 2-1 start, which includes a 108-107 win at Golden State and a 111-107 victory over Portland?

Sloan:  "He does a great job. To see what he's lost and see what he's gained. He still keeps knowing how to put people out there who can play."

Question: One of the Rockets' strengths this season appears to be point guard, where they have Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry. Do you agree?

Sloan:  "They have added a lot to the way they want to play. Both of them can push the ball and they both get after you on the defensive end. They don't wait for you."

Question: I know you have always liked Carl Landry, Houston's Paul Millsap-like forward. Why?

Sloan: "He's a very tough guy. They have three guys -- Landry, [Luis] Scola and [Chuck] Hayes. They rotate them in there and they are tough. They are just hard-working guys. If you don't respect that, you don't respect basketball."

-- Steve Luhm

There’s been no more overblown story in my three years on the beat than the current one about the Jazz and Jerry Sloan moving toward a contract extension for the 2010-11 season, something that started out as 1 1-2 paragraphs in a notebook on NBA.com.

The Jazz, of course, have extended Sloan the invitation to return for a 23rd season. The idea that they wouldn’t is crazy with Sloan coming off his Hall of Fame induction and his stature as the only coach in NBA history ever to win 1,000 games with one team.

The idea, though, that Sloan is ready to make decisions about his future two games into the season is equally crazy. There’s no way for any coach to get a feel for what kind of team he’ll have or how his health will hold up to the rigors this early in the season.

The Jazz used to have a rule that Sloan never would enter a season without being under contract for at least one additional season in the future. That way, their players never would start thinking that the coach was a lame duck.

That changed the last two years, with Sloan signing one-year extensions to return at midseason. The first of those extensions was signed in December, the second in January, and there’s no reason to think things this year will happen any differently.

If the Jazz appear headed to a 30-52 season, I think Sloan’s going to have some decisions to make. Otherwise, he’s likely to return in 2010-11. Either way, he’s not going to have a clearer view of that future for some time.

In addition, Sloan reserves the right to walk away at any time if he decides enough is enough. A contract extension is only worth so much under those circumstances.

What’s most surprised me, however, was chief executive Greg Miller’s acknowledgment Sunday on KSL 5 that he has heard the criticism about bringing back Sloan.

That’s predominantly been driven on message boards and anonymous comments on newspaper sites, two places most team executives could care less about.

“I’d rather be criticized for being consistent and building on a foundation that’s worked for us over the years,” Miller said, “and try to improve on that than I would by being hair-triggered and just a flavor-of-the-month club.”

--Ross Siler

So, do the Jazz need a small dose of nastiness to compete at the highest levels of the NBA?

Do they have anyone who will stand up to an opponent like Carmelo Anthony when somebody is accidentally hit in the face with a message-sending elbow?

Andrei Kirilenko shrugged off the notion, suggesting the need for a reasonable response to aggressive, physical play by an opponent is a "media thing."

During his career, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was one of the toughest players in the NBA. He knows, however, that today's rules are much different than those governing the players in the 1960s and 1970s.

"There is a restriction on it now, compared to what it used to be," Sloan said. "That's just the way the league is now. They have put a tremendous damper on that sort of thing. Players can't afford to put themselves in that position because they suspend you for a long period of time and the guys make so much money it's a terrible loss to them."

When I asked Sloan if he feared that his team is capable of being bullied by an opponent like Denver, he nodded.

"I think we are a young team, first of all," he said. "Look at the age of our team and that's one thing that can happen."

Sloan believes the loss of nail-tough veterans Derek Fisher and Matt Harpring from the 2006-07 team that reached the Western Conference finals made a huge impact on the Jazz.

Said Sloan: "When we lost Fisher and we lost Harpring, that took away a lot of the toughness that we needed to compete on a steady level. They brought it every night with a tough attitude and a tough mindset -- if somebody bumps me I'm not going to quit. That's one of the things that has hurt our team a little bit. But our guys can overcome that if they'll stay with it and stick to it."

Time will tell.

-- Steve Luhm

I guess the Jazz did a pretty good job on Denver's Carmelo Anthony after all.

'Melo scored 30 points in the Nuggets' season-opening win over Utah. He followed up with 41 in an impressive victory at Portland and, Monday night, he scored 42 against Memphis.

Against the Jazz, Anthony might have set the tone for the MVP-like start to his season.

On an drive along the baseline, Carmelo planted an elbow in Andrei Kirilenko's face as he went to the basket and scored. Kirilenko staggered and walked up the floor, rubbing his cheek and chin. His teammates went about their business, too.

Interestingly, nobody confronted Anthony. Nobody said anything to him. I was left with the impression that bully had just kicked sand in the face of the the 98-pound weakling -- meaning the Jazz, not Kirilenko -- and nobody could do anything about it.

Anthony's elbow wasn't a dirty play, although I'm sure he knew what he was doing. Those kind of elbows happen in professional basketball. The thing is, the player/team on the receiving end usually shows a little more anger when they occur.

The other day, I asked Kirilenko if he considered confronting Anthony.

"I think that's more a media thing," Kirilenko said. "The media likes to create those kind of rivalries. Sometimes in a game things happen without our will. I don't think somebody really wants to hurt somebody. I think it's more game moment and you don't really pay attention. You got hit so you just try to stand up and play as aggressive as you can."

Without saying anything to your opponent?

"I don't think I'm going to tell him about it," Kirilenko.  "I'm just going to play hard and, anyway, it doesn't matter if he hit me or not."

Next time, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan responds to a question  about his team's toughness.


-- Steve Luhm

If you watch the Jazz enough, you know that coach Jerry Sloan likes to protect his starters from picking up a third foul going into halftime, usually substituting them out in the last minute or two of the first half in the hopes of avoiding second-half foul trouble.

He did as much with Deron Williams in the first half Friday against the Clippers, bringing in rookie Eric Maynor for Williams with 13.6 seconds left, but ended up apologizing for it after the game.

Instead of running down the clock for a last shot, Maynor drove the lane and had his shot blocked by Chris Kaman with 4.9 seconds left. The Clippers raced ahead, with Eric Gordon scoring on the break as part of a three-point play.

Rather than taking a lead into halftime, the Jazz went into the locker room tied 60-60. It brought back memories of Williams' three-shot foul on Chauncey Billups at the end of the third quarter of Wednesday's loss to Denver.

"I should never have taken Deron out at the end of the first half," Sloan said. "It was unfair to Eric Maynor to bring him in the game in that situation where they got a three-point play. 

"Fortunately, we won the game, and I'm sure that's something we'll learn from the next time we step on the floor - - not to leave any time on the clock, or let the clock run out, rather than trying to go a little bit too soon on the basket in those situations.

"But I take full responsibility. I should never have substituted him, especially in that situation. It's kind of unfair to him, so I apologize for that."

Maynor did score his first NBA points on a pair of free throws at the end of the first quarter, but he followed that by throwing away a pass on the Jazz's next possession.

* * *

In case you were wondering, the Polynesian group that performed the haka dance (along with Jazz mascot Bear) before player introductions was a group that included and was put together by a member of the game-night staff.

* * *

Greg Miller took the microphone and addressed the crowd before the opening tip, making mention that the family had "allocated unprecedented resources" this season in the hopes of bringing a championship to Utah.

Thanks, in other words, for opting in Carlos Boozer, leaving the Jazz with an $82 million payroll and $12 million in luxury-tax penalties. The Jazz did announce a sellout crowd of 19,911 for the game, though they'd promoted discounted ticket offers for weeks.

--Ross Siler