Utah Jazz Notes

I wonder if Ronnie Price has ever heard of Wally Pipp?

The way Jazz rookie Eric Maynor is playing, Price and Pipp might end up having something in common.

Pipp is the former major-league first baseman who despite an otherwise accomplished career became famous for not playing.

On June 2, 1925, New York Yankee manager Miller Huggins benched Pipp and replaced him in the starting lineup with Lou Gehrig. Huggins was trying to shake up a lineup that had been struggling to score runs.

As it turned out, he helped make baseball history.

Gehrig ended up playing 2,130 consecutive games for the Yankees, on his way to the Hall of Fame. Pipp, a two-time American League home run champion, ended up being traded to Cincinnati.

What's happening with the Jazz, I think, is akin to what happened at Yankee Stadium 84 years ago.

I'm not suggesting Maynor is going to end up in the Hall of Fame but, at this point, I believe Price is going to have a difficult time reclaiming his job as Deron William's primary back-up.

Price has not played since suffering a sprained toe on Nov. 9 in New York. Two days later, Williams was called home to help tend to a family medical situation.

Without any other option, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan handed the basketball to Maynor, who had played a grand total of 31 minutes in Utah's first eight games.

The rookie has proceeded to play like Lou Gehrig.

O.K., maybe that's a stretch. But watching Maynor average 17.3 points in the last three games makes you wonder how he ever slipped to the Jazz, who grabbed him with the 20th pick in the first round of last summer's NBA draft.

Maynor even had an impact in Wednesday night's 104-91 win over Toronto, despite the fact Williams returned to the lineup. He scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, when the Jazz held off a Raptors' rally and pulled away in the final minutes.

Meanwhile, Price sat behind the Jazz bench in street clothes, wondering when he will be able to play again and, when that time comes, how Sloan can possibly work three point guards into his regular rotation.

It might not happen, and keeping Maynor on the bench at this point seems unlikely.

When I asked Sloan about Maynor's almost shocking improvement since he starting getting more than sporadic playing time, he shrugged.

"Eric has done well," Sloan said. "He's stayed focused on working at the things he needs to work on: No. 1 his body and his strength. That's how you get another chance."

Maynor spent the entire fourth quarter against Toronto playing with Williams in the Jazz backcourt. Their effectiveness together cannot be overstated.

"I loved it," Maynor said. "Whoever gets it can push it. We're thinking the same out there. We're both pure points guards, so we can be thinking the same. ... For us to be in the game together, I think it's great. You've got two point guards out there controlling the game."

-- Steve Luhm

Carlos Boozer punctuated Wednesday's victory by slapping the backboard after his follow-up dunk with 2:53 remaining, drawing an immediate (and automatic) technical foul. He joked after the game about last trying such a move when he was 17.

“It’s worth it, though,” Boozer said of the technical. “I’m having fun out there. My teammates are having fun. It got my teammates hyped, it got the crowd hyped. That’s part of basketball. I mean, you get T’s like that, that’s the fun part of basketball.”

--Ross Siler

Almost exactly a year ago, the Jazz went into San Antonio on Nov. 21, 2008 determined to end their long Alamo City losing streak against a 5-6 (at the time) Spurs team missing Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Instead, they were absolutely crushed. The Spurs trashed the Jazz 119-94 with Roger Mason hitting seven three-pointers and scoring 29 points and rookie George Hill adding 23 off the bench. San Antonio went 15 of 25 from beyond the arc in the game.

In other words, don’t go into Thursday’s game expecting the Jazz to break their 20-game (23 counting the playoffs) losing streak in San Antonio. It’s better to come away with a feeling of pleasant surprise if and when it happens.

The Jazz are 0-13 all-time at AT&T Center (0-16 including the playoffs). “It’s just tough to look back over 13 or 14 years and haven’t won a game there,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. For the record, the Jazz last won in San Antonio on Feb. 28, 1999.

Have to say, though, the Spurs look vulnerable, giving up 113 points to the Jazz earlier this month and losing at home to Oklahoma City on Saturday. Ginobili and Parker already are out Thursday, though having Richard Jefferson could be a life saver for the Spurs.

You also wonder if the Jazz will regret not having put away Toronto earlier Wednesday. Deron Williams had to play 43 minutes while Carlos Boozer logged 39.

I don’t have the exact numbers in front of me, but I think the Jazz’s losing streak in San Antonio might be the second- or third-longest for any one team against another in the league, after Milwaukee’s streak in Phoenix and Golden State’s in San Antonio.

* * *

Nobody’s really talked about it, but Carlos Boozer has been sensational the last three games. Boozer’s posted 20-10 numbers in all three and is averaging 23.7 points, 14 rebounds and 0.3 backboard-slaps-after-follow-up-dunks in that time.

Boozer is shooting 29 of 51(56.9 percent) and had 22 points and 18 rebounds against the Raptors. From where he was to start the season, Boozer has come remarkably far in barely a month.

* * *

With Mehmet Okur out with flu-like symptoms, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan opted to start Kyrylo Fesenko against the Raptors. Fesenko had three points and five rebounds in 19 minutes but Sloan offered some pointed criticism after the game.

“Fes had some good moments out there,” Sloan said, “but this is what you talk about. Everybody wants to play, but you’ve got to pay the price to get in shape.

“He couldn’t catch the ball after he got tired. The ball was all around his head. He’s got to be able to stay with it and work a little harder, get in better shape, so he can get more playing time.

“He can be a factor, as big as he is - - and he showed that to start - - but you’ve got to have that kind of play all the time if he’s going an effective player.”

* * *

The Jazz won despite missing 7 of 22 free throws in the second half. They benefited from being able to play from ahead all night after an incredible first quarter in which they shot 61.5 percent and built an 18-point lead.

It seemed like everything the Jazz touched was going in the basket that quarter. Even when  Williams forced up a jumper to beat the shot clock, Boozer came up with an easy putback. Boozer also beat the shot clock himself with a baseline jumper.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter and Sloan was happy that the Jazz didn’t panic after watching their big lead trimmed to one. In fact, he praised Eric Maynor and Williams with getting the Jazz in their offense.

“If you’re running haywire all over the place, then you don’t have anything,” Sloan said.

--Ross Siler

The Jazz again will be down to just nine players for Thursday's game at San Antonio. Neither Mehmet Okur (flu-like symptoms) nor Ronnie Price (sprained left big toe) will be making the trip, the team announced before Wednesday's game against Toronto.

Okur took part in Wednesday’s pregame shootaround but missed the game against Toronto. He was not believed to be suffering from the H1N1 flu, according to early indications. Kyrylo Fesenko will make his third career start in Okur’s absence.

Price continues to be bothered the toe injury he suffered in a Nov. 9 victory over New York. Thursday's game will be the fifth consecutive missed by Price, who has undergone two MRI exams and saw a specialist Wednesday.

Deron Williams was planning to make the trip to San Antonio, despite his daughter's recent health concerns.

--Ross Siler

If you were paying attention last spring, you might remember a two-month stretch in which the Jazz caught a dozen teams arriving in town on the second night of back-to-back sets. It was part of the reason the Jazz’s success in January, February and March seemed at least partially like a mirage.

They’ll catch the Toronto Raptors tonight in the second game of a back-to-back set, but won’t have as much luck during their upcoming six-game homestand. Detroit will have two days off before arriving in Utah. Oklahoma City will have a day off. Chicago will have two. Indiana will have one.

Only Portland, which visits Nov. 28 after hosting Memphis the night before, and the same Grizzlies, who visit Nov. 30 after playing the Clippers in Los Angeles the night before, will be making the second stop of a back-to-back in Utah.

The Jazz have preyed on teams in such circumstances in the past, but this season might be a different story, if recent home losses to Houston and Sacramento are any indication. The Jazz also have to find a way to capitalize on this upcoming stretch, given how difficult their schedule after the All-Star break will be.

As for the Raptors, they’re coming off a loss to Denver in which they gave up 130 points on 61.5 percent shooting. That definitely catches your attention. This is their final stop on a four-game trip. They’ve been swept by the Jazz the past four seasons. You can see the stars aligning, for sure.

“They score a lot, too, though, and they’re one of the best three-point shooting teams in the league,” Carlos Boozer said.

“So for us we know we’ve got to get back and do a good job defensively. They have a lot of guys that can put the ball in the hole, they have a lot of guys scoring a lot of points right now. They may give up a lot, but they score a lot, too.”

--Ross Siler