Utah Jazz Notes

Here are coach Jerry Sloan's answers to three major questions after Sacramento's 104-99 win Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena:

Did the Jazz's dull effort against Sacramento surprise him, in the wake of their energetic win over San Antonio on Thursday night?

"It surprised me. You have to give that team credit,  but I thought we'd come with a lot more energy. We had energy for a little bit and it looked like we were going to be in pretty good shape. Then all of a sudden we started taking [bad] shots and not executing our offense. Pretty soon they put some guys out there we didn't defend very well and they made some shots and got themselves going and had confidence and got back in the ball game. And you could see it building on them because their energy level picked up a lot in the second quarter."

What happened in the third quarter, when the Kings scored 19 straight while turning a 60-55 deficit into a 74-60 lead?

"We weren't guarding anybody. And it looked like we were pouting a little bit here and there because things didn't go our way. And we didn't have energy. That's why I moved some guys around. But we didn't seem to come up with any answers. ... We can't play one quarter and take one quarter off."

Why were the Jazz so ineffective against Sacramento's zone defense, which coach Paul Westphal employed after Utah built a 39-24 lead early in the second quarter?

"We couldn't make shots. When you play against a zone you have to make shots ... [And] some of the time we weren't really executing what we do against a zone. There were two or three times when they first put the zone on that we didn't see the guy open in the middle of the lane. We swung the basketball a little quick ... Their confidence level built up a little higher and we lost confidence in our ability to make shots."

-- Steve Luhm

Sandwiched between an emotional win over San Antonio on Thursday and the start of next week's four game road trip, the Jazz face a prototypical "trap game" tonight against injury-plagued Sacramento.

Clearly, the idea of avoiding a letdown against the 1-4 Kings is on the Jazz's mind.

"Coach talked to us about that," Carlos Boozer said after the morning shootaround. "He said, 'Listen, don't overlook these guys. What we did the other night is what we can do every night if we put our minds to it and put the effort into it.'

"So tonight's a big game --  to see if we can keep playing like we did against San Antonio. We want to built on what we did the other night and not take a step back. We want to take another step forward."

We'll see what happens.

-- Steve Luhm

A quick note from the Jazz's shootaround on Saturday morning at EnergySolutions Arena.

The Kings' best player, shooting guard Kevin Martin, will not play tonight. He has a fractured wrist and will undergo surgery next week. He's expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

It's a huge loss for the Kings, who are already playing without Francisco Garcia. He suffered a broken arm in the preseason when one of those giant exercise balls exploded during a weight-room workout.

Don't strange things always happen to teams which can least afford it?

Through five games, Martin was averaging 30.6 points. He has always played well against the Jazz, too.

Because of the injuries, new Sacramento coach Paul Westphal will start veteran Beno Udrih and rookie Tyreke Evans in the backcourt.

The Kings were the statistical favorite to get the No. 1 overall pick in last summer's draft. Instead, the ping-pong balls failed them and Sacramento ended up with the No. 4 pick, where they took Evans.

So far, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound point guard averages 11.2 points and 3.6 assists.


-- Steve Luhm

Had to laugh in the first quarter Thursday when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich watched his team give up consecutive baskets and called timeout with 4:19 left. That was barely a minute after a television timeout with 5:34 remaining.

In other words, Popovich was being the anti-Jerry Sloan from Tuesday’s loss in Dallas. It should be noted, though, that the Spurs were outscored 7-2 after Popovich’s timeout and 14-8 the remainder of the quarter.

Just something to think about the next time we have one of these Sloan timeout mini-controversies in the future.

* * * 

Not only did Carlos Boozer finish with 27 points and 14 rebounds, he started his Defensive Player of the Year campaign as well. Boozer had two steals, two blocks and twice tied up Tim Duncan for jump balls in the first half.

For whatever reason, Boozer seems to play well against Duncan. “Any time you play good defense against a great player like Tim Duncan, you build off that and you get confidence,” Boozer said.

It was a huge night for Boozer, who was greeted by boos after he was short on a jumper three minutes into the game. By the end of the night, Boozer’s announcement as the Workers Compensation Fund player of the game was met with strong cheers.

Walking back to the press room after the final horn, I spotted Boozer’s father talking with Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor’s wife. Just a reminder that for all the attention focused on Boozer, it’s worth remembering that he has a family like everybody else.

* * *

The Jazz managed to hold Tony Parker to just four points and an assist in the second half after Parker had a 13-point second quarter, aided by the seven free throws he shot.

* * *

It’s looking more and more as if Kosta Koufos and Eric Maynor are out of the Jazz’s rotation. Neither played until the final two minutes of Thursday’s game. Koufos has logged more than three minutes in only of the Jazz’s first five games.

Kyrylo Fesenko and Wesley Matthews, meanwhile, are on the fringes. Some nights they play - - Matthews rose to the occasion in 25 minutes against San Antonio - - and other nights they don’t. This is an especially challenging role for Fesenko.

* * *

The Utah Flash made my day - - and maybe even my season - - by selecting Augusta State center Garret Siler in the first round of the NBA Development League draft.

In fact, I’ve already thought about the possibility of the Jazz making a move before the February trade deadline, freeing up a roster spot and signing Siler to a 10-day contract. That way we’d have Silers both covering and playing for the Jazz.

The sight of a Siler nameplate in the locker room would be too good to be true. If that happens, I’m lobbying equipment manager Brian Zettler to put him in a locker next to Deron Williams'.

--Ross Siler

This is an admission of sorts: During the first days of training camp, I dubbed Wesley Matthews “All-World Wes Matthews.” The thinking was that Matthews had to secretly be an all-world talent for Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to talk so much about a player who averaged 6.2 points and shot 34.8 percent at the Orlando summer league.

It also was a way to distinguish Matthews - - “A.W.W.M” - - from the likes of Goran Suton, Paul Harris, Spencer Nelson, Ronald Dupree and Alex Johnson, guys the Jazz invited to training camp but had little intention of keeping. The same originally was true for Matthews, given the team’s $82 million luxury-tax payroll.

Of course, then the Jazz headed to Europe, Matthews got the start in London after C.J. Miles suffered his thumb injury and he responded with a 16-point effort. If he could do it overseas, then Wesley Matthews truly had to be all-world. The nickname stuck, at least among the beat writers.

Not only did he end up making the Jazz’s roster, but after Thursday’s game against San Antonio, the story of “All-World Wes Matthews” keeps getting better and better.

Matthews finished with 12 points and two steals in 25 minutes, playing ahead of Ronnie Brewer in the fourth quarter. Think about it for a second: Sloan had Matthews - - an undrafted rookie - - on the court for the final 15 minutes in the Jazz’s biggest victory of the season to date.

He spent the game attacking the basket, driving on Richard Jefferson for a three-point play in the first quarter, knocking down a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the third quarter to give the Jazz a 15-point lead and getting out for a dunk in the fourth quarter. He could have had a 14-point game had he not gone 1-for-3 at the foul line.

“I ain’t got words for it right now,” Matthews said. “I’m just excited to get this win more than anything. We’re all competitors, we all love to win, that’s what we’re here to do, and to get this win tonight against a team like that, it’s just a great feeling.”

“He played pretty good,” Sloan added. “He’s not afraid. He’s not afraid to use his body. He gets up and tries to play people on the defensive end. We’re looking for some of that, so we let him play some.”

It was said in the first quarter that Jefferson probably had no idea who Matthews was when he scored on him. Actually, Jefferson might have been one of the few, having spent last season in Milwaukee, where Matthews played in college at Marquette.

“Attacking the basket, I feel that’s one of my strong suits,” Matthews said. “If I get a lane, I’m going to go. 

“There’s a couple times earlier in preseason, the first couple games, where I felt like I was putting pressure on the team by not taking the shots or driving to the basket because now I’m making them dribble and shoot at the shot clock. I’m just taking what the defense gives me and trying to finish.”

Even after he made the Jazz’s opening night roster - - thanks in no small part to the injuries to Miles and Kyle Korver - - Matthews vowed that he wasn’t going to be satisfied with just that. I asked him after Thursday’s game if he felt like he was contributing and establishing himself.

“A little bit,” Matthews said, “but there’s still things I can do better. I feel like I can always get better, every player can always get better. I’ve just got to keep going out there, proving myself, making sure that I’m bringing energy every day and defense. That’s my mind-set.

“Offense just happens when I’m playing with guys like Booz and D-Will and A.K. and everybody. I just have to make sure I’m just doing the right things.”

Is he settling into his situation with the Jazz? “A little bit,” he said again. “I’m still new to everything, but I’m excited. This is an exciting time for everybody. We get to play the sport we love for a living.”

Deron Williams said it best about Matthews in the preseason: He might not wow you in any one department, but he doesn’t do anything wrong, either. 

There’s also something about his story. Case in point: Flipping through the Jazz’s media guide after Dirk Nowitzki’s 29-point fourth quarter in Dallas, one name jumped off the page.

It turns out that Matthews’ father, Wes, who played nine NBA seasons, including on two Lakers championship teams in the 1980s, owns the Jazz record for most assists in a quarter by an opposing player. Matthews Sr. had 10 assists in the second quarter of a Jan. 8, 1988 game when he was with the Lakers.

There’s no guarantees what will happen once Miles and Korver make their return. Matthews, however, has seen 65 minutes of action through five games compared to 15 for first-round draft pick Eric Maynor. If he continues to play the way he did Thursday, it seems likely we’ll be seeing a lot more of “All-World” this season.

--Ross Siler