SALT LAKE CITY — Even as the Jazz pulled their season record to 3-3 with a 12-point win over Milwaukee on Tuesday, there was the nagging possibility that this might be as good as it gets. Home, hearth, family, friends, victory.

It’s a nice deal. Too bad for them it can’t last forever.

There’s always the dreaded road ahead.

Maybe they should start working on a plan for that, too. It will be here, sooner than they want.

You think life is hard at home? Comparatively, it’s a piece of cake — and that’s an intended metaphor. Finding good chocolate cake in a strange town isn’t easy. Neither is winning.

The Jazz played their third home game of the season, holding off the paper-thin Bucks. That makes them perfect at home and perfectly awful on the road. Tuesday was the second of 12 games this month at EnergySolutions Arena.

On the bright side for the Jazz, that means they can unpack — a rarity in professional basketball. The only times they’ll have to get on a plane in January is for quick trips to Golden State and Denver, plus a visit to Dallas. Otherwise, they’re as home-bound as a goldfish.

But then comes February: nine road trips in 15 games, and March with 12 of 19 on the road.

In other words, they’ll want to win almost every game this month, in order to avert disaster later.

“Absolutely, especially if you’re a young ballclub,” said Jazz coach Ty Corbin.

Most disconcerting to the Jazz is the fact they are in fact young, which doesn’t play to their advantage. Logic would dictate the road favors youth. They have fresh legs and strong arms. But almost inevitably the youngest teams have problems when they hit the highway.

“They struggle with it,” Corbin said.

Teams don’t get good until they learn to win on the road. The Jazz didn’t have a winning record on the road until 1994-95, just about they time they got serious about going to the NBA finals. By that time John Stockton and Karl Malone were into their early 30s and had been in the league a decade.

If ever the Jazz were to have a hand-delivered gift, Tuesday would have been it. They were at ESA, where had already established a modest winning pattern. Milwaukee guard Beno Udrih was out with a bad shoulder. Starting guard Mike Dunleavy also sat out with a groin injury. Center Andrew Bogut was absent so he could attend to what his coach called a “personal matter.”

The Jazz’s problems so far this year have ranged from defense to shooting to spacing, and points beyond. Corbin continues to experiment with his young lineup. Never mind a large number of Bucks were on MIA list. The Jazz need wins, anywhere they can pick them up.

SALT LAKE CITY — As bad as they’ve played at times, it might come as a surprise that the Utah Jazz can even their record with a win tonight.

One guy that won’t get in their way: 7-foot Andrew Bogut .

The Milwaukee Bucks center and former University of Utah star is not with the team and won’t play tonight because of personal matters.

Mike Dunleavy (groin pain) and Ben Udrih (left shoulder pain) will also miss the Jazz-Bucks game.

“We have an opportunity to improve our record to 3-3 tonight, but it’s not going to be easy,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said after his team’s morning shootaround. “Milwaukee’s a good ball club. We’re going to have to compete against them as if they’re coming in here to win.”

Both the Jazz (2-3) and Bucks (2-2) are coming off of games Monday night. Milwaukee lost in Denver 91-86, and Utah edged New Orleans 94-90 at EnergySolutions Arena.

That location tidbit makes tonight’s showdown an anomaly. This is the first back-to-back set with two home games for the Jazz since Nov. 2008.

This was Utah fans’ only chance to catch an up-close-and-person glimpse of the former Ute standout, who is averaging 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds this season.

Earlier today, Corbin credited Bogut for being a solid passer with strong low-post moves.

“He’s a versatile big guy who’s continued to get better and learned this game,” Corbin said.

This game (7 p.m. MT tipoff, ROOT Sports) will conclude a six-games-in-eight-nights beginning of the season for the Jazz. It’s also the second of three home games Utah has this week and one of 12 contests at ESA in January for the young team.

Utah will go with the same starters as Monday: Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.

Email: jody@desnews.com Twitter: DJJazzyJody

SALT LAKE CITY — Paul Millsap is getting his wish. He’s an NBA starter once again.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin changed his starting rotation for tonight’s home-opening game against the Philadelphia 76ers, inserting last year’s starting power forward back into the first five while putting Derrick Favors in a reserve role.

Favors has gotten off to a rough start this season after getting into early foul trouble in both blowout losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. He’s averaging 5.0 ppg and 8.0 rpg.

Millsap, meanwhile, has been the Jazz’s most consistent player. The sixth-year player is leading the team with 15.5 points per game and has averaged eight rebounds.

“(Favors) gets a chance to watch a little bit coming off the bench and relax a little bit, I hope, and be ready to come in the game,” Corbin said. “Paul is used to starting so he’ll know how to handle the anxiety and just go out and play and play aggressively, and not worry about not fouling.”

The other four starters will remain the same, with Devin Harris (point guard), Raja Bell (shooting guard), Gordon Hayward (small forward) and Al Jefferson (center).

The Jazz spent Thursday watching film and dissecting what went wrong (and right) on both offense and defense in the two losses in which they lost by an average of 21 points.

One thing, in particular, stood out about the Jazz’s performances.

“I don’t think we came out with the kind of effort we had in training camp,” Corbin said. “I don’t know if (it was due to) fatigue and anxiety from starting up or just the whole short training camp and the first couple of games.”

Corbin is hopeful Thursday’s viewing and discussion will pay off as the Jazz try to get their first win of 2011-12 tonight against a 1-1 Sixers squad.

“I thought it was a good exercise. It was a good film session,” Corbin said. “It was a good meeting we had. We’re looking forward to a big effort tonight.”

Tipoff is at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be televised live on ROOT Sports.

Email: jody@desnews.com Twitter: DJJazzJody

SALT LAKE CITY — EnergySolutions Arena may have never looked or sounded as good as it will Friday night for the Utah Jazz.

If a team was ever in need of a home-crowd boost, it’s this ragtag collection that has suffered back-to-back beatdowns.

Their aim was so off in Los Angeles, they might not have been able to point in the direction of a B-list actor at Staples Center.

Their ability to stop someone was so poor in Denver, Tim Tebow might have been able to throw for 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns on them if they wore pads.

If that sounds overly harsh, give another glance at the final scores: Lakers 96, Jazz 71 and Nuggets 117, Utah 100.

Utah players don’t just need to find an elusive identity, consistency, properly functioning combinations, defensive rotations, team chemistry and a commitment to put forth enough effort to win.

Their juiceless battery could use a jumpstart from a crowd that’s done that so many times over the past three decades.

“We’re still trying to figure it out. Hopefully in the next few days we’ll figure it out, especially with our young group,” Jazz sixth man Paul Millsap said after Wednesday’s game. “I think home court advantage will help us, give us a little energy, let us get out and run a bit.”

Heck, maybe even win a game — or at least have a chance to win one.

In reality, there’s only so much of an edge 19,911 fans can give a team. There is a reason why one group pays to get in, while the other much smaller (in numbers) and more talented group gets paid to be there.

Ultimately, it’s up to Jazz players and coaches to get their acts together and play up to their potential.

“We’ll see what type of team we are the next couple of games,” second-year Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward said.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin took extra time after Wednesday’s loss to emphasize to his entire team — players, staff and himself — that everybody is responsible to do his part.

“They have to step up and do it. We have to as a coaching staff and myself. We have to lead them through it,” Corbin said. “It’s a young bunch of guys for the most part. We’ve got to grow together.”

The second-year coach believes that will happen, that player development and victories can happen simultaneously.

“I’m not quitting on the guys, and I don’t think they’ll quit on me. But we’ve got to get things figured out,” Corbin said. “We’ve got to learn to trust each other as players on the floor and just go out and compete together as a group of guys and not as individuals, two or three guys going hard. We’ve got to have everybody competing on the floor.”

DENVER — The Pepsi Center hoops appeared to be bigger than the ones at Staples Center.

Unfortunately for the Utah Jazz, that went both ways.

A night after their offense was nowhere to be found in a lopsided loss against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Jazz hit some shots and scored just fine.

But their defense disappeared.

Rotations, team help, effort and any chance at winning all evaporated in the thin Mile High air on Wednesday night, too.

The result was another embarrassing 117-100 blowout — this one by the Denver Nuggets.

“We have to get better. … We’ve had two tough losses,” said Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin, whose team lost by an average 21 points in back-to-back nights. “We’ve got to get back together and continue to work and fight. We’ve got to learn to trust each other on the defensive end of the floor and get it figured out.”

Utah did hit 48 percent of its field goals in Denver’s building after missing a whopping 61 shots while shooting 32 percent against the Lakers in an awful offensive showing, so there’s that.

But Denver had its way with Utah’s restructured defense, which resembled a church-ball team.

The Jazz gave up 68 points in the paint, allowed Nene to score 25 points, watched Andre Miller dish out 12 assists and Al Harrington drop in 18 points off the bench, cranked their necks as speedy Ty Lawson burst to the hoop time after time, helplessly permitted the Nuggets to shoot a sizzling 53.5 percent, and let the home track team run and jump all over, around and above them.

That was one long paragraph — and an even longer night — for a deficient defense.

Giving up lobs, drives, backdoor cuts and transition baskets disgusted Corbin.

“That’s unacceptable,” he said. “That’s just effort. That’s disappointing.”

The second-year coach had a longer-than-usual postgame chat with his team, taking an extra 10 minutes or so to try to impress on them the need to play harder and together.

Sure, they’re a work in progress. They’ve got an odd mix of inexperienced talent and capable veterans. But they lack an identity and consistency, with the offense and defense trading turns at stinking it up.

“We’ve got to get things figured out quickly,” Corbin said. “The effort we got for the most part today wasn’t satisfactory, so we wanted to have a discussion about it.”

Things started somewhat promising for Utah, which is in the midst of a rough six-games-in-eight-nights stretch.

Center Al Jefferson scored 10 of his team-best 19 points in the first quarter after missing 14 of 16 shots against the Lakers. But Utah’s starting five of Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Big Al still didn’t completely click, falling behind 28-23 after the first 12 minutes.

SALT LAKE CITY— The Utah Jazz have a preseason dancing partner.

Unfortunately for BYU fans, it is not Jimmer Fredette and the Sacramento Kings.

The Jazz will play a pair of exhibition contests against the Portland Trail Blazers, according to KSL.

Portland, which features former Jazz guard Wesley Matthews, will host Utah on Dec. 19. The two teams will then head to Salt Lake City for a Dec. 21 matchup at EnergySolutions Arena, according to at tweet by Jazz broadcaster David Locke.

Ticket information has not yet been released.

The NBA’s irregular season is set to begin on Dec. 25, though it’s believed the Jazz will start the following day. The original schedule had Utah hosting Denver on Monday, Dec. 26.

The full 66-game schedule has yet to be released, but could be coming this week, according to national reports.

Teams and agents have been allowed to begin discussing player movement, although nothing formal can be agreed upon until Dec. 9, pending ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement.

Players will also be welcome to use team facilities beginning Thursday after being locked out of NBA buildings since July 1.

Email: jody@desnews.comTwitter: DJJazzyJody

July 7, 2011 – NBA Development League (D-League) Idaho Stampede
BOISE, Idaho, July 7, 2011 – The Idaho Stampede have been named the NBA Development League affiliate of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, the Stampede, Jazz and league offices announced today. In addition to the Stampede’s affiliation with the Jazz, the Stampede will keep its affiliations already held with the Denver Nuggets (2009-present) and Portland Trail Blazers (2007-present).

The Stampede were previously an affiliate of the Jazz during the 2006-07 season. The Stampede have also been affiliates of the Seattle SuperSonics (2006-2008) and Toronto Raptors (2008-09).

“Many Stampede fans are also Utah Jazz fans, dating back from their first days in Utah, to the great years under Jerry Sloan and now as they fight for an NBA championship in a new era,” Stampede President and GM Steve Brandes said. “We have always viewed the Jazz as one of the most successful organizations in any sport; their ownership, basketball operations and business sides have all been a consistent winner throughout the years. We wish to draw upon their success as we move into our 15th year in minor league basketball.”

The Jazz have been an NBA club since 1974 when the team was established in New Orleans. The team was moved to Salt Lake City in 1979 and the Jazz have been one of the winningest teams in the NBA ever since, primarily under the ownership of the Miller family, which bought the team outright in 1986. The Jazz have made two NBA Finals, coming in 1997 and ’98.

“Our relationships with the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets have been successful since we began our affiliations with them,” Brandes said. “Having a third respected, well-run organization as one of our parent clubs will only add that much more value to our basketball and business operations.”

Since moving to Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazz have made the playoffs 24 times, won eight division titles, had a two-time NBA MVP and have had four players win gold medals in the Summer Olympics.

“I’m thrilled that the coaches and I will get to work with the Jazz basketball operations office and coaching staff,” Stampede Head Coach Randy Livingston said. “I was lucky enough to play for the Utah Jazz in my NBA career and I can say that the Jazz are one of the best, most professional teams in the NBA.”

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By Josh Dubow, Associated Press

OAKLAND, Calif. — Mark Jackson’s leadership skills as a player more than outweighed his lack of coaching experience when it came time for the Golden State Warriors to hire their coach.

The Warriors hired Jackson to replace Keith Smart on Monday, giving the former point guard and television analyst his first chance to be a head coach on the game’s biggest stage.

“He epitomized leadership as a player in this league for 17 seasons and we think that characteristic — and many other positive traits — will translate very well into his coaching duties with our young team,” owner Joe Lacob said in a statement. “He was a leader and a winner both on and off the floor in this league and we’re convinced that he is the right person to guide this team into the future and help us achieve the success that we are striving for as an organization.”

Jackson played 17 years as a point guard in the NBA, for New York, the Clippers, Indiana, Denver, Toronto, Utah and Houston. He won Rookie of the Year honors in 1988 and made the playoffs 14 times. He ranks third on the NBA’s all-time assists list.

But he has never coached, spending the past few seasons as the lead analyst for ESPN and ABC for their NBA coverage. He won’t start his new job until after he’s finished calling the NBA finals.

His first coaching job is a daunting one, taking over a team that has made the playoffs just once since 1994.

“I am really elated about this opportunity and I’m looking forward to the challenge of building the Warriors into a perennial contender,” Jackson said.

Jackson played for five Hall of Fame coaches in his college and pro career: Lou Carnesecca, Lenny Wilkens, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley and Larry Brown.

Jackson, 46, had been looking to get into coaching while working as an analyst in recent years. He interviewed for the opening in New Orleans last year and was one of three finalists for the Minnesota job in 2009, but lost out to Kurt Rambis. He also interviewed in previous years for openings in Phoenix, New York and Chicago.

He finally ended up getting the offer he wanted from the Warriors, who have made big changes in the front office and coaching staff under Lacob’s new ownership.

“I have sensed that Joe is committed to winning and building a team and a culture the right way,” Jackson said. “I think we all witnessed that with some of the recent front office additions as well and some of the other positive things that have been done in recent months. This is an incredible opportunity.”