For the Utah Jazz, the past two nights have been uglier than Chris Kaman.

Not long after they got pounded by the Los Angeles Lakers in their season opener, Coach Corbin and Co. become the victim of another blow out, this time to the Denver Nuggets.

Here’s why they’re off-key:

1. The Jazz are inexperienced

Eight of the Jazz’s 13 players are under the age of 26, and three of them (Enes Kanter, Derrick Favors, and Alec Burks) are barely old enough to serve Mormon missions.

What’s more, those who do have some NBA games under their belt are pulling a “Bueller.” Al Jefferson, for instance, is scoring a modest 11.5 points per game on 33 percent shooting. Likewise, veteran guard Earl Watson is producing just as many turnovers as assists.

2. Corbin is using a 13-man rotation

The Jazz are deep, but that’s no excuse to play all 13 players. If the entire roster is seeing 10 minutes of PT, how will anyone get into a groove? When will specific rotations get comfortable with each other? How will anyone learn their role?

This isn’t Jr. Jazz. Not everyone should be playing equal amounts of time.

3. There needs to be change at the guard position

After years of watching John Stockton and Deron Williams, it must’ve been quite difficult for Jazz fans to observe Utah’s point guards during the past couple of evenings.

While playing against the Lakers and Nuggets, London-lover Devin Harris, and his trusted sidekick Watson, failed significantly to control the tempo of the contests. Harris collected a meager 15 points and eight assists, while Watson—in 37 minutes of action—went 0-4 with zero points.

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Post-Deron Williams, the Jazz are in search of a new team captain.

Veteran Utah guard Raja Bell meets many of the qualifications: intelligent, experienced and respected, among others. But after struggling through a disappointing 2010-11 season, Bell said he has zero expectations for this year.

His outlook might appear negative, but Bell insists it’s not ― he’s simply open to whatever the Jazz ask of him.

Bell, 35, is under contract for two more years and he’s aware Utah is in the initial stage of a youth movement. However, he came into camp in excellent shape ― earning praise from Corbin and general manager Kevin O’Connor ― and he’s neither asked to be traded nor acted out like some out-of-place 11-year veterans would.

“I’ve done my work and hopefully it puts me in a place to be successful,” Bell said. “I know there are games left in me; there’s good quality basketball left in me. Sometimes circumstances don’t always bear that out but I’m hoping that they will.”

Bell said he was in excellent shape last season. But he was coming off an injury-plagued 2009-10, when he played only six games for two teams, and he never felt like he “fit in” on the 2010-11 Jazz.

“That’s something that starts to weigh on you,” Bell said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to force my way into a role that wasn’t going to be my role anyway. I’m not going to do that this time around.”

Bell conceded he does have one minor expectation this season: “I’m going to have fun.”

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SALT LAKE CITY – The Jazz schedule has been released and
with two fewer months and only 16 fewer games the season
will come and go quickly. The Jazz will play back-to-back
18 times (they only had 13 back-to-back games last year)
along with one
brutal back-to-back-to-back. They begin the season with
some conference rivals and end the season on a nice home
stretch.

Some interesting quirks of this season are: The Jazz will
be the last team to start their season. The Hawks will
also play their first game on Dec. 27, but they will start
earlier in the day. The first five games will be against
playoff teams last year: Lakers, Nuggets, 76ers, Spurs and
Hornets.

The Jazz will only play three games on the road in
January, the lowest amount of road games in a full month
of play since February of 2009 when they again played
three. They will play three division opponents in January.
The Jazz only have six home games in February, the lowest
amount in any full month this season.

The Jazz play the Blazers three times in April. They will
play the Lakers, Portland, San Antonio, Sacramento, Dallas
and Golden State four times. They play division opponents
Denver, Oklahoma
City and Minnesota three times.

Here is a look at some highlights of the schedule that
Jazz fans can look forward to:

Dec. 27: The season starts with the Jazz visiting
the Lakers on Dec. 27. It will be the Lakers third game
and the tail end of their back-to-back-to-back.

Dec. 28: The Jazz play the Nuggets for the first
time this season.

Jan. 3: Former Ute Andrew Bogut and the Bucks play
in Energy Solutions Arena.

Jan. 11: The Jazz will play Kobe and the Lakers for
the
first time in Utah.

Jan. 14: Deron Williams comes back to town with the
Nets.

Jan. 21: Jazz will play division Timberwolves at
home.

Jan. 28: Jimmer will return to the Utah twice in
the new schedule, Jan. 28 and March 30. The Jazz will play
the Kings in Sacramento Feb. 28 and March 22.

Jan. 30: Wes Matthews will come back with the
Trailblazers for the first time this season.

Feb. 10: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook bring
the Thunder to Energy Solutions Arena for the first
matchup between the division teams. They will play again
four days later in Oklahoma.

Feb. 12-14: The Jazz play their back-to-back-to-
back as they travel to Memphis, New Orleans and Oklahoma
City.

Feb. 29: They will play on Leap Day for the second
straight Leap Year. They play Houston at home. They lost
last time 110-98 in New Orleans.

March 2: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh
bring the Miami Heat to Utah.

March 3-10: The Jazz play five-straight road games,
the longest of the season. They visit Dallas, Cleveland,
Charlotte, Philadelphia and Chicago. Last season they had
one such streak and went 0-5.

March 10: The Jazz play their lone game against
Carlos Boozer and the Bulls in Chicago.

March 30: The second time Jimmer returns to Utah.

Apr. 8-9: The Jazz play the Spurs two nights in a
row, at San Antonio then at home. They have play one team
two
games in a row every year since the ’06-’07 season.

Apr. 13-14: The last back-to-back of the season, at
New Orleans and at Memphis.

Apr. 18: Final road game of the season at Portland.

Apr. 26: Final game of the regular season home
against Portland.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz need to add at least two players before the upcoming season begins.

It remains possible two familiar faces will fill those empty roster spots.

The Jazz are engaged in ongoing discussions with the camps of small forward Andrei Kirilenko and point guard Earl Watson, their agents told the Deseret News on Monday.

General manager Kevin O’Connor confirmed that he reached out to the former Jazz players on the team-owned radio station, 1320 KFAN.

O’Connor, who didn’t immediately return calls from the Deseret News, first contacted Utah’s current players when allowed Monday morning, he told play-by-play announcer David Locke. The Jazz G.M. then phoned former players who are free agents.

Monday marked the first day NBA front-office personnel were allowed to speak with players and free agents.

Kirilenko played for the Jazz the past 10 seasons, but he’s currently under contract with CSKA Moscow in his native Russia. Though nursing a broken nose and recovering from a bruised shoulder, Kirilenko is expected to play again this weekend with his Russian team while NBA negotiations continue, according to his representative.

“He’s still weighing his interest in different teams,” agent Marc Fleisher said.

As for Watson, the veteran playmaker has maintained a hope to return to Utah since last spring. The 10-year pro felt more comfortable running the team’s offense as his first season with Utah progressed, and he liked his reserve situation behind Deron Williams and Devin Harris.

“The organization knows how I feel,” Watson enthusiastically told the Deseret News on Monday.

Watson also took the time to thank Jazz fans who participated in a “BringBackEarl” campaign on Twitter with this message: “Thank you to all of jazz nation! Great fans!”

Friday is the first day players can officially come to an agreement with teams or trades can be made, pending the ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement.

That’s also when camps can begin.

The Jazz received good news on that front. Center Mehmet Okur will be here in time to participate from the get-go of the training sessions.

Okur was granted a release from his Turkish basketball team, allowing him to leave early despite a stipulation in the contract that he had to stay until a new NBA labor deal was officially in place.

Okur flew from Turkey to the United States on Monday. He’s returning, by the way, in much-improved health, his agent said, as the center’s surgically repaired left Achilles tendon and back have made significant progress from last season when he played in only 13 games for the Jazz.

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been a couple of weeks since NBA players and owners sat down together at the bargaining table.

The Utah Jazz helped set up different kinds of tables Wednesday, giving 3,500 people ample reason to be thankful for a much more heartwarming example of a give-and-take situation.

This was the 13th time the Jazz hosted the “We Care — We Share” dinner celebration for the homeless and low-income population of Salt Lake City.

“Of course it warms your heart to be able to help,” Jazz owner Gail Miller said while dishing up meatloaf and cranberry sauce. “But it’s sad that there is such a need, and to see the families that come in just makes me want to cry.”

Utah Food Services literally cooked up tons of food, Jazz front-office personnel and the Miller family helped serve turkey and trimmings, the Salt Lake City Mission invited thousands of people in need, and the sounds and smells of a holiday party permeated the basketball-less building.

As usual, grins and gratitude were abundant.

Players and hoops highlights, however, are nowhere to be found at EnergySolutions Arena because of the lockout.

“It’s a good program and everything,” said retired railroad worker Wilson Pace, a Salt Lake City resident who helps with the Indian Walk-In Center. “I didn’t know if they were going to have one this year or not because of the NBA lockout.”

Thankfully, despite the ongoing NBA labor deal gloom and doom — and an ominous cloud of a possible canceled season looming — this annual festive feast went on.

Though 19,911 basketball seats remain empty every night, on this afternoon hearts and stomachs were filled with appreciation and a charitable meal.

Pace, a grateful recipient of this meal who fondly recalls mingling with the late Larry H. Miller and snapping a shot of Deron Williams serving food, admitted he’s glad they surprised him.

“They’re better cooks than I am,” he said.

The heartwarming event — complete with music, a clothing giveaway, laughter and a spirit of generosity — was a pleasant contrast to what’s been happening elsewhere in the NBA world (or not happening such as, say, negotiating toward a deal).

Instead of working together for the good of the sport and fans — and actually playing the game so many love to watch and depend on for their living — owners and players are battling and grasping for their “fair” split of a $4 billion pie (revenue, not pumpkin).

But for a few hours on this day, the focus wasn’t on current lawsuits or the #unfollownba campaign by fans on Twitter or ex-Jazz guard DeShawn Stevenson blasting union chief Billy Hunter or mixed news about popular NBA players in Europe (from Andrei Kirilenko being injured to Williams scoring 50 in a game).