The Jazz entered the preseason surrounded by uncertainty.

Utah didn’t have a true No. 1 star player or a late-game closer, its starting five and overall rotation weren’t set, and everything from the team’s identity to its uneven balance of promising youth and 30-something veterans created an endless series of questions.

The Jazz exited exhibition play Wednesday shadowed by even more ambiguity. Now, Utah enters the wild unknown of a lockout-shortened 2011-12 regular season with little, if any, clarity.

Those answers will arrive, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said after a 92-89 preseason victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at EnergySolutions Arena before a crowd of 15,367.

Utah (1-1) only has six days left to figure itself out. The Jazz tip off for real Tuesday at the Los Angeles Lakers.

One game after sitting his uninspired starters and turning to four players 21 or younger, Corbin took a completely different approach Wednesday. All 13 active Utah players clocked more than 11 minutes, with reserves such as Earl Watson, Jamaal Tinsley and Jeremy Evans receiving larger roles than starters Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward.

The latter two were plagued by foul trouble. Overall, though, it was a much different coaching tactic than one employed by Portland’s Nate McMillan, who leaned heavily on his first five — four of whom played 29 minutes or more — and used a core rotation of nine players in preparation for the impending start of the regular season.

Determining everything from Utah’s starting five to who will come off the bench is still up for grabs in Jazzland.

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“We’ll look at everything. … We’re working on it,” Corbin said.

Utah’s offense needs the most work. Several players said on-the-court chemistry was a problem during an abbreviated preseason, while key starters acknowledged the Jazz have much to do before they’re playing clean, fluid, fundamental basketball.

Only Al Jefferson, Raja Bell and Harris started both preseason games, while Jefferson and Harris never appeared fully comfortable or energized in Utah’s slightly reworked offense.

The issues were heightened by Paul Millsap’s absence due to right quadriceps tendinitis. Corbin said before the start of Wednesday’s game there’s no guarantee Millsap will be the permanent starter at power forward once he returns, adding to the confusion.

Harris and Jefferson acknowledged the offense isn’t running in high gear, but both said time should fix lingering issues that often rose to the surface during a disappointing 2010-11 season.

“We’ve got new guys in, we’re trying to get to know each other. Obviously it’s going to take a little time,” Harris said. “Obviously we’ve got a couple days of practice [left] and obviously [Corbin’s] still trying to figure out what that rotation is going to be like. But I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

The lack of direction appeared to affect everyone from Hayward (three points in 14 minutes, 49 seconds) and Bell (one point on three shots in 20:34) to Harris, who scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting but only dished out one assist.

“I think we have a lot of work to do,” Bell said. “But I don’t know that we’re going to be any different [than] any other team is at this point in that regard, just because there hasn’t been a whole lot of stuff to get time together.

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The Portland Trail Blazers play a preseason game against the Utah Jazz on Monday (Dec. 19). It gives the Blazers a chance to finally take the floor against another team this preseason and it will provide an interesting look at what the team has this year.

This is the perfect team for the Blazers to open against, mainly because Utah is a team packed with size. That is a department where the Blazers might have a tough time with this year, especially with Greg Oden out recovering from an injury and LaMarcus Aldridge still recovering from a heart procedure. It leaves Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas and Gerald Wallace as the primary players with size in the middle.

It’s hard to predict what the starting lineup is going to look like without Aldridge in there, but it could simply mean that Wallace shifts to power forward and Nicolas Batum moved into the starting lineup. The starting guards are likely Wesley Matthews and Raymond Felton, with Jamal Crawford as the first guy off the bench. The other bench players likely to see a lot of action are Elliott Williams, Luke Babbitt, Armon Johnson and rookie point guard Nolan Smith. It’s not a bad rotation of players, and the preseason will dictate which of them is in line for the most regular season minutes.

Personally, I’m excited to see what Felton can do in a Nate McMillan style offense, especially if he gets asked to run some half-court sets. He is typically a run-and-gun type of point guard, which is where his strength will reside in this offense, but hopefully he is also adept at slowing things down for plays that feature Aldridge and Wallace down low.

For the first time in years the Blazers will take the court without having Brandon Roy on the bench. Even when he was in street clothes he always had a defined presence for the team, and it’s almost shocking to head into a season without him. Another question I have is whether the “three goggles” will return for this season, even though Rudy Fernandez and Andre Miller have left the team.

Monday’s preseason game is at 7 p.m. in the Rose Garden and then a re-match of the two teams will get played on Wednesday, Dec. 21 in Salt Lake City.

More From YCN :

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Fans Fight to Keep Roy

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Sources:

Blazers Full Schedule

Blazers Preseason Schedule

Blazers Team Page

Blazers Updated Roster

*Ryan is a Northwest bred sports fan that has been a Portland Trail Blazers fan for years. He doesn’t miss a game, and has high hopes that the Blazers can improve their roster during the offseason and come back even better in the 2011-12 NBA season.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

SALT LAKE CITY — Josh Howard is heading to Utah and should join the Jazz for practices beginning Saturday morning.

If he passes his physical, the veteran small forward who agreed to a one-year deal with Utah on Thursday will probably even suit up and make a brief appearance in Saturday night’s scrimmage at EnergySolutions Arena.

“(Just) so the fans can see him and he can get his feet wet a little bit,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said.

When Howard arrives, he’ll be welcomed by the Jazz — especially by his buddy, Devin Harris, and, yes, even by fellow wings, Gordon Hayward and C.J. Miles.

“We’ve been close friends for a while, since the Dallas days,” said Harris, who played with Howard from 2004-08 with the Mavericks. “He’s a guy who really can help this team, and I’m just excited to have one of my close friends on the team.”

That outward excitement was the shared sentiment in Jazz camp this morning, including by the aforementioned players’ whose playing time might be lessened by Howard’s addition.

“Any time you can compete for spots like that and compete for minutes, it just increases your depth and makes you get better as a team overall,” second-year swingman Hayward said.

“I don’t think I’m worried,” he added. “I can (only) control how I play and how I do, and just let it fall from there.”

Howard comes in with a proven track record of being a prolific scorer, as the Jazz once found out when he dropped 47 points on them in a game. He’s also considered an excellent small forward rebounder.

But Hayward believes the 6-foot-7 veteran can give the Jazz a needed defensive boost against bigger wing players.

Miles said the Jazz are getting a versatile former All-Star who makes it tough for opponents to guard because of his mid-range game, his posting and facing-up inside skills, his passing and rebounding.

“He can do a little bit of everything,” Miles said.

Include win and help the wings improve.

“He only makes us better as a team to add somebody like him,” Miles said. “He pushes the rest of us guys in that position at the two and three. That’s what it’s all about, us coming in here and competing.”

Harris worked out with Howard in the summer and said the 31-year-old is “fully back” from a knee injury that limited him to only playing in 18 games since tearing his ACL in February 2010.

Corbin warned before this morning’s practice that Howard is not in “great NBA shape” just yet. That will take time, and Howard will have to bring his body to that elite fitness level before challenging for playing time.

As talented as Howard is, Corbin doesn’t want to just “throw him to the wolves.”

Added the second-year coach: “We want to give him the best chance to be successful and be on the floor.”

Email: jody@desnews.com Twitter: DJJazzyJody

Jazz guard Devin Harris discusses adding Josh Howard.

First thought: It’s exciting. We’ve been close friends for a while, since the Dallas days. He’s a guy who can really help this team and I’m just excited to have one of my close friends back on the team.

What worked well in Dallas: We did [do well]. We came in together, both young players, learned the system, played a lot, played extremely well, just built a relationship over the years.

Kevin O’Connor and Ty Corbin asking him about Howard: Obviously he’s got some things in his past and I thought he’d matured since then and I thought he was a player who could really help us. He’s coming off an injury the last couple of years with a knee, but I’ve been working out with him in the summer and know he’s fully back. I thought he’s a guy who could really help this team and take us to the next level.

Howard’s character: Josh is a good dude. He’s truthful. He’s a guy who believes in speaking his mind. Obviously that doesn’t always sit well with a lot of people. But he’s a good teammate, he comes and works hard and loves what he does.

Good fit on roster: I think so. He meets the athleticism with this team, the way we’re running, the way we want to get up and down; his defensive intensity. And he cares about winning.

Jazz’s offense compared to Dallas’: Aw, it’s completely — it’s like night and day. But I still think he fits in to what we do. He’s got a nice post game, the mid-range game and the way he runs the floor fits in everything we do.

Talking to him: We actually talked about it a little bit this summer, the possibility. … Coming into free agency, the lockout, it’s a possibility. Yeah, we’ve got some room up here. I didn’t expect anything to happen. But it kind of happened pretty quickly and I’m excited about it.

Talking to O’Connor: Yeah, I sat down with Kevin before he went to North Carolina. He wants to see how his knee is doing; mentally over the injuries and stuff like that.

Get better fast if Howard’s healthy: I think so. We get a little bit deeper. With him, our depth increases. And with the season that we’re going to have, I think that’ll really help us.

Left in the tank: I think he’s got a lot. He hasn’t played a lot in the last couple years. I think he should be refreshed.

Brian T. Smith

Twitter: @tribjazz

Friday, December 9, 2011

Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson’s girlfriend has been arrested on suspicion of domestic assault after authorities say she bit him at their home.

Cottonwood Heights police say Shirley Lewis was arrested Thursday night and booked into the Salt Lake County jail. She was later released.

Authorities say the 38-year-old girlfriend faces misdemeanor charges of domestic assault and domestic violence in the presence
of a child.

Police say Jefferson may face charges, too.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Lewis had an attorney, and her phone number is unlisted. Jefferson’s agent didn’t immediately return a message Friday, and a Jazz spokeswoman says the team has no information.

Jefferson started all 82 games last season and led the team in scoring with 18.6 points a game.