SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz couldn’t blow this one — playing against an undermanned Milwaukee Bricks, err, Bucks, team that was without Andrew Bogut, Mike Dunleavy and Beno Udrih.

The Jazz did let the Bucks get close in the fourth quarter before clamping down and holding them without a basket for nearly eight minutes. Utah earns solid marks for winning a game it should have.

GUARDS: Just when Devin Harris plays a game that Jazz fans are accustomed to seeing from their point guard, he gets hurt. Harris dished a season-high six assists before suffering a strained left calf. He only took two shots and went scoreless in 17 minutes. Raja Bell was in the starting lineup again, but only played 12 minutes. He sat out the entire fourth quarter. He hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter to make it 49-40, and again played well on defense. Milwaukee’s starting backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Carlos Delfino combined to shoot 4-for-26, so that certainly raises Utah’s grade. Grade: A-

FORWARDS: There’s a reason why Paul Millsap is a fan-favorite. He left the game with a knee injury early in the fourth quarter, but quickly returned. His shot was on, as he went 6-for-7 from the field and had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Gordon Hayward was also much better than he was on Monday night, as he had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Milwaukee’s starting frontcourt made 7 of 26 attempts and was badly outplayed by Millsap and Hayward. Grade: A

CENTERS: Al Jefferson was dominant offensively with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Enes Kanter continues to provide the Jazz with a spark when he plays. The Jazz were fortunate that Andrew Bogut didn’t play, and surprisingly let Drew Gooden have a big night with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Grade: B+

BENCH: Derrick Favors is reaching fan-favorite status with the highlight-reel plays he provides on a nightly basis. He blocked five shots, scored six points and had seven rebounds. Alec Burks scored seven of his nine points from the free-throw line and dished six assists. The Jazz’s bench outscored the Milwaukee reserves 31-16. That’s big. Grade: A-

COACHING: It’s fun to watch what type of lineup combinations coach Tyrone Corbin comes up with. He started the fourth quarter with Jamaal Tinsley at point guard, Burks, Kanter, Miles and Favors. After he replaced Kanter with Jefferson, the Jazz held the Bucks without a basket for nearly eight minutes. Fans are probably still questioning why Bell is starting, but you can’t argue with the results in three home games. Grade: A

Tyrone Corbin is becoming more comfortable with each passing game.

The Jazz coach has not hesitated to make noticeable moves, such as starting Derrick Favors and temporarily benching C.J. Miles. And when Corbin’s been forced to challenge a player via a tough in-game conversation — he’s already pushed Devin Harris and Miles, among others — the second-year leader has not hesitated.

Asked about learning just how far he can push his young, rebuilding team, Corbin paused before saying, “It’s not a set thing.”

“You wish guys would go out and do the right thing all the time and that I would do the right thing all the time,” said Corbin, prior to Utah’s home game Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. “It’s just a thing where things happen and you have to respond to it. If a guy’s struggling, you have to encourage him. If a guy’s not giving effort, you have to push him. So that’s just a part of the business, man.”

No Ute

Former University of Utah star center Andrew Bogut was a late scratch Tuesday and didn’t play for Milwaukee due to personal reasons.

“It’s a personal situation and he’s excused to go and deal with it,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said before tipoff.

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He added: “I really don’t want to say anything more … out of respect to Andrew.”

Bogut, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, is averaging 14.3 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

He drew praise from Corbin and Utah center Al Jefferson during a Tuesday morning shootaround.

“He’s a versatile player who can really pass the ball, who can make moves in the low post,” Corbin said. “His game has continued to get better.”

Jefferson added: “Bogut’s a special player. … I love playing against him because he makes me step up.”

No leader

Six Jazz games have been played and Corbin still hasn’t named a team captain.

Next Page »

Tyrone Corbin is becoming more comfortable with each passing game.

The Jazz coach has not hesitated to make noticeable moves, such as starting Derrick Favors and temporarily benching C.J. Miles. And when Corbin’s been forced to challenge a player via a tough in-game conversation — he’s already pushed Devin Harris and Miles, among others — the second-year leader has not hesitated.

Asked about learning just how far he can push his young, rebuilding team, Corbin paused before saying, “It’s not a set thing.”

“You wish guys would go out and do the right thing all the time and that I would do the right thing all the time,” said Corbin, prior to Utah’s home game Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks. “It’s just a thing where things happen and you have to respond to it. If a guy’s struggling, you have to encourage him. If a guy’s not giving effort, you have to push him. So that’s just a part of the business, man.”

No Ute

Former University of Utah star center Andrew Bogut was a late scratch Tuesday and didn’t play for Milwaukee due to personal reasons.

“It’s a personal situation and he’s excused to go and deal with it,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said before tipoff.

Story continues below

He added: “I really don’t want to say anything more … out of respect to Andrew.”

Bogut, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, is averaging 14.3 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

He drew praise from Corbin and Utah center Al Jefferson during a Tuesday morning shootaround.

“He’s a versatile player who can really pass the ball, who can make moves in the low post,” Corbin said. “His game has continued to get better.”

Jefferson added: “Bogut’s a special player. … I love playing against him because he makes me step up.”

No leader

Six Jazz games have been played and Corbin still hasn’t named a team captain.

Next Page »

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.

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SALT LAKE CITY — Raja Bell is a smart NBA player.

He can do math, too.

So, yes, he’s aware that hitting 5 of 17 field goals through four games falls into the rough start category.

“I would like to be a shooting a higher field-goal percentage,” said the 12-year veteran, who’s shooting 29.4 percent. “But, ultimately, I don’t think it really matters if I make or miss my three shots in a game.”

Obviously, Bell wants to make those precious few shots (4.25 per game, to be precise) — if not get more looks.

But the veteran isn’t the only offensive goat on a struggling 1-3 team that’s averaging just 90.5 points on 40 percent shooting.

Scoring is just one part of his job. Considering his gritty defensive style and other Jazz weapons, oodles of offense isn’t necessarily what the team needs from him.

As the starter, Bell gets the first crack at Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili and other top-notch scoring threats.

“He knows how to play different guys,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said.

Asked for an assessment of his 2011-12 start, the 35-year-old said he’s making an extra effort on defense because his offensive game hasn’t arrived yet.

“If something’s not working, you’ve got to try to make a difference somewhere else,” Bell said. “I think I’m doing a good job defensively.”

So does Corbin, who defends Bell’s defense.

That’s why the second-year coach has kept him in the starting lineup even while some fans plead for rookie shooting guard Alec Burks — a more explosive scorer — to get more playing time and/or to start.

“I feel comfortable with what he’s doing. He’s playing his defense,” Corbin said. “I thought he did a good job on Ginobili in the first quarter (Saturday), and then he had that run in the second quarter.”

When Bell was on the bench, mind you.

But the guard’s effort isn’t predicated on his shots falling or not.

“All I can do is go out there and play hard,” Bell said. “If Ty and (coaches) think that I’m a good fit, then I’ll go out there and try to do my best.”

Offensively, Bell knows he has nowhere to go but up.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like it necessarily clicked for me last year on offense and I’m struggling again,” he said. “But I’ll keep plugging away at it. The one thing I know I can control is busting my (behind) defensively, so that’s what I’m doing.”

DISCUSSING D: The new Jazz defense (allowing 104.0 points per game) remains a work in progress, which will require more talking and effort to help each other out.

“Communication falls into rotations,” Jazz forward Josh Howard said, “because you’ve got to talk on defense, not saying nobody didn’t talk (Saturday). We’ve just got to want it a little bit more.”