Nobody expects perfection. Jazz legend John Stockton "always made mistakes," Henschen said, but the future Hall-of-Fame point guard "always played forward." Athletes like Michael Jordan and Stockton didn't dwell on mistakes and had a kind of confidence and optimism that makes it "hard to get into a slump."

If shots just aren't falling, players can work their way out of a slump by building confidence in other ways: playing tough defense, rebounding, hustling, etc.

"That's a good way to approach it," Henschen said.

"That's what they should do," Sloan added. "I think that's part of growing up in this league, knowing what to do when things don't go well for you and (how) do you fight out of it."

The sooner a player moves on from a mistake, the better in Sloan's opinion. Blaming others, including the coach, isn't usually productive, either.

"If you're going to miss a shot and you take five plays to figure it out and you're still worried about that shot you missed, you're probably going to miss more," Sloan said.

Jazz guard C.J. Miles says he doesn't even really believe in slumps — and he at least doesn't remember ever being in one. His theory is that if you keep working hard, continue shooting and don't focus on the misses "it's hard to get in a slump."

When asked what he does to get out of slumps, Jazz backup forward Paul Millsap laughed.

"I don't shoot the ball enough to have a slump," he said.

As for Sloan, he deadpanned that it's easy for him to recall his worst slump.

"I had one all the time," said the self-deprecating former Chicago Bulls standout. "I was on a career slump."

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