Jazz postseason will focus on filling holes

At 41-41, they won 15 more games in 2005-06 than a season earlier.

To make another such giant jump next season, one that surely would vault them into postseason play they have not enjoyed since the spring of 2003, the Jazz have a cornucopia of needs.

Some are tangible, positions that should be filled and/or players that must be replaced. Others are more intangible, something only time will discern if it's enough or not.

"I think we still have pieces to add," basketball operations senior vice president Kevin O'Connor said. "I won't say huge pieces, but we still (need) pieces. We're still not good enough. We saw what Dallas is, and we saw what San Antonio is. And we want to get there. And we've got to add a couple more pieces for that."

What exactly are those pieces, those . . . needs?

In the aftermath of a third straight season that produced little more than expectations for the future, O'Connor, coach Jerry Sloan and a couple key players who have been with Utah throughout the playoff drought addressed the issue in detail.

Here's the breakdown, largely from their perspective:

Aw, shoot

It should come as no great shock that, from the coach's desk to the front office, there is a consensus on just what is the hugest roster hole to fill for 2006-07.

"We need to score better out of the 2 position," Sloan said.

"I think we're on track," he added. "I think with a couple players on this team — if we can find somebody that can make shots — you know, I don't think this team's that far away."

Gordan Giricek started 36 of 37 games in which he played mostly at shooting guard, but injuries and illness — mostly tendinitis in his left Achilles — limited him to less than half a season, including no games in February, March or April.

The Jazz at various times played what amounts to two point guards in the backcourt, but — save perhaps for rookie Deron Williams' development — that served little beneficial purpose.

Forward Andrei Kirilenko slid over to off-guard when in mid-March Sloan turned to a heavy-horse starting lineup also featuring Williams, Matt Harpring at small forward, Mehmet Okur at power forward and Carlos Boozer at center.