Rookies not yet prime-time ready

All it took was one preseason game, Tuesday night's 94-79 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Fresno, for Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to yank the reins a bit on the runaway school of thought suggesting his rookies are ready for prime-time play.

"We like some of the things they do," Sloan said of the youngsters, who did little to impress Tuesday, "but they've got a lot of work to do as well to have an understanding of what's going on."

First-round draft choice Ronnie Brewer had just two points on 1-of-3 field shooting in 16 off-the-bench minutes.

Rebounding-specialist Paul Millsap scored four points and pulled down five boards in 13 minutes, while fellow second-round selection Dee Brown missed his only shot in three minutes and undrafted Roger Powell Jr. managed six points in 15 minutes.

Brian Chase, fighting Brown for a roster spot, did score seven points on 3-of-4 shooting field in four minutes, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range, but the free agent hopeful struggled defensively.

Sloan chalked off the slow start to rookie jitters.

"I remember 41 years ago how nervous and excited I was," he said, recalling his first-ever NBA exhibition game. "It can eat you up alive. You don't have any energy.

"You saw them — they looked like they were having difficulty running. And they haven't looked that way when we've practiced, because I think they didn't have the 'nervous energy."'

ALUMNI UPDATE: Ex-Jazz forward Kris Humphries "has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the preseason so far" for the Raptors, the Toronto Star reported Wednesday.

The Jazz gave up on the 2004 lottery pick last summer, dealing him to Toronto for ex-BYU center Rafael Araujo.

"My whole thing is if you go somewhere new, you should be given a fresh start," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell told the Star. "He and I had a very frank conversation when he got here. I told him what I expected, and so far I have no complaints about Kris Humphries. ... He's been great."

That said, it appears the University of Minnesota product will be relegated to a defense/rebounding role in Toronto — and not be asked to shoot much, as he had a penchant for doing virtually every time he touched the ball in Utah.