Brown and Chase could both stick

PORTLAND, Ore. — One, Dee Brown, missed all three of his shots from the field and made two turnovers in nine minutes. The other, Brian Chase, shot 1-of-4 and committed a couple fouls in his five minutes.

Neither, in other words, did little in the Jazz's most-recent preseason outing — Friday's 112-96 loss at Sacramento — to boost their bid in a battle with each other for a roster spot.

Yet there is a chance, albeit a slim one, that both will remain on the roster for Utah's Nov. 1 start of the 2006-07 NBA regular season.

If veteran guard Derek Fisher is slow to recover from a badly bruised pelvis sustained in an Oct. 14 exhibition at Indiana, Jazz officials hinted recently, there is a possibility both Brown and Chase will remain on the roster when the season opens.

Eventually, though, it's likely one will be waived and the other will be declared the Jazz's No. 3 point guard.

Who will win remains uncertain, though indications are Brown has done nothing to hurt his chances.

He is more of a combo guard than a pure point, but his case is aided by two factors. One is that the franchise invested a second-round draft pick in the University of Illinois product last June. The other is that Jazz powers-that-be seem to love his offcourt work ethic and penchant for pushing others in practice.

No wonder Brown presses on with few preseason worries — which wasn't exactly the case when he toiled last July for the Jazz's Rocky Mountain Revue team.

"When I played in summer league, I was in a box — I was just trying to learn," Brown said. "I wasn't playing like myself.

"Once I got into training camp and I started getting the system down, I got out of that 'box,"' he added. "Now, I'm just free, having fun, playing again like I know how."

Undrafted Chase, meanwhile, feels he is getting ample opportunity to prove his worth — and continues clinging to the hope he'll be asked to stay.

"That's all I can ask for — an opportunity and a fair shot to play on this level," the Virginia Tech product said. "So, without a doubt, I'm very thankful for that.

"I feel like I'm very mentally tough. I don't let things get to me," Chase added. "Things that are out of my control, I leave up to the Lord. So, I'm not a big person on worrying, (being) stressed out or anything."