Fisher, Okur ready for opener

Reiterating what they said Sunday, guard Derek Fisher and big man Mehmet Okur on Tuesday both declared themselves good to go for tonight's season-opener against Houston.

"I haven't had any problems," said Fisher, who missed the preseason's final six games with a badly bruised tailbone.

"I'm healthy," said Okur, who sat out last Thursday's exhibition finale with a sore left hip.

Okur, who started all 82 games last season for the Jazz, is expected to start tonight. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, however, said Tuesday that he will not start Fisher against the Rockets.

The veteran acquired in an offseason trade with Golden State might have opened at shooting guard had he been healthy throughout the preseason, but instead he'll be eased into the lineup with limited minutes tonight.

While point guard Deron Williams, small forward Andrei Kirilenko and big man Carlos Boozer are expected to join Okur as starters, Sloan said he still was not sure if he'll go with veteran Gordan Giricek, second-season 19-year-old C.J. Miles or rookie first-round draft pick Ronnie Brewer at the 2 spot.

Sloan also said Tuesday he still had not decided on team captains for this season. Kirilenko, Boozer and veteran Matt Harpring shared the task last season.

NO FAITH: The crew at ESPN.com is all over the board with their predictions for how the Jazz will fare this season, but it seems none is as down on Sloan's club as Greg Anthony.

The ex-NBA guard predicts Utah will finish fourth in the Northwest Division and 14th in the Western Conference.

Writes Anthony: "Can Boozer play the whole season? Who's going to play shooting guard? Can Okur have another great season? Regardless, I don't see this being a playoff team."

Two of the Web site's 10 analysts (Tim Legler, who played three games for Utah during the 1992-93 season, and Chris Sheridan) pick the Jazz to win the division and finish fourth in the West, while seven others say they'll finish second in the Northwest.

Six of the 10 — Anthony, Marc Stein, Jim O'Brien, Scoop Jackson, Ric Bucher and Chris Broussard — do not believe the Jazz will make the playoffs.

A preseason survey of NBA general managers, incidentally, has 71.4 percent picking Denver to win the Northwest and 17.9 percent favoring Utah.