Giricek starting to get more playing time

LOS ANGELES — After a slow opening-half start in Wednesday's win over San Antonio, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan benched rookie Ronnie Brewer at the beginning of the second half and went instead veteran Gordan Giricek.

Brewer was back in the starting lineup for Thursday's late-starting meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers. How long the lottery pick from the University of Arkansas stays there, though, remains to be seen.

"Giricek's seemed like he's playing a little bit better," Sloan said Thursday night,"and Ronnie's outside shooting kind of has been a little bit questionable."

"As we move forward," the Jazz coach added,"we'll just have to see how it works out."

Sloan made the move Wednesday even though Giricek — who missed six straight games in mid-November with tendinitis in his right Achilles — shot 0-for-4 in the first half against the Spurs.

As it turned out, Giricek — active without the ball — made one of his two attempts after the break and Sloan never did go back to Brewer on Wednesday. "He's played pretty good, but he's struggling with his shooting," Sloan said of Giricek, who prior to Thursday had shot just 25 percent or worse in four of his games since returning."I don't know just how great a shape he's in for being able to make shots."

So rather than start Giricek, who opened 36 of the 37 games in which he played last season, against the Lakers, Sloan stuck with his rookie Thursday.

Brewer broke into the starting lineup when small forward Andrei Kirilenko went down with ankle sprain, then moved to shooting guard in place of C.J. Miles — who opened the season's first 12 games at the 2 — when Kirilenko returned. "I'm trying to give him some experience," Sloan said of Brewer,"so these guys (youngsters like Brewer and Miles) can have something to build on." When the going gets tough, though, the Jazz coach won't hesitate to pull his hook:"You almost have to play experienced players," he said,"to (stay) in the games like we've had."

Brewer did start Thursday's second half.

THAT'S WHY: Speaking of rookies, Sloan said reserve forward Paul Millsap has "been our most consistent rookie, I guess you might say."

The Jazz coach, though, also offered an explanation for Millsap's relatively quiet play in Utah's last two games prior to Thursday — no blocks, one steal, two points and four rebounds — compared to his super-hot start.

Said Sloan, revealing a previously undisclosed injury: "He had a little groin pull there the last two or three games."