"One thing I try to tell these guys is to go do the job. People keep telling you that you need to score, you have to score. Just go play," said Sloan.

Which is what Okur has done. He held Duncan in Game 3 to a sub-par 16-point night.

"I didn't want to force it; take, like 15, 18 shots last night," said Okur. "I'm focused on the defensive end. If they need me, I'll be out there on offense, too."

His worst shooting night in the conference finals was Game 1 in San Antonio, when he went 3-15 from the field. In Game 3 vs.

Houston he turned in a miserable 2-12 performance. Two games earlier he was 2-14.

At some point, you have to wonder how long the Jazz can survive without much offensively from their second-leading scorer. (In a similar note, forward Kirilenko missed his only two field goal attempts Saturday.)

Thus, the playoffs continue tonight at EnergySolutions Arena with no one — not even Okur — knowing exactly what he will bring. Or how much they'll need him to shoot.

"If they need me," he repeated, "I'll be there on the offensive end. For now they're (teammates) doing a good job on the offensive end."

Memo? He'll be somewhere in the picture.

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com

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