Jazz need more bench minutes

SEATTLE — Jazz coach Jerry Sloan used only seven players in the second half of Wednesday night's 103-101 win over Cleveland — Utah's five starters and reserve forwards Paul Millsap and Matt Harpring.

Don't anticipate a trend, however.

Because as much as some Jazz starters might enjoy seeing a ton of minutes on a night-in, night-out basis — "If you don't have your top five or six guys out there on the court, it's gonna be hard to win games, because teams will have their top five or six out there," power forward Carlos Boozer was saying just the other day — everyone from Boozer on down knows that Sloan needs his bench.

"I think Coach is still trying to put together a substitution pattern," starting point guard Deron Williams said.

"It won't be like that every night," Boozer added Thursday, before the Jazz prepared for tonight's visit with Seattle. "(Playing so few) won't be something on a normal basis, but sometimes Coach has to make decisions over the course of a game that will help us win that particular game — and that's what he did (Wednesday)."

Those on the short end of the stick seemed to understand and accept Sloan's strategy against the Cavaliers.

"Coach Sloan, he's got one thing in mind — and that's to win the game," said veteran reserve center Jarron Collins, who played just 30 seconds Wednesday. "I think that's the most important thing."

Those who logged lots of minutes, meanwhile, loved it.

"Right now, we've just got to get wins," 39-minute man Boozer said. "If we're worn out, we're worn out."

As for why Sloan did what he did against Cleveland, including playing Williams 45 minutes and not sitting him at all in the second half, the Jazz coach was as curt with his answers Thursday as he was with his bench.

"There are no rules against that," Sloan said. "All those things are coaching decisions."

T.O., BABY: Speaking of coaching calls, Sloan — expounding on what he discussed after Wednesday's victory — suggested one reason he tried (unsuccessfully) to call a timeout before Williams' game-winning basket was that Williams wasn't in the proper place on he court to receive Boozer's in-bounds pass.

Williams, meanwhile, made no apologies — and presented a case for going as he did as opposed to getting a timeout and advancing the ball that way.