Boozer hecklers more calm this time

CLEVELAND — The signs weren't nearly as numerous or nasty.

And the boos seemed a bit more subdued compared to last March, when Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer made his first appearance in Cleveland following a controversial 2004 move to Utah.

The heckling even seemed louder when Ohio State-rival Michigan's logo was flashed on the scoreboard at Quicken Loans Arena, in fact, than when Boozer had the ball.

"It wasn't even nowhere close to what it was last year," said Boozer, who maneuvered out of his rookie contract with the Cavaliers and wound up signing a six-year, $68 million deal with the Jazz.

"At the same time, they have great fans. And they're definitely very animated trying to distract me a little bit," Boozer added after finishing with a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double in Utah's 99-94 loss to Cleveland and ex-teammate LeBron James. "But, it's all fun. It's part of sports."

GOOD POINT: Deron Williams scored only 11 points and shot just 4-of-17 Friday night and afterward wasn't shy about suggesting why.

"I let the refs get in my head a little bit in that first half," the Jazz point guard said. "From there, I just never got a rhythm. I was second-guessing myself with everything I'm doing — and I'm not good when I'm playing like that."

TIME TO PONDER: All five Jazz starters logged 30-plus minutes Friday, and all five — Williams, Boozer, Andrei Kirilenko, Mehmet Okur and Ronnie Brewer — are averaging at least 29 minutes this season.

No Jazz sub is averaging more than 20 minutes, and only three — Paul Millsap, Gordan Giricek and Matt Harpring — are averaging double-digit minutes.

That doesn't leave a whole lot of playing time for the rest of the Jazz lineup, and coach Jerry Sloan knows it.

"That's most difficult," Sloan said of balancing minutes with the need to win. "You can't play everybody."

GILL SIGNS: With backup point guard Darrell Armstrong out up to a month with a severe thigh contusion, Weber State product and five-season NBA veteran Eddie Gill — who played on the Jazz's Rocky Mountain Revue summer league team this past July — signed with New Jersey Nets earlier this week.

According to the Newark Star-Ledger newspaper, Nets basketball boss Rod Thorn "didn't even consider Keith McLeod this time around."