Millsap gets start nod over Collins for injured Okur

PHOENIX — The Jazz faced Phoenix on Wednesday night without starting center Mehmet Okur, who sat out due to a sore left shoulder suffered in the third quarter of Tuesday's loss at Portland.

Okur was injured on a play in which he was fouled by Trail Blazers big man Joel Przybilla.

"I gave him a ball fake," Okur said. "He jumped. I was gonna (make) contact and get a foul. He just jumped on my shoulder."

Okur said his shoulder was bruised; the Jazz are calling it a strained trapezius muscle.

Either way, it hurts and is stiff.

"It's kind of sore now," said Okur, who played in last season's NBA All-Star Game. "Can't really move up and down."

With Okur missing his second game of the season — he also sat out one with back spasms — the Jazz started with backup power forward Paul Millsap next to starting power forward Carlos Boozer up front.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said "there's always concern about" opening with two similar-style low-post players but that he opted for Millsap over backup Jarron Collins against the up-tempo Suns in part because Millsap is "a better runner."

Sloan also said that if it appears Okur may miss multiple games, the Jazz — whose next game comes Friday night at Portland — would consider recalling rookie center Kyrylo Fesenko from their NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash.

The Jazz are calling Okur "day-to-day," but he said it's possible he may miss more than one.

"Actually it was pretty sore (Tuesday) night," Okur said, "and (Wednesday) morning was worse.

"I want to go out there and play," he added, "but I guess this is part of the job."

SLOAN ON GIRICEK: Sloan on Wednesday suggested he can believe shooting guard Gordan Giricek is frustrated after spending the early part of the season bouncing back and forth between being a regular-rotation backup, playing sparingly and not playing at all.

"I'm sure he is," the Jazz coach said. "I'm sure most players are frustrated."

Still, that's not enough to prompt Sloan to hold a one-on-one meeting with the veteran from Croatia.

"Once in a while I talk to guys," Sloan said, "but I think you have to realize what we're trying to do as a team — play hard, bust your butt. It's not all about 'me.' It's about 'us.' Sometimes we talk about individuals so much that we forget the team aspect of it."

When it was suggested that Sloan has been down this road before with Giricek, the Jazz coach took exception.