Okur still sidelined for Atlanta game

ATLANTA — Usual Jazz starting center Mehmet Okur said Monday morning that he will not play tonight when Utah faces Atlanta at the start of a four-game Eastern road trip.

It will be the fourth straight game missed by Okur, who strained and bruised his left shoulder in the Jazz's loss to Portland last Tuesday.

"I feel better — but that's without contact, without pushing against anybody," Okur, who previously had been listed as doubtful, said after stepping off a treadmill following the Jazz's morning shootaround on the Hawks' practice court at Philips Arena here. "I haven't tried any 1-on-1 or 5-on-5 on the floor."

Okur, who played in last season's NBA All-Star Game, is averaging 12.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21 games this season.

The native of Turkey said he didn't know if he'd be ready to return when the Jazz play their second game of the trip, Wednesday at Charlotte.

With Okur still out, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said Monday that he would open with backup Jarron Collins for a third straight game and would again bring reserve big man Paul Millsap off the bench.

"I started (Millsap the first game Okur was out, vs. Phoenix last Wednesday), and then we ended up getting into foul trouble with him," Sloan said. "As we came down the stretch I got concerned about foul trouble, (so) you try to preserve him so you can have him for the end of the ball game, the way we are right now.

"We'll start the same way we have been (with Collins) the last couple games," Sloan added, "and finish, probably, with (Millsap)."

Millsap, the Jazz coach suggested, should benefit from the extra minutes he's been getting while Okur has been sidelined.

"He's needed more playing time all along," Sloan said of the Jazz's usual backup power forward, a second-year, second-round draft choice from Louisiana Tech.

"It's hard to get everybody playing time when we're playing like we should," he added, "but if anybody deserves it he does — because of the amount of work he puts in to play."

Also out for the Jazz tonight, as expected, will be Atlanta area prep product and former Georgia Tech star Matt Harpring, who has remained in Utah to undergo gastrointestinal testing.

Harpring, who led Marist High School to a Georgia state tournament title, became ill and passed out on the Jazz's return flight Friday night from Portland to Salt Lake City.

He did not play in Saturday's win over Seattle, one which ended a six-game losing streak for the 14-11 Jazz.

Current plans call for Harpring to rejoin the team in Charlotte in time for Wednesday's game against the Bobcats.

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