Instant help? Jazz take another shot at a shooter

The Jazz found the answer to their outside shooting quandary Saturday for the umpteenth time since Jeff Hornacek retired. In Kyle Korver, whom they acquired in a trade with Philadelphia for Gordan Giricek, they now have a player who has made 41 percent of his 3-point attempts.

At last, an under-7-foot perimeter shooter.

Or as Jerry Sloan likes to differentiate, perimeter scorer.

Just when Giricek and Sloan were getting sociable.

Now all Korver must do is become the next Horny and things should be hunky-dory around here. The Jazz have an All-Star caliber point guard, an All-Star power forward and a guard/forward who is a perimeter threat — just like the glory days. Except for one tricky issue: Korver hasn't been shooting as well as normal; his 35 percent rate from the arch is the lowest of his career.

Still, after the past two weeks with Giricek, who was sent home from a road trip for bickering with Sloan, what did the team have to lose?

Certainly not productivity. Giricek, who went AWOL for a few days, didn't leave the bench on Friday. The most exercise he's had lately is when he yawned.

Just in case Korver isn't aware, this is how it will go: Sloan will tell him the offense belongs to Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, and Korver will become the equivalent of the window washer assembly on a car.

You don't need it all the time, but when you do, it simply must be working.

"Great trade for them," said Boston coach Doc Rivers, Saturday morning. "Korver's a heck of a player, heck of a shooter. But he does more things than you think; he does more than just shoot the basketball. I think he'll fit the system perfectly."

Playing for Sloan isn't the world's easiest job. Heaven knows, he and Giricek had their differences. And while the former Jazz guard certainly could score at times — he made 43 percent of his 3s last year — he either didn't fit the system or refused. Or maybe Sloan was just being hard-headed.

Whatever the case, even Hornacek admitted that at times that he would have liked to take more shots but was more interested in winning.

In the Jazz system, perimeter attempts often end up being fired under pressure as the shot clock is expiring.