"My key role," Price said, "is to get in and play defense and get the guys into the offense."

So what if it's not exactly 40 minutes of Williams-to-Boozer like play?

There still has been a comfy relationship developing in the limited time that Price — now averaging eight minutes per game — is able to be on the floor.

"With Booz and everyone else, they just make it easier," said Price, who signed with the Jazz as a free agent last offseason after spending his first two NBA seasons as one of the backups to then-Kings point guard Mike Bibby in Sacramento.

"He (Boozer) sets good screens, and he draws so much attention, it just makes it easy to make things happen on the pick-and-roll," he added. "You know, Deron and Booz do it all game. So I just try to fill in."

Early in the season, Price — who also sometimes plays off-guard next to Williams when opponents counter with two small guards — wasn't even afforded the opportunity to do that.

The more-experienced Hart, also an ex-Bibby backup in Sacramento, claimed the backup job coming out of training camp.

He held onto it for quite some time, even as many Jazz diehards lobbied loudly — in message boards, on sports-talk radio and around the water cooler — for Price to get his chance.

Hart even retained the role for a few games after missing six straight during late January/early February due a bulging disc and inflammation in his lower back, an injury sustained during a fall against his old Kings club.

Eventually, though, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan — impressed with what he saw from Price during the half-dozen games Hart missed, including 8-of-18 field shooting and a solid understanding of the Utah offense — made the switch.

Also likely influencing the decision: games against Sacramento on Feb. 8 and Chicago on Feb. 9 in which Price was at his best.

He logged double-digit minutes both nights, partly because starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer was out with a bruised tailbone.

Price shot 4-of-5 in a loss to the Kings the first night, and Sloan was kicking himself a bit afterward for not sticking with him longer.

The 24-year-old Texas native followed that up with another 4-for-5 night against the Bulls. He came off the bench first behind Williams in the second half of that game, and has held the backup job in the four games since.

"He's been playing great ever since he's been given full-time backup minutes," Williams said. "I've been real proud of him."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com