Utah Jazz notebook: Brewer, Korver rotation has changed a little bit

For much of the time since he arrived in Utah following a late-December trade from Philadelphia, backup shooting guard Kyle Korver has played in the second and fourth quarters while starter Ronnie Brewer has played mostly the first and third.

But that changed a bit during the Jazz's four-game road trip last week, and — at least for now — there is no telling who might finish.

"It's kind of a gut thing," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "I don't have anything in concrete."

In a loss at Chicago and a win at Milwaukee at the start of the trip, it was Brewer who closed. In Friday's victory at Boston, Korver finished. And Saturday in New Jersey, due partly to matchups, both were on the floor for the last several minutes of a two-point loss to the Nets.

Brewer's defensive presence, Sloan suggested, is a big reason he's been getting called on more and more lately.

"Teams go at us some defensively," the Jazz coach said, "and Ronnie's probably is a little bit bigger and little bit stronger, and seems to be able to guard people a little bit better under those conditions at times."

Sloan said he also has confidence in Brewer as a late-game free-throw shooter, something for which Korver is well-known.

But Sloan hasn't at all lost faith in Korver, who took — and missed — two 3-point attempts in Saturday's final minute.

In fact, he suggested during the week that he's cognizant of the need to more regularly integrate the sharpshooter as a viable option within the Jazz offense.

"If somebody else is shooting the basketball, he doesn't get, maybe, an opportunity," Sloan said, "and it's hard for him to stay in a rhythm playing that way

"We need to help him more to get him some shots," he added, "and probably have failed some in that."

The Jazz coach also suggested that a second-year player like Brewer should not discouraged when he's not called upon: "Sometimes we have a tendency to think they've been in the league 10 years," Sloan said, "but they have to work through a lot of stuff to find out who they are — in tough situations."

DEFENSIVE SNYDER: In 2004, the Jazz used first-round draft choices on Kris Humphries (No. 14 overall) and Kirk Snyder (No. 16).

Neither lasted more than two seasons in Utah.

But Humphries seems to have established himself as a reserve-role player in Toronto, which visits the Jazz tonight.