Though not necessarily superstitious, Sloan said he does adhere to one particular ritual every single game day.

"I try to make sure I eat," he joked.

While fancy handshakes or chest bumps might not be his style, Sloan doesn't mind that his players are a bit exuberant before games.

"They're younger guys," he said. "They seem to be happy."

His only concern is that the players save some juice for the entire game.

"You've got to have energy at the end of ballgames to finish the games," he said. "Sometimes you blow it all off in the early part of the game."

Sloan couldn't recall any particular rituals done by John Stockton or Karl Malone, either.

"They just stepped out there and played," he said.

The new Jazz kids do that, too, of course — just not until all their rituals and rites of pregame passage are done.

Jazz vs. Rockets

Utah leads series 3-1

GAME 1 — Utah 93, Houston 82
GAME 2 — Utah 90, Houston 84
GAME 3 — Houston 94, Utah 92

GAME 4 — Utah 86, Houston 82
GAME 5 — Today at Houston, 7:30 p.m., NBA TV, KJZZ
GAME 6 — Friday at Utah, TBA*
GAME 7 — Sunday at Houston, TBA*
* If necessary

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E-mail: jody@desnews.com