Utah Jazz: Team looking to play role of coronation crashers

Not too long ago, Hollywood produced a movie about wedding crashers. Tonight, the Utah Jazz hope to help inspire a sequel of sorts.

They could call it "The Coronation Crashers."

While publicly they agree Kobe Bryant deserves the NBA's MVP trophy he will receive from commissioner David Stern before Game 2 tonight, the Jazz would love nothing more than to crash his award party.

That, however, probably isn't a script moviemakers attending the 8:30 p.m. Jazz-Los Angeles Lakers game would like.

"First, congrats to Kobe, he's well-deserving. He's been the best player in the game for ... years. Now he has the MVP trophy to go along with it," said Jazz forward Carlos Boozer at Tuesday's practice at the Zions Bank Basketball Center. "We still want to go out there and spoil their party by taking a win."

Don't mind Jazz coach Jerry Sloan if he doesn't get too caught up in the hype and hoopla.

"That stuff doesn't excite me," Sloan said. "We don't have to play against an award. We have to play against him."

The Jazz coach, who watched Karl Malone receive the award twice in the late 1990s, isn't sure the awards ceremony will give Bryant any extra motivation to play harder, either.

"Every time I see him play, he plays like he's obsessed most of the time anyway," Sloan said. "So I don't know if he can get more fired up or not."

Sloan is sure the MVP-chanting Staples Center fans, whom he calls "a pretty noisy crowd," will get into it. The Jazz just can't get caught up in the emotion.

"If we're going to worry about those things, we better stay at home," Sloan said.

Jazz point guard Deron Williams said the official MVP announcement doesn't change a thing.

"The crowd's going to be there regardless, and Kobe's going to do what Kobe does regardless. We just got to worry about us," he said. "We knew he was MVP last game. We want to stop him regardless, MVP or not, because he's their best player, their go-to guy.

"I'm very happy for him. I think he deserves it. After that, (we'll) try to beat him."

This is the first MVP award for Bryant, who averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.8 steals for the West's best team.

WORKING PLANS: Sloan was asked Tuesday if the Jazz have special plans to slow down the MVP who carried the Lakers in their Game 1 victory.

"Yeah, we had plans the last time," Sloan said. "Sometimes he breaks all your plans."

Sloan emphasized that the Jazz must make Bryant sweat more and keep him away from the free-throw line. Of Bryant's 38 points, 21 came from his 23 attempts at the charity stripe.