Utah Jazz notebook: Starters are still working out kinks

The five players coach Jerry Sloan plans to start when the Jazz's 2010-11 NBA regular season opens Wednesday night at Denver haven't exactly had much time to bond.

With point guard Deron Williams planning to miss Friday's preseason finale at home vs. Sacramento for personal reasons, in fact, the starters will have opened just two of Utah's eight exhibitions as an five-man unit.

That will include only one of the Jazz's final four preseason games, Tuesday's win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Anaheim.

But new starting center Al Jefferson, for one, doesn't seem worried whatsoever about the relative unfamiliarity for Williams, shooting guard Raja Bell, small forward Andrei Kirilenko, power forward Paul Millsap and him.

"I can't tell that we haven't had a lot of time," said Jefferson, the Jazz's leading scorer so far this preseason at 14.9 points per game.

"When I go back and watch the film, it seems like everything is going perfect," he added. "Everything happens that's supposed to happen."

Even purported preseason perfection, though, leaves plenty of room for regular-season improvement.

Jefferson, who bruised the underside of his right index-finger knuckle on Tuesday, readily acknowledges that.

"There are still some things I've got to do better on the pick-and-roll with (Williams), because I'm not used to playing with a type of guy like that in the pick-and-roll," he said. "So there are certain things I'm gonna have to get better at.

"It's just a read. But a couple times I was supposed to do certain things that he's used to," added Jefferson, who said the two have booked some post-practice time together to help refine their on-court relationship. "But this is what preseason is about. I'm glad he's been patient with me, because we need it to work."

CUTDOWN DAY: The Jazz expect to trim their roster from 17 sometime today, something Sloan wishes didn't have to happen.

"I hate the day that I have to do those things," Sloan said, "and I try not to think about it until I know that I have to do it.

"It's not a fun thing to have to do. … It's never easy."

NBA teams must get down to 15 at the most before the regular season starts next week.

The Jazz plan to open with 13, putting four who don't have guaranteed contracts — Othyus Jeffers, Sundiata Gaines, Demetris Nichols and Ryan Thompson — at risk.