Utah Jazz: Shorthanded Jazz brace for Suns

PHOENIX — The Utah Jazz have the potential of being extremely shorthanded for tonight's game against the Phoenix Suns.

Raja Bell and Ronnie Price are still listed as game-time decisions after this morning's shootaround, and Andrei Kirilenko (sprained ankle) and Mehmet Okur (strained back) are both out. If Bell and Price both sit, the Jazz will have just nine players dressed to play the Suns.

Bell (calf) has a better chance of playing tonight than Price (toe). If neither player can go, the Jazz will start Deron Williams, C.J. Miles, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson. Off the bench, there would only be one guard available in Earl Watson, and three big men in Francisco Elson, Kyrylo Fesenko and Jeremy Evans.

"Our bench would be short," said Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin. "We'd only have nine guys, so a couple guys we've talked to about playing a few different positions tonight. We've got to play them (the Suns) and go with what we have."

Corbin isn't having any sort of doom-and-gloom feelings about tonight's game as he attempts to pick up his first win as a head coach.

"It is what it is," he said. "We've got to play with who we have. We're a capable team. We only have to play five at a time."

Miles will start for the Jazz tonight. Hayward will start for Bell if he can't play.

The injury news is bad for the Jazz in regards to the Suns, too. Phoenix will have reserve guard Goran Dragic back tonight after missing seven games. Dragic stepped on a piece of glass at home and needed nine stitches to fix the cut.

Dragic has been a problem for the Jazz, as he had a career-high 32 points and six 3-pointers in a game at EnergySolutions Arena last January.

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