SALT LAKE CITY — Earl Watson and Raja Bell will remain in the starting lineup again tonight for the Utah Jazz when they host the Washington Wizards at EnergySolutions Arena.
Both Devin Harris (hamstring) and Andrei Kirilenko (knee) will be sidelined yet again because of their respective injuries.
This will be the third game in a row Watson and Bell will team up as the backcourt starters for the Jazz, who enter this contest on a five-game losing streak.
The good news: Washington has only managed one road victory all season.
The Wizards, led by rookie sensation John Wall, did beat the Jazz in D.C. back in January, though.
Coach Tyrone Corbin said he spoke to the team and to Al Jefferson about staying under control when officiating doesn't go their way.
After Saturday's loss, Jefferson refused to talk about his two technicals and ejection — which came after he mockingly clapped in the face of a referee. After today's shootaround, Jefferson said he thought the media was trying to make a bigger deal out of the situation than was necessary. He even jokingly said he couldn't recall what his coach had told the team about the situation.
Though he understands frustrations, Corbin had a simple message to the team: "That's not who we are."
As for the injured players, Kirilenko again was not made available to the media for comment. He has been on crutches since bruising a nerve in his left knee during Wednesday's game at Oklahoma City.
Harris said he was to be evaluated by a doctor this afternoon to determine whether or not he can move forward in returning to basketball action. The point guard, who hasn't played since early in last Monday's loss at Memphis, did say that his hammy is making improvement.
One reason Jazz fans might want to watch tonight's game. Former Utah player Othyus Jeffers, a fan favorite last year, was signed to a second 10-day contract with the Wizards and will be in the arena for the first time to play against his old team that plucked him out of the D-League last season.
e-mail: jody@desnews.com
Twitter: DJJazzyJody
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Jody is a sports writer who covers the Utah Jazz for the Deseret News (yeah, rough life). He also writes about his fitness/health journey and triathlon exploits in his "Losing It!" column. He has been with the paper since more ..
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RBN...yes, really. Othyus was an energetic player, a delight to watch and was refreshing to cover because of his enthusiasm for the game and his big chance.
Fans in Utah loved him. He was a go-getter, a Jerry Sloan-type player who went all More..
It would be alot more interesting if Corbin would give the rookies lots of playing time. The future is in them, let's see what they've got. We pretty much know what the vets give us and that's very little effort on defense or crashing the boards.
Jody... really? Areason to see the Jazz play tonight is to see a former Jazzman, who rarely dressed for the Jazz, maybe get to play for a team with which he signed two ten day contracts?
That's journalism?