Utah Jazz: Some big shoes to fill

For now, there is no telling just how long Deron Williams will be out.

The Jazz's starting point guard sprained his left ankle Saturday night in the first quarter of a preseason road win at Chicago.

He received treatment on the ankle Sunday, and he is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam today.

"Then we'll see where it's at," Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said Sunday night.

For however long it is until Williams returns, the Jazz will have a void to fill.

Nearly 19 points, 10 assists and about 37 minutes worth.

Just how they'll go about addressing the matter was all the talk late Saturday.

"You can sit around and feel sorry for yourself," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, whose club — with or without Williams, a 2008 Team USA Olympic gold medal-winning guard — opens the 2008-09 NBA regular season Oct. 29 vs. Denver.

"But that bottom line is somebody else has got to step up and play," Sloan added. "I mean, that can happen to any player, and there should be guys sitting there wanting that job."

There indeed is a long list, and it's not just limited to reserve point guards Ronnie Price and Brevin Knight — both candidates for the regular-season backup job.

Each of those two should see amped-up time — Price almost certainly, and Knight if he's able to return soon from a sprained left thumb. But others could be employed as well, including swingman C.J. Miles and even, in a potential point-forward role, the versatile Andrei Kirilenko.

"Somewhere along the line, C.J. might have to play," Sloan said of Miles, who played some emergency point during practices and in the preseason. "But probably the bottom line is Andrei's gonna have the ball more.

"We'll play Andrei at some position out there," added Sloan, who used Kirilenko at power forward Saturday as well as at his usual small-forward spot, "and have him handle the ball more."

A bulk of the minutes, though, probably will go to converted point guard Price, the undrafted UVSC product who won the backup role from since-traded Jason Hart last season.

"We've got a good all-around team. So, you know, everybody has to step it up a little bit," said Price, who averaged 9.4 minutes per game during his first year with the Jazz last season.