"You can really get yourself in a lot of trouble, because expectations have destroyed a lot of franchises," Sloan added. "Fortunately this one's hung together, because we haven't had (such) expectations. ... I mean, everybody's had their hopes and thoughts. But we've always felt like we have to win today, then go from there."

Sloan has to cringe, however, as he looks not only at today and next week, but also the next several months.

It's all because of what amounts to a killer conference, with newcomers like back-from-injury 2007 No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden of Portland joining emerging stars like Chris Paul of New Orleans and established ones like L.A.'s Kobe Bryant.

"It's gonna be a lot tougher," Sloan said.

"I had a lot of respect for Portland last year — they beat us three out of four games, and the one game we won they had played the night before and we hadn't. ... I think they've got a tremendously talented team. Oklahoma City will be better. Denver, I think, is gonna be in the pack, like they have been."

And the hits keep coming.

"The West is always tough. You never know how it's going to play out," point guard Deron Williams said. "New Orleans is definitely going to be up there. You know, you can never count San Antonio out. And Houston, if they're healthy.

"Portland is going to be tough. That's another team that's gonna be up there, I think, this year. They're very young, but they're very talented. They have good coaching, and they come and they compete every night. That's all you can ask for."

And that's not to mention the Bryant-led, Bynum-infused Lakers.

"It's going to be interesting to see how well (Bynum) and Pau (Gasol) play together, because they haven't played together yet," Williams said. "I think that'll be interesting."

Not to be excluded from the mix, of course, are the two-time defending Northwest Division-champion Jazz — winners of 54 games last season, and 51 the one prior to that.

"We're definitely right there. ... We've just to got to make that extra jump, that leap," Williams said. "And this is a great year to do it.

"I think we've had a great team for the past three years," he added, "and we've just got to make that next jump for a championship."

That's right:

The mostly status-quo Jazz really aren't worried so much about the bar to get in as they are figuring out how to get over all of the rest.

From shore to shore.

"We had the same urgency last year, the year before that," Boozer said. "We're gonna have it again, and again and again and again. We want to win a championship, and that's all that matters."

Boozer paused a moment, then decided he was confident enough to offer at least one prediction.

No matter how much tougher the West may be.

"Whoever we have to go through," he said, "we go through."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com