Utah Jazz: Teammates benefit from Williams' return

Utah Jazz players meant no offense to Ronnie Price, but they couldn't have been happier to have their star point guard, Deron Williams, back feeding them the ball right where they like it on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions during their 117-100 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Williams "is a great player, one of the best in the league, and he showed that tonight," said Jazz forward Paul Millsap.

Jazz center Mehmet Okur concurred.

Williams "is such a great leader," said Okur. "He tried to execute every play and create open shots for us. It was good to see him back."

Williams, playing in his first regular-season home game of the season after suffering a sprained left ankle during a preseason game against Chicago, was on the court for less than 30 minutes. In that time, however, he was able to dish out 15 assists.

That helped the Jazz have six players score double figures, led by Millsap's 24 points. Okur and Ronnie Brewer added 21 each, with Andrei Kirilenko scoring 17 and C.J. Miles finishing with 13.

Price, the former Utah Valley University star who was a big-time scorer in college, filled in as the Jazz's starting point guard during the 13 games Williams missed. Price did many things right in averaging 7.3 points and 4.3 assists.

But he's no Deron Williams.

"Ronnie Price is not a true point guard," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "He's a tremendous competitor and he works very hard, but that's the difference (in having Williams back). You had a point guard that can hit people in the open court and the half court or wherever. That's why (Williams) is such a great player."

Williams' 15 assists was four more than the Grizzlies had as a team. Williams also scored 11 points in his first outing since playing in two road games on Nov. 11 and 12 before he re-aggravated his injury.

"Well, you see what he brings to this team and the type of player he is," said Millsap of Williams. "He's a great player, one of the best in the league, and he showed that tonight. Coming off an injury in his home debut, he played great. We had that energy tonight. He was dishing the ball out, giving us confidence. We got a lot of dunks and steals, things like that. We're glad to have him back."

Kirilenko, like his teammates, was pleased with Williams' return.

"It's definitely a huge addition when (Williams) is on the floor," said Kirilenko. "He was playing extremely well tonight. He dished out 15 assists and he organized the game very well. He's a huge part of our win." Still, A.K. knows better things are in store as Williams and the Jazz get more in sync.

"He hasn't been able to play a game at full speed, and I could see he was a little short of breath," said Kirilenko. "It will take a couple of games to get his rhythm and get healthy 100 percent."

Even when Williams is not quite at full strength, just having him on the court is a big help to the Jazz.

And bad news for the rest of the NBA.

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E-mail: lojo@desnews.com