But all the injuries make it tough for Sloan to give a fair evaluation because the Jazz "haven't been together enough to know whether we are (better) or not."

Sloan said his players have played "fairly decent" D at times when they've resorted to a zone defense or "gimmicky stuff," as he likes to call it. But the Jazz's man defense still needs help — from defenders staying between their man and the hoop to other guys helping out.

"Individual, one-on-defense, we get broken off the dribble and guys are driving by us like we're not even there. That's not very good," Sloan said. "You can talk about help defense all you want, but, you know, in this league you've got to help yourself first. And after you've helped yourself, then you might be able to holler for help."

NO 'D' IN PAYCHECK: But there is an "O" in offense and money. From that concept comes this Sloan quote: "I don't know if we have anybody on the team that you would say gets paid on the defensive end of the floor."

AND MILES?: During his mid-range rant, Sloan did briefly discuss his starting small forward's offensive game, too. Miles is scoring 11.1 points per game — twice his career average — and has hit double figures in nine of 11 games. He even scored 25 and 21 in consecutive outings a couple of weeks ago.

"I think he's exerted himself a great deal more," Sloan said.

Sloan would like the 21-year-old to "work on his drive game" and, of course, to fine-tune those mid-range Js. Miles is shooting a career-best 48.1 percent from the field, but his coach said he's only hitting about 38 percent of his jumpers.

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