Utah Jazz: Bragging right on the line for Miles

C.J. Miles has a little bit more motivation than usual to play well and help the Utah Jazz win tonight.

It's not just because his job as a starter is under scrutiny and his playing time has become sparser lately.

That's important, especially considering Miles only averaged about 16 minutes, five points and one rebound during the Jazz's just-finished 2-3 road trip.

It's also not just because another key player's availability — the latest injured teammate being Paul Millsap, whose MRI test results on his injured left knee will be made public today — is uncertain.

Adding to the significance factor for Miles is that tonight's homecoming game for the Jazz comes against his hometown team. Both the Mavericks and the 21-year-old are from Dallas.

Miles admits that "bragging rights" — especially with one uncle — are on the line whenever the Texas native goes up against the team he grew up cheering for.

Anytime he goes home, Miles gets hit with Texan trash-talk, something he fully anticipated happening during his quick trip to the Big D for Christmas the past couple of days.

"I'm going to walk in the house and the first thing my uncle's going to say is, 'You know you play Dallas,'" Miles predicted at practice on Christmas Eve. "And I'm gonna say, 'Yeah, we're going to win.' And it's going to turn into an argument."

All in good — "Your team stinks, pass the egg nog" — holiday-cheer fun, of course.

Miles laughed that some things apparently run deeper than blood — his uncle's love for Mark Cuban's club being one of them.

"He's a C.J. Miles fan," the fourth-year Jazz player said of his relative. "But he can't give up his Mavericks."

The fact that he's facing Dallas for the first time as a starter makes the match-up all the more fun for Miles. Though his play has been hit-and-miss of late, Miles is hoping to show his boss, coach Jerry Sloan, that he belongs in the tipoff team.

Miles listed "intensity" and "consistency" — along with finding other ways to score and contribute when his shooting is off — as his top priorities right now.

And it's a Texas-sized task he believes he's up, too.

"I still remain confident in everything I can do," Miles said.