Utah Jazz: D-Will to start tonight against Clippers

Published: Monday, April 13 2009 2:40 p.m. MDT

Deron Williams left the court in pain Saturday — and the Jazz put on a painful performance while on the court the same night — but the starting rotation will remain the same for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Williams said his strained left oblique muscle, which he tweaked while reaching to steal a pass with 52.8 seconds remaining, is "good" now.

As such, he is penciled in for his usual spot at the starting point guard position.

The rest of the starting five will be the same as they were for Saturday's 118-108 loss to Golden State, Jerry Sloan told reporters at shootaround today. That opening group will include Mehmet Okur, Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles, who didn't play in the second half of the stunning defeat after returning to the starting lineup.

"I think (we'll) just keep the guys the way we are right now," Sloan said. "Who would I change?"

One thing the Jazz need to change, Williams said, is their tendency to play selfish basketball — something that has contributed to Utah's three-game losing streak and late-season slide.

"We just can't do it by ourselves, it's got to be a collective group," Williams said. "It's got to be everybody giving effort, everybody playing well."

E-Mail: jody@desnews.com

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