Utah Jazz notebook: Injury woes aside, Jazz pleased with solid preseason

Record-wise, the 2009 preseason will go down as the third-best in Jazz franchise history.

Utah went 6-2 for its most successful exhibition campaign since 2003 and tied the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers (yes, really) for the Western Conference preseason crown. The Jazz were a James Johnson buzzer-beating basket away from tying their best-ever preseason record of 7-1, accomplished both six years ago and in 1994.

The Jazz might have been more excited had you told them yarn was on sale at a fabric store in Panguitch than they were about going 6-2 for the third time in 36 years.

"I don't pay any attention to that," said coach Jerry Sloan, whose Jazz teams have only had losing preseason records twice in his 21-year tenure. "They don't ever have that on your record."

Though not exactly giddy about the exhibition record, the Jazz were happy about picking up a couple of road wins against Portland and Sacramento after struggling to a 15-26 record away from home last season.

Beating division rivals Denver and the Trail Blazers (twice) was also encouraging.

The breakout play of rookies Eric Maynor and Wesley Matthews will likely be the lasting positive memory of the 2009 preseason.

"We had some good games on the road, but it is preseason," Jazz point guard Deron Williams said. "It's a start and you've got to start somewhere."

Preseason success doesn't always guarantee a strong regular season or vice-versa.

Utah missed out on postseason action following its hot exhibition start in its 42-40 2003-04 season, yet it went to the playoffs after winning just four games in each of the past three preseasons. For what it isn't worth, the Jazz also only had four exhibition wins in each of their two NBA Finals seasons in the late 1990s.

GOING CRAZY: Because of back spasms, Ronnie Brewer didn't travel to Sacramento for the Jazz's final preseason game. The usual starting shooting guard did, however, follow his teammates' boxscore and play-by-play stats online.

Brewer admitted it "bugs you a lot" to be home while your team is playing elsewhere. He also described parts of his Internet viewing experience as "crazy."

"At times, I was like, 'Well, that's a crazy lineup," he said, referring to a injury-forced makeshift lineup that included Eric Maynor, Deron Williams, Paul Millsap, Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko for a while.