Utah Jazz notebook: Matthews gets playing time, Maynor not so lucky

For the first time Tuesday in his short NBA career, point guard Eric Maynor — the Jazz's first-round selection in last June's NBA Draft — did not play, coach's decision.

But Wesley Matthews did play in Utah's loss Tuesday night at Dallas, and — with Kyle Korver and C.J. Miles still both recovering from surgery — the undrafted swingman from Marquette has rapidly become a regular part of coach Jerry Sloan's rotation.

Matthews logged 15 minutes against the Mavericks and responded in just his fourth NBA game with a season-high eight points, two more than he had Monday night vs. Houston.

"Wes, I thought he played pretty well," Sloan said. "I thought he did pretty well staying in what we were trying to do.

"He took the ball to the basket a couple times, and made some nice moves there. I thought he tried defensively to get out on the shooters out on the wings, and put a little less distance between himself and the guys he's guarding."

As for whether or not Matthews will used as extensively whenever veteran swingmen Miles and Korver return, however, remains to be seen.

Neither Korver (knee surgery) nor Dallas native C.J. Miles (thumb surgery) made the trip to Texas, and both are expected to stay sidelined until later this month or some time in December.

Miles is scheduled to have his cast removed Monday in New York, and Korver has a follow-up visit with his surgeon there on the same day.

"We'll see," Sloan said. "He (Matthews, who just turned 23) is young, hasn't been around the league very much, obviously.

"That (Korver's and Miles' experience) is what you miss in games like that like we had (Tuesday)," the Jazz coach added. "You know, I probably played a couple guys maybe a little longer than I should have. They may have been a little bit tired. But I gambled on it, and I probably lost."

COAT DRIVE: Jazz swingman Kyle Korver will hold his annual charity coat drive when the Jazz play host to Sacramento on Saturday.

Fans are encouraged to bring new coats (with tags still attached) for donation to the Utah Dream Center and Salt Lake Education Foundation.

For each coat donated, a voucher will be issued that admits two individuals into a private postgame autograph session with Korver.

TICKET PRICES: According to the Chicago-based Team Marketing Report's annual survey of NBA teams, average cost of a Jazz ticket this season is $43.90 — same as last season.

That ranks eighth-lowest in the NBA, which saw league average prices for non-amenity tickets dip 2.8 percent to $48.90. The Los Angeles Lakers are highest at $93.25; Memphis ($24.10) is cheapest .

JAZZ FINED: According to ESPN.com, the Jazz and the NBA's other 29 teams were fined $25,000 each Tuesday because four clubs exceeded the league limit for "reimbursing travel, lodging and/or meal expenses incurred by free agents" this past offseason.

The Jazz weren't one of the four unidentified guilty parties, though, as they didn't recruit any outside free agents at all last summer.

AND FINALLY: It's almost as if Sloan saw Dirk Nowitzki's 40-point game and 29-point fourth quarter coming Tuesday.

"We've got to hopefully get up and try to guard him," the Jazz coach said before the Jazz's loss to Nowitzki and the Mavericks. "We let him catch the ball about wherever he wants. That's one of the problems. You've got to try to make him work a little bit harder."

e-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com