Utah Jazz: Korver and Miles to be evaluated

Millions of people love visiting New York for the shopping, the entertainment, the nightlife scene, diverse dining, sporting events, tourist attractions, fun cab rides and even just the cool vibe of the city.

Kyle Korver and C.J. Miles?

Yeah, they've been anticipating their trip to New York so they could go, of all places, to the doctor's office.

Because of the peculiar timing of their preseason injuries and the location of their ensuing surgeries, both Utah players planned check-ups with their Big Apple-based doctors to conveniently coincide with Monday night's Jazz-Knicks game at Madison Square Garden.

They hitched a plane ride with the team Sunday and will head to their separate appointments Monday.

It might be a toss-up who's more anxious to hear the results.

Is it Miles (left thumb) and Korver (left knee), who are dying to get healed up and play again after missing the first part of the regular season?

"I'm hoping for the best," said Korver, who had a bone spur removed and his kneecap cleaned up during arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 28. "Man, I'm hoping they say I can start running a little bit."

"Yeah, I need my real hand back," added the southpaw Miles, who's been in a cast since shortly after having a ruptured tendon in his left thumb surgically repaired on Oct. 7. "I don't know how to use these right ones."

Or is it the 2-4 Jazz, who've desperately missed having the pair's zone-busting long-range shooting potential in the team's unexpected slow start?

"We're missing them a lot," Jazz point guard Deron Williams said after Saturday's surprising 104-99 home loss to Sacramento. "We need some shooters out there, some outside shooting to spread the floor and make things easier."

Miles and Korver know that, too, making them all the more anxious to return. The two, Miles admitted, have "definitely talked" about how the team needs their defense-stretching skills back ASAP. Miles points out that not having outside threats affects Utah's entire offense, from running pick-and-rolls to Williams' strong drives.

"That," Miles said of the players' eventual returns, "will change the game a lot."

Scary thing is, Miles said that before Sacramento packed it in on Utah and dared the Jazz to make outside shots Saturday — something they were unable to do consistently against the zone, leading to the loss.

"We've got to nip that in the bud right away, so we can get them out of (zones)," Jazz forward Carlos Boozer said regarding the team's inability to score from outside.

Help could be on the way sooner than later.