Utah Jazz: Williams returns to team; Sloan misses practice

Coach Jerry Sloan missed practice Monday morning, but Deron Williams was back on the court with his teammates at the Utah Jazz's training facility.

Williams left the team early Friday morning — and missed two weekend games — so he could return home to be with his family and one of his two young daughters who underwent a medical procedure and follow-up tests.

The star point guard said he plans to play in Wednesday's home game against Toronto and at San Antonio on Thursday.

Sloan, meanwhile, was absent from the team's practice because of a previously scheduled colonoscopy. The Jazz didn't announce when he's expected to return.

Also on the medical front, backup combo guard Ronnie Price was at the Zions Bank Basketball Center with the Jazz, but he didn't practice and was set to have an MRI test taken later Monday on his sprained big left toe.

Williams asked that his privacy regarding the medical situation be respected for now.

The point guard, though, was happy to be reunited with his team, which earned a blowout win in Philadelphia and battled to a tough, tight loss at Cleveland in his absence.

"It feels good to see them," Williams said about his teammates. "It's tough when you're home sitting watching when you should be there. It's just a different feeling."

Williams liked what he saw, though, and especially from his rookie fill-in, Eric Maynor. The first-year Virginia Commonwealth product had a double-double in his first start — the win over the Sixers — and then scored 24 points in the down-to-the-wire loss against the Cavaliers.

"He wasn't nervous, but I kind of expected that from him," Williams said of Maynor. "You can just tell the kind of player he is. I've said since I met him he doesn't carry himself like a rookie. He has a confidence about himself, so hopefully now my minutes can get cut down because coach trusts him a little bit more."

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