Utah Jazz bench will get full with players coming back

Though Matt Harpring won't return, the Utah Jazz bench might soon get a bit crowded.

C.J. Miles practiced the past two days after missing two months with a left thumb injury and is expected to play tonight for the first time this season.

Andrei Kirilenko also practiced Thursday and is planning on playing after dealing with lower-back spasms since Monday's game against Memphis. Rest, treatment and chiropractic work have Kirilenko "feeling better."

The team also welcomed back Kyle Korver, who participated in part of practice after spending the first part of the week at a training facility in Santa Barbara to rehab his surgically repaired left knee. The shooting guard will be a game-time decision against Indiana.

Korver was positive about his progress and his leg's improved strength. Before leaving to the Peak Performance Project center, Korver's leg strength tested out at 70 percent for his quadriceps muscle and at 56 percent for his hamstring.

The leg was tested again on a Cybex machine Thursday morning with impressive results — 95 percent in his quad and 100 percent in his hamstring.

"My strength," Korver said, "is all pretty close to being back."

Korver still feels "a little bit of pain" in the knee that needed some cleaning up and a bone spur removed, and says some interior scar tissue needs to get broken down. Coach Jerry Sloan likes injured players to go through a full practice before returning, so Korver's season debut seems unlikely tonight because he didn't scrimmage. But getting back on the court can't come quickly enough for the sharpshooter.

"It's been a tough year so far for me," said Korver, who's only played 14 minutes in one preseason game so far. "You don't like being the guy in the training room. It's just not fun. ... (But) you deal with it and it makes you work harder."

Also, Ronnie Price (sprained left big toe) participated at half-speed in portions of practice, but he is doubtful tonight.

NICKELO-DERON: Asked if he watched a particular game on TV, Deron Williams all but admitted he doesn't control the remote control around his house: "I don't watch much basketball. I've got kids. I watch a lot of cartoons: Scooby Doo, SpongeBob, Ni Hao Kai-Lan."

FAN CLUB: Players were glad to hear Jerry Sloan, who's in his 22nd year as the Jazz head coach, signed another one-year extension to keep him with Utah through the 2010-11 season.