Utah Jazz and L.A. Lakers heading in different directions

"Sometimes you’re going to have your ups and downs, but you’ve got to stay together. You’ve got to trust into what we doing and continue to do," Jefferson said. "And when we was going through that little time, we knew what it was. We knew we wasn’t being aggressive on the defensive end, so we just picked that up and got back do to doing what we do best."

In light of the Lakers' recent players-only meeting being a public topic of conversation, Jefferson said he consulted with injured Mo Williams about having a second heart-to-heart team chat when the Jazz were in their downward spiral last month.

"We had a player only meeting back in Toronto, the night before Toronto, when we were going through our first little slump and we bounced back from that," Big Al recalled of that Nov. 11 dinner after the Jazz started 3-4.

"This last time, we didn’t because we knew what we had to do. … (Mo is) still one of the leaders, he’s always the one you want to talk to about advice. I talked to him about having another player-only meeting, but things started working itself out. Sometimes you’ve just got to let it work itself out."

"These guys are great about talking to each other all the time," Corbin said, "so I think they understand this and the importance of what we’re doing. They want to win games."

Corbin said the Jazz's better play originated with the team's captains and spread throughout the squad.

"It started with Al and Paul, the leaders. Everybody else has followed suit," Corbin said. "You look at Jamaal (Tinsley's) and Earl (Watson's) increased minutes, (to) be point guards to lead the team. It’s been a group effort on all parts to help us have a chance to continue to win."

The Jazz just hope the Lakers don't catch on to their little team-first secret while they're in Tinsel Town.

I think everybody’s a little shocked about what's going on over there, but it has nothing to do with me," Millsap said.

"I don’t know really what their problem is. I don’t worry about other teams. For us, our whole attitude is changed. We’re more committed about winning. It’s not about one guy, two guys. We're all part of this, trying to win."

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