No rest for Jazz with Blazers on tap tonight News Utah Jazz

Fresh off their 112-104 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena, the Utah Jazz hopped on a charter jet and flew to Portland in preparation for tonight's big Northwest Division game against the Trail Blazers. If this year's trends are any indication, the Jazz won't fare very well. It will be the second game of a back-to-back set ? and on the road, to boot.

The Jazz, now 19 games above .500, are just 3-14 this year in the second games of back-to-backs. All three of those victories ? against Memphis, Sacramento and Golden State ? have been against struggling opponents. In other words, Utah has yet to beat a team with a winning record in the second game of a back-to-back set. It's a fact that has veteran Jazz coach Jerry Sloan scratching his head, wondering why. "You should play better on the second night of a back-to-back than you do on the first," said Sloan, "because you have just a little bit of an edge off and you should shoot the ball better. That's what I've always felt, if guys get themselves ready." On the flip side, it is true that air travel is almost always involved ? Utah had just one back-to-back set of home games this season ? and players often seem sluggish the second night when playing twice in a row. Still, Sloan isn't buying that excuse. He doesn't care how many minutes of playing time his main players were on the court on Monday against New York. He feels they should be ready to go again tonight in Portland. "It shouldn't hurt them," said Sloan of his players' extended minutes played after the Knicks rallied to make a close game out of what appeared would be a rout. "They're not 40 years old." Jazz players are at a loss to explain their poor record in back-to-backs, too. "We don't think about it," said Jazz forward C.J. Miles of the back-to-back woes. "If you start to think about it they you put pressure on yourself and you don't play well. We're just going to go out there and play Basketball against Portland. I mean, it's the same game, just a different arena." Utah hasn't always struggled so badly in the second of consecutive games. In each of the previous three seasons, in fact, the Jazz have been .500 or better in the second game of back-to-backs. Last year they went 11-9. If Utah were .500 in those situations this year, they'd currently have the second-best record in the Western Conference. Instead, the Jazz are tied with Portland for fifth in the West. Utah will actually play three more back-to-backs after tonight's game before the regular season is over. Two of those, however, look promising since they will be at home against 21-53 Minnesota and 25-48 Golden State. The last one will be the final game of the season at the Lakers, who may or may not be resting players prior to the start of the playoffs. Still, the Jazz know they have their work cut out for them tonight against the Blazers. "Back-to-backs are tough," Jazz forward Kyle Korver acknowledged. "(Portland) is a big game." E-mail: lojo@desnews.com