Okur's absence keenly felt, again News Utah Jazz

LOS ANGELES ? The most valuable player for the Jazz in the first round of the NBA playoffs is somebody who has yet to play one minute, and might not play at all. Nevertheless, Mehmet Okur has demonstrated his value to the Jazz by his absence ?

which resulted in devastating consequences Tuesday night at Staples Center. Okur missed his third consecutive game because of a strained right hamstring, and the Los Angeles Lakers exploited the situation early and often during their 119-109 victory that gave them a 2-0 lead in the series. "It's tough. I wish I was out there," said Okur, who finished sixth in 3-point shooting (44.6 percent) while averaging 17.0 points and 7.7 rebounds. In the first quarter alone, the Lakers amassed 24 points in the lane ? compared to six for the Jazz ? while making 15 of their first 17 shots. The Jazz did not score inside until Deron Williams drove and passed to Paul Millsap for a dunk with 2:58 left in the first period. Millsap's slam narrowed the Jazz's deficit to 11 points. The visitors also grabbed just three rebounds in the first quarter; Kobe Bryant secured three rebounds by himself. "It's difficult for us with the people we have right now," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "We just don't have a lot of length. We've gone with a smaller lineup to try to combat that, and that's dangerous to do." Okur's replacement provided no solution. Jarron Collins started for the second successive game but played just 13 minutes. The former Stanford star finished with four fouls, two rebounds, one assist while not taking a shot. The third quarter exemplified Collins' ineffectiveness. Collins collected his first three fouls in the first five minutes and went to the bench for the rest of the period. Pau Gasol capitalized by making a hook shot and a lay-in within 22 seconds to expand the Lakers' advantage to 11 points with 6:31 left in the quarter. Accentuating Okur's value were the performances of Williams and Carlos Boozer, who brought the Jazz from a 20-point deficit to within three points with 3:18 to play. Williams led all scorers with 35 points and added nine assists while Boozer had 20 points and 10 rebounds ? leaving the Jazz to wonder what the outcome might have been if Okur had been healthy. But Okur believes his absence in this series might only be temporary. "I'm getting treatment every day and I was able to do some more stuff on the floor (in Tuesday morning's practice)," Okur said. "I'm feeling a lot better right now. Hopefully, I'll be out there next game."