--The Jazz's two top goals entering the season are making a commitment to playing improved defense and also winning on the road. The two do go hand-in-hand to a certain extent. The Jazz gave up 99.3 points a game last season, the most by a Jerry Sloan-coached team in 15 years, and were just 17-24 on the road.
Although the Jazz beat Boston and Detroit on the road, they lost to every Eastern Conference team that failed to make the playoffs except for Milwaukee. They also gave up nearly 110 points on average when playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. --With Earl Boykins having packed his bags for Europe, the NBA will have only four 5-foot-somethings among its regulars this season. One is the Jazz's Brevin Knight, while the other three are New York's Nate Robinson, Denver's Chucky Atkins and Orlando's Mike Wilks. Knight, who is a shade under 5-10, was asked if he wished other players had the courage to list their actual heights.
"Why should I lie about it?" Knight said. "My skills are going to be what they are at 5-10, 5-9, 6-6, it's going to be the same. I'm proud of my height. I'm proud that I'm able to stick around this league and be competitive at the size that I am."
--Thanks to a connection with former Duke basketball player Reggie Love, now serving as Barack Obama's "body man," or traveling assistant, Carlos Boozer had the chance to meet the Democratic presidential candidate in Miami in September. Boozer and Obama chatted for about 15 minutes after a stop at the University of Miami.
"He has this incredible aura about him," Boozer said. "You don't feel it when you see him on TV, but when you meet him, you can actually feel it. It's like, 'I want that guy leading my country.'"
--G Deron Williams, F Carlos Boozer and F Andrei Kirilenko were all allowed to miss the morning practice during training camp two-a-days on account of their busy Olympic summers. All three also are expected to play limited minutes during the preseason.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I was a private in the Army, so it's going to be difficult to talk to a general." -- Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor on using the NBA's new hotline to voice complaints about officiating to Ronald L. Johnson, the retired Army major general hired to be the NBA's new senior vice president for referee operations.
