VANCOUVER — The Jazz soon have a decision to make, and it has nothing to do with figuring out if they want to charge into the playoffs with a better disposition than that with which they are limping along now.

This a personnel matter, and it is one that could cause Jazz brass to lose just a little more sleep than the hour we gave to the time fairy this weekend.

The Jazz must decide which 12 of its 14 players they will carry on their playoff roster, a question — assuming all 14 are healthy when the postseason gets under way later this month — that isn't as easy to answer as it may seem.

The choices will be made by Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who has yet to commit, saying injuries down the road could help the situation sort itself out before any calls must be made.

(The roster is set the day before the playoffs begin, and it cannot be changed during the postseason unless the Jazz have fewer than nine healthy players available to them.)

"Coach will try to put the best 12 players on the floor who can help the Jazz win," said vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor, who defers to Sloan when it comes to deciding which two will not be activated for the playoffs. "But remember: A lot of things can happen between now and then."

With 10 games to go in their regular season, the 48-24 Jazz are just trying to head into the postseason in a proper frame of mind.

They did beat Cleveland on Friday night, snapping a three-game losing streak that had them down in the dumps.

Today, they hope to guarantee themselves a playoff berth by beating Vancouver — a 21-52 opponent that could offer Sloan opportunity to get a good, long look at a few of the players he will consider for Utah's final postseason roster spots.

The decision may not seem to be too huge, especially since Sloan will likely shorten his bench anyway; the Nos. 10, 11 and 12 guys on the roster probably won't see a lot of key postseason playing time even if active.

But consider: When rotation-regular Adam Keefe injured a hamstring during warm-ups prior to Utah's first game of its first-round series with Seattle last season, seldom-used rookie forward Scott Padgett wound up playing 59 playoff minutes, some of them when games' outcomes were still very much in doubt.

This season, Padgett is among a group of five vying for what amounts to three end-of-bench spots.

The others: veteran guard John Crotty, the reserve point guard who has played mostly at the 2 spot (shooting guard) this season; veteran forward David Benoit, who can play either 3 (small forward) or 4 (power forward); second-year guard Quincy Lewis, who can swing between the 2 and 3; and rookie DeShawn Stevenson, used exclusively at the 2 in his first pro season out of California high school ball.

Deciding which three among those five will dress is a matter of determining who can help, and at which positions.

"The biggest thing you want is guys that can contribute the most," O'Connor said, "and that certainly means guys that can play a lot of minutes for you and guys that will protect you at different positions."

Crotty spent the first half of the season on the injured list, primarily recovering from knee surgery. But he has been active since and is the safest bet to claim one of the three spots, since he can play either at the point or the 2. None of Utah's other guards are natural point guards, and it is critical to have someone else who can run the offense should either starter John Stockton or top sub Jacque Vaughn go down.

Unless the Jazz decide to go big and use both Benoit and Padgett, the other two spots may be filled with some combination of Benoit or Padgett and Lewis or Stevenson, all four of whom have taken turns going on and off the injured list (none have really been hurt) so that all four can play.

The choice between Benoit, who is currently on the injured list, and Padgett, who is not, may come down to experience. Benoit has more, though Padgett does offer a bit more outside shooting range.

The Lewis-Stevenson matter is more complicated.

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Lewis, reactivated just this week, has had ample opportunity to win a place in Sloan's regular rotation but has yet to do so.

Stevenson, in the minds of Jazz coaches, is clearly not ready for an abundance of minutes, but the highly regarded 19-year-old could gain valuable experience and a big boost in confidence just by dressing for playoff games. Stevenson has handled his current stay on the injured list well, but O'Connor said sentimental factors are not a priority when it comes to making the picks.

"It's not fair for the team or the fans to concern yourself with just one player," said O'Connor, who does, however, leave the door open to reactivating a healthy Stevenson for the playoffs. "We're looking to win."


E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com

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