Andrei Kirilenko said he can play point guard. He's quite proud of being able to play about any position.
But he didn't volunteer for that duty Friday night in the Delta Center, and Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said he never thought about using rookie guard Kirk Snyder at the point, either, as Jazz guards, especially points, had to sit out for long periods of time due to foul trouble incurred trying to guard Sacramento's Mike Bibby.
With Bibby (23 points, 10-for-10 on free throws, five assists) sitting out the fourth quarter, the Jazz came from two points down to a 101-88 victory over Sacramento, which left Peja Stojakovic and Chris Webber home to rest and was without injured Doug Christie and Greg Ostertag.
The Jazz simply couldn't keep their hands off Bibby, with points Carlos Arroyo (four fouls for the game) and Keith McLeod (five) in foul trouble early, meaning Bell (five) had to run some at the point.
Gordan Giricek, trying to help guard the quick Bobby Jackson, fouled out in just 11 minutes of play, and Snyder had three fouls in 14 minutes.
Sloan was more concerned about his big men's poor conditioning, probably mainly that of Mehmet Okur, going through his first preseason under Sloan.
That the bigs can't run the floor due to conditioning, said Sloan, means the Jazz are stuck in a half-court offense most of the time.
"The way we're having trouble running the floor, we can't make stops, and that gets us in a situation where we can't get easy baskets, so everything is a chore for us to have to stay in the half-court game every time. We're not really very adept to run the half-court game."
Meanwhile, the Kings have a strong half-court offense. "They've been together awhile, especially the guards, and they can really take advantage of your inability to be able to run an offense," Sloan pointed out. "Hopefully our guys can see some of the things that they were able to do by how they moved to get open and then take the shot. We move to get open and then say, 'Well, where else do we go from here?'
"So we've got quite a bit of work to do. This team is a long, long way from being able to compete consistently."
The guards, said Sloan, have to take to heart the new emphasis officials are putting on the use of hands and forearms.
Especially against crafty guys like Bibby and Jackson. Said Bell, "Tonight it was a combination of having those veteran guards on the court that allowed them to really do the things they wanted to do. When they took them out, it made that much of a difference.
"They set you up real well, and they cut really hard," Bell noted. "They cut with a purpose. You find yourself behind them, and you just reach out and try to slow them down, and they're (officials) not going to let you do that this year."
Sloan has no problem with the way the games are being called, just with the way his players are adapting.
Utah had a preseason-high 39 fouls Friday. Sacramento had 33, 20 of them in the second half, a dozen in the fourth period when Bibby and Jackson were out.
Turnovers were plentiful as well — 22 for Utah to 16 for the Kings, who had only five in the first half to Utah's 16.
"We just have to do a better job of trying to defend people," said Sloan. "(Players) should know what the rules are. The only thing you need your forearm for is to protect yourself, and that's what they allow you to do, not try to stop the guy. If you're going to try to stop him with your hands, you're going to get in trouble that way. You're not moving your feet well enough."
Sloan said players don't learn technique much any more, but that's what it will take. "You either do it, or you sit down," he said.
E-mail: lham@desnews.com