SACRAMENTO — When Jazz coach Jerry Sloan made the decision he did Tuesday, it was with the idea that if all went well the move could be long-lasting.
Like a month or more. Perhaps the whole season. Who knows? Maybe, say, 19 years or so.
Giving Deron Williams his first NBA start, in other words, was a call that came with the future in mind — not just because previous starter Keith McLeod was out with back spasms for a second straight game, and not just because journeyman Milt Palacio struggled when starting in McLeod's place at point guard against New York on Monday.
"You know," Sloan said, "he's got to find out about this league and what goes on and how you fight through some of the things you have to deal with. It just so happens we just felt like we'd give him a shot at it and see."
Much to Sloan's chagrin, he had to cringe a bit at the sight.
With No. 3 overall draft choice Williams running a revamped and injury-decimated Jazz lineup, Utah got off to a terrifically slow start and never could quite recover in a 119-83 loss to Sacramento at Arco Arena — the most-lopsided loss in the 141-game regular-season series history between the teams.
It was the third straight loss this season and the 15th to Sacramento in their last 18 regular-season meetings with the Kings for the Jazz, who were at the tail end of playing six of seven games on the road and four over five nights in four different time zones.
Utah seemed doomed from the start, as Williams picked up his first foul 45 seconds into the game and Sacramento was up by as many as 21 (33-12) before the opening quarter was complete.
Williams struggled going against veteran Kings point Mike Bibby in that awful-for-the-Jazz first period, shooting 2-of-7 from the field with two turnovers in the first 12 minutes.
Bibby wound up leading six Kings scorers in double figures with a game-high 25 points.
Early in the second quarter — with subs Palacio, rookie C.J. Miles, second-year pro Kris Humphries, rookie Robert Whaley and Jarron Collins on the floor for most of the minutes — Utah did go on an eye-popping 14-0 run to get to within three at 35-32 with just less than five minutes to go before halftime.
Shortly after Williams subbed in for Miles at the 2 spot and joined Palacio in the backcourt, though, Sacramento pushed its advantage back to double digits.
The Kings went into the break up 12 at 51-39, and never led by less than 11 throughout the second half's final 23 minutes.
But it was hardly all the rookie's fault.
"Everybody," Sloan said afterward, "seemed a little bit overwhelmed."
It probably didn't help that the Jazz also were without usual starting shooting guard Gordan Giricek (tonsillitis), usual starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko (sprained ankle), Kirilenko replacement-starter Matt Harpring (resting his surgically repaired knee) and would-be starting power forward Carlos Boozer (out all season with a strained hamstring).
With Giricek sick and Harpring sitting, rookie Andre Owens made his second straight start at shooting guard and usual reserve shooting guard Devin Brown got his first start of the season at small forward.
The most notable change, though, was that involving Williams, whom Sloan had been reluctant to start until Tuesday.
That, though, all changed because of circumstances involving the struggles of Palacio — who did have 11 points in the second quarter alone while spurring Utah's short-lived rally, and finished with a team-high 19 points, one off his career-high — and McLeod's injury.
"I haven't started him this year," Sloan said of Williams, "and I thought I'd give him a chance to start and see if we could try to get back in the right groove, just to do something a little bit different and see if we can overcome some of the problems we had (in Monday's 73-62 loss to the Knicks)."
Williams' time, Sloan suggested, had come.
"I think he's as ready as any of us in that situation," the Jazz coach said beforehand. "He seems to be. He's been very positive about everything."
Besides wanting Williams to work for the starting job, Sloan was hesitant to make the move because of the rookie's preseason penchant for early foul trouble.
It's still a concern, he said Tuesday.
"But I can't worry about that," Sloan said. "I have to try to move on and go about our business, and see if we can get ourselves in the position to be competitive every time we're on the floor.
"He's had some good moments when he's out there," Sloan said, "and he seems to kind of give us a little bit more energy sometimes here of late."
Until Tuesday, that is.
Afterward, Sloan said he was unsure who would start at the point when the Jazz play next, Friday at Phoenix.
"I haven't given much thought to that," he said.
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com