Answer: He's caught in a squeeze between Raja Bell and Kirk Snyder.
Question: Where did Gordan Giricek go?
When the Jazz gave a four-year, $16 million contract to the 27-year-old Croatian last summer, it was assumed he'd been designated the team's starting shooting guard, a key to their rebuilding project.
But his minutes have varied drastically this season, along with his production.
He started all 15 games in November, then he started just one of 15 games in December. He started 14 of 15 January games, but he hasn't started since Feb. 1 — a string of 14 games.
He also hasn't scored in double figures since Feb. 1, when he totaled 21 in a loss at home to the lowly Bobcats.
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has said many times it shouldn't matter who starts, that guys are paid to play regardless of when they enter a game. Besides, what's more important is who finishes — which Giricek rarely does, at least in close games.
In Tuesday's loss to the Pacers at the Delta Center, Giricek had his best game since mid-February. He'd scored eight points, including a couple timely shots, as the Jazz rallied to overcome a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter. When he came out for Matt Harpring with 6:23 left in the game, Giricek appeared noticeably upset.
Sloan noticed, too.
"It seemed like he was frustrated last night when I took him out of the game," Sloan said at Wednesday's practice. "I don't have a problem with that. I'd hope he'd want to be out there."
Asked how things were going for him this season, Giricek was reluctant to discuss personal issues.
"I did everything that I could," he said. "I don't like talking about individual things."
Giricek is only a third-year player, but at 27 he's been around some, and he seems to understand that popping off only causes problems.
"I can't say anything," he said. "Whatever I say brings only damage." Then he smiled and added, "Maybe you know better than I do."
As for a suggestion that he might have been frustrated Tuesday, he smiled again and said, "No, I wasn't frustrated."
Does that mean he's an even-tempered kind of player?
"I have big level of tolerance, but sometimes everybody gets mad," he said. "We're humans, right?"
Giricek likely is reluctant to talk for fear of reprisal from Sloan, but the Jazz coach says he wouldn't have a problem with the player expressing himself.
"He's got to say what he feels," Sloan said. "It's his prerogative to say what he wants."
What Sloan said he'd like to see more from Giricek, though, is not talk but execution.
"He can get shots off," Sloan said. "His biggest problem is he doesn't really understand what we're doing at times."
Jazz assistant coach Gordon Chiesa explained: "What Jerry means by that is the ability to stay mentally with the execution-part of the play. That's very common."
Chiesa said some players — and Giricek is among them — have a tendency to stay with the system for only so long, then they want to start freelancing. "They have to learn to stay with the play for that extra pass or two," he said.
But an even bigger factor, Chiesa said, is that Giricek is caught between the reality that teammate Raja Bell has played well and the coaches' need to see the rookie Snyder in game action.
And he emphasized that Giricek hasn't been a disappointment.
"We envisioned him to be a scorer," Chiesa said. "Whether as a starter or off the bench, as a guy to get us going. He's a streak shooter. That's his game."
NOTES: The Jazz announced Thursday that point guard Raul Lopez will undergo exploratory arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee Saturday in Barcelona, Spain. Lopez is expected to spend the first part of his rehabilitation in Spain, then return to Utah for the remainder of rehab.
Giricek or Bell?
Raja Bell has the good name ("Raja rings the bell") and a more flamboyant playing style than Gordan Giricek, but their offensive numbers are almost identical. Where there seems to be a difference is in starting vs. coming off the bench; Giricek's numbers are markedly better as a starter, while Bell has produced similar stats in either role.
GIRICEK MPG FG% 3P% PPG
Overall 18.6 .469 .426 8.5
As starter 22.8 .482 .500 11.1
As substitute 14.0 .446 .292 5.7
BELL MPG FG% 3P% PPG
Overall 28.2 .463 .412 12.6
As starter 31.0 .462 .469 13.5
As substitute 25.8 .464 .371 11.9
E-mail: rich@desnews.com