Their road contest Saturday was against one of the worst teams in the league.
Sadly, that really didn't help anything.
The Jazz's road wins count this season stayed at two — in nine tries — after a 108-97 loss against the Sacramento Kings.
GUARDS: Jamaal Tinsley (14 points, 7 assists, 5-of-8 shooting) played well personally, so it's difficult to say Utah missed Mo Williams too much — at least not offensively. Sacramento point guard Aaron Brooks scored 13 points on just six shot attempts and had four steals. In a change from most of the season, Randy Foye (17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from distance) started — and played quite well. (Probably a good thing, since Gordon Hayward shot 1 of 8 with three turnovers in 19 minutes. In hindsight, Foye should have played more.) Foye is 10 of 18 from 3-point land in his past three contests and 17 of 31 in his past six. But his counterpart, Tyreke Evans (27 points on 9-of-17 shooting), certainly caused defenses problems, too. GRADE: C+.
FORWARDS: Paul Millsap (13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, 8 rebounds, 5 turnovers) was outplayed by four-year pro Jason Thompson (16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 9 rebounds, 1 turnover). Marvin Williams (8 points on 2-of-6 shooting) and John Salmons (8 points on 3 of 8) essentially canceled each other out. Quiet night for Marvin Williams considering he had averaged 16 points in 28.5 minutes his past two outings. He played 30 minutes Saturday. GRADE: C-.
CENTERS: Al Jefferson (14 points on 7-of-15 shooting) was mediocre offensively, and his six-rebound total was his lowest of the season. That considered, he was outplayed by third-year center DeMarcus Cousins (14 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 assists). GRADE: C-.
BENCH: Overall, the Jazz bench edged the King reserves 31-30. Earl Watson received his opportunity to shine off the bench Saturday. In his second appearance in as many days since undergoing surgery seven months ago to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, Watson (6 points, 5 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds) stuffed his personal box score. The Jazz were certainly burdened by Derrick Favors' 0-of-6 shooting night in 16 minutes. Favors hasn't shot so poorly in any game all season. In fact, his second-worst was a 2-of-7 display five nights ago against Houston.
Enes Kanter turned in a solid nine-point, seven-rebound performance in 14 minutes. Kanter has scored more (13) just once this season, and that was in 20 minutes. Guard Marcus Thornton and forward Thomas Robinson, a rookie, led the Sacramento bench on combining for 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. State of Utah favorite Jimmer Fredette scored two points in less than five minutes. GRADE: C-.
OVERALL: It's easy to say the Jazz have too much of a good thing. And let it be said now. From Jefferson to Marvin Williams to Favors, Kanter, Foye and Hayward, plenty of Jazz players are worthy of starter's minutes. But how does Tyrone Corbin balance it all? Obviously, he's been looking to answer the same question, given the starting lineup changes as of late. It's especially a problem on the road, where this skilled bunch had its disconnectedness exposed yet again. Its 17 turnovers should manifest that truth. In fact, Utah has committed less than 14 turnovers on the road just twice (12 on Nov. 14 at Boston and 11 two days later at Philadelphia). GRADE: C-.
Rhett Wilkinson studies interesting stuff at Utah State University and is the co-founder of Aggie BluePrint, USU's first student magazine. Previously a Deseret News intern, he can be reached at rhett.wilkinson@usu.edu or on Twitter: @wilklogan