Tightening the bench?

ORLANDO – Just when some were starting to wonder if the Jazz might have settled on a playoff rotation of sorts, all 12 active players appeared in Sunday’s loss at Orlando.
That didn’t come as a much of a surprise, though, as a three-overtime loss at Miami on Saturday took its toll.
Five Jazz players – Mehmet Okur (54), Deron Williams (51), Kyle Korver (48), Carlos Boozer (46) and Ronnie Brewer (43) – all logged 40-plus-minutes against the Heat.
Another factor was the lower-leg muscle bruise sustained by starting point guard Deron Williams with just more than five minutes to go in Sunday’s first half, meaning playing time for usual No. 3 point Ronnie Price.
With Williams hurt and not returning until after the break, sporadically used Price logged nine minutes Sunday.
After not playing in three straight games, meanwhile, reserve big man Jarron Collins logged eight minutes Sunday. And reserve forward Matt Harpring, who didn’t play Saturday and played five minutes or fewer in the prior two, went 10 minutes against his former Magic team.
Teams usually do tighten their benches for the playoffs, and both Price and Collins could get squeezed when the postseason rolls around.
Some suspect that perhaps could be the case for Harpring, too – though when push comes to shove, head coach Jerry Sloan instead likely might be tempted to turn to his gritty veteran forward.

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