Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan to miss two games to attend funeral
Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan will miss his team’s next two games to attend a funeral for a family member, according to a team announcement made on Thursday 18 November.
Sloan, 68, will miss a home game on Friday 19 November against the San Antonio Spurs at the EnergySolutions Arena. Sloan will also not make it to the Jazz’s next game against the Portland
Trailblazers at the Rose Garden in Portland the next night.
While Sloan is away from the team, longtime assistant coach Phil Johnson will take over head coaching duties before Sloan returns to the bench for the Jazz’s home game against the Sacramento
Kings on Monday 22 November.
Sloan began his coaching career with the Chicago Bulls in the 1979-80 season but became head coach of the Jazz three years later and has been with the team ever since. Over 23 years as
the Jazz coach, Sloan has only missed 16 games, with the team going 9-7 in those contests. Sloan coached every game last year, including the pre-season and the play-offs, with his last missed game coming on 3 April, 2009.
In other Jazz news, C.J. Miles did not participate in yesterday’s practice and is listed as a game-time decision against San Antonio. Miles exited his team’s matchup with the New Jersey
Nets on Wednesday after straining his lower back in the second quarter. Centre Al Jefferson and forward Paul Millsap both missed yesterday’s practice but are expected to play tonight against the Spurs. Jefferson had a sore lower back while Millsap had a severe
head cold.
The Jazz (8-4) have gotten off to a solid start this year since being swept by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the play-offs last year. Since dropping their first two games,
they have won eight of their last 10 contests, including a five-game winning streak where they pulled off numerous improbable comebacks, including coming back from double-digit deficits against such top teams as the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic, and the Atlanta
Hawks.
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