They plowed ahead for months while waiting for Carlos Boozer to return from an injured left knee, then hit the accelerator in recent weeks, going 9-1 in February with a season-best six-game winning streak.
Just as the Jazz are hitting their stride, however, they face a new challenge with Boozer working to get out of second gear as he returns following a three-month absence, effectively starting his season over.
"For me, I've got to catch up to them," Boozer said. "It's not them coming down to my speed. I've got to catch up to their speed. I'm going to work harder, get the rust off, get in better shape and soon it will all just be fluid like it was the first of the year."
The Jazz are 2-0 with Boozer back in the lineup, with the All-Star forward playing in all four quarters of Wednesday's victory over Minnesota. Boozer finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three turnovers in 22 minutes, hitting 6 of 10 shots.
Boozer showed flashes of his former self in the first quarter, hitting three jumpers, including an impressive 13-foot turnaround on the baseline. After sitting for nearly 16 minutes, though, Boozer struggled in coming back to finish the first half.
He committed two turnovers, which helped Minnesota close the half on a 16-3 run and erase a nine-point deficit. After the game, Deron Williams talked about the balancing act the Jazz must attempt with Boozer right now.
"Any time Booz is on the floor, your instinct is to look for him, your instinct is to go in to him," Williams said. "We want to look for him, we want to get him back 100 percent as soon as possible. It's just kind of a feel. We've got to feel our way into it."
Boozer came back to start the fourth quarter with Paul Millsap having picked up four fouls. He went 1-for-4 in the quarter but did score off a screen-and-roll with Williams before leaving with 5:40 remaining, his minutes still officially restricted.
"The more I'm out there, the more loose [the knee] gets, the more comfortable I get," Boozer said. "Just got to continue to chip off that rust a little bit and get in better condition and go from there."
If one thing is clear to Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, it is that Boozer has a ways to go to get back in game shape. Boozer said, "I've been working my tail off," going through extra workout sessions with the Jazz assistants after practice.
Boozer has reported no pain in his knee and estimated it will take two weeks to get up to speed. Sloan says he wished there was some magic trick -- like looking at a wall long enough -- that could help a player do so overnight.
"Unfortunately, it takes a lot of hard work, and going through that kind of hard work is not fun," Sloan said. "That's your living, that's the only thing you can do."
Even with Boozer playing only 22 minutes right now, his return has made playing time harder to come by. Millsap did not play in the fourth quarter Wednesday, as did C.J. Miles, despite scoring 15 points in 29 minutes.
Instead of bringing Andrei Kirilenko off the bench for Millsap midway through the first and third quarters, Sloan has opted to bring him in for Mehmet Okur. As a result, Kirilenko sat for almost the entire first and third quarters Wednesday.
Sloan used only nine players against Minnesota, but emphasized there was nothing personal with his decisions. "I know they want to play sometimes when I take them out, but the next thing to do is be ready," he said.
