Even if he had been, O'Connor wouldn't have been sure what conclusions to draw from the first half of the season. The closest he came in an extended interview last week was to say of the Jazz, "I think we're an evolving team."
O'Connor did acknowledge the expectations, realistic or not, the Jazz have faced after last season's Western Conference finals run. Thanks to a 6-15 road record, the Jazz are out of playoff position after 41 games.
"Are the expectations high? Yes,'' O'Connor said. "We created that from last year and I'd much rather have it that way than not look to reach the brass ring."
The general manager's greatest concern has been the quality of the Jazz's defensive effort. Utah is giving up 100.6 points on average (106.0 on the road, 94.3 at home), the most by a Jerry Sloan-coached team in 15 years.
"This isn't football,'' O'Connor said. "We don't have an offensive team and a defensive team and a special teams. We've got to play both ends of the floor, and we've got to be more consistent, and at times we've done that."
That starts with defending the lane and not giving up easy baskets in transition, O'Connor added. To make his point, he cited recent NBA champions San Antonio, Miami and Detroit as well-regarded defensive teams.
With the NBA's trading deadline a month away on Feb. 21, O'Connor said the Jazz would consider making another deal. At the top of his wish list is a defensive-minded center who could rotate in with Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer.
"We don't have an eraser back there,'' O'Connor said, though he praised Andrei Kirilenko for his shot blocking. "We're small at four and five as compared to most teams, so we've got to play better team defense, and that starts with our point guard and ends with our center."
Finding that shot-blocking center, however, will not be easy. The Jazz are reluctant to part with promising young players and have luxury-tax concerns that limit the contracts they can take back in any potential trade.
After trading for Kyle Korver in December, the Jazz already have $54.5 million in salary commitments for the 2009-10 season. That's the first season that a potential maximum extension would kick in for Deron Williams, paying him upward of $13.5 million.
The NBA luxury-tax threshold this season was $67.865 million, and the Jazz project to be at that number in 2009-10. The Jazz took on $9.9 million in salary when they acquired Korver for Gordan Giricek, who had an expiring contract.
Although Sloan has lamented the loss of veteran guard Derek Fisher, O'Connor said he believed the Jazz were most hurt by Matt Harpring's slow recovery from knee surgery. The team learned Sunday that Harpring's minutes no longer have to be medically restricted.
After finishing so many games with Harpring on the floor last season, the Jazz have been unable to do the same this season. Harpring has gone from playing 25.5 minutes to 16.1, although the Jazz expect he will be fully healthy next season.
The Jazz went just 1-9 on the road in December, but O'Connor refused to blame the schedule for the team's struggles. "You still have to accept responsibility for how you play,'' O'Connor said. "I don't think we've played with a sense of urgency."
Are the Jazz capable of another run to the conference finals? Are they a team that will comfortably make the playoffs? Or are the Jazz destined to fight it out just for a spot in the postseason? That's not the way O'Connor said he looks at things.
"I think from our vantage point, we look at the next three games and how we play,'' he said. "I don't think we look at the rest of the season. We can't do anything about what everybody else's record is. The only thing we can take care of is what our business is and that's to try and win games."
rsiler@sltrib.com
Jazz at L.A. Clippers
At Staples Center
Tipoff: 1:30 p.m.; TV: FSN Utah
