They held their first of three practices Monday and will play at EnergySolutions Arena tonight and Friday against Charlotte and the L.A. Clippers, teams a combined 46 games below .500. Not that the Jazz are taking anything for granted.

"They just go out there and they play hard," Deron Williams said. "Sometimes you don't get up for those games as much as you do if you're playing a team that's in the playoffs, but we can't let that happen."

Carlos Boozer said the Jazz wanted to win both games plus enjoy a little rest and a little practice time. "We have some tough weeks coming up," Boozer said. "We have to be prepared for them."

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said he talks to his players at the beginning of the season about handling things whether they're playing four games in five nights or have four days off. He said he was reluctant to scrimmage after watching Paul Millsap sprain an ankle last week.

"That's why I do a lot of drill work and stuff to try to keep them from getting hurt this time of the season," Sloan said.

Party time

After hosting a birthday party for Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles on Saturday night, Williams was in no mood to recap the evening for reporters. "If you want to talk about basketball, we can talk about basketball," he said.

The featured act at the party was rapper Lil' Jon, who sat courtside for the Jazz's victory over Seattle. "We got a chance to let loose as a group of guys," Boozer said. "Almost the whole team was there, so it was fun."

Boozer was asked if Lil' Jon will be returning should the Jazz reach the NBA Finals. "We'll talk to him and find out," Boozer said. "He had a great time the other night, though. He really enjoyed being out here. We enjoyed having him out here."

According to the Jazz, the fan who threw a beer on the court in the final minute of Thursday's loss to the L.A. Lakers was arrested, charged with several misdemeanors and banned from the arena. A Salt Lake City police spokesman was unable to immediately locate the incident report. . . . The Jazz have gotten off to slow starts their past two games, trailing 38-18 against the Lakers and 34-23 against Seattle after the first quarter. "It doesn't happen very often for us, so I'm not concerned about it," Boozer said. . . . Andrei Kirilenko reported no problems with the hip he sprained courtesy of a Dirk Nowitzki flagrant foul March 3 against Dallas.

rsiler@sltrib.com