Now as they prepare to open a stretch of four games in five nights, the Jazz are likely to do so without Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko. Both made the trip to Sacramento, but neither is expected to play tonight against the Kings.

"You can't feel sorry for yourself. We've got to go out and play," Deron Williams said. "We've had some winnable ballgames, but we just haven't played well. We've just got to get everybody's confidence up and go out and put together a couple of good games."

Kirilenko went for a cortisone shot after leaving Saturday's loss to New Jersey in the second quarter with an irritated right ankle. The soreness only has increased, but Kirilenko noted it usually takes 48 hours to see the effects from a cortisone shot.

He described an injury different from a sprained ankle: "It feels like something in it, like a piece of rock or something, like throbbing from inside. Like a couple days ago it was slight pain. Right now, it is bad."

Boozer, meanwhile, was set to increase rehab activity at Monday's practice, although he is doubtful to play, along with Kirilenko.

Boozer has missed six games since straining his left quadriceps tendon Nov. 19.

The Jazz normally could expect Williams to shoulder a greater load, but he is only three games into his return from a sprained left ankle.

Williams did say he wasn't planning on missing any games this week, even with the Jazz playing two sets of back-to-back games.

"It's getting stronger. I mean, it feels good today," Williams said of his ankle. "I think a lot with me is mental, so I've got to try to get over that mental part."

The Jazz lost more games due to injury in the first month of this season than they did all of last season, but coach Jerry Sloan isn't about to make any allowances for his team's play.

"If [I] like to play, I'm sitting there on the bench, I say, 'OK, I've got my opportunity. I'm going to be ready to play. Hope I'm in shape,' " Sloan said.

Added Williams: "We know that once we get everybody back, we're going to be good, but the fact is we don't know when everybody's going to be back and 100 percent, so we've just got to go out and play how it is."

The Jazz are expected tonight to welcome back Brevin Knight, who has missed three games with a sprained left index finger. "The biggest thing's just dribbling the ball," Knight said, adding that he is closer to being able to fully bend the finger.

Matt Harpring, meanwhile, went for an MRI exam Sunday that showed he is suffering from a slightly bulging disk in his strained back.

He missed practice Monday to have an epidural and did not make the trip to Sacramento.

Ronnie Price also missed practice to attend an uncle's funeral and was set to fly to Sacramento on his own.

With so many players injured, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles, Kyle Korver and Morris Almond all likely will see increased minutes tonight.

There is one direction in which Sloan won't go.

He was asked about using assistant Tyrone Corbin as a practice player and said it was against rules. "Coaches' contracts don't work," Sloan said. "If they did, we'd all be out there and make some damn money."

rsiler@sltrib.com

Utah at Sacramento

Today, 8 p.m., FSN