History on Jazz's side: Clippers have lost 34 of 35 on Utah's floor

From a historical standpoint at least, the Jazz couldn't have asked for a more favorable opponent in tonight's home opener than the Los Angeles Clippers, losers of 34 of 35 games all-time at EnergySolutions Arena.

That .971 winning percentage has to offer comfort to the Jazz as they look to regroup after Wednesday's loss to Denver and avoid their first 0-2 start since dropping games at New Orleans and Atlanta to open the 2002-03 season.

"I'm always confident when we go home, period," Deron Williams said. "We're a good home team, and coming off a tough loss like this, we're going to be ready to go.

"Despite a team's record, it's a big game for us. You don't want to start a season off 0-2, so we'll be ready."

The Clippers, with No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin expected to miss up to six weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his left kneecap in the preseason, have lost 12 consecutive games in Utah and were drilled twice last season by a combined 43 points.

"Everybody looks forward to bounce back," said Mehmet Okur, who will be a game-time decision after mildly spraining his left ankle and knee Wednesday. "It's going to be another challenge for us, home opening night, and it's going to be an exciting game."

No one would like to move on from the loss to the Nuggets more than Carlos Boozer, who struggled through a 3-for-14 shooting night. After the game, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Boozer, "There's a lot of pressure

For his part, Boozer dismissed the suggestion, though he is entering a contract year, is almost certainly playing his final season in Utah and is trying to prove to teams he can return to an All-Star level.

"Not really at all," Boozer said. "I felt like I was just out there playing, trying to make things happen, trying to be aggressive, trying to do what I could do to help our team win. Sometimes shots ain't going to go in. We've got to play defense and we didn't do either."

Boozer did enjoy one of his strongest games of the preseason against the Clippers, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds on 9-for-15 shooting in the Jazz's Oct. 17 loss.

The Jazz also will be interested to see how Eric Maynor responds after a difficult debut. Maynor was beaten for two layups by fellow rookie Ty Lawson as Denver opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run and was pulled after just 1:32.

"He made a couple of good moves, got to the basket," Maynor said. "He's a fast guy. He loves getting to the basket and he was able to get there."

Sloan noted that Lawson had played more extensively in the preseason than Maynor, but also wasn't happy to see him give up uncontested layups. In the first half, the Jazz had Ronnie Price and Ronnie Brewer share ball-handling duties while Williams was out.

"I may not play him, may play him, I don't know," Sloan said of Maynor. "I've got to see where we are as we move forward. He's played pretty well in practice and had some moments. But you can't let people drive by you."

The Jazz, meanwhile, have won six of their past seven home openers -- the lone loss coming in 2007, when Tracy McGrady scored 47 points for Houston in a 106-95 victory -- and are 70-12 at home the past two seasons.

Between the late start and snowstorm in Denver, the Jazz didn't return home until after 3 a.m. Thursday and opted to cancel practice. Okur was reevaluated but said after Wednesday's game that he was more concerned about his ankle than knee.

Okur was injured just 24 seconds into the game when he tried to take a charge from Nene on the break. "It could have been worse," said Okur, who had his foot stepped on by the Nuggets center as he went down. He did play 31 minutes for the night.

rsiler@sltrib.com