Related

Back from a weeklong training session at the Peak Performance Project in Santa Barbara, Calif., Kyle Korver said Wednesday he was encouraged about making his return from left knee surgery in a matter of weeks.

Asked how close he was, Korver answered: "A lot closer than I was a week ago, for sure. It's hard to really say. Just as I keep doing more stuff, see how it responds. But I definitely made a lot of progress in the last week."

Korver didn't rule out the possibility of playing in November, adding that he was hoping to return in "two weeks, tops," which would be ahead of schedule after he underwent arthroscopic surgery Oct. 28 to remove a bone spur from his knee.

He was able to regain strength in

Jazz Blog
Steve Luhm and Ross Siler offer more insight on the Jazz and the NBA in their blog. The latest:
his knee during the week at P3, a training center with which the Jazz have worked closely in recent years. Korver went through morning workouts -- "You're going 100 mph for two hours," he said -- followed by shooting sessions at night.

"To me, it's the best," Korver added. "I feel like there, it's the perfect combination of train really hard but also train really smart. They're very technical and very good. Mechanics and posture ... they look at everything. It was good."

 

Traveling light

The Jazz again will be down to just nine players for tonight's game at San Antonio. Neither Mehmet Okur (flu-like symptoms) nor Ronnie Price (sprained left big toe) will be making the trip.

Advertisement

Okur took part in Wednesday's pregame shootaround but missed the game against Toronto. He was not believed to be suffering from the H1N1 flu, according to early indications. Kyrylo Fesenko made his third career start in Okur's absence.

Price continues to be bothered the toe injury he suffered in a Nov. 9 victory over New York. Tonight's game will be the fifth consecutive missed by Price, who has undergone two MRI exams and saw a specialist Wednesday.

Taking attendance

The Jazz announced a crowd of 17,879 for Wednesday's game, their smallest crowd since drawing 16,889 for a Nov. 27, 2006 game vs. Orlando. The Jazz have failed to sell out three of their first five home games, more than the previous two seasons combined.

 

Briefly

Wesley Matthews remained in the starting lineup and had four points in 26 minutes. ... Andrei Kirilenko on the Jazz's fourth-quarter lineup with two point guards and three power forwards: "It's the European style of basketball. Everybody can play any position."

rsiler@sltrib.com