This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Utah Jazz returned to practice Monday morning in preparation for their upcoming game against Washington.The Jazz face John Wall and the Wizards, who have won four of their last six games, on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.Utah has taken advantage of a leisurely stretch of its schedule to move into seventh place in the Western Conference standings. The Jazz are 22-19 after wins last week over Miami (104-97) and Cleveland (109-98). The Washington game will be Utah's third in 11 days.The down-time has probably been most beneficial to forward Marvin Williams. He missed a three-day road trip to Charlotte, Atlanta and Detroit on Jan. 9-12 because of a sore and swollen knee.Williams returned against Miami and Cleveland. He played 32 minutes against the Heat and 21 against the Cavaliers. He scored a combined total of 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting.Williams, however, reports his knee is improving because of the rest he's gotten during the last two weeks. "I've felt much better," he said. "It feels much better after the treatment I'm getting and the days off we've had.. ... The swelling has gone down a lot. It's definitely getting better."Asked if he thought the injury was now behind him, Williams said, "I hope so."— Steve Luhm