This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Everybody knows what Blake Griffin can do in the air.But over the last few years, the former Slam Dunk champion has worked to add a respectable mid-range game. This season, Griffin has piqued interest (and maybe some fear) around by saying he's working on his 3-point shot.Jazz forward Derrick Favors, who will have to try to defend Griffin at times tonight when Utah hosts the Clippers in preseason action, isn't stepping behind the arc just yet.But Favors has also tried to extend his shooting range."I knew I could make shots between the free-throw line area and 10-15 feet," Favors said after shootaround on Monday. "But I'm trying to extend it to maybe 18 [feet], toward the 3-point line. I try to keep working on it, keep making shots … so hopefully in the future I can move out to the 3-point line."Jazz coach Quin Snyder has given big man Enes Kanter the green light to fire from distance this year, but he hasn't quite asked Favors to do the same."I think it's just taking good shots," Snyder said. "I think it's a process. He's probably 15-18 [feet] right now. That's my feeling. He and I haven't talked about in a whole lot of detail. It's not like he's feeling like he wants to go out and shoot 3s. We're comfortable with him taking open shots. I think that keeps people honest. It allows him to attack in other ways too."The jumpshot was Favors' primary focus this summer."I took a lot of jump shots this offseason," he said. "That was my whole plan this offseason was to work on my jumper. Around the free-throw line area, around the baseline. Try to add that to my game so guys respect me more, so it can help me out on my driving game. … During the summer I probably took maybe 500 shots a day, every day."Asked about Griffin's 3-point efforts, Favors smiled."If he can make it, he can make it," he said. "I'll try to do it in a couple years."• Rookie forward Rodney Hood says he'll play tonight. Hood tweaked his hip flexor during the team's scrimmage, the night before the preseason opener."It was just a minor accident," Hood said. "I was turning. We were getting loose and I threw a ball. Something popped in my hip. I felt it [and] when I stopped playing, when i went and sat on the bench, it got real sore and it was hard to move. … It got worse over night, so I just had to rest it."After missing two preseason games, Hood says he's now 100 percent healthy.In sitting, Hood said he's also sharpened his best skill: shooting."I really am [shooting well right now]," he said. "Especially since I haven't been playing, I've had a chance to get up extra reps with [Jazz assistant] Johnnie Bryant and other guys on the coaching staff."Hood closed out the shootaround by squaring off against one of the league's best 3-point specialists Steve Novak. The veteran has taken a role mentoring the Jazz's up-and-coming threat from distance."He just tells me little things," Hood said. "When you get fatigued, always keeping your form. When the ball doesn't come right to you, just adjustments [to make]. It's helped me a lot."Novak, however, still edged Hood in their shooting contest."He won by one," Hood said. "He made me laugh on the last shot."• Guard Ian Clark, who had some tendonitis and a sprained ankle, has been cleared to play and should see minutes tonight against L.A.• After riding his starters heavily in a preseason win last week in Portland, Snyder was noncommittal about whether he'd do the same tonight."For us, we're yogin to try to approach [these games] in a way that's going to help us get better and help us have an experience," he said. "If that means we're down a lot, maybe we can play some different guys and different lineups. If we feel like we're in a competitive situation where we feel we can benefit from playing our starters a few more minutes … we can do that. It's hard to say exactly on the front end, but that's in general the way I feel about it."• Injured guard Carrick Felix was on the court, working on corner 3s when reporters were allowed onto the floor Monday afternoon. Felix sprained his left shoulder and is expected to be held out until around the season opener. Felix, by the way, was one of the last two players on the court after shootaround. The other was camp invitee Brock Motum, who was practicing free throws. • How about some links?Kevin Durant could miss 6-8 weeks. The Oklahoman has a good look at the NBA's history with foot injuries and some explanation of what a Jones fracture is exactly. … Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle issued an apology after saying forward Chandler Parsons was overweight. The coach says his punishment has already been doled out by his wife and daughter. … Baxter Holmes (a former Salt Lake Tribune intern, by the way) is leaving the Boston Globe's Celtics beat for ESPN Los Angeles. His last story for the Globe is worth your time. … Bill Oram, the previous incarnation of TribJazz, has a nice piece in the O.C. Register on Steve Nash. A solid read, especially in advance of two Jazz-Lakers games this week.— Aaron Falk