(Tribune file photo) Mo Williams, Utah Jazz guard.

Utah Jazz struggling to adjust after Mo Williams’ return

Notes » Jazz guard struggling to get back to 100 percent after injury.

By Steve Luhm

and Bill Oram

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Mar 15 2013 03:17 pm • Last Updated Mar 16 2013 12:36 am

The Jazz have lost four of five games since starting point guard Mo Williams returned from a 21/2-month absence because of thumb surgery.

Williams has struggled to regain top form and, according to coach Tyrone Corbin, the Jazz have struggled finding their chemistry after playing without him for 32 games.

"It’s thrown us off a little bit — more than I expected it to," Corbin said. "We tried to work him back in slowly in the beginning ... but it seems to have thrown us off.

"It’s not his fault. It’s just the way we are right now. So we have to figure out what it is and get back to winning ball games."

Williams played well in Utah’s 103-90 win over Detroit on Monday night. He scored seven of his 20 points and handed out six assists. In the four losses, however, Williams averaged 5.7 points on 9-for-34 shooting. He had 16 assists and 17 turnovers.

Williams admits coming back from an injury is difficult, especially in the middle of a playoff race. The Jazz are battling Golden State, Houston, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas for the final three playoff berths in the Western Conference.

"Just getting acclimated — getting the rhythm back — it’s always tough," Williams said. "This is my first time coming back in the middle of the year — at a point in the season [where] every game means a lot. You have a lot less time for mistakes. ... Hopefully, it happens sooner rather than later."

Williams paused.

"It’s hard to explain," he said. "But at the end of the day I’ll continue to work hard. ... My game is predicated on durability, endurance and speed.

Schedule break

The Jazz catch a big break in the schedule with upcoming home games against Memphis (Saturday) and New York (Monday).

Both teams are finishing long road trips and will be playing back-to-back against the Jazz.

"We can’t count on that," Corbin said. "We’ve got to play. We’ve got to play with maximum effort and a lot energy or we’re setting ourselves up for failure. ... We have to make sure we do what gives us a chance to win."

Lineup changes?

Before Friday morning’s practice, Corbin admitted he’s contemplating some changes to his starting line-up and rotation.

"We’re thinking about it," he said. "We’re thinking about a lot of things right now. I do have something in mind. But I’ll wait until [Saturday]. We’ll do a few things in practice and see."

Why change?

"We’re not playing well right now," Corbin said. "It’s not what we’re looking for. So we have some other things to consider, so we can settle down and win. We have to fight for our lives here. We want to make sure we do everything we can."

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