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Los Angeles • When the Utah Jazz squandered their 22-point first-half lead Sunday night, it likely cost Jack Cooley a coveted chance to get into the game.
The Jazz's 98-91 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Lakers hardly matters to most. But for Cooley and the others who are simply trying to win a spot on the Jazz roster, every minute of playing time is precious.
"Really I just want to come in here and give it my all," Cooley, a 23-year-old forward from Notre Dame, says. "My usual mentality in life is just to try as hard as I can and whatever happens, I'm OK with it because I gave my all. I like that because the Jazz mentality is the same. … I like trying to do that here in a place that really respects that."
By this time last year, Dahntay Jones had been cut from the Chicago Bulls' training camp roster. The shooting guard would go on to spend the rest of the season working as a basketball analyst. Brock Motum and Cooley, meanwhile, had already gone overseas, taking the security of a regular paycheck over the uncertainties of trying to make an NBA team.
Now they're battling for what appears to be one open roster spot. The Jazz have 13 players with fully guaranteed deals on the roster. Guard Toure' Murry has a substantial portion of his deal guaranteed, too. That would leave the Jazz, who can carry a maximum of 15 players, with one opening, should management chose to fill it.
And in the waning moments of the preseason, they hope there's time to impress.
"There's always that opportunity," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said, knowing the team will have to make cuts before the month's end. "For us, the youth of our team, sometimes there isn't that much of a gap between certain guys. You'd like to be able to keep everybody."
The man with the best shot of staying around seems to be Jones.
With Utah's backcourt sustaining multiple injuries in camp, Jones has seen significant time on the floor. And he can provide something that few others on the roster can.
"The discussions he and I have are just [about] a veteran leadership role," Snyder said. "That's hard for some guys to do if they're not playing as much as they have previously in their career. People can say they're going to do it. They can say they want to do it. But then when those opportunities come, when you're in those moments it's harder."
Jones, a journeyman who has played for the Pacers, Nuggets and Hawks, says he's ready to fill that job.
"My role right now is not something that's really going to show up on the stat sheet," said Jones. "My role is not a scoring role. It's a facilitating role. It's defensive communication. Get guys in their right spots. … Go in there and try to stop guys, play great help defense, take a couple charges."
On Thursday, on his 24th birthday, Motum saw his first action of the preseason and he snatched at the opportunity. The Aussie forward scored seven points in limited minutes.
"Brock's a really good player," Snyder said afterward. "We've got a lot of young big guys we're trying to get minutes for. They're important parts of our team. So sometimes it's hard to get these young guys opportunities."
The next two games, he didn't get off the bench.
Time has also been scarce for Cooley. The 23-year-old forward from Notre Dame had seen just 12 minutes on the court through five preseason games.
"It's been a little frustrating at times," he admitted.
But he's tried to show he's ready for the challenge when given a chance. In his longest run of the season, a 10-minute stretch on Thursday, he scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds.
"I just want to give it my all," he said. "If I do that and I'm given an opportunity, then I feel like whatever happens happens. You can't feel bad about it."
Twitter: @tribjazz —
Storylines
• Guard Alec Burks returns to action after missing three straight games with a shoulder injury.
• Jazz rookie Dante Exum makes his first start of the preseason, with point guard Trey Burke getting the night off to rest. Lakers 98, Jazz 91
FG FT Reb
Utah Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Hayward 12:00 2-4 3-4 1-2 3 1 8
Favors 12:00 1-3 2-2 0-1 2 0 4
Kanter 37:46 7-15 0-0 5-7 1 6 14
Exum 27:59 2-7 1-2 1-4 5 1 5
Burks 28:56 7-14 7-9 0-6 2 4 21
Evans 8:56 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 3 0
Clark 29:13 4-5 0-0 0-1 3 2 9
Hood 27:19 3-8 1-3 0-6 1 1 9
Gobert 26:27 2-4 4-6 0-10 1 4 8
Jones 8:07 2-2 2-2 0-0 2 1 7
Felix 10:29 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Novak 10:48 2-3 0-0 0-1 0 1 6
Totals 240:00 32-66 20-28 8-40 21 25 91
Percentages: FG .485, FT .714. 3-Point Goals: 7-21, .333 (Novak 2-3, Hood 2-5, Clark 1-1, Jones 1-1, Hayward 1-2, Burks 0-2, Kanter 0-3, Exum 0-4). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 29 (34 PTS). Blocked Shots: 6 (Gobert 4, Burks, Kanter). Turnovers: 28 (Burks 6, Exum 4, Hayward 4, Clark 3, Gobert 3, Felix 2, Hood 2, Kanter 2, Evans, Jones). Steals: 8 (Hayward 3, Burks, Exum, Favors, Felix, Hood). Technical Fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
L.A.L. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Johnson 31:55 4-7 0-0 1-3 1 4 8
Boozer 27:43 6-12 7-7 3-9 1 2 19
Hill 22:21 3-7 1-2 3-6 0 2 7
Price 37:48 2-10 2-3 0-2 10 3 6
Bryant 31:32 7-22 9-11 1-4 5 2 26
Ellington 25:05 2-9 4-4 1-2 0 1 9
Sacre 9:32 1-3 2-2 0-1 0 1 4
Randle 20:17 4-8 0-0 1-5 0 4 8
Smith 14:39 1-2 1-1 2-2 1 1 3
Brown 3:01 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Davis 16:07 4-5 0-0 2-3 0 2 8
Totals 240:00 34-85 26-30 14-37 18 23 98
Percentages: FG .400, FT .867. 3-Point Goals: 4-13, .308 (Bryant 3-7, Ellington 1-2, Johnson 0-1, Price 0-3). Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: 16 (16 PTS). Blocked Shots: 5 (Randle 2, Boozer, Davis, Price). Turnovers: 16 (Bryant 4, Boozer 3, Price 3, Johnson 2, Randle 2, Ellington, Smith). Steals: 17 (Boozer 6, Price 4, Johnson 3, Hill 2, Bryant, Sacre). Technical Fouls: None.
Utah 32 22 18 19 — 91
L.A. Lakers 20 18 31 29 — 98
Attendance • 17,733
Time • 2:17.
Officials • Tom Washington, Mark Lindsay, Ben Taylor.