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He's a smooth, playmaking big man who can catch on the perimeter and drive past defenders or pull up for 3. But the Utah Jazz want second-year power forward Trey Lyles working just as hard on the other end of the court, particularly on the glass.

"I'm just concentrating on defense a lot more," Lyles said. "Coaches want it from all of us and they've talked to me about it. It's something I'm trying to work on."

Lyles has taken over the starting duties with forward Derrick Favors sidelined by a knee injury, and Jazz coach Quin Snyder knows the youngster won't be able to duplicate Favors' impact on defense. But the coach is pushing the forward to find other ways to contribute and especially wants him crashing the boards.

"Trey needs to be a different type of defender," Snyder said. "I think one of the biggest things for him, and he knows this, is defensive rebounding, just being prepared to hit first," Snyder said. "If you allow contact to come to you, it's a pretty unique player who's still going to have success. The best rebounders usually initiate the contact or are aggressive to the ball."

Lyles was averaging 4.5 rebounds per game this season as he came into Wednesday night's game against the Denver Nuggets, who entered the game as the only team in the NBA that has yet to be out-rebounded by an opponent. They have out-rebounded opponents 12 times and tied twice, including Sunday night against the Jazz when both teams grabbed 49 boards.

Turkey Day

Snyder gave his players the option of whether to work out on Thanksgiving morning or skip it.

Instead of calling in sick, the Jazz opted to punch the clock on the holiday.

"I put it to the players and they wanted to come in," Snyder said, adding "we'll be out of here really early so people have a chance to be with their families. … The holiday, we value that. We value family."

afalk@sltrib.com

Twitter: @aaronfalk