" The inception of the Al Jefferson-Deron Williams era for the Utah Jazz was neither perfect nor smooth. While Utah's All-Star point guard still shined, Jefferson at times struggled, as the veteran center slowly felt his way through Utah's intricate pick-and-roll-based offensive system. The lack of comfort was evident in Jefferson's numbers. The Jazz's hybrid replacement for Carlos Boozer and an injured Mehmet Okur was held to just six points, on 2 of 4 shooting, and six rebounds in the Jazz's 100-96 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night in a preseason contest at Energy Solutions Arena before a crowd of 19,492. But while Jefferson acknowledged that he needs to improve on "mostly everything," he saw more promise than concern in his Utah debut. "Actually, I felt pretty good," Jefferson. "I kept asking my teammates, 'How did I look out there? Did I look confused?' And they said I looked pretty good." Key Jazz personnel such as Williams, forward Paul Millsap and coach Jerry Sloan also leaned more toward the positive than the negative. While Jefferson breathed heavy running the court, struggling to keep up with Utah's fast-paced offense, his ability to turn the low block into an advantage is an asset that the Jazz have not possessed in a long time. "Just his presence out there is helping our team out," Millsap said. "Because they've got to respect him." The game marked the 2010-11 preseason opener for Utah (1-0), which was led by Williams' team-high 15 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals." read more: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/50435527-87/jefferson-jazz-points-utah.html.csp
