SALT LAKE CITY -- Mehmet Okur hasn't been living up to his nickname.
The guy known as "Money" to his teammates and to Utah Jazz fans was anything but automatic during Utah's recent five-game road trip.
But with the Philadelphia 76ers coming in for a game tonight at EnergySolutions Arena, the 6-foot-11 Turkish sharpshooter said he thinks he knows how to get back on track.
"I've been (saying) since I got here, I want to start the ballgame with a couple of easy baskets and go from there," Okur said before a Christmas night practice. "It didn't work out like that for me the last few games. I'm looking forward to getting in the paint, maybe post-up a little bit, maybe get to the free-throw line, then step back."
It's hardly scientific theory, but Okur insists -- and coach Jerry Sloan seems to concur -- starting the game with a layup or two usually sparks the 30-year-old's offensive production.
"That's how I feel," he said.
Okur is Utah's third-leading scorer behind Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. However, his 12.4 points-per-game average is hardly where he'd like it to be.
During the Jazz's recent five-game trip, he shot a chilly 35 percent from the floor and averaged just 8.6 points.
Normally a deft outside shooter, Okur went just 1-for-13 from behind the 3-point line.
"I don't want to settle for my jumpers all the time," Okur reiterated.
Okur's numbers are slightly better when playing at home, which might help tonight. He may also benefit from playing the Sixers. In 18 career games against them, he has averaged 13.1 points.
So far this season, Philadelphia has been allowing opponents to shoot 47.5 percent from the field and 42 percent from behind the 3-point arc, worst in the NBA.
Okur said he thinks his 3-point shooting will come along once he gets into a good rhythm, but it has been difficult for him to get inside the paint, partly because that is Boozer's territory.
"Boozer's a good post-up player so most of the time we're running the offense for him down on the blocks, so I have to step back," he said. "I understand that, I'm OK with that (but) I'd still feel better with a couple (easy baskets) to start the ballgame."
Sloan said he understands that players go through shooting slumps, but he is also concerned that players who struggle with their shooting stroke sometimes focus too much on the offensive side of the floor.
"If you're looking to do strictly one thing, it's pretty hard to fight out of that," Sloan said. "But basketball is still played whether you're shooting inside or outside. You've still got to defend and rebound and do those things. If your head's not into it sometimes, you have a tendency to drop-off."
Sloan also said he felt Okur was trying too hard to "get a home run" with a 3-pointer early in the game.
"When you don't get one, I think it has a tendency to pull you away from the other things you can do," he said.
* JAZZ NOTES: Down to a 12-man roster after last week's salary-dumping trade that sent Matt Harpring and Eric Maynor to Oklahoma City, the Jazz cannot afford many injury issues. Swingman Kyle Korver (left knee) missed the last two games of the road trip. He practiced on Friday and will be a gametime decision for tonight's game against his former team, Philadelphia. ... The Jazz have a few more days to do so, but they are required by league rules to maintain at least a 13-man roster.
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