SALT LAKE CITY -- Yes, they play a children's game, in short pants, and they get paid handsomely to do so.
But by most standards, playing nine NBA games over a 17-day stretch is a herculean task.
The Utah Jazz will find themselves in just such a position tonight when they play host to the Minnesota Timberwolves at EnergySolutions Arena.
Now 17 days into the month of March, the Jazz already have played eight games, winning five and losing three.
After tonight they'll play six more games -- two at home, four on the road -- over the next 10 days.
"Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday," said point guard Deron Williams, reeling off from memory the games nights on the Jazz's March schedule.
"Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday; Monday, Wednesday ... and I haven't even looked at April."
At that, Williams stepped back to his locker and glanced at a pocket schedule hanging there.
"Friday," he said, referring to an April 2 game vs. the Lakers in Los Angeles. "Hey, we get a Saturday off."
These are the dog days of the NBA season.
But going into tonight's game, the Jazz sit in the middle of the Western Conference playoff chase. If they are to climb up to the No. 2 spot behind the Lakers, they'll need as many wins as possible.
And to get them, they'll need a bust of energy.
"It's tough," Williams said. "Especially when we've got a lot of guys banged-up, myself included. We need to rest."
The Jazz caught a break on Monday when the lowly Washington Wizards came to town. Even with Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Price sitting out with injuries (and Williams and Mehmet Okur playing through pain) the team was able to build a 30-point lead in the second half. That in turn allowed most of their first unit to play fewer minutes.
Minnesota went into Tuesday night's game at Phoenix having dropped nine in a row, so if nothing else the Jazz will have prime opportunity to repeat Monday's victory.
"Honestly, we've got to stay focused," forward Carlos Boozer said. "I don't care what the situation is. Everybody goes through a long season, everybody has to play 82 games. Everybody's going through a similar situation so we can't have many excuses. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. We've got to take care of business."
Coach Jerry Sloan said he has been concerned about his team's energy level, but insists on keeping expectations high.
"Well, if you like to play basketball this is the way to do it," he said. "You don't have to practice every day, you just take care of yourself, be fresh and be ready to go play."
"I'm not concerned about (energy) as long as we take care of ourselves," he later added. "That's the best way to play basketball. If you have a family, that's it: you take care of your family and play basketball."
With such an arduous schedule in front of them, these days the Jazz can afford to do little else.
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