<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Answer: He's caught in a squeeze between Raja Bell and Kirk Snyder. Question: Where did Gordan Giricek go? When the Jazz gave a four-year, $16 million contract to the 27-year-old Croatian last summer, it was assumed he'd been designated the team's starting shooting guard, a key to their rebuilding project. But his minutes have varied drastically this season, along with his production. He started all 15 games in November, then he started just one of 15 games in December. He started 14 of 15 January games, but he hasn't started since Feb. 1 ? a string of 14 games. He also hasn't scored in double figures since Feb. 1, when he totaled 21 in a loss at home to the lowly Bobcats. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has said many times it shouldn't matter who starts, that guys are paid to play regardless of when they enter a game. Besides, what's more important is who finishes ? which Giricek rarely does, at least in close games. In Tuesday's loss to the Pacers at the Delta Center, Giricek had his best game since mid-February. He'd scored eight points, including a couple timely shots, as the Jazz rallied to overcome a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter. When he came out for Matt Harpring with 6:23 left in the game, Giricek appeared noticeably upset. Sloan noticed, too. "It seemed like he was frustrated last night when I took him out of the game," Sloan said at Wednesday's practice. "I don't have a problem with that. I'd hope he'd want to be out there." Asked how things were going for him this season, Giricek was reluctant to discuss personal issues. "I did everything that I could," he said. "I don't like talking about individual things." Giricek is only a third-year player, but at 27 he's been around some, and he seems to understand that popping off only causes problems. "I can't say anything," he said. "Whatever I say brings only damage." Then he smiled and added, "Maybe you know better than I do." As for a suggestion that he might have been frustrated Tuesday, he smiled again and said, "No, I wasn't frustrated." Does that mean he's an even-tempered kind of player?</div> Source
