Once again, there was talk of faster starts, better focus and playing with a chip on the shoulder. But the Jazz have made similar commitments in the past only to wind up answering the same questions all over again.

"We've got to make things tougher on people, find ways to get a little nasty with people and get some wins," Deron Williams said.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said he had similar thoughts about the challenge of playing in a visiting arena filled with 20,000 opposing fans. "You've got to come with an attitude about, 'I don't like to be disliked. I want to be respected,'" Sloan said.

Matt Harpring, meanwhile, was asked to pinpoint the difference between the Jazz's current team and those he played on with John Stockton and Karl Malone when it came to winning on the road.

"There were some killer attitudes when you got on the road," Harpring said. "It's the same mind-set as when you're at home: 'Get on these guys early.' We're not doing that right now, and I don't know why not.

"I remember playing with John and Karl, when we were on the road, they tried to set a tone right away at the beginning of the game. When you do that, you draw fouls on the other team, you get them on their heels a little bit, it's a game."

The Jazz fell behind by 10 in the first quarter, recovered to tie the score before halftime, then gave up 36 points to the Thunder in the third quarter and found themselves trailing by 17.

They are giving up an average of 101.4 points on the road this season.

"The effort's got to be there," Williams said. "That's what we've got to be concerned with. It's not missing shots. We can miss shots and still win Basketball games if we compete, and I don't think we did that [Wednesday]."

Sloan was bothered as his team collected one offensive rebound the entire first half against Oklahoma City as well as the lack of concentration as the Jazz twice failed to double team as instructed coming out of a timeout.

He was firm in saying his players had to "decide how bad they want to win." After 1? seasons of disappointments on the road, Sloan also was asked how concerned he was about the Jazz never being able to break their pattern.

"Maybe that's who we are," Sloan said. "I can't change that. I can't change the personality of the player.

"He has to change that to make it work. We can beg them to do things and ask them to do things and give them a little direction there, but they have to do the work."

Williams questioned whether the Jazz had become discouraged by their 23-16 record after a season of unending injuries.

"We're right there, we're right there," Williams said. "We're a good team, we're only a couple games back of second place. We've just got to keep fighting, keep finding ways to win."

Williams talked about taking teams out of their comfort zone while Kyle Korver insisted the Jazz weren't out of theirs playing away from EnergySolutions Arena, where they have gone 53-8 the last two seasons.

"We have a great place to play in Salt Lake," Korver said. "We have great fans, it's always packed. It's a really tough place for the other team to play. It definitely helps us out a lot, but I don't think we rely on the crowd too much. ? Whatever it is, we've got to fix it."

Notes ? The Jazz were Thursday off ahead of playing back-to-back games at Memphis and Dallas this weekend. ? Paul Millsap (bruised right knee) is day-to-day while C.J. Miles (sprained right ankle) is a game-time decision to play.

rsiler@sltrib.com Jazz at Grizzlies

At FedExForum, Memphis, Tenn.

Tipoff ? Today, 6 p.m.

TV ? FSN Utah

Radio ? 1320 AM, 98.7 FM

Records ? Jazz 23-16, Memphis 11-27

Last meeting ? Jazz 117-100, Nov. 26

Line ? Jazz by 5

About the Jazz ? The Jazz couldn't ask for a better opponent to get well against after Wednesday's loss to Oklahoma City. The Jazz have beaten the Grizzlies the last seven times they played by an average of 16.6 points.

About the Grizzlies ? The Grizzlies have lost 12 of their last 14 games. They have failed to score more than 90 points and held no more than a one-point lead during their current skid. Counting the preseason, Darius Miles would play in his 10th game of the season tonight, costing Portland $18M in future salary-cap space since Miles no longer is retired with a career-ending injury. Road woes

The Jazz have dropped five consecutive road games and are 7-12 away from home this season: