"I'm happy that they're giving me an opportunity just to be on the court, period," Price said. "Whether it's at the two or at the one, wherever I can find minutes on the floor is good for me."

In such a lineup, Price said he expected to defend the opposing team's shooting guard. That would be Portland's Brandon Roy tonight, though Roy might not see much time after playing 36 minutes in Wednesday's loss to Phoenix.

All things being equal, Price said he would rather take a player like Roy on defense than a smaller point guard.

"I actually prefer guarding big guards than I do guys that are smaller than me, because I'm a physical defender, I like a lot of contact," Price said.

"I think with bigger guards, I'm allowed to maybe use my hands more and use my body more. With smaller guards, I get called for a lot of touchy fouls. It's fun for me to play against these guys."

Williams endorsed the lineup, describing Price in similar terms as Paul Millsap as a player the Jazz have to get on the court.

"I think he's another guy who deserves to play," Williams said. "He's shown he deserves to play with how hard he's worked in the off-season and how well he's played in the preseason. You've got to find way to play guys like that."

The Jazz can be expected to explore several lineup combinations given their shortage of wings. Miles is out after undergoing thumb surgery while Kirilenko returned to Russia to attend to a family matter.

In addition, Kyle Korver might not play tonight after experiencing soreness in his inflamed left knee after Tuesday's scrimmage. Korver headed home after the shootaround with a portable cold compression machine for treatment.

"Everyone I've seen says it's something that you can take care of, you just have to let it calm all the way down," Korver said. "But it's hard because you want to be out there playing and practice."

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