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Raptors unveil new coach against injury-plagued Jazz

Dec 5, 2008 - 11:26 AM Toronto (8-9) at Utah (12-8), 10:30pm EST

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Jay Triano will make his NBA head-coaching debut in one of the toughest arenas in the NBA. Well, up until this week, anyway.

Triano, who became the first Canadian-born coach in league history when he replaced the fired Sam Mitchell on Wednesday, will lead his Toronto Raptors into Salt Lake City to take on the suddenly struggling Utah Jazz on Friday.

The Raptors fired Mitchell after suffering a humiliating 132-93 defeat at the hands of the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Mitchell, the NBA's Coach of the Year for the 2006-07 season, was in his fifth season at the helm.

Toronto has lost two straight and is still struggling to find some offensive production around franchise player Chris Bosh, who is third in the league in scoring at 26.6 points per game. Bosh will try to deliver the Raptors' first win over the Jazz since December 22, 2004.

The Jazz - who were a league-best 37-4 on their home floor last season - have uncharacteristically dropped two straight at home. A lot of that likely has to do with the team's rash of injuries. All-Star forward Carlos Boozer has missed seven straight games with a strained left quadriceps, Andrei Kirilenko has missed two in a row with inflammation in his right ankle and Deron Williams - while finally back in the lineup on a full-time basis - is still somewhat hobbled by a sprained left ankle and a right hip flexor.

The Jazz's bench has also been depleted by nagging injuries.

Utah is riding a six-game winning streak over Toronto, including a 92-88 victory at home in November 2007 thanks to Boozer's 23-point, 14-rebound performance.