SALT LAKE CITY — Notes from shootaround Wednesday before the Jazz take on the Denver Nuggets at Vivint Arena.

George Hill back? Or not?

This is confusing, so I'll just tell you all what happened.

We media folks wait outside of the Zions Bank Basketball Center gym while the Jazz practice or shootaround, waiting for the team to finish. Once they do, they let us inside the gym, and Jazz PR gives the media that attends an update on which players did or did not participate in practice, and the latest information on the status of those players for the next game.

Today, as we entered the gym, Jazz PR staff told us that George Hill (who has missed the last 8 games with a sprained right thumb) and Joe Johnson (who missed yesterday's practice with illness) would be playing tonight. We tweeted out that information, and so did the Jazz.

Then, we requested Quin Snyder and Hill speak to the media. As Snyder came to speak to us, Jazz PR informed him that they'd announced Hill was playing, which seemed to surprise Snyder.

"You know, we'll see if he's back. Hopefully he'll be able to play. He went through shootaround this morning, but we're going to make sure he's in good shape. That's why we've waited this long, cause we've got to make sure he's healthy," Snyder said. "Hopefully he feels the same way tonight that he felt this morning and then we'll confirm all that by gametime. We're not ready to say he's back."

We then watched as Snyder told Hill the same thing: essentially, the thumb may feel good now, but that they don't know that will still be true by gametime.

Then Hill spoke. "It's still a little sore, I'm taking it one day at a time, just trying to figure it out. Yesterday I tried to walk through a little bit, still had a little pain when the ball hit me and when I'm dribbling. Who knows how I'm feeling when the game starts."

"It's starting to get a lot better, where it's not as sharp as it had been," Hill said. "It's something that we don't want to get it hit, and it puts me out even longer."

Jazz PR staff then sent out an updated release, saying Hill is a game-time decision. They also deleted the original tweet saying he'd play.

I'll give my two cents: I'd be surprised if Hill didn't play at this point. Whoever Jazz PR got their information from (I'm guessing the training staff?) seems to have confidence in Hill's ability to play tonight.

Anyway, Joe Johnson is definitely expected to play after sitting out practice yesterday with an illness. Derrick Favors and Alec Burks are both out for the foreseeable future.

Chance for revenge against Denver

The Jazz have the chance to play the same opponent that they did in the big loss Sunday, the Denver Nuggets. Denver's coming off of a back-to-back, having beaten the Chicago Bulls last night at home.

The Jazz were pretty bad defensively against the Nuggets, though were even worse against the Houston Rockets on the previous night. What's going on?

"A lot of it's just discipline and positional, literally habits. When you can't practice ever, and you play a lot of games, and you fatigue, those things usually slip. We've tried to address some of that slippage," Snyder said.

"We're a little bit unorganized," Hill said. "We have to get back to defending the way we're capable of defending."

Thanksgiving holiday

How are the Jazz treating the Thanksgiving holiday?

Snyder said he asked the players on Tuesday what they wanted to do for the holiday, and the players agreed they wanted to come in and practice.

"We'll have what we call a pro day, where guys can come in (and work) and get treatment," Snyder explained. "But we'll be out of here really early so people have a chance to get with their families."

Everyone is thankful that they're playing at home on Wednesday and Friday, so they can stay home for the holiday. That includes even the international players, who didn't grow up celebrating the holiday. Rudy Gobert says he'll likely head over to coach Alex Jensen's house, just like he did last season:

[That was my first thanksgiving in the U.S. Thank you @nataliehilljensen for the amazing evening with your family! Meu primeiro thanksgiving nos Estados Unidos 🇺🇸🇧🇷](https://www.instagram.com/p/-o-4bWsI4Y/) A photo posted by Raul Neto (@raulneto08) on Nov 28, 2015 at 11:32am PST

Miss you, Tibor.

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