At halftime Sunday, Minnesota led the Jazz, 42-39.
 
The telling matchup to that point?
 
Not Karl Malone vs. Kevin Garnett, John Stockton vs. Chauncey Billups or Donyell Marshall vs. Joe Smith.
 
With the Jazz trying to avoid a fifth loss in six games, shooting guards Bryon Russell and John Starks were being badly outplayed.
 
Midway through the Jazz's eventual 96-89 victory -- their second in a row, heading into tonight's game against Detroit at the Delta Center -- Russell and Starks had combined for two points on 1-for-8 shooting.
 
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves' Wally Szczcerbiak and Anthony Peeler had scored 26 points on 10-for-13 shooting.
 
Szczcerbiak scored 14 points, including 10 straight during a 5:48 stretch. Peeler had 12 points, including two three-pointers early in the second quarter when the Jazz jumped into a zone defense and he fired over the top of them.
 
In the end, Szczcerbiak (33) and Peeler (17) outscored Russell (five) and Starks (five), 50-10.
 
Those numbers would have been more alarming if the Jazz had not rallied, but they still point out a season-long problem: The Jazz's shooting guards haven't been shooting -- at least not too well.