An excerpt from the Salt Lake Tribune... JAZZ NOTES: Kirilenko could miss two weeksKirilenko could miss up to two weeks By Michael C. Lewis The Salt Lake Tribune Article Last Updated: 04/08/2007 01:31:47 AM MDT .....so the good news is that the Jazz have managed to win six of the eight games that forward Andrei Kirilenko has missed because of injury. The bad news is they're going to have to keep trying. The Jazz said Kirilenko could miss up to two weeks - a stretch that could include the final six regular-season games and the start of the playoffs - with the injured left thumb he suffered in the loss at Sacramento on Friday night. So while teammate Deron Williams bounced back from the strained groin he suffered against the Kings to compile 24 points and 13 assists in a 106-103 loss to Seattle at EnergySolutions Arena on Saturday night, Kirilenko sat subdued behind the Jazz bench, in a gray suit and a protective split on his injured thumb. "I can't do a thing about it," coach Jerry Sloan said. Yet it's hard not to imagine that Kirilenko might have had some luck defending Seattle's Rashard Lewis, the 6-foot-10 forward who took the game over and scored 16 of his game-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to hand the Jazz their second straight meltdown loss. "I don't know what happened," center Mehmet Okur said. "We have to figure out what's going on right now." In place of Kirilenko, rookie Ronnie Brewer made his first start since a loss to New Orleans on Jan. 27. He hadn't played in the previous five games, but finished with 12 points. Good news, sort of. TMac usually torches AK, and it seemed to me like Fisher wasdoing an excellent job pestering TMac last Sunday at Toyota Center. Plus, other than Sefolosha, Brewer was probably the best perimeter defender in last years draft.....
Interesting. I don't think the Jazz lose much honestly. Brewer is a fine athlete and probably a better scorer. They lose a little experience, but that's about it. Can't wait until this matchup.
So is this really that big? The playoffs start about then.. and he'll be rested. Here's hoping for "rusted" instead.
I didn't see it anywhere else so it must be buried somewhere. I'm pretty sure he'll suck it up for the last game of the season (if it has any importance) and will definitely be back for the playoffs. On the bright side, this makes their game against the Suns that much more difficult. It's essential that they lose that game.
