Andrei Kirilenko

[Glenn]

What happened to his game?

I know that he's had a lot of injuries, but he was actually in the "MVP of the future" discussions just a year or two ago, and now he's nothing more than a role player.

Anybody see a lot of Utah games? AK47 used to be a nightly threat for a triple double, and he even dabbled with a few quadruple doubles.

The guy has just completely fallen off the map, and it's not just scoring, I could understand that since he's got better teammates than he used to have.

Game log: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/...dPDp0TShekvLYF

Career stats: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/...XuxYP0IKqkvLYF

Dude used to average 15/8/4 and now he's 9/5/4.

His numbers are down in almost every statistical category, with only a slight reduction of mins.

WTF?

[WTFchris]

Haven't seen many games of his, but I have him on my fantasy team so I have been watching his game notes, etc.

It's basically just the emergance of Memo and Boozer I think. He doesn't take a lot of shots anymore. I'm not sure if Sloan changed the offense or what. But he was out for a while and I think when he got back they didn't change much. He is only taking 6 shots a game now. He still has a PER of 14+ so it's not like he's playing bad.

He seems to be more like Prince now (takes a back seat to everyone else unless he is really needed). I wish he'd step up though, as he's one of my favorite players.

[Glenn]

You didn't just throw a PER at me, did you, Mini-Hollinger?

[WTFchris]

I edited the post and added that in there just for you Glenn.

[Uncle Mxy]

The person he's guarding has a PER of 12, if I believe 82games.com, and he's still blocking shots better than Ben. He's shooting a decent %, too. He's the fourth option behind 3 16+ ppg players in Boozer, Memo, and Deron Williams. Who should take less shots so AK47 can shoot more? With the way that Utah has been playing, I'd leave well enough alone if I were Sloan.

[Glenn]

I guess my point was, how did it come to this? How did he go from frontline star to 4th option, especially when many were thinking he would be a periennial MVP candidate? Why does he now defer to Deron Williams and fall below him in the pecking order?

Is it simply injuries? Lack of aggression? Or was he never really as good as many thought he was? Is the team around him just that much better?

If LeBron was surrounded by Boozer, Memo, and Williams would his numbers/significance drop as dramatically?

I'm not saying Sloan should change anything, I'm asking "WTF happened to this guy?"

[WTFchris]

I think it's just that the offense changed while he was out. He isn't bad now IMO, he just defers. Look at Sheed. He could do a lot more but never demands the ball (to a fault most times). Perhaps he should be more involved in Utah, but they are winning.

[Glenn]

Seriously...

Jan 16 -- Kirilenko didn't have a shot or a rebound in the first half of Monday's 114-111 defeat to the Wizards and finished with four points and three rebounds. The Jazz forward recorded all of his points on free throws, with the first coming with 8:08 left in the third quarter. It was the first time this season he failed to score a field goal.

Advice: Kirilenko had scored 11 points in each of his last three games before struggling Monday. He is averaging 9.1 points and 5.2 rebounds this season after notching 15.3 points and 8.0 boards in 2005-06.

[WTFchris]

Uhg, what a waste of space he is on my fantasy team (not in the WTF league). I am in second place though, so I could be money if he ever revives his game.

[Glenn]

You heard it here first, fellas.

BTW, check your PMs, AK47.

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_5043146?source=rss

JAZZ: Larry Miller says Kirilenko 'putting himself on thin ice'

By Phil Miller
The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 01/19/2007 12:55:28 AM MST

TORONTO - Andrei Kirilenko is "putting himself on thin ice," Jazz owner Larry Miller said Thursday, by allowing his production to ebb while complaining about not being involved in the team's offense.

"The best advice, I suppose, for him is to play the game the way he knows how to play it," Miller said during an interview on radio station 1280 AM. " . . . To me, Andrei could make the choice to play well, and I don't think he's done it the past eight to 10 games."

Miller said he was surprised by comments Kirilenko made following a meeting Tuesday with the Jazz's coaching staff, all but admitting he was having difficulty staying interested in the team's games when he wasn't getting to shoot.

"Some of the games, I don't feel like I'm on the floor," Kirilenko said. "I just go back and forth, back and forth, back and forth and I go to sleep."

The team's owner, who cited conversations about energy and hustle he had with Kirilenko while negotiating the Russian's six-year, $86 million contract, said he wasn't happy watching his highest-paid player on the floor lately.

"When he shoots off the 10-foot elbow or 12-foot baseline, I'm cringing right now. He's shooting it that poorly," Miller said. But hearing Kirilenko explain that he wants "two or three plays" called for him makes it worse.

"I would have to say he's putting himself on thin ice," Miller told the radio station. "The combination of not playing very well and shooting his mouth off - that's not a good combination."

He also suggested an unorthodox solution.

"I'd almost like to call his bluff. Say 'OK, automatically we're going to leave you out there, you're going to take 20 shots a night five games in a row. And then we'll see,' " Miller challenged Kirilenko. "That would resolve the issue. He's either going to make them or he's not."

Miller made it clear that he suspects how that would work out.

"What percentage of the time is he going to make the basket when he drives down the key? What percentage is he even going to have the ball in his hands?" Miller said. "It sounds bad, but . . . I would say three-quarters of the time, he loses the ball before he gets to the rim."

But Miller also defended the six-year veteran, emphasizing that Kirilenko remains one of the team's most valuable players. For one thing, the occasional meetings that Sloan has with Kirilenko "always seem like a positive," Miller said, and he believes the situation will resolve itself soon.

His impact on the floor is even greater, making the current slump even more noticeable, the owner added.

"He can have so much impact on a game without having plays called for him. He can take control of a game," Miller said. "Andrei should make four field goals and four to six free throws a night just by being around the basket, being active underneath."

But Kirilenko sounded encouraged after his nine-point, seven-rebound, four-steal and four-assist outing against the Pistons. "I feel I'm much more in game now," Kirilenko said of his post-meeting allotment of nine field-goal tries. "I hope it goes on for few games now."