<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">His teammates and coaches agree with Andrei Kirilenko's postgame complaint Monday night: The Russian forward isn't involved enough in the Jazz's offense. The solution? It's not real complicated: So get involved. "He needs to quit worrying about all the little things and concentrate on just playing basketball," said assistant coach Phil Johnson. "He used to be very comfortable with what we're doing. There are some different sets, but the concepts are the same ones we were using when he made the All-Star team." After an ineffectual 3-for-10 performance Monday night that dropped his shooting percentage to .343, Kirilenko described himself as isolated from the Jazz's offense. "[F]or three or four times, I don't touch the ball. It's hard to play without touching the ball," he grumbled. ?I mean, sometimes involve me. [I will] touch the ball, probably swing the ball, run a play. Sometimes I don't feel involved in the set." Guard Devin Brown said he understood his teammate's lament. "I felt the same way when I got here, until I learned" the offense, Brown said. "It's hard - you feel like you're just running around out there. You do that, you're going to start looking at the bench and thinking, 'I'm coming out.' . . . You just have to assert yourself." </div> <div align="center">Source</div>
One of the Laker announcers said it best, Kirilenko needs to develop two or three go-to moves before he'll become a consistent 20+ point scorer. Most of his points are coming off shear hustle and tipping in misses. I don't think Sloan runs many plays for him, because Kirilenko doesn't have any go-to moves. His situation reminds me of KG when he was first coming up. KG didn't have any post moves, and relied on his size and athleticism to score. He worked hard in the off-season with McHale to develop his post game and learn the proper footwork. Then he expanded his game by developing a jumpshot. AK47's development has been hurt by his injuries, but he needs to spend an off-season perfecting his offensive game.
wow i guess that means it's a big mistake for drafting kirilenko to my fantasy team if what you said were true....damn
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Andrei Kirilenko lingered on the Delta Center floor Wednesday morning, and asked assistant coach Phil Johnson to wait, too. The Russian, concerned about what he perceives as his reduced role in Utah's offense the past few games, wanted to discuss what he could do to change it. Kirilenko and Johnson huddled for perhaps 10 minutes, a meeting that the Russian forward said did much to clear up his recent difficulties and produce a strategy for changing them. He would not reveal exactly what was said, but Kirilenko was unmistakably upbeat after the shootaround meeting. "I feel more understandable right now," he said. "I more understand what the coaches want." Kirilenko said he basically agreed with Johnson's opinion that the difference in his game - the 2004 all-star was making only 34.3 percent of his shots entering Wednesday's game - is mostly his own responsibility. "I need to figure out how to play in offense. I feel good today," Kirilenko said. "We're starting to figure it out." </div> <div align="center">Source</div> The game after, Kirilenko tied his career high with 10 assists.
