Jazz Eager for Return of Andrei Kirilenko <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Jazz played one more game Monday night. One more, that is, without All-Star forward Andrei Kirilenko, who has missed the past 26 with a partial tear in his right knee's medial collateral ligament. In that span, the Jazz have gone 6-20. With Monday's passing, though, that is a running total they hope to count no more. Kirilenko worked out hard prior to Utah's 102-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, and with a four-day break in the Jazz's schedule ? they do not play again until Saturday night vs. Memphis at the Delta Center ? it could very well be his last absence as a result of the injury.</div> <div align="center">Link </div>
The return of Andrei Kirilenko is a huge addition of The Utah Jazz, it's gives them one of the best all around front courts alongside Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur (when he's getting those minutes). Throw Matt Harpring and Gordan Giricek into the backcourt and you have a real solid team in every aspect. I truly believe The Utah Jazz are a superstar away from becoming a serious contender for a championship. I honestly don't have a problem with their point guard by committee theory, it seems to be working as The Jazz ranks 3rd amongst NBA teams in Assists. Perhaps a scoring point guard? A Stephon Marbury or a Steve Francis type postion player who can post big scoring numbers but also dish out 6-8 assists a night. That's of course if the Jazz do decide to go that route and get a point, I personally would just like to see some sort of scoring threat from that team's backcourt.
Good post. The Jazz are on the verge of becoming an elite team, IMO. They're the second youngest team in the league, take Howard Eisley out and they are the youngest. They started off the season 6-1, and winning by blowouts, which gives Utah an indication as to just how good they can be. There's a few things that need to be dealt with first for them to improve. They need someone to become a consistent 15+ PPG scoring threat that's a purely a Guard. The highest Guard right now for PPG is Raja Bell with just under 12PPG, and is the only one with over 10PPG. This just puts extra pressure on the Jazz Forwards and Okur to score. Raja Bell and Gordan Giricek scored 15 and 16 vs. the Lakers, look at what happened. If the Jazz are going to trade Carlos Arroyo, they should look at acquiring Jason Terry, he could fit in well. I too, don't have a problem with the point guard by committee theory, but I would like to see an established rotation and consistent starter. It's different every game for the Point Guards, Arroyo is going from 20 minutes one game to DNP the next, which effects the minutes that McLeod, Lopez and Eisley get. The return of Kirilenko will fix a lot of problems, mainly defense, which has been a big downfall for them in his absense. Now, when Boozer or Okur gets beat on defense (which happens often), their opponent wont go in for an easy lay up, as Kirilenko will be there ready to contest the shot and possibly start the fast break for Utah. The Jazz may have dug themselves into too big of a hole to make the playoffs this season, but the remainder of the season will be an indication of what Utah can do next season any beyond, as the future is good for this young team. If Kirilenko stays healthy .
