<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko left the team Wednesday and flew from Boston to Los Angeles, where today and Friday he is scheduled to undergo further evaluation of his injured lower back by specialists there. Kirilenko hurt the back late in the opening half of last Saturday's win at Milwaukee, and did not play in that game's second half or in Tuesday's loss at Cleveland. The Jazz and Kirilenko himself had been saying the 24-year-old Russian was bothered by painful back spasms, and both hoped he'd back by Wednesday's game against Boston ? if not Tuesday in Cleveland. Kirilenko did not show any improvement, however, so he left Wednesday for L.A. There, the Jazz hope doctors can rule out what has to be among their worst fears ? structural or disc damage in the back. "We hope he'll get healthy," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said Wednesday. "That's the biggest thing." Kirilenko, limited to 41 games last season and 17 so far this season because of various injuries, is averaging 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 3.1 blocks and 1.1 steals. "He's a tremendous help to us when he's able to play," Sloan said, "so we hope we can get him back." The Jazz do not expect to know anything about Kirilenko's status until Friday at the earliest, and perhaps not until early next week.</div> <div align="center">Source</div>
