Utah Jazz: Kirilenko experiment paying off

PORTLAND, Ore. — Carlos Boozer was back, a pretty big deal in itself.

But the real million-dollar case for the Jazz on Sunday was the one adorned with No. 47, and it's all because of how turning a one-time All-Star into the team's chief sixth man could prove to be win-win for both Andrei Kirilenko and coach Jerry Sloan's club.

Hitting 7-of-10 from the field, Kirilenko again came off the bench and had a team-high 15 points the Jazz's 93-80 preseason win at Portland.

It's a look first displayed in Utah's exhibition victory over the Los Angeles Lakers last Tuesday in Anaheim, Calif., and one seemingly growing increasingly popular not only for Sloan and Kirilenko but also key Jazz teammates.

That includes two-time NBA All-Star Boozer, who had eight rebounds and 12 points with 4-of-8 field shooting while logging 15 minutes in his preseason debut.

"I was talking to him about it earlier," said Boozer, who missed Utah's first two exhibition games with soreness in his strained left hamstring. "He can come out, be aggressive. He can be a little bit of a point forward out there. ... He gets a chance to have a little bit more freedom offensively, which is great for him."

The still-under-consideration move, as Sloan revealed last week, was prompted partly by a potentially thin bench.

Usual backup small forward Matt Harpring remains out for at least another week while rehabbing his surgically repaired and subsequently infected right ankle, and his absence may be longer.

"Matt can come in, and he's always had the ability to be alive — I mean, create something, get an offensive rebound, or a loose ball, maybe make a shot," Sloan said. "And Andrei has that kind of ability — to be able to make a pass, or block a shot.

"We'll just have to see," the Jazz coach added. "It's a long, long season."

It is, yet it seems one increasingly more likely bound to at least begin with Kirilenko as a sub.

Usual reserve swingman C.J. Miles started Sunday at small forward for the third straight time in as many preseason games for the now 2-1 Jazz, and struggled with 0-for-3 shooting.

Yet even if Sloan is convinced starting Miles in Kirilenko's spot isn't the best bet, there are other options.

Sloan said Sunday he'd also consider beginning with usual backup shooting guard Kyle Korver and incumbent starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer to fill the essentially interchangeable 2 and 3 spots.

No matter who starts, though, Kirilenko will get plenty of playing time.

Sloan made that much evident Sunday, when the the lanky Russian logged 25 minutes — including a first-half stretch with 17 consecutive minutes.