Andrei the Great! Jazzman an All-Star

Deep down, Andrei Kirilenko wanted to bounce, like the kid he is and the one he has.

"I'm ready to jump," the married father of one young son said, "and just say, 'Yes, yes, it's unbelievable.' "

Deeper down, what Kirilenko wanted even more was a hug from a man who often hides his happiness, Jerry Sloan.

But Kirilenko knew he wasn't going to get one, even after Sloan learned Tuesday morning that the 22-year-old Russian forward is the first Utah Jazz player since Karl Malone chosen to play in an NBA All-Star Game.

Instead, the longtime Jazz coach did about what Kirilenko said he suspected Sloan might: "Just shake hands, (and) say, 'Andrei, good job.' "

To be precise, Sloan's actual response was, "Congratulations." Then, as the handshake ended, he added this caveat: "You don't have to defend at all."

Games like the one first-time All-Star Kirilenko will play in Feb. 15 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles are more about fun than fundamentals, more about showing off than showing how old-schoolers feel the game ought to be played.

"It's more like a pickup game," Sloan said dryly. "I don't see any plays being run."

Sloan worries about what participating in such an exhibition of individualism could do to someone who is the centerpiece of a team built around actual teamwork. And he wonders if the Jazz — who at 24-24 do not even currently hold down a Western Conference playoff position — really deserve to have an All-Star tapped from among them.

But conference coaches did so anyway, selecting Kirilenko to join six others (Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, Brad Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O'Neal and Peja Stojakovic) as reserves on a West team headlined by fan-chosen starters Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Steve Francis, Kevin Garnett and Yao Ming.

They did not so much because of Kirilenko's team-leading 16.3 points-per-game scoring average but because of the way he tends to fill up a stat sheet, also averaging 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.8 blocks and 2.1 steals this season, his third with the Jazz.

And they probably did it as a show of recognition to the reality that Kirilenko fuels a .500 team many prognosticators expected would not win 24 games all season, let alone that many two-plus weeks before the All-Star break.