Lopez questionable tonight

BOSTON — The Jazz did not practice as planned before flying from Phoenix to Boston on Thursday, leaving point guard Raul Lopez "questionable" for Utah's game tonight against the Celtics.

Lopez, who started Wednesday night's loss to the Suns in place of the benched Carlos Arroyo, strained his right hamstring during opening-half play and did not return for the second half.

Lopez probably does not need to go on the injured list, Jazz trainer Gary Briggs said Thursday, but it remains to be seen if he will be available tonight.

Arroyo started Wednesday's third quarter and may start tonight — especially if Lopez is unable to play.

Meanwhile, Keith McLeod — the Jazz's No. 4 point guard behind Arroyo, Lopez and Howard Eisley — remains on the injured list with a groin strain.

Briggs said McLeod is "very, very close" to being ready to return, meaning he probably is available whenever the Jazz opt to call on him. McLeod already has sat out his mandatory five games since going on the list, so he is now eligible to be added to the active roster.

GOOGS SITS: Boston on Wednesday placed ex-Jazz forward Tom Gugliotta on its injured list with what the team is calling a "mild right ankle sprain," and replaced him on its active roster with rookie forward Justin Reed.

But it sure sounds like Gugliotta, who has appeared in only eight games for the Celtics this season, is being stashed.

"No one wants to be on (the injured list)," Gugliotta told the Boston Herald. "You want to be able to play. Even if you are a little banged up, you want to fight through it and play."

Gugliotta has averaged 11.5 minutes in eight reserve-role games for Boston, with just 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 points per game.

"In the preseason, I felt real good," the Boston Globe quoted Gugliotta as saying. "I wanted to hopefully build from there, instead of regressing. But I have regressed as far as being on the basketball court and playing."

KIRILENKO NOTICED: Even though he has missed the Jazz's last nine games with a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, Jazz 2004 All-Star forward Andrei Kirilenko is seventh among Western Conference forwards in early returns for the '05 NBA All-Star Game.

According to the league's first release of balloting results, Kirilenko has 106,389 votes — well behind the West's top two vote-getting forwards, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett (751,586) and San Antonio's Tim Duncan (570,090).

Kirilenko also trails forwards Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Peja Stojakovic, but ranks ahead of Chris Webber, Pau Gasol and Kenyon Martin.

None of the other three Jazz players listed on the league's ballot — Arroyo, Matt Harpring and team scoring leader Carlos Boozer — are listed among the top-10 in the West at their respective positions.

Voting continues through Jan. 23 for the Feb. 20 game in Denver.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com