Harpring held out of practice

LOS ANGELES — Jazz starting small forward Matt Harpring was withheld from practice Sunday, but it was purely for precautionary reasons.

After playing five games in seven nights a couple weeks back, Harpring had to miss last Monday's game against San Antonio to have fluid removed from his surgically repaired right knee.

The Jazz's co-captain said he is fine now, though, and will be ready to play when Utah visits the Los Angeles Lakers tonight.

Harpring has played three games since having the joint drained, averaging 13.7 points (slightly above his season average) and 8.7 rebounds (2.8 above his season average) in that span.

Meanwhile, both All-Star forward Andrei Kirilenko and center Jarron Collins practiced Sunday.

Both traveled to Los Angeles, but both also remain on the injured list with medial collateral knee ligament sprains.

Kirilenko is not expected to return to the Jazz lineup until Saturday vs. Memphis at the earliest, and the Jazz gave no indication Sunday that Collins would be ready to play tonight.

MVP TALK: Writing recently on Sports Illustrated's Web site, SI.com's Marty Burns makes a case for Kirilenko as the NBA's midseason MVP.

Writes Burns, in part: "Sorry, it's not Steve Nash, Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett. If you subscribe to the theory that the MVP is the player most valuable to his team (I don't, but many do), then you've got to go with . . . Kirilenko.

"Without their Russian pogo-stick, Utah has collapsed like the former Soviet Union.

"True, the Jazz sans Kirilenko just toppled the mighty Suns on Wednesday, after having also taken down the Spurs on Monday — impressive performances, no doubt. But the fact remains that Utah was 8-5 (before) Nov. 27, the night Kirilenko went down with a partially torn MCL. Since then they have lost (21 of 26) games, including a recent stretch of nine straight.

"Kirilenko provides Utah much more than his 14 points and seven boards a night. He brings defense, hustle, energy and big-play capability. His shot-blocking alone is amazing. . . . Kirilenko's absence has been all the more obvious because the Jazz just don't have anybody else with his athleticism.

"As (Harpring) says, 'We can still score. But our defense without Andrei has been horrible.'"