Sore back forces Kirilenko to skip practice

INDIANAPOLIS — Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko missed practice again Friday due to soreness in his back, the same injury that caused him to miss six games last season.

Kirilenko, however, did travel with the team for a pair of preseason road games, tonight at Indiana and Monday night vs. Detroit.

After a scrimmage Thursday night at the Delta Center, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan expressed concern about Kirilenko's play since training camp opened earlier this month — and said he wasn't sure precisely what was causing it.

On Friday morning, however, Sloan suggested he now believes the bad back is what's behind Kirilenko's slow start.

Kirilenko missed one other practice earlier this week because of the back, before the Jazz opened their preseason in Fresno, Calif., with a 94-79 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

He logged an uneventful 12 minutes, though, against the Lakers — and on Thursday said he was not concerned that the injury would cause him to miss next month's start of the regular season.

JACKSON QUESTIONABLE: According to Friday's Indianapolis Star, the Pacers aren't certain if swingman Stephen Jackson will play in tonight's exhibition against the Jazz.

On Thursday, Jackson was booked and later released on a felony criminal recklessness charge and two misdemeanor charges stemming from a fight at a strip club last week in which Jackson allegedly fired shots from a handgun into the air.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle hopes Jackson can play tonight, the Star reported, but he "is not sure that will happen due to injuries sustained in the fight."

ALUMNI UPDATE: According to a recent report on www.nba.com/sonics, the training-camp showing by ex-Jazz guard Milt Palacio, who is battling Mike Wilks for Seattle's No. 3 point position, "has been a positive so far after early concerns about Palacio's surgically repaired knee and his weight."

"The first couple of days he was trying to get comfortable with the system, but he's played much better," the Web site quoted Sonics coach Bob Hill as saying. "He came in a little overweight and I was a little concerned about him, but ... he's playing a lot better."

The Jazz opted against re-signing Palacio, who underwent microfracture knee surgery shortly after finishing last season in Utah.