What's up with Andrei?

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — He wants more touches, more shots, more love.

He wants to be more than he is.

Cultural differences aside, Andrei Kirilenko raps like Ron Artest with a Russian accent.

"I want to be somebody who is an all-around player," the slumping Utah Jazz forward said before Friday's game at Arco Arena, "but you can't pass the ball with no ball."

So what is it with these defensive geniuses? Isn't it enough to be regarded as one of the most unique defenders in the modern era? To dictate the outcome of games by clogging the freeway to the basket? They have to be brilliant in math and science and social studies?

Maybe the two small forwards — and they were matched against each other until Kirilenko departed with a sprained left thumb — belong together. While Artest has dealt with off-court issues and a disappointing Kings season, Kirilenko has struggled with his game and/or approach to his game, the vastly improved Jazz forcing him to play catch-up. Jerry Sloan's club already has clinched a division title and playoff berth for the first time in four years, and to the surprise of many, done so while their one-time All-Star endures an erratic, admittedly unfulfilling season.

Remember the old Andrei?

Spiked hair? Chiseled features? Angular frame?

Great expectations?

Just asking. Everyone is. The player who led his team in scoring, rebounding, steals, blocks, minutes and floor burns in 2003-04, who led the league in blocks per game that same year and earned a hefty contract extension, has morphed from invaluable presence into NBA mystery man. His rebounds, steals and blocks — always the pertinent numbers for Kirilenko — have dipped appreciably, his minutes tumbling accordingly. Opposing scouts whose reports once prominently featured the St. Petersburg, Russia, native, a gangly, 6-foot-9 ensemble of arms and legs, currently lavish more attention on starters Deron Williams, Mehmut Okur and Carlos Boozer, all of whom are more polished, precise offensive performers.

"Every young player goes through a tough stretch," said Sloan, the Jazz coach who famously refuses to spoon-feed or do diapers, "and it all depends on how you come out of it. Andrei is shooting poorly. He's struggling with his confidence. We don't play a wide-open game, which would probably be better for him. We're also playing him at three (small forward) because of Boozer, and it was a little bit easier for him in the past to play the four (power forward). But he hasn't been as active (defensively), and that's something he has to work through. He has always been a hustle player."