From Deseret News archives:
Kirilenko not open to consoling
Andrei doesn't want to cause problems or be a distraction
Kirilenko, however, apparently did not want to be overly consoled following his much-publicized meltdown with the media between Saturday's Games 1 and Monday's Game 2 of the first-round NBA playoff series between Utah and Houston.
"There were some guys that offered words of encouragement or support," veteran guard Derek Fisher said Monday. "I don't think it was something we wanted to overdo. You know, you never want a guy to feel like he can't handle things himself. But if he needs support ... you're just letting him know that we're more than willing.
"We're all adults here, and I think we all understand there are times when, even when you're going through something, you're not that interested in having everybody deal with it," Fisher added. "You know, there are certain times when you need to be in your own space and deal with it accordingly — and, once you've done that, it's over and behind you."
Veteran Matt Harpring, Kirilenko's backup at small forward, said he spoke with Kirilenko "a little bit.
"I mean, he wasn't too open to talk," Harpring added. "But I tried to just be positive with him and help him through this."
Jazz basketball boss Kevin O'Connor said Monday that coach Jerry Sloan "spoke to" Kirilenko following practice Sunday, when the one-time All-Star from Russia shed tears while discussing how he was so sparingly used in the second half of Utah's loss Saturday.
The chat, however, evidently didn't last long.
"We didn't have much of a conversation," Sloan said Monday.
Kirilenko apparently didn't want to cause more problems.
"It was a distraction (Sunday)," O'Connor said. "Let's get on with it."
"Sometimes," said Kirilenko, who started in his usual spot Monday, "we get overreacted, over-emotioned. Especially in this kind of business — our business."
Kirilenko's teammates, however, didn't seem to hold against the popular Russian the fact that at the most inopportune of times he shed a season's worth of frustration regarding his role in Utah.
"I think it's OK," Harpring said when asked if it's considered taboo for a pro athlete to shed tears like Kirilenko did. "I mean, he's human. You know, you can't take the human element out of this. We're not robots. We're not people that aren't human. We're normal human beings, and if he lets emotion get to him, then, you know, that happens. You deal with it."
"Andrei really cares about what's happening right now," Fisher added, "and I think it's really important he showed the emotion he showed ... as opposed to nonchalant complacency, and then we'd be ripping him apart for not caring because he didn't show emotion."
