SAN ANTONIO — Whatever was troubling Andrei Kirilenko's spiky head early in the playoffs is apparently gone. Which, for the Jazz, is important news. If they intend to beat the Spurs in the Western Conference finals, which begin today, they'll need A.K. at his quirky, angular best.

So it stood to reason that when I asked him Friday what he did to get his head in the right place after that shaky start in Houston, he got a steely look and said: "Actually, I'm not going to talk about my role and my confidence now, because I don't think it's the right time. So. Let's concentrate on the playoffs."

Strange, because I thought the playoffs were what we were concentrating on. How he talked himself back off a ledge to become the off-beat X-factor to the Jazz's postseason.

I followed up by asking if he felt confident now. Again, the steely look.

"Very much," he said.

Nothing more.

So there you have it. He's not talking about how he got in or out of the funk that turned his game as cold as a Siberian winter. Whether he tried deep counseling, got a massage, adopted a new religion, underwent electroshock treatment or took a long soak with scented candles — it worked.

And he's not going to let anything ruin the groove he's been in lately.

It was probably too much analyzing that got him in trouble in the first place.

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This business about Kirilenko's frame of mind is actually rather strange. For all six years he's been with the Jazz, no player has been more open and accommodating; none has tried harder to put things in perspective.

He seemed so, well, stable.

He never ducked the media, even when he didn't play well. Or when, for instance, his wife told a magazine that her husband would be allowed one extramarital dalliance per year. A.K. took all in good humor, saying he wouldn't take up her offer.

His answers always came in a likable stream of jangled syntax. For example, this week while discussing the Jazz's sudden and unexpected playoff success, Kirilenko said, "I think especially this year we work hard. We supposed to come not this near, next year. Like they said, a couple of years, four, five guys sign long-term deals, young guys. We had a very poor season, 26 wins, and not make the playoffs.

"But we're growing up. I thought it take like three, four years, so I think that's how we growing up together. Next year, maybe, but this is a bonus. I think we had opportunity and we used it. It wasn't like a plate of cheese. Nobody gave it to us. I think we deserve it."