Cavs' James a tough assignment for Kirilenko

Jazz starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko claims he does not relish the sort of matchup he'll draw when Utah plays host to Cleveland tonight in an ESPN-televised game at EnergySolutions Arena.

With LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers as his anticipated primary assignment, Kirilenko says he'll be up against "one of the top 10 players in the league ... no doubt about it."

The Cavs All-Star, Kirilenko said after Wednesday's morning shootaround, does not have one thing he does best. Instead, James does so many things so well — which is why the Jazz's 2004 All-Star from Russia calls James an "all-around guy."

"It will be hard matchup for me, because he is dangerous with the ball and without the ball," Kirilenko said. "I hate playing against all-around guys."

James, who fell one assist shy of what would have been his 11th career triple-double in Cleveland's win at Golden State on Tuesday night, is averaging 26.5 points per game so far this season.

On the heels of Utah facing Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston's Tracy McGrady in the past week, James, according to Kirilenko, is one more in a line of All-Star Jazz opponents who will merit extra attention.

"It needs to be a very focused and concentrated defense on him," Kirilenko said. "You can't stop those kinds of guys alone."

NOTES: As of late this morning, a limited number of tickets remained available for tonight's game. ... Jazz backup point guard Jason Hart had the bumper of his new Cadillac Escalade knocked off by a delivery truck while the SUV was parked at EnergySolutions Arena on Wednesday morning. Hart was taking part in the shootaround and was not in the vehicle at the time. ... Because of ESPN's coverage, listed start time for today's game is 8:30 p.m.

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