Utah Jazz: Kirilenko shows value off bench

Andrei Kirilenko didn't get the chance to hear his named called out like five of his Utah Jazz teammates during the team's new-and-improved, blackout with fireworks player introductions on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena. He wasn't a starter.

But that didn't mean the versatile forward didn't see plenty of court time. Kirilenko, the Jazz's new sixth man, played a starter-like 35 minutes in helping Utah to a 98-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the season opener. He finished with 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

"I wouldn't say I like (coming off the bench)," said Kirilenko, who started every game he played in last year. "But I wouldn't say I dislike it. It doesn't really matter as long as you play in the game. I play 35 minutes and I like (that)."

Kirilenko entered with 6:56 remaining in the first quarter after starter C.J. Miles picked up a second quick foul. He never left the floor the remainder of the half, scoring eight points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. It was about the same in the second half, as Kirilenko didn't start the third quarter, but he did finish the game.

Kirilenko "is still going to be responsible to play a lot of minutes," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan of his highest-paid player. "He played 35 minutes which is third on the team. ... I think he can help our second group a bit more when we get back to where we were, but right now we're trying to mix and match and trying to do whatever we need to do to try to win."

While Kirilenko played a strong overall game, making six of his nine shots from the floor including his only 3-point attempt, he wasn't perfect. In the absence of injured starting point guard Deron Williams, Kirilenko played "point forward" on several occasions with not-so-great results. He turned the ball over three times, including once while trying to go one-on-one in the final seconds of the first quarter which allowed a last-second Denver layup.

"I got in the point guard position tonight on a couple of possessions and it didn't (go) good because we didn't get the set we wanted," Kirilenko admitted.

Sloan, however, intends to take his chances with Kirilenko running the offense on occasion.

"Andrei handles the ball a great deal in what we are doing," said Sloan. "He made a couple nice passes and he threw a couple away. But he keeps you on your toes and he sees things before they develop. ... I'd rather he throw one away once in awhile then to not have him throw any passes at all."

Kirilenko, meanwhile, feels there are advantages and disadvantages to not being in the starting lineup. He says he's content in his current role.

"I'm trying to be valuable coming off the bench. Get some deflections, some steals, some blocks, assists, run the floor a little bit and bring a spark and energy from the bench."

It worked for the first game of the season, at least.

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E-mail: lojo@desnews.com