From Deseret News archives:
Utah Jazz: Kirilenko to have surgery on ailing ankle
With two or more among Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Millsap missing, however, they're 7-12.
That great disparity — .667 winning percentage vs. .368 — hits home particularly hard in light of the latest injury-front news for the 25-21 Jazz, which is that Kirilenko is scheduled to undergo surgery early this morning to remove a bone fragment from his ailing right ankle.
The sixth-man forward, an NBA All-Star in 2004 and the Russian Olympic Team's flag bearer last summer, already has missed four consecutive games and six overall since early December because of the injury.
"It's gonna be tough," point guard Williams said of the loss. "It's gonna be tough."
"A.K.'s such a huge part of this team," starting small forward Ronnie Brewer added with a reference to a teammate averaging 1.4 blocks, 1.6 steals, 3.1 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 12.7 points and 30 minutes per game this season. "He does so much on the offensive end and the defensive end. Not having him out there hurts us."
Dr. John Edwards, who incidentally is legendary former BYU football coach LaVell Edwards's son, will perform the surgery. Kirilenko had hoped to delay it until the offseason, but opted otherwise after two cortisone injections in the last week and a half failed to alleviate his pain.
The Jazz didn't have a timetable for anticipated recovery, but Kirilenko — who got by for more than a month with the help of a successful steroid shot received in December — previously suggested such surgery would require rehab lasting three to four weeks.
That absence is yet another lengthy one for the Jazz, who haven't had one game this season in which their original anticipated opening lineup of Williams, shooting guard C.J. Miles, Brewer, Boozer at power forward and Okur at center has been available.
Moreover, Williams, two-time All-Star Boozer and 2007 All-Star Okur have yet to appear in the same game together this season.
Williams was sidelined by a sprained ankle for 13 games earlier this season, and Boozer will miss his 35th in a row when Oklahoma City visits tonight — accounting for 47 of the 116 man-games the Jazz already have lost to injury.
"It's been brutal for us," said Williams, who joined Boozer on Team USA's gold medal-winning Olympic club this past offseason. "It seems like every game it's somebody new, somebody different."
