Posts Tagged ‘Andrei Kirilinko’

Mehmet Okur as he injures his Achilles (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Bam! In one moment Utah Jazz’s chances in these playoffs went from bad to worse.

Mehmet Okur went down in the opening game of the Jazz playoffs series against the Denver Nuggets. The tear in his left Achilles tendon was the result of Okur’s drive to the basket where he awkwardly twisted his left leg and collapsed to the floor.

Jazz are already operating with a depleted roster; while they await for Andrei Kirilenko’s return, Okur’s play will be sorely missed as they try to take on the energetic  Nugget’s squad.

What will Jerry Sloan’s overachieving squad do now? At full strength, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer and the rest of the team can still prove to be a formidable opponents for the likewise wounded Nugget’s that are playing without George Karl.

It will be interesting to see how Jazz execute without Okur, who could spread the floor with this outside shooting and will that force Sloan to play Kyrylo Fesenko or Kosta Koufos?

Sloan is likely to go small and insert Paul Millsap into the lineup, but this doesn’t look like a long term fix for Jazz’s woes. They need Andrei Kirilenko back, a lanky body to protect the basket, make some steals and start the fast break.

No matter what happens, we know that Sloan can get more out of players than any other coach in the league. Yes, maybe he’s as good as Phil Jackson. Sloan never coached anyone like Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. Let’s give credit where credit is due.