Another storyline leading up to Game 2
April 23rd, 2007by John
This Rockets-Jazz series already has some interesting sub-plots. But today we got another one when we found out that Andrei Kirilenko was shedding a few tears at the end of Sunday’s practice. Evidently it was because of the very little impact (2 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 steal) he had in Game #1, and the fact Jerry Sloan pulled him in the third quarter right before the Rockets went on a 16-4 scoring run and only played 7 seconds at the end of the fourth quarter.
The Salt Lake Tribune writes how AK47 is upset that Sloan isn’t playing him, and how it’s an awkward situation that both Sloan and Kirilenko is going through.
Tonight on Inside the NBA on TNT, they reported that Kirilenko cried, and of course Charles Barkley asked, “You’re kidding?” and then said, “That’s ridiculous.”
You can bet the talking heads are going to jump all over this one because it’s an easy target to jump on. Just look at what they did with Dirk Nowitzki and his comment during the playoffs last season ridiculing him that the way he relaxed when shooting clutch free throws was to think of a David Hasselhoff song. Even opposing teams’ fans got into the act, jeering Nowitzki with signs about the Hoff. Let’s just hope Rocket fans don’t do anything classless to mock Kirilenko during Monday night’s game.
Then you’ve got the other storyline about the Jazz collapsing at the end of the season to lose homecourt advantage to the Rockets. And you’ve always got the standard T-Mac-has-never-advanced-past-the-first-round, which is getting very old.
Obviously, the Jazz are on the ropes mentally with diminished confidence, so the Rockets need to lower the hammer and not give the Jazz a chance to gain any momentum in the series by letting them win Monday night.
April 23rd, 2007 at 6:31 am
I hate how everyone seems to be jumping onto Andrei Kirilenko and chewing him out because he’s, as you said, an easy target.
The guy makes, what, $12 million a year and has made very little impact on his team. Of course he’d be disappointed with his performance. The guy clearly wants to earn his paycheck and not let his peers down. Give him a break.
And you’re right; if Utah is really as mentally worn as they seem to be, the Rockets need to take advantage. A Houston loss would be the morale boost the Jazz urgently needs. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if Houston has the killer instinct to do it.
Very well put on both counts, Jeffrey.
Furthermore, regarding AK, he could have had his face buried in a towel in anguish (which we have seen athletes do before), and when he pulled the towel off, his face and eyes could have been red because of the pressure he was putting on them.
Who knows, much of this could be a Utah reporter (who is also a fan of the team, which isn’t unusual) taking liberty to interpret what AK looked like (”crying” when he actually wasn’t) to write a story about it to motivate him as a last ditch effort. Using the word “cry” is a very strong word to use in the sports world
Also, I saw an interview with Derek Fisher on TNT last night, and he said no one on the team saw AK crying at the end of practice. So the reporter conspiracy may hold true.
Finally, the guy may have other issues going on in his life, like mental imbalance. If that’s the case, we wouldn’t be hearing Barkley and others jumping on him if something terrible happened, like when Van Gundy was concerned when Bonzi went AWOL.
Regarding your doubts about the Rockets’ killer instinct, I agree. All we have to do is look at the 2-0 lead they blew against Dallas two seasons ago in the playoffs.