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By DOUG ALDEN AP Sports Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The new depth Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has enjoyed this season just got a little more shallow.
Forward Andrei Kirilenko sprained his right ankle in a win over Milwaukee on Saturday and the Jazz still weren't sure Monday how long he will be out of the lineup.
"We're very disappointed that Andrei's not going to be able to be with us, but life goes on," Sloan said before practice. "We'd like to have had him come out of the locker room and help us finish the game the other night. But we had to finish with what we had."
The Jazz held on and beat the Bucks 113-111 without Kirilenko and improved to 6-1. Despite the great start, few in Utah are getting carried away because the team started with the same record two years ago and ended up going 26-56 due largely to injuries.
Kirilenko's injury will keep him out of Tuesday's home game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the least. Shooting guard Gordan Giricek is also out indefinitely with a sore right Achilles' tendon, so some of Utah's younger players can expect to be playing more.
"We hope that they understand what we're doing. That's why we practice," Sloan said.
With Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur leading the Jazz in scoring, Kirilenko has averaged just 8.4 points this season. But he has also blocked 18 shots already.
"Key guys like Andrei are tough to lose because he does so many things for us at both ends of the court," guard Derek Fisher said. "You just have to make sure that everybody understands that the things that one guy brings should not be able to destroy our team and the things we've done so far."
Sloan has a lot more to work with than he did when Kirilenko was out for parts of the last three seasons with various injuries.
For one, Matt Harpring has been healthy since training camp averaging nearly 11 points despite not starting yet this season. He could start for Kirilenko on Tuesday when the Jazz host the Clippers.
"He's not going to block shots and do the things at Andrei's end of the floor, but he certainly gives us a little bit of stability in that position," Sloan said.
Rookie Paul Millsap could also get more time. Sloan has been impressed with Millsap's early performance, including his career-high 15 points against the Bucks on Saturday when Utah lost Kirilenko in the second quarter.
The Jazz led by 24 in the first half, but the Bucks rallied to tie it at 111 in the final minute before Harpring won it on a layup off an assist from Williams.
Sloan hasn't enjoyed that trend. The Jazz are scoring much more this season, but taking a big lead then having to hold on at the end isn't going to work all season.
"We've had a couple of games where we've played well, but then we just fritter away a lead and let the other team back in the ballgame," Sloan said.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-11-13-06 1541MST
