Andrei Kirilenko has steadily fallen out of the Nets’ rotation.
For a stretch, he was getting just a handful of minutes per game. But that has dropped to DNP-CDs in Brooklyn’s last three contests.
Kirilenko seemed to be handling that as well as someone in his position could, which is to say he still wasn’t pleased.
Tim Bontemps of the New York PostKirilenko said Hollins has been open with him about his decision to leave him out of the rotation.
“I really appreciate it,” Kirilenko said, “but it doesn’t make things easier.”
When asked if he was healthy, Kirilenko said: “I feel fine.”
When asked what he thought he had to do in order to get back into Hollins’ rotation, he admitted: “I have no idea.”
With the Nets playing at Oklahoma City tonight and at San Antonio tomorrow, Kirilenko’s status is even more uncertain.
Rod Boone of Newsday:
https://twitter.com/rodboone/status/535836301035986945
https://twitter.com/rodboone/status/535842325964918784
Hopefully, everything is OK with Kirilenko and his family off the court. There’s no clear link to Kirilenko stepping away and his playing time, and he could be tending to a totally unrelated matter.
Either way, that “I don’t know” from Hollins is quite ominous.
