SAN ANTONIO — Once again, Andrei Kirilenko appears to be close to returning to the court.
After sitting out 25 of the Nets' 30 games so far this season — including the last 24 — and having multiple setbacks in his recovery from back spasms, Kirilenko could finally take the floor Tuesday for the Nets when they face the Spurs to end a forgettable opening two months of the campaign.
"This is what I was waiting for, a normal practice where I could play five-on-five with no limitations," Kirilenko said after participating fully in Monday's practice at AT&T Center, the Spurs' arena. "Right now at this point my status is day-to-day, so every day I'm getting better.
"I'm planning for [playing Tuesday], but we'll see how it feels in the morning. Usually when I've had a good practice, the morning is the main thing — how are you going to feel the next day? I don't want to play in a game and then I miss three games."
Nets coach Jason Kidd was tempered in his expectations — understandable, given Kirilenko hasn't played since Nov. 8 in Washington before his back tightened up on him.
"He looked good," Kidd said. "We'll see how he feels [Tuesday]."
Should Kirilenko see action Tuesday, he said he would be on a minutes restriction.
"If I play, I will definitely do what's supposed to be done," he said. "I'm pretty sure, 100 percent sure, that I'm not going to play much, and definitely it's going to be monitored, so if I feel something wrong I'm going to be subbed and come out of the game.
"But I need to get into that game rhythm, because otherwise I'm not feeling it."
Kirilenko has gotten close to playing multiple times — including waking up the morning of Nov. 24 before the Nets played the Pistons in Brooklyn expecting to play, only to have a setback during pregame workouts.
"We did a lot of treatment, a lot of core stuff … we tried everything," he said, shaking his head. "I guess it's just at some point the durability gets you to a point where you just have to work a little bit more.
"You have to prepare a little bit longer, so I don't really know. Maybe in the offseason I will try to research it a little bit more, but right now this is the only way I can get back on track."
Like the Nets as a whole, Kirilenko's season has been a massive disappointment. The 6-foot-10 forward was expected to be a major contributor after agreeing to a one-year deal for $3.2 million with a player option for a second.
Kirilenko opted out of a $10 million contract with the Timberwolves before this season, which led to the NBA investigating the possibility of a backroom deal between Kirilenko and the Nets, given his ties to Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov. The investigation turned up nothing, however.
"Definitely this season hasn't been what I expected, result-wise and physical condition-wise," Kirilenko said. "Again, it's only 30 games. We still have a lot of games to play, and we can't give
up right now, we can't stop right now. We have to keep getting better, keep getting healthy.
"I've never been a guy to give up halfway in a fight. We have tough times right now, but we're going to keep fighting."
The Nets will be hoping Kirilenko is able to take the court and fight with them starting Tuesday night.
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