"Small forward Andrei Kirilenko only recently shed his. Now another Jazz starter is wearing a walking boot.

It's center Mehmet Okur, who exited Wednesday's loss at Houston in the third quarter with what the team is calling "tendinitis" in his left Achilles tendon.

"I started to feel it the last three days, and today it got worse," Okur said afterward, his foot and ankle wrapped and in a medical boot. "A lot worse, especially the second half."

Asked if he had any idea how bad the injury may be, the report from Okur — who had nine points on 4-for-9 field shooting and five rebounds in 23 minutes against the Rockets — didn't sound encouraging.

"It's pretty much sore," he said. "When I try to run and change speed, whatever, try to stop, I feel, like, sharp pain and kind of a little sore."

The Jazz are calling him a "game-time decision" for Friday's visit with New Orleans.

Asked about Friday and beyond, Okur seemed decidedly uncertain and suggested he'd have a better feel only after receiving treatment today.

Meanwhile, Kirilenko sat out — as expected — on Wednesday."