Saturday report
Other than asking how on earth the Jazz won that game, I think the No. 1 question on fans' minds after Friday's victory over the Lakers was what to do with rookie center Kyrylo Fesenko, who had six points and seven rebounds in his NBA debut.
It took injuries to both Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur just to get Fesenko in the lineup. With one or both players back for Monday's game against Miami, there's no guarantee the 20-year-old will even be activated again.
Wouldn't you love, though, to see Fesenko get the chance to match up, even if it's just for a couple possessions, against Shaquille O'Neal. And the Jazz might decide they need an extra big man for the game just because of O'Neal.
Before he got sent to the D-League's Utah Flash, Fesenko was talking to an assistant coach in the locker room about how O'Neal was his idol growing up in Ukraine. You know it would be the thrill of a lifetime for him to play against Shaq.
Looking beyond Monday, the question for the Jazz is whether they want to send Fesenko back to the D-League. After calling him up for Monday's game, the Jazz can assign Fesenko to the Flash only twice more the rest of the season.
He obviously benefits from the game action in Orem. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is a Flash season-ticket holder and came away impressed with Fesenko's play after attending Thursday's game. Sloan thought Fesenko was in better shape and said he passed well.
The opportunities for Fesenko to play would be dramatically reduced and largely dependent on injuries if he stayed with the Jazz, which is far from ideal for a player who is so young and so raw.
That said, Fesenko brought an unmistakable energy to the court. There's something to playing with reckless abandon. He's also 7-foot-1, 280 pounds and looked positively gigantic on the floor.
He still has to learn how to finish around the basket (although he made a nice move in banking in a shot over Chris Mihm) but the five rebounds he grabbed in 2 1-2 minutes in the second quarter was something to behold.
"I didn't even know he was coming," Deron Williams said of Fesenko. "He wasn't at shootaround today. I came in and he was sitting here dressed when I came in the locker room.
"He did a great job, came in, gave us a lot of energy, changed some shots, hit a couple big baskets and did a good job rebounding."
Fesenko showed hard on the pick-and-roll but he looked a little lost on some of the Jazz's offensive sets. He also is likely to be foul-prone, as evidenced by his four personals in 17 minutes. For young big men, progress often is two steps forward, one step back.
Would love to hear your thoughts on what to do with Fesenko. My guess is the Jazz will keep him around for a week or so and send him back to the Flash if there's no opportunity to play. Getting Fesenko game action is probably the priority for now.
* * *
Talked to Fesenko before Friday's game and he still doesn't have his driver's license. He's been living at his place in Salt Lake City and commuting back and forth to Orem. There's a Flash staffer, I guess, whose job includes picking up Fesenko and driving him home.
* * *
The Jazz were off Saturday, but there'll be a story in Sunday's paper about the incredible game Andrei Kirilenko had against the Lakers.
When I added it up, Kirilenko accounted for 60 points of the Jazz's 120 points with his scoring, passing, offensive rebounds and steals. He also saved another eight points on the defensive end with those blocks around the basket.
It's hard sometimes to quantify Kirilenko's impact. That's why his teammates usually just talk about how he filled up the box score. I think Sunday's story offers a more in-depth look at how much of a force Kirilenko was in a game in which he shot just 5 of 14.
* * *
Have to say I was surprised at the boos that greeted Derek Fisher every time he touched the ball in his return to Utah. He was, after all, the author of arguably the signature moment for the Jazz franchise since the end of the Karl Malone and John Stockton era.
Then again, fans have the right to pass judgment on the circumstances of Fisher's departure however they wish. I will conceded, though, that I hung my head a little when Fisher was asked a question at Friday's pregame shootaround and sharply addressed his skeptics.
"Maybe they can find a neighbor who has a family member that has ever experienced cancer before," Fisher said, "and then go talk to them about what you deal with and the process that you go through as a family and decisions that you have to make.
"And then maybe they'll have a better feel for what it really all comes down to. Who cares what team anybody plays for when it comes to the safety and the health of your family?
"I think everybody understands that sometimes you get emotional, you have an opinion and that's fine. I respect everyone's opinion. But I haven't lost any sleep over it because my family's doing well and my daughter's doing well, so I can smile every day of the week."
--Ross Siler
It took injuries to both Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur just to get Fesenko in the lineup. With one or both players back for Monday's game against Miami, there's no guarantee the 20-year-old will even be activated again.
Wouldn't you love, though, to see Fesenko get the chance to match up, even if it's just for a couple possessions, against Shaquille O'Neal. And the Jazz might decide they need an extra big man for the game just because of O'Neal.
Before he got sent to the D-League's Utah Flash, Fesenko was talking to an assistant coach in the locker room about how O'Neal was his idol growing up in Ukraine. You know it would be the thrill of a lifetime for him to play against Shaq.
Looking beyond Monday, the question for the Jazz is whether they want to send Fesenko back to the D-League. After calling him up for Monday's game, the Jazz can assign Fesenko to the Flash only twice more the rest of the season.
He obviously benefits from the game action in Orem. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is a Flash season-ticket holder and came away impressed with Fesenko's play after attending Thursday's game. Sloan thought Fesenko was in better shape and said he passed well.
The opportunities for Fesenko to play would be dramatically reduced and largely dependent on injuries if he stayed with the Jazz, which is far from ideal for a player who is so young and so raw.
That said, Fesenko brought an unmistakable energy to the court. There's something to playing with reckless abandon. He's also 7-foot-1, 280 pounds and looked positively gigantic on the floor.
He still has to learn how to finish around the basket (although he made a nice move in banking in a shot over Chris Mihm) but the five rebounds he grabbed in 2 1-2 minutes in the second quarter was something to behold.
"I didn't even know he was coming," Deron Williams said of Fesenko. "He wasn't at shootaround today. I came in and he was sitting here dressed when I came in the locker room.
"He did a great job, came in, gave us a lot of energy, changed some shots, hit a couple big baskets and did a good job rebounding."
Fesenko showed hard on the pick-and-roll but he looked a little lost on some of the Jazz's offensive sets. He also is likely to be foul-prone, as evidenced by his four personals in 17 minutes. For young big men, progress often is two steps forward, one step back.
Would love to hear your thoughts on what to do with Fesenko. My guess is the Jazz will keep him around for a week or so and send him back to the Flash if there's no opportunity to play. Getting Fesenko game action is probably the priority for now.
* * *
Talked to Fesenko before Friday's game and he still doesn't have his driver's license. He's been living at his place in Salt Lake City and commuting back and forth to Orem. There's a Flash staffer, I guess, whose job includes picking up Fesenko and driving him home.
* * *
The Jazz were off Saturday, but there'll be a story in Sunday's paper about the incredible game Andrei Kirilenko had against the Lakers.
When I added it up, Kirilenko accounted for 60 points of the Jazz's 120 points with his scoring, passing, offensive rebounds and steals. He also saved another eight points on the defensive end with those blocks around the basket.
It's hard sometimes to quantify Kirilenko's impact. That's why his teammates usually just talk about how he filled up the box score. I think Sunday's story offers a more in-depth look at how much of a force Kirilenko was in a game in which he shot just 5 of 14.
* * *
Have to say I was surprised at the boos that greeted Derek Fisher every time he touched the ball in his return to Utah. He was, after all, the author of arguably the signature moment for the Jazz franchise since the end of the Karl Malone and John Stockton era.
Then again, fans have the right to pass judgment on the circumstances of Fisher's departure however they wish. I will conceded, though, that I hung my head a little when Fisher was asked a question at Friday's pregame shootaround and sharply addressed his skeptics.
"Maybe they can find a neighbor who has a family member that has ever experienced cancer before," Fisher said, "and then go talk to them about what you deal with and the process that you go through as a family and decisions that you have to make.
"And then maybe they'll have a better feel for what it really all comes down to. Who cares what team anybody plays for when it comes to the safety and the health of your family?
"I think everybody understands that sometimes you get emotional, you have an opinion and that's fine. I respect everyone's opinion. But I haven't lost any sleep over it because my family's doing well and my daughter's doing well, so I can smile every day of the week."
--Ross Siler
5:48 PM
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2 Comments:
I just hope that Fisher realizes that it's only because he signed with the Lakers. If he had signed with Seattle, or Dallas, or Memphis he would have been cheered.
Fesenko looked GREAT for getting his first NBA action. BUT, look at his competition, Mihm? Bynum? They aren't scrubs but they're not exactly All-stars either. This might sound a little strange, but he kind of reminds me of a cross between 'Tag and Araujo...
"He was, after all, the author of arguably the signature moment for the Jazz franchise since the end of the Karl Malone and John Stockton era."
What moment was that? He helped us win one game in a series in which we were dominating? If Golden State had a chance in that series, or if he would have done anything in the San Antonio series, I might agree with you.
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