The lockout may end up being the best possible thing to happen for Fesenko's career. He's had the opposite of what a contract year should look like. Injuries haven't helped his cause either. From Jody Genessy,
A season that'd already been hampered by gastric distress, a sprained ankle, upper respiratory infection, back spasms, a migraine headache - not to mention weight gain and sporadic play - took another turn for the worst for injury- and illness-plagued Kyrylo Fesenko.
...
Fesenko sprained his thumb during practice Monday. Though X-rays came back negative - revealing no structural damage - the sprain kept him out of Tuesday's win to the Lakers.
Some of that's self-inflicted and some of it is just expected injuries that can come with a big man playing basketball for a living.
He talks later in the Genessy article about coming back and preparing in the off-season and training camp. The thing is though is that there will definitely be an off-season - a very long off-season. If there is a season next year, training camp will be very short. Fess will have a long time to get back into shape like he was at the start of the season's training camp.
What might work out best for him though is to play in Europe or somewhere and get a shot at another contract-year. I think he would still get offers next season in the NBA, but he could become more attractive to teams if he were to have a strong showing in another league.
I'm dying. I hope they continue these throughout the lockout. (There's language, but it's bleeped out. Just make sure you have headphones on or volume turned down at work)
TBJ Exclusive: Lockout Attack Ads, Stern vs. Hunter from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.
I'm really, really, looking forward to tonight's game against the Blazers. They're locked in for the playoffs obviously but they're still jostling for positioning right now. They're in a fight with New Orleans and Memphis for the bottom three spots. They could end up facing the Lakers, Mavs, or even the Thunder.
So even though the Jazz are out of it, it's still the swindling Blazers and a victory would be delicious. That's not what I'm excited for though. The Wesley Matthews vs. Gordon Hayward match-up has me salivating.
Time heals all wounds they say. That's the case for me and Wesley Matthews. Last off-season seems like an eternity ago and the sting from losing him has gone away. Matthews is the old & busted and Hayward is the new hotness.
Matthews hasn't crashed and burned in his sophomore season unfortunately. His numbers are better across the board and has been a core part of the Blazers' success. He's not coming back to the Jazz though (not until he re-signs 7 years later and then we can all bag on him) so we need to look forward to the future and that future is Gordon Hayward.
The game is almost sold out and the ESA should be rocking. These guards are two of the biggest competitors at their position and it's going to be a blast to see them go at each other.
Somehow I missed this picture from the DesNews when Malone returned after Sloan's retirement. So much going on in that photo.
Thursday poll...