Fes!
Fesenko is anything but an all-star, gathering only a handful of minutes all year. During these minutes he normally was paired with Kosta Koufos to form one of the most humourously uncoordinated and whitest frontcourts the NBA has ever seen while averaging 2.6 ppg / 1.8 RPG / .4 blocks a game. He would hardly seem like the type of player you want to depend on during the most important time of year.....so why am I?
The whitest frontcourt duo in the NBA. To be fair, they are probably the ones who knocked Milsap down in the first place.
The answer lies in the person that he is replacing: Mehmet Okur. Here is a summary of Okur's Home/Away splits for 2009 and his career.
While this is only a snapshot of information, it is clear that he is a much better offensive threat at home than on the road. In fact, I would wager he is well aware of this and stays a bit closer to the hoop while on the road to grab an extra rebound or two every few road games.
Okur is a slow Small Forward stuck in a Center's body. This has worked to his advantage thus far in his career because it has allowed him to surive despite being slow and athletically unremarkable. It has also allowed him to typically be guarded by the opposing team's Center, meaning he normally can take 3's with little challenge. His lack of defense is more easily concealed because the majority of Centers in the NBA are not offensive wizards and he is known as an offensive player. Plus he plays for the Jazz, who believe in simply fouling a player instead of guarding him.
Look at that lift!
Why does that matter? In the playoffs, this type of player will kill you. With a partially gimpy Okur spending a good portion of the each offensive/defensive possession more than 15 feet away from the basket, the Jazz are left without their normally tallest player anywhere near the basket for rebounds/defense/easy buckets. This opens up the lanes for opposing players to get close to the hoop, either getting great looks at the basket or drawing fouls from a delayed defense. Add to the fact that Boozer has been bothered by a sore rib, rebounding and interior defense greatly suffer.
Could this be the moment that saved the Jazz's season?
Enter the Fes. At 7'1" and 300 lbs, he is a large body to have occupying the middle of the floor. On the offensive end, he spends the majority of his time hovering around the basket either looking for easy layups or rebounds. At the defensive end, he is quick enough (compared to Okur) to get down the court and clog the lanes. Cutting players no longer have open lanes but a towering, aggressive white dude interrupting their shot. A major improvement over Okur's recent performance. Additionally, when he does inevitably get into foul trouble, Sloan will play Boozer and Millsap together much more regularly than he has in the past.
Someone tall, near the basket and with his arms up in a Jazz uni? Must not be Boozer or Okur.
Fesenko will not single handily carry the Jazz through the first round and beyond, but he gives them a better chance than Okur did prior to the injury. Even after AK comes back, Fes' size, presence and energy should provide valuable help to the Jazz without the drain of an expected amount of shots or minutes.
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