Utah’s Kyrylo Fesenko not coming up big
One of the first questions coming Utah Coach Jerry Sloan’s way — in an entertaining pregame session on Tuesday night — had to do with the man in the middle.
Well, the man (for the moment) in the middle.
That would be Kyrylo Fesenko, the fill-in for injured Mehmet Okur, who won’t be back until next season because of a ruptured left Achilles’ tendon, suffered in Game 1 of the Denver series.
Sloan, in his typical blunt way, wasn’t pleased with how Fesenko performed in Game 1 against the Lakers. The 7-foot-1 center from Ukraine was one for two for two points in 13 minutes of action, adding one rebound.
“He didn’t have much the other night in the game when he played,” Sloan said. “He was really pretty much nonexistent. One of the things he’s got to do is rebound the ball and try to be a bigger presence.
“He’s a big man, but he’s got to have a bigger presence in there when he’s trying to defend.
“Hopefully he’ll do a better job tonight.”
Hopefully did not translate into anything beyond... well, hopefully. The Lakers defeated Utah in Game 2 at Staples Center, 111-103, and now lead the best-of-seven-game series, 2-0.
And the raw center looked raw.
Fesenko went one for seven from the field for two points and had a slight uptick in the rebound department, grabbing three. He missed all four of his free-throw attempts, though, not quite hitting the DeAndre Jordan-type level.
Before Game 2, he spoke about what he needed to do against the Lakers but was realistic, saying: “It’s going to take everything we’ve got. Maybe a little bit more than everything. Everything, plus.”
That’s just his quirky way of putting things. Sloan earlier said Fesenko might have been distracted by the pregame release of balloons in what was the series-clincher against Denver.
Then Fesenko also noted that the relative darkness of Staples Center took some adjustment for him, reiterating what he told Utah reporters.
“Yes. It is. It’s hard for your eyes,” he said. “Lakers are used to it so it’s easy for them. So that’s their advantage. Just like our advantage is altitude.”
The altitude of Salt Lake City took a toll at first, too.
“I didn’t listen to advice, and let myself get dehydrated really bad. I had lots of problems with that,” he said. “After that lesson, I always drink a lot of water.”
Staples Center hasn’t been without its benefits for the 23-year-old.
“I was really flattered that Sylvester Stallone shake my hand when we were passing by,” Fesenko said, referring to Game 1. “That’s really huge.”
Sadly, Fesenko couldn’t muster any words for Stallone.
“No, I was speechless,” he said. “Nothing comes out.”
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