Utah Jazz: Almond rising; Fesenko fading
The other was 13, which equals the number of minutes '07 second-round selection Kyrylo Fesenko played in the Jazz's 83-78 Rocky Mountain Revue victory over Atlanta on Thursday night at Salt Lake Community College.
That's 17 fewer than Almond, nine fewer than 2008 first-rounder Kosta Koufos and even fewer than free-agent big men Hiram Fuller and Kevin Lyde.
It also marks the third straight time the under-contract Ukrainian center has played fewer than 20 minutes, and the second time he's watched the end of a rather close summer-league game.
Asked if a message was being sent to Fesenko, who was first out of the locker room Thursday and exited before it was even open to media, Jazz Revue coach Tyrone Corbin suggested otherwise.
"Not that I know about," Corbin said. "I mean, we coach the game how it flows and try to get guys minutes. We've got a lot of guys (14 played Thursday) and try to give everybody a decent look.
"So, it just kind of happened that way."
Corbin wrote the snub off to a combination of foul trouble (though Fesenko had only two fouls), combinations (Fesenko and Koufos "together kind of get in each other's way," he said) and coincidence ("Guys on the floor were doing a good job").
"Could he get more minutes? Probably. So could a lot of other guys on the roster."
The most Thursday went to Almond, who shot 10-of-19 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line as the Jazz sealed their victory hitting 8-of-8 freebies — two by Almond, two by Brian Greene and four from Earl Calloway — in the final 1:06.
"As the camp has progressed, he's figured out how to get his shots, when to get his shot within the flow of what we're doing," Corbin said of Almond. "He's done a lot better job the last two ballgames, especially (Thursday night), of just being a little more patient and not forcing the action and taking advantage of opportunities.
"He just has to understand there's more to the game than just scoring points."
The Jazz conclude Revue play tonight vs. Dallas.
In Thursday's other games:
GOLDEN STATE 82, D-LEAGUE AMBASSADORS 81: Ex-Georgia Tech guard Anthony Morrow had 19 points as the Warriors improved to 3-0. Nick Lewis, who led the D-League's 0-3 all-star team with 17, missed a would-be game-winner at the buzzer.
DALLAS 81, NEW JERSEY 66: Undrafted Mississippi State forward Charles Rhodes scored a game-high 21 points and shot 8-of-10 for the 3-2 Mavericks. Second-rounder Chris Douglas-Roberts had 16 for the Nets, who finished Revue play 0-3. Undrafted Utah State product Jaycee Carroll scored 10 and shot 4-for-11, including 0-of-3 from 3-point range, for Jersey. Carroll also had seven rebounds, five assists and one steal in 34 minutes.
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com
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