For the Utah Jazz, the possibilities of what the floor could look like with second-year player Kyrylo Fesenko and 2008 draft pick Kosta Koufos seemed endless.
Two 7-footers, two defensive presences and two powerful bodies in the post -- reminiscent of the most famous 7-foot duo in San Antonio's David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
However, after the duo of Fesenko and Koufos combined for only five points and seven rebounds in the team's 82-57 loss to the San Antonio Spurs summer squad in Utah's Rocky Mountain Revue opener Friday night, thoughts of Fesenko and Koufos being the next famous pair may have been put on hold.
Enter Saturday night and Utah's second Revue game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Sure, the Jazz took the defeat vs. the Hawks by the count of 72-63, but the fans got a glimpse of what could be a very successful tandem.
"The one thing that was encouraging tonight was that Fes and Kosta fought back and both of them did very good on the rebounding, especially on the offensive boards," Jazz summer coach Scott Layden said.
Koufos recorded a double-double on the night, with 12 points and 10 rebounds (seven offensive rebounds). Fesenko, who finished with zero points in Friday's loss in just over 17 minutes of play, nearly recorded a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds (five offensive rebounds) on Saturday night.
"It was easy; I can't go lower. Yesterday was the worst game of my life," Fesenko said. "I just tried to do my job, tried to stay cool and not worry. Last night I was worrying."
Fesenko, who suffered through seven turnovers in Friday's game, showed how sure-handed he could be as he turned the ball over only once.
Koufos, who finished with only five points and four rebounds in Friday's defeat, knows that one good game doesn't complete the learning experience.
"There's a lot more to learn. I'm just here to work hard and do my best," Koufos said. "It's (Saturday's game) an improvement from yesterday, but I'm still focused and still have to improve."
The Jazz took a 31-24 lead into the halftime break after limiting the Hawks to only eight second-quarter points, but it was Atlanta's big third quarter that put the Jazz in a hole they couldn't dig out of.
The Hawks orchestrated a 16-6 run in the third quarter that gave them a 12-point lead behind the strong play of Acie Law and Othello Hunter, who finished with 17 and 19 points, respectively.
With a second consecutive loss at the door, the Jazz responded with a 9-2 run of their own, capped off by back-to-back jumpers from Morris Almond, who finished the night with a team-high 17 points.
The Jazz cut the Atlanta lead to 56-51 midway through the fourth quarter before the Hawks came back with a 10-2 run to seal the deal.
After taking today off, the Jazz return to the campus of Salt Lake Community College for a matchup against the I.R. Iran team on Monday at 7 p.m.
Posted in Nba on Saturday, July 19, 2008 11:00 pm
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