The center who wouldn't visit; an ankle that won't cooperate
CHARLOTTE — With Mehmet Okur tending to family matters and Kyrylo Fesenko tending to visa matters, Jazz rookie center Kosta Koufos has answered the bell in his first two NBA starts.
Early count in the pair combined: 43 minutes, 18 points, nine rebounds, three blocks, two steals, one win, one loss and some terrifically entertaining enthusiasm exhibited when not actually in the game.
Koufos will make a third straight tonight at Charlotte, even though Fesenko is back with the team and available to play.
The performance of another center in Utah’s loss Wednesday at Washington, however, triggers memories of someone who wouldn’t even answer the figurative phone when the Jazz had interest in him earlier this year.
Wizards rookie big man JaVale McGee was a huge factor off the bench, posting a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double while also shooting 4-of-5 from the field and blocking three shots in a mere 27 minutes.
It was the 20-year-old’s second double-double of the still-young NBA season.
“He was a huge factor in the game,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said afterward. “Blocked shots, made it tough for us to get the ball inside. That’s what happens when a player will work at it.”
“We saw his learning curve in training camp,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan added. “We saw that he was a quick learner, and he likes to stick nose in there. He fantastic ability with his length. He has an athletic base that is off the charts.”
And now the rest of the tale:
The Jazz worked hard trying to get McGee in to Salt Lake City for a pre-draft workout back in June, but his mother — former Southern Cal and WNBA player Pam McGee — supposedly wouldn’t let him audition for teams picking so low like Utah at No. 25.
As it turns out, she was right.
McGee went 18th overall to Washington, and was gone by the time Utah tapped Koufos.
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Proof positive that both Sloan and point guard Deron Williams were on-message after losing Wednesday to previously winless Washington:
Said Sloan: “They just outplayed us. They seemed to want the game a little bit more than we did. … They beat us off the dribble, got on top of the basket. I thought they were a lot more aggressive on the boards than we were. We had way too many turnovers.”
Said Williams: “The Wizards wanted it more than us.”
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On Tuesday in Philadelphia, Sloan made it clear just how happy he was to have Williams back from a six-game absence due to a sprained left ankle sustained in training camp.
“Everybody, I think, is always energized by having him out there,” he said. “Of course that makes it tougher for the two guys (reserve points) behind him. But we need Deron Williams. There’s no question about that.”
On Wednesday in Washington, though, Sloan did concede it will take some time before everyone is accustomed to having Williams back.
“Everybody else has to get used to what he does and how he plays,” he said, “and we have to be patient with that as well — and, in the meantime, try to win.”
As it turns out, the re-integration process must wait.
Williams won’t play tonight in Charlotte because the ankle is too sore, and he probably won’t go Saturday in Cleveland either. Williams said he may try to play Monday at home against Phoenix, but he may have to wait until next Wednesday vs. Milwaukee.
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