Is Kyrylo Fesenko Celtics material? Nastiest Kobe Block I've ever seen.

[pearljammer10]

Looks a little hefty and a tad bit slow... But his post moves look pretty dang solid. And he is a legit center which would be huge for the C's. We havent seen a legt center who could make some moves in the post for the green in quite some time.

[redbov]

Why do you guys think Fesenko never played more than 450 minutes per season in 4 years in the NBA and has been trying to find a team for a couple of months with no success?

Does that seem like the kind of thing that happens to 7fters with good defense or legit centers? 7

Fesenko has some potential for the future (even though his work ethic is a big roadblock), but as of now he's a borderline NBA player, arguably worse than Stiemsma.

[jdz101]

Why do you guys think Fesenko never played more than 450 minutes per season in 4 years in the NBA and has been trying to find a team for a couple of months with no success?

Does that seem like the kind of thing that happens to 7fters with good defense or legit centers? 7

Fesenko has some potential for the future (even though his work ethic is a big roadblock), but as of now he's a borderline NBA player, arguably worse than Stiemsma.

You've gotta remember how this team looked with a 300 pound plus, injured, nearly retired shaq on the floor.
It made the defense so much harder to penetrate on with such a wide guy in the middle. Also on offense all shaq did was stand next to the rim for a couple of seconds and wait for rondo to drop him a pass and put it in the cylinder. It was just easy offense. That's what makes this guy intriguing to me.

There were so many games last year when even krstic scored 10-12 in a quarter from put backs or rondo drop offs. We're missing that this year.

[redbov]

Why do you guys think Fesenko never played more than 450 minutes per season in 4 years in the NBA and has been trying to find a team for a couple of months with no success?

Does that seem like the kind of thing that happens to 7fters with good defense or legit centers? 7

Fesenko has some potential for the future (even though his work ethic is a big roadblock), but as of now he's a borderline NBA player, arguably worse than Stiemsma.

You've gotta remember how this team looked with a 300 pound plus, injured, nearly retired shaq on the floor.
It made the defense so much harder to penetrate on with such a wide guy in the middle. Also on offense all shaq did was stand next to the rim for a couple of seconds and wait for rondo to drop him a pass and put it in the cylinder. It was just easy offense. That's what makes this guy intriguing to me.

There were so many games last year when even krstic scored 10-12 in a quarter from put backs or rondo drop offs. We're missing that this year.

I'm sorry, how is that related to Fesenko?

Fesenko is similar to Stiemsma offensively (basically a garbage man with pretty bad hands and lack of touch). Not to a skilled offensive big with soft hands like Krstic or Shaq (!!).

[j804]

Looks a little hefty and a tad bit slow... But his post moves look pretty dang solid. And he is a legit center which would be huge for the C's. We havent seen a legt center who could make some moves in the post for the green in quite some time.

Why do you guys think Fesenko never played more than 450 minutes per season in 4 years in the NBA and has been trying to find a team for a couple of months with no success?

Does that seem like the kind of thing that happens to 7fters with good defense or legit centers? 7

Fesenko has some potential for the future (even though his work ethic is a big roadblock), but as of now he's a borderline NBA player, arguably worse than Stiemsma.

You've gotta remember how this team looked with a 300 pound plus, injured, nearly retired shaq on the floor.
It made the defense so much harder to penetrate on with such a wide guy in the middle. Also on offense all shaq did was stand next to the rim for a couple of seconds and wait for rondo to drop him a pass and put it in the cylinder. It was just easy offense. That's what makes this guy intriguing to me.

There were so many games last year when even krstic scored 10-12 in a quarter from put backs or rondo drop offs. We're missing that this year.

Agreed I'm just worried about how badly out of shape he might be. If he is THAT bad out of shape as in he hasn't even pondered a return to the NBA and just is a slob now then forget it. I'd say go with Sheed in that case he's at least been active from reports.

[jdz101]

Why do you guys think Fesenko never played more than 450 minutes per season in 4 years in the NBA and has been trying to find a team for a couple of months with no success?

Does that seem like the kind of thing that happens to 7fters with good defense or legit centers? 7

Fesenko has some potential for the future (even though his work ethic is a big roadblock), but as of now he's a borderline NBA player, arguably worse than Stiemsma.

You've gotta remember how this team looked with a 300 pound plus, injured, nearly retired shaq on the floor.
It made the defense so much harder to penetrate on with such a wide guy in the middle. Also on offense all shaq did was stand next to the rim for a couple of seconds and wait for rondo to drop him a pass and put it in the cylinder. It was just easy offense. That's what makes this guy intriguing to me.

There were so many games last year when even krstic scored 10-12 in a quarter from put backs or rondo drop offs. We're missing that this year.

I'm sorry, how is that related to Fesenko?

Fesenko is similar to Stiemsma offensively (basically a garbage man with pretty bad hands and lack of touch). Not to a skilled offensive big with soft hands like Krstic or Shaq (!!).

Krstic was not skilled under the basket. He had a jumper sure, but when he got the ball under the hoop he wasn't actually that good at getting it in the hole. He pump faked a lot when he didn't need to. From what I've seen of fesenko he is big, wide, and can stand next to the ring, rebound and put the ball back in. You can't be picky at this point unfortunately.

[2short]

None of us can be picky at this point.  In a perfect world a 6'10" or so vet who will rebound, play good defense, team ball i.e. do whatever is needed.
So if we are looking at any of these tall young guys with questionable attitudes, work ethic etc we should ask.  What do they bring to the table that stiemsma doesn't already.  This can be fesenko, hollins etc.  If we are going to add a young guy maybe he should have something besides being tall.  We have two 7' as centers now, both doing a nice job.  Who is the best bet to come in for 10-20 minutes a game and rebound first, play good defense second.  I don't care about points from this big man x but we need the rebounding.  Rondo will get anyone with a pair of hands and a semi idea to look for pass easy buckets.  I'm worried about these project guys that are dumped by other teams and you read of lack of effort etc etc.

[LooseCannon]

Fesenko had a deal with Golden State, but it was cancelled.  It was reported as a mutual decision with both sides concerned about his recovery from a torn meniscus.  He's had several teams interested in.  He supposedly turned down the Hawks, who wanted to bring him in after Al Horford's injury, because they wanted him to sign a ten-day contract first before committing to him for the rest of the season.

Is Ainge also holding out for a ten-day contract as an evaluation period?  Is Fesenko asking to be under contract for next year?  Should either of these be deal-breakers with Fesenko or any other potential big man?

[cltc5]

Do people around here not understand we are shorthanded?  We need to take the best available and Doc and danny need to make it work.  Come playoff time were gonna need minutes and bodies. period.

[green7]

pretty good player those rondo passes, can makes him even better.

[Celtics18]

Forget Fesenko.  Let's just sign Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, Marc Gasol, Joakim Noah, or Roy Hibbert.

Oh, those guys aren't available?

Well, for goodness sake, let's go for the big Ukrainian, then.  His best skills: He's seven feet tall and available.

[raynman]

If he can at least become a Pekovic, then great!

[jdz101]

If he can at least become a Pekovic, then great!

He hasnt even got half the game than Pekovic has.

[Evantime34]

After reading this he is my first choice to fill the big man void. He sounds like a perfect fit for how the Celtics play the best basketball.

From a Chris Forsberg article quoting Hollinger.

According to Synergy Sports, Fesenko allowed a mere .716 points per play last season, ranking him in the 96th percentile among all NBA players. Of all the hoopsters that had at least 100 defensive plays last season, Fesenko ranked fourth overall in points per play (Boston's Jermaine O'Neal was second at .675 points per play). Opponents shot a mere 34.2 percent against Fesenko and, while he's still susceptible to post-up situations, he excelled against the pick-and-roll and especially in spot-up situations where players must shoot over his long frame (Fesenko has a 9-foot-4 standing reach).

* But don't take our word on his defense. Here's an excerpt from John Hollinger's scouting report:
The best-kept secret in the NBA right now is Fesenko's monstrous defensive stats. It's not that one or two metrics point out his defensive value; it's that all of them do, without any pointing to the contrary. Last season the Jazz were an eye-popping 11.91 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Fesenko on the floor, and this is not a new trend. The season before it was 8.67; in limited minutes his first two seasons he also had a strong differential. Synergy Stats, meanwhile, rated Fesenko as the second-best defender in the entire league among players who faced at least 150 opponent plays; the season before he was first. And according to 82games.com, opposing centers had a PER of just 10.4 against him; the season before it was 12.9. Despite his size, Fesenko doesn't block a ton of shots or dominate the boards. He just uglies up the game for opponents with his sheer hugeness, especially since he moves his feet fairly well for his size. And he can still get better -- he wasn't always fully engaged in Utah and needs to step up his commitment.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4691149/should-the-cs-consider-kyrylo-fesenko#more

[wiley]

After reading this he is my first choice to fill the big man void. He sounds like a perfect fit for how the Celtics play the best basketball.

From a Chris Forsberg article quoting Hollinger.

According to Synergy Sports, Fesenko allowed a mere .716 points per play last season, ranking him in the 96th percentile among all NBA players. Of all the hoopsters that had at least 100 defensive plays last season, Fesenko ranked fourth overall in points per play (Boston's Jermaine O'Neal was second at .675 points per play). Opponents shot a mere 34.2 percent against Fesenko and, while he's still susceptible to post-up situations, he excelled against the pick-and-roll and especially in spot-up situations where players must shoot over his long frame (Fesenko has a 9-foot-4 standing reach).

* But don't take our word on his defense. Here's an excerpt from John Hollinger's scouting report:
The best-kept secret in the NBA right now is Fesenko's monstrous defensive stats. It's not that one or two metrics point out his defensive value; it's that all of them do, without any pointing to the contrary. Last season the Jazz were an eye-popping 11.91 points per 100 possessions better on defense with Fesenko on the floor, and this is not a new trend. The season before it was 8.67; in limited minutes his first two seasons he also had a strong differential. Synergy Stats, meanwhile, rated Fesenko as the second-best defender in the entire league among players who faced at least 150 opponent plays; the season before he was first. And according to 82games.com, opposing centers had a PER of just 10.4 against him; the season before it was 12.9. Despite his size, Fesenko doesn't block a ton of shots or dominate the boards. He just uglies up the game for opponents with his sheer hugeness, especially since he moves his feet fairly well for his size. And he can still get better -- he wasn't always fully engaged in Utah and needs to step up his commitment.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4691149/should-the-cs-consider-kyrylo-fesenko#more

Sold.  We need to ugly up the game for the opponents and stop worrying about the perfectness of our system.