Fernandez Not as Bad as It Looked -- March 11, 2009, The Oregonian, by Joe Freeman
...The Trail Blazers' lopsided victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, which featured prominent Spanish players Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez and Pau Gasol, was broadcast live in Spain, meaning Fernandez's family saw his frightening tumble late in the third quarter. Then they had to labor through the reality that they had no way of reaching him...
Rodriguez was able to calm his family with a late-night, good-news phone call from the hospital:
The television images were much worse than the actual injuries.
Fernandez was released from a Portland hospital Tuesday afternoon in good spirits and with relatively minor wounds, including a bruised chest and a right hip pointer. The reserve guard is listed as doubtful for the Blazers' game tonight against the Dallas Mavericks...
Fernandez was smacked from behind at the end of a fast break by Lakers reserve forward Trevor Ariza in the closing seconds of the third quarter. As Fernandez elevated toward the rim, a trailing Ariza swiped Fernandez's head and arm. Unable to provide a cushion for himself, Fernandez crashed to the court and landed awkwardly on his right side.
...Blazers coach
Nate McMillan, who paused for a few seconds in amazement when told about Jackson's decision regarding Ariza,
said he was surprised the "dangerous play" did not result in further punishment but refused to comment in detail. He did comment about the Blazers' emotional reaction to Ariza's foul.
McMillan said his team handled the incident "properly." He praised his players for backing up their fallen teammate, credited assistant coach Monty Williams for preventing players on the bench from racing onto the floor -- and drawing an automatic suspension for leaving the bench -- and lauded his team for staying mentally focused and finishing the game.
Rodriguez was particularly difficult to restrain as he watched Fernandez wincing beneath the basket. Williams twice had to block a screaming Rodriguez from bolting onto the court.
"I wanted to go to see (Fernandez), you know," Rodriguez said. "That was a hard moment and a tough moment."
...McMillan, who played Rodriguez and starting point guard Steve Blake together during stretches after Fernandez's injury, said he will explore a variety of lineups tonight, perhaps even using Travis Outlaw and Nicolas Batum at the reserve shooting guard spot. Rookie Jerryd Bayless is ill and was dismissed early from Tuesday's practice, so his availability is questionable.
What isn't questionable is this: The passive, they're-too-nice reputation of the Blazers is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Monday night's incident, coupled with the January altercation between Joel Przybilla and Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets, shows the Blazers could be fed up with their nice-guy image.
"Anybody fouls our guys like that, we're going to respond," said All-Star guard and team captain Brandon Roy. "We didn't throw any punches, but we let them know we're not going to stand for it.
"It's funny. Before the game, me and LaMarcus (Aldridge) were laughing, saying, 'They're going to do something.' He was like, 'Well, we'll be ready.' And I was like, 'Yeah, we will be ready.' So I'm not saying that we predicted it, but we knew they were going to ... try to be a bully. Again, I'm not trying to say (the Lakers are) dirty. But it just seems like every time we play them (there's something). But we're ready to defend one another. That's what we have to do."
It's unclear when Fernandez will rejoin the team and resume basketball activities, but any absence could be brief. When he talked to McMillan on Tuesday, one of the first things Fernandez did was ask his coach if he could play against the Mavericks.
...
