The Portland Trail Blazers gave Rudy Fernandez plenty of chances, but he never could match the potential that the team saw in him after he set the then-rookie record for 3-pointers made in a single season back in 2008-09. On Monday, playing for the first time in the NBA for a team not named the Portland Trail Blazers, Fernandez scored 8 points en route to a Denver victory.
Fernandez played in 30 minutes of Denver's 115-93 victory over the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. Rudy shot just 2-8 (25%) from the field and had one of the worst games of his career by shooting a miserable 1-7 from beyond the arc. He was also only 3-6 (50%) from the free throw line.
He added 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals, and despite his subpar shooting performance, the Nuggets were +15 when he was on the court.
Former Trail Blazers Andre Miller, on the other hand, was superb in his first game with the Nuggets. He shot 6-8 from the field, finishing with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block in 27 minutes off the bench.
Fernandez was traded by the Blazers to Dallas during the off-season, then Dallas dealt him to Denver, making him a member of Portland's divisional rivals.
He played in 78 games last year for Portland, when he averaged 8.6 points per game, along with 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He shot career lows in field goals (37%) and three point field goals (32.1%). Prior to the 2010-11 season, Fernandez expressed his frustration with his role in Portland's offense and demanded to be traded or released so that he could return to Spain.
During the NBA lockout, Fernandez signed the largest contract in the history of Spanish basketball, but was allowed to return to the NBA to play out the final year of his American contract.
© 2011 Max Price - All Rights Reserved.
Click the "SUBSCRIBE" button under the article title to receive free updates on important Portland Trail Blazers articles sent directly to your e-mail.
Comments