And even if both Boozer and Okur are good to go tonight, the big Ukrainian may wind up dressing for his second NBA game anyway.

"We've considered that," Sloan said. "He (Fesenko) probably would be more likely to play, because of Shaq and his size and fouls and all those things."

That said, Fesenko — who had a shiner Sunday to go with the five stitches he needed Friday to a close a cut over his eye — still is likely to spend more time in the D-League this season than in the NBA.

"Long-term, I think it's good for him to be able to play and play minutes. It's hard for us to get him 40 minutes here," Sloan said. "To get him better and better — that's the important thing."

Yet Sloan really was impressed watching Fesenko pull down seven rebounds and score six points while making his NBA debut against the Lakers.

"He had a fairly decent idea of what we were doing," the Jazz coach said. "That's a tremendous thing."

Boozer, too, seems to think Fesenko could hold his own if called upon tonight.

"He was active (Friday), he got offensive rebounds and put them back in, ran the floor well, got a couple blocks, altered some shots," Boozer said. "He looked really good.

"The good thing about Fes," Boozer added, "is he may be so unaware (of Shaq's resume) that he may just go play ... I don't think he'll think too much about it."

The truth, though, is that Fesenko does know all about the 14 All-Star Game selections, the four NBA titles, the two scoring titles and the MVP award.

"Shaq's been my hero," Fesenko said, "since I was 5."

And that, in Sloan's mind, may be as harmful as a sprained ankle or a bad back.

"We all know who he is," the Jazz coach said. "That's the thing I worry about."

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com