Spanish players in the NBA

[rikhardur]

ESP/USA – Rudy on the mend after spending the night in hospital



PORTLAND (NBA) – Spain star Rudy Fernandez has been released from the hospital in Portland with a bruised chest and a right hip-pointer, injuries picked up in a nasty fall in Monday’s 111-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.



It’s unclear when Fernandez will return to action, though it’s unlikely to be against Dallas on Wednesday.



"He feels great," said teammate and fellow Spain international Sergio Rodriguez, who spent the night in the hospital with Fernandez.



"(Tuesday) morning he saw the doctor and he told him that he's okay, he'll be fine in a week and he was better. (Monday) night, he was scared and he couldn't breathe well and he couldn't sleep well. But (Monday) morning, he felt well."



The incident at the Rose Garden in Portland against the Lakers isn’t something the 23-year-old Fernandez will forget anytime soon.



He soared in for a lay-up at the end of the third quarter when the Lakers’ Trevor Ariza attempted to block his shot.



Ariza hit Fernandez in the head, which knocked him off balance and sent him crashing to the floor.



"He's all right, he's feeling great," Rodriguez said to the Oregonian newspaper.



"It was more (he was) scared and afraid ... The moment after the hit, he couldn't breathe well. He scared himself. But after that, he was okay.”



The images of Fernandez falling, and the minutes that followed, looked terrible.



He remained on the court for 12 minutes, lying on his back, before being stretchered off with his neck in a brace.



Rodriguez telephoned his teammate’s family in Spain and let them know that Fernandez was fine.



There was immense interest in the contest in Spain because Pau Gasol, another Spaniard, is a star with the Lakers.



Gasol only offered a brief comment about the incident.



"It was an unfortunate play, and an unfortunate fall," Gasol said.



NBA officials suspended Lakers forward Lamar Odom one game without pay for leaving the bench area.



Ariza will not face further discipline beyond his third-quarter ejection.

[url="http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/lateNews/p/newsid/29581/arti.html"]http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fc/news/late...29581/arti.html[/url]

[Hoopla]

Rubio will be an NBA player soon! its an exciting prospect. At least something new to talk about, rather than the usual LeBron, D-wade, Kobe discussion