Team Europe vs. Team USA
Could Team Europe be ready to challenge Team USA?
Here’s a game I’d like to see – Team Europe vs. Team USA. With the success of the Eurobasket tournament and the evidence that Europe has a wealth of talent to challenge the USA, I see no reason why such a game couldn’t go ahead. Sure the Americans may argue it’s unfair – Europe’s population is estimated to be 203,000,000 more than the US – but we know how much our Yank counterparts believe their country is the best at everything; so why not give it a chance?
With that said a team of 12 needs to be chosen. Here’s mine…
Starting Five
C – Paul Gasol (Spain) – You’d have to come up with a very good reason as to why the Los Angeles Lakers big-man wouldn’t make the starting five to face the USA. He demonstrated his ability again in Eurobasket and any fears of him regressing should now be banished. Pau starts at the center position in my opinion, which may cause problems against Dwight Howard, but I feel he’s the best man to lead from the middle.
PF – Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) – So maybe Dirk didn’t have the best Eurobasket tournament and yes he was upstaged by the Clippers’ Kaman, but you can’t forget what he did throughout the NBA season and playoffs quite so easily. He’s demonstrated time and time again that he is an elite level scorer and that is something Team Europe would need to hang with the Americans. He’s also likely to face off against Chris Bosh at some point and that can only be a positive thing for his continent’s side.
SF – Luol Deng (Great Britain) - A case could have been made here for a number of players, but Deng is the solid guy at the 3 spot you need. His performances for GB in Eurobasket, where he carried the load in all aspects on a number of occasions, shows his worth to a team such as this. Here he can fill in where needed and provide the all-round game that helps keep the flow between the guards and big-men. His defensive skills would come in handy against LeBron James and Kevin Durant who he would likely matchup against.
SG – Juan Carlos Navarro (Spain) – Navarro makes it in as the shooting guard not simply because of his scoring ability, although that will be needed, but because of everything else he brings to the team in terms of composure and the ability to be a secondary ball-handler. Yes he’s undersized, he’s likely to face off against Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, and that brings problems; but for me there is no better two-guard than Navarro from Europe at the moment.
PG – Tony Parker (France) – Look no further than his performances in Eurobasket to see just what Parker is still capable of. He can score in abundance, find teammates at will and contribute in all other areas of the game at a high level. He’s quick enough to cause the opposition defence problems and smart enough to work within the confines of the team, as seen in his play for France. Here he can excel in the company of likeminded individuals.
The Bench
C – Chris Kaman (Germany) – Kaman came back with a bang at Eurobasket, coming up with several performances that threw him ahead of Nowitzki in the race for Germany’s top player of the tournament. Against the US he would likely fair differently, but his experience would be invaluable.
PF – Marc Gasol (Spain) – The Gasol brothers were the perfect inside duo for Spain and at times Marc was the brother who shone the brightest. He would provide a big body for Team Europe and a bit more defensive hustle than Pau. There may not be a huge amount of difference in the brothers’ abilities and that’s something the team would benefit from, much in the same fashion as Spain have.
SF – Serge Ibaka (Spain) – Ibaka would be the fourth Spaniard I include in my Team Europe squad because of the versatility he could provide off the bench. The athletic Oklahoma City Thunder player can cover the 3, 4 and 5 spots and his defensive play, especially in the terms of providing blocks, would be invaluable for the team.
SG – Bo McCalebb (Macedonia) – The Macedonian shooting-guard was arguably the player who most improved his reputation during Eurobasket. Few really knew of the scoring potential he has, but now it is clear for all to see. Off the bench he would provide the spark for the Europeans and would be able to replace Navarro almost seemlessly.
PG – Milos Teodosic (Serbia) – This is a team in which Teodosic could thrive. He’d be the perfect complement to Parker at the point-guard position and would rack up assists in bunches. His passing ability would also give him good opportunities to score given the defence’s preoccupation with cutting off passing lanes. Whatever happens, this would be a fun environment to watch the talented guard perform in.
C – Joakim Noah (France) – The Chicago Bulls and France center just scrapes his way into the team for his defensive hustle and his ability to annoy. He didn’t have the greatest Eurobasket campaign, but he does provide experience of playing at the top level – something that will be crucial against his NBA counterparts.
SF – Nicolas Batum (France) – Batum is another versatile Frenchman who would just make the cut. The Portland Trail Blazers swingman showed glimpses of his true potential at Eurobasket and hopefully this will translate to whatever NBA season we are presented with this year. He’s a spark off the bench and that’s exactly what Europe would need from their reserves.
So there’s my squad to take on the Americans. I feel it provides both the talent in the starting lineup and on the bench to make the game a contest. Am I saying the group is strong enough to beat Team USA? No, not necessarily, but my hope is that it would be a decent game at least.
Who would you choose for Team Europe?
Eurobasket 2011 Final Revisited
Pau Gasol led Spain to Gold
So yesterday saw the culmination of the 2011 Eurobasket tournament with Spain prevailing against France by a score of 98-85. Rather than running down players individually I’ll just write about the things that stood out for me in the final.
Once again the scoring touch of Juan Carlos Navarro really propelled the Spanish squad towards the gold, as the Barcelona guard racked up a personal haul of 27 points – including a perfect 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. Navarro added 5 assists into the mix, meaning he was responsible for at least 37 of the team’s overall points – around 38%. For he tournament he finished with modest figures of averages of 18.7ppg, 3apg and 1.5rpg. Numbers that won’t set the world alight, but ones that were exactly what Spain needed to complement the Gasol brothers’ interior presence.
Spanish forward Pau Gasol chipped in with yet another double-double, this time in the form of 17 points and 1o rebounds. The haul was his third double-double of the tournament and went nicely with 4 assists and 3 blocked shots. I said at the start of the tournament that the NBA Playoffs were a one off for the Lakers star and Gasol appears to have proven me right – as he finishes with averages of 20.1ppg, 8.3rpg and 1.7bpg. He was also helped outside the arc by Jose Calderon who scored 17 points on an ultra-efficient 8-for-12 shooting performance. The game was the Raptors’ best of the tournament and couldn’t have come at a better moment helping his country secure the gold.
On the flipside you simply have to feel sorry for Tony Parker. His celebration at the end of the Russia game showed just how much this whole process has meant to him and just how much his country returning to international basketball respectability resonates in his heart. For the game Parker finished with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, but yet again he was left wanting in terms of help from his team-mates. If the San Antonio Spurs point-guard had just one of the Gasol brothers, then I think we would be looking at a different country atop of the podium.
The game itself provided a contest befitting of the competition as a whole as it went from end to end with the fluidity you expect from two teams stacked with NBA players. I’ll revisit the tournament and pick out those players who I felt have improved their reputation the most, but my final word on the gold-medal game is to say just how much this shows how European basketball has improved. Yes you’ll say that the majority of the elite players play in the NBA and it’s a point I argued with ESPN’s HoopsHype on Twitter prior to the tournament starting, but the crux of the matter is that these players come from Europe. They were made good enough to play in the NBA by European teams and coaches and that says something about the direction European basketball is moving in.
Do I see Spain as a true threat to Team USA? No, not really. Do I think they could hold their own against them? Of course.
Now, Team Europe vs. Team USA could be a matchup for the ages.
J.R Smith Jets to Turkey
J.R Smith is off to China
Having previously written about Denver Nuggets free agent Wilson Chandler signing a non-NBA-return deal in China, fellow Nuggets player J.R Smith is now set to join him. In fact the two will play in the same province of Zhejiang, but alas not for the same team.
What this signing shows is that this lockout may be more serious than we thought. That there may not be much of a season and therefore players are using their heads and deciding to join a league whose deals are guaranteed until March. Now, you may say that other players signing to play in Europe have deals which are guaranteed, but I’d imagine that these teams are offering big money with the thought that the players won’t be there long; and therefore they won’t have to pay them for the whole season. The signings of Smith and Chandler, two solid NBA players, shows that there must be a thought amongst players that the season – at this point at least – is somewhat dead in the water.
40 players turned up in Las Vegas to support Union President Derek Fisher in his meetings with the league yesterday, but it appears little progress was made. In fact this little progress was combined with no set dates for future meetings. This coming in the middle of September is bad news. Days will turn into weeks and soon we’ll be in October without any real idea of when or if a season will begin. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’ll end up without a season, but things aren’t moving quite how I thought they would.
What will be interesting to see is how things pan out as time moves on. I expect more players will sign deals with other leagues, including China, and the latter will obviously come with an impact on the NBA and its teams. I don’t think an elite star will sign a non-returning contract, but let’s remember that Chandler and Smith aren’t exactly scrubs. They are two guys who would have gotten solid multi-year contracts during this Free Agency – indeed they may still after their year in China is up. But for now, those teams who planned to bring them on board will have to look elsewhere as they take their talents to Asia.
Indeed it appears China is the place to be.
Eurobasket Quarter-Finals Day 2 Review
Andrei Kirilenko came up with a performance that the old AK47 would have been proud of
The tournament’s other quarter-final matches threw up about as many top individual performances as the first set. The games were closely fought and this was evident in Russia being the top scorers of the day with just 77 points. With those excuses made, here is a rundown of the day’s biggest news…
Andrei Kirilenko – Slow and steady is a phrase to describe the Russian forward’s play in the tournament; but yesterday was different. Kirilenko led his squad to victory with some fantastic numbers that included a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, as well as 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. This is much more like the Kirilenko of old, something I alluded to in an earlier article. To highlight his defensive prowess in the tournament, he leads all players with an average of 2.9 steals-per-game.
Tony Parker – As ever the French point-guard came up with both the performance and statline that his team needed to lead them into the semi-finals. Parker finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the 64-56 victory over Greece. To evidence just how well the San Antonio Spurs player has done this tournament, he is in the top ten for the following categories:
- Points-per-game
- Assists
- Free-throws made
- Field-goals made
His averages are 21.6ppg, 4.5apg, 3.4rpg and 1.4spg. Find a better MVP candidate if you can.
Greece’s outside shooting – One of the key factors in Greece’s defeat was their apparent emotional attachment to shooting threes. For the contest the Greek players scored just 3-of-21 attempts – a woeful 14%. Had they seen this problem early in the game and decided to look inside more often, perhaps they’d be on their way to the semis.
Milos Teodosic – It’s self-indulgent to put Tedo in here after he finished with 9 turnovers against the Russians, but the truth is he had to force things to try and keep his side in the game. On a positive note he finished up with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists and was the only Serbian player to come out of the defeat with any real credibility. He finishes this Eurobasket campaign in second place for assists-per-game with an average of 6, as well as averages of 12.8ppg and 4.6rpg. If I’m an NBA GM, I’m doing all I can to look closely at whether he could be recruited for whatever semblance of a league there is this year.
Eurobasket Quarter-Finals Day 1
Juan Carlos Navarro had a huge third quarter yesterday
As we move towards the business end of the tournament in Lithuania, I’ll be taking a closer look at not only player performances, but also the way teams handle themselves as they fight for gold. With that said, here’s the rundown for the first quarter-final games…
Juan Carlos Navarro – It’s the Barcelona guard who will go down as the one who poured in the majority of the points against Slovenia, but looking a little closer it was his 17 third-quarter points which really ended the contest. Navarro finished with 26 points, but his blistering performance in the penultimate period allowed Spain to take the quarter 36-14. The guard has been going about his business relatively quietly in the tournament, averaging a comfortable 16ppg, but anybody who follows basketball outside of the NBA will know just how much he brings to the court each game. For the Spanish squad he’s the perfect complement to the Gasol brothers.
Pau Gasol - Navarro may have finished with the most points, but the elder of the Gasols ended up with a fantastic double-double in the form of 19 points and 16 rebounds. What makes it even better is that it took just 28 minutes for the big-man to amass such numbers. Adding 3 blocks into the mix helps keep the Lakers’ star top of the pile for blocks-per-game with an average of 1.8bpg.
Spain – Having spoken about one of the Spanish guards and one of its big men, Spain are my pick to win the tournament. Bold pick eh? I simply don’t see them being stopped. They have talent in abundance both under the basket and from distance and they’ll continue to be a tough matchup for those they face in the latter stages. France have the most comparable group of players, but even they will struggle to contain the Spanish squad in a matter that would allow them to get the win.
Bo McCalebb – I’ve written about the Macedonia guard almost every time they’ve played and his 23 point performance in the narrow 67-65 victory over Lithuania makes him noteworthy once again. McCalebb is a scorer, a scorer who has produced time after time for the Macedonia squad. However, it’s his solid all-round game – he averages 3rpg and 3.7apg to go with his scoring average of 20.9 – that has made him standout amongst guards in the tournament. Where some have come and been a flash-in-the-pan with one or two top scoring performances, McCalebb continues to shine.
Vojdan Stojanovski – McCalebb would probably be the first to admit that Macedonia would be out of the tournament if it wasn’t for the shooting of Stojanovski yesterday. The shooting-guard has had an underwhelming competition, but he came up perfect from beyond the arc with 5-for-5 three-pointers on his way to 15 points. That performance was still only good enough to move his three-point percentage to 42% and Macedonian fans will be hoping he continues to find his stroke in their game against Spain tomorrow.
Who were your top players?
EuroBasket Day 11 Top Performers
Pero Antic looks a lot like Matt Geiger
The final stages of round two threw up some great games, but again very few standout performances from players. Here are the few I found…
Pero Antic – Macedonia’s power-forward did all he could to put his side into a position to beat Russia, only to be denied by a buzzer-beating three. Antic finished the contest with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block in a performance that saw his team outrebounded 45-28. Macedonia will now face-off against hosts Lithuania as they try to advance to the final-four.
Giorgi Shermadini – Georgia’s center had his breakout game for the tournament as he finished with 10 points and 14 rebounds against Greece, far exceeding his 4.4ppg and 4.4rpg averages. It was his first double-double of the tournament, but sadly he won’t be able to add to his tally as the Georgian team make their journey home following their 73-60 loss.
Uros Slokar – On most other days the Slovenian center wouldn’t make it into this article, but such was the relatively poor individual play yesterday – he just scrapes in. Slokar finished up with 13 points and 8 rebounds in a performance that drove his side into the quarter-finals where they will face tournament heavyweights Spain.
Sergey Monya – Buzzer beaters are always fun to watch, provided it’s your team hitting it, and Monya came up with the most dramatic one thus far. With just seconds to play and trailing 61-60, the Russian captain nailed his three-point attempt to extend his side’s winning streak to eight.
Who were your top performers yesterday?
Eurobasket Day 11 Top Performers
One of these has led Germany this tournament and it's not the Playoff MVP
With teams looking to book their place in the quarter-finals, or in the case of France fiddle their way to a better draw, few top performances came from yesterday’s three matches. In fact, I’m only going to pick out three – here they are…
Chris Kaman – I’ve said enough about the Clippers center during the tournament and he’ll be ruing the lack of help he’s had for a large portion of it – especially in yesterday’s defeat to Lithuania. A defeat that sees them miss out on the chance to play in the London 2012 Olympic Games. Kaman did all he could to keep that dream alive finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocked shots on an efficient 12-for-17 shooting from the field. Where he’ll look for a reason his side did not proceed is in Dirk Nowitzki’s comparable 24% shooting numbers. Kaman has been a star throughout the tournament averaging a double-double of 15.5ppg and 10rpg to go along with a category leading 1.8bpg. In fact he leads the competition with 5 double-doubles, as well as averaging the most rebounds per game – 10 – and the most blocked shots. It’s hard to argue that he’s the player in the tournament who has improved his value most considerably. What a shame for Donald Sterling that he can’t cash in on it.
Kevin Seraphin - Afforded extended minutes due to France deliberately setting out to lose against Spain – see DNPs for Tony Parker and Joakim Noah – Seraphin took full advantage finishing with 18 points in 19 minutes on 8-for-11 field goal shooting. The Cholet Basket center comes with NBA experience having played for Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards and many teams would kill for this type of efficient performance, especially considering he is just 21 years old. Look out for him in the future.
Milos Teodosic – If it’s possible to have a real man crush, mine could well be on Tedo. He was the driving force once again for Serbia’s 68-67 victory over Turkey with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Yes he did finish with 6 turnovers, but his all-round play has been stellar throughout the competition and those risks he takes lead to more baskets than opponent buckets. His averages now stand at 11.9ppg, 4.6rpg and 6.4apg and he leads all competitors in that final category. The point-guard is simply great fun to watch in a Ricky Rubio mould, but where Rubio fails to put up the stats, Tedo has no problem. Lockout or no lockout, this 24 year old deserves a shot at the NBA – that is if he wants it.
Who did I miss from yesterday’s games?
Who were the top performers of Eurobasket’s day 10?
Kimmo Muurinen came up big for Finland yesterday
Yesterday’s games were arguably the worst ones in the whole tournament for the amount of standout performances. Here are the ones I could find:
Kimmo Muurinen – The Finnish power-forward came up with his best performance of the tournament thus far, finishing with 11 points and 9 rebounds in the win over Georgia. These numbers are far above his averages of 5ppg and 3.4rpg and came at just the right time for his team. Finland will be hoping the veteran big-man continues this play into their final game with Slovenia tomorrow.
Bo McCalebb – The Macedonia guard once again demonstrated his scoring prowess against Slovenia as he ended the game with 19 points as well as 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. McCalebb missed just two field goals during the contest and was an almost perfect 7-for-8 from the line in the contest. He is now third amongst players in steals-per-game with an average of 2.4.
Goran Dragic – Slovenia’s Houston Rockets point-guard tried his best to keep his team in contention with McCalebb and Macedonia, but struggled to find help from his teammates. Dragic finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, but had a costly 6 turnovers. The NBA player has had a less than stellar tournament with averages of 10.1ppg, 3.6rpg and 2.9apg.
Andrei Kirilenko – A few years ago the Utah Jazz forward was a perennial 5×5 (5 statistical categories in which at least 5 is recorded) threat on any given night, but his play has dropped off dramatically recently. Yesterday he came up with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals to push himself close to at least a 4×5 performance. He currently leads the tournament in steals-per-game with an average of 2.9.
Timofey Mozgov – New York Knicks big-man Mozgov missed just one shot during yesterday’s game with Greece on his way to 19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. In fact for the tournament he has been scoring at a clip of 69% whilst averaging 9.6ppg. An area that he can definitely improve on is on the glass where he is averaging a poor 3.7rpg.
Who were your top players yesterday?
Who were Day 9 of Eurobasket’s top performers?
Nando De Colo helped Tony Parker push France to a win
Spain continued in their rich vein of form on day 9, cruising past Serbia 84-59 and it’s they who provide 2 of the 6 top performances from the day’s action. Here they are, plus the other standouts from the second phase of Eurobasket competition:
Pau Gasol – The Los Angeles Lakers star pushed himself to the forefront in the battle of the Gasol brothers with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. What made his performance better was that he missed just 2 field-goals during the contest, scoring at a rate of 82%. An interesting stat from Pau’s play in the tournament is that he leads all players in blocks-per-game with an average of 1.7 – a good showing from somebody not noted for his stellar defensive play.
Marc Gasol – Determined not to be completely thrown out of the limelight by his older brother, Marc came up with his second double-double in the form of 20 points and 10 rebounds. The Grizzlies star’s solid play has been the catalyst for many of Spain’s fine performances and his partnership with his brother continues to cause opponents many problems.
Chris Kaman – It’s hard to upstage the current NBA Playoffs’ MVP, but the Los Angeles Clippers center is trying his best to do so. Kaman just edged out Dirk Nowitzki in the scoring stakes – 20 to 19 – in Germany’s victory over Turkey yesterday, but it’s in the other statistical categories where he displayed the ability he provides on both ends of the floor. Kaman had 7 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and a steal to provide the defensive hustle Germany needed against the tricky Turks.
Omer Asik – On the opposing block in Germany’s game was Chicago Bulls center Asik who is doing his best to pull Turkey through despite below-par performances from Hedo Turkoglu. Asik finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the tournament – good for third place amongst all players in this category. The Turkey center currently leads the category of offensive-rebounds per-game with an average of 3.6.
Nando De Colo – The France guard, named after a popular chicken restaurant, came up with a breakout performance against Lithuania yesterday finishing with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 5 steals. For the tournament De Colo is now averaging 4.9ppg showing just how big a game he had.
Joakim Noah – Having slated Noah for his rebounding performances in France’s last game, the Chicago Bulls center finished yesterday’s game with 13 to go along with 9 points, 2 assists plus a steal and a block. Despite some poor performances on the glass, Noah still sits in sixth position amongst players for rebounds-per-game with an average of 8. France will be hoping he continues this performance as they strive for gold.
Who were your top performers from yesterday’s action?
