The 76ers may be piling up the losses stateside, but the seeds of their rebuilding plan are slowly growing thousands of miles away as a couple of their Eurostash prospects are beginning to sprout. Which American just left Europe and is a possible candidate to sign with the Lakers? What has former first rounder James Anderson been up to this season? David Blatt’s Cavaliers may be under the microscope by not starting off the season as strong as anticipated, but what is going
The 2014 Basketball World Cup is finally here. And you need to take it seriously, because everyone else does. Thanks to NBC and the other fall-in-line media outlets, most Americans believe the Olympics is the premier international basketball event. Globally, nothing could be further from the truth. With 24 teams and no automatic bid for the host, the World Cup is twice the size of the Olympics. It doesn’t share the spotlight with track or swimming. And most of the players will
Group B Likely to advance 1. Lithuania One of the most fully loaded squads in his year’s Eurobasket, the Lithuanian squad is poised to be one of the juggernauts of this year’s competition. Veteran point guard Sarunas Jasikevicus will be sitting this one out, but the Grateful Dead’s favorite European basketball team will be a force to be reckoned with. Starting with Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, the Lithuanians will be loaded with horses in the paint. Valanciunas had a solid rookie season, but seems
The man only had one lockout-shortened season on the Lakers bench and we’re merely five games into 2012-13, so why is everyone freaking out? Not only did he install a new offense during camp; he had to do it with an offseason’s worth of fresh bodies. So after a loss in their fifth game, a single question divided most of the Basketball God Fearing world: should CSKA Moscow fire Ettore Messina? Not the former Laker coach you were expecting? I’m sure this
The Euroleague is unquestionably the highest level of basketball outside the NBA. While NBA teams are always looking for the next European draft steal, there are many top-level Americans playing overseas who could potentially make an impact in the NBA in the near future — while there are others who have come to realize that their best chance for playing time, and their best option for making big money, will only come overseas. Whether it’s from the vastly different style of play,
Two weeks deep, the Euroleague is sliced into thirds: there are the eight teams that haven’t lost a game, the eight teams that haven’t won a game, and the eight teams that have split the pair. The two teams atop last week’s heap—Real Madrid and Olympiacos—couldn’t handle the pressure that came with the ranking and stumbled on the road. Next in line at No. 3 was Fenerbahce Ulker, who gracefully eluded the Sheridan Hoops curse and beat Union Olimpija on the road. But
Last season in Europe, Besiktas was making headlines for their courtship, acquisition and eventual enshrinement of Deron Williams, Zalgiris was up to their ears in Ty Lawson complaints, Alba Berlin was kicking around Nowitzki talk and Union Olimpija was riding Danny Green to an ice cold start of a season that would finish even colder with a 1-9 record. Subtract all the lockout hoopla, add a year and what do you have? Four of the Euroleague’s unlikeliest group leaders. Thanks to 1-0
Rajon Rondo thinks the 2013 Boston Celtics can be better than the 2008 championship version. And last week, Fenerbahce Ulker beat the 2013 Boston Celtics by six. “They have a really good basketball team,” Paul Pierce said after the game had wrapped up in Istanbul, Turkey. “My hat’s off to them. They really played a good game.” Hold onto your hat, Paul. At least until mid-May. While any win–certainly any win against a storied club like the Boston Celtics—is better than any loss,