BARCELONA — Between the NBA and the Euroleague lies an ocean. Over here, we may have some of the best NBA trade deadline assets that you might hear about by Thursday afternoon. More and more, teams are pushing their shopping carts across the Atlantic in hopes of stumbling upon a Gary Neal or Gustavo Ayon. Other teams did their legwork early, drafting and stowing Europeans whom they hoped would mature into NBA caliber players. Some of them have. Here are
TEL AVIV, Israel — Regal Barcelona put on a defensive clinic in Tel-Aviv against Maccabi in a round of 16 showdown between two of the powerhouse teams in the Euroleague. Barcelona’s stable of big men and heady guard play were too much for Maccabi to overcome, giving the Spanish squad a big 71-57 road victory. Barcelona’s frontcourt features two NBA prospects in Erazem Lorbek and Fran Vasquez, whose combination of size and skill was too much for Maccabi. With Sofoklis Schortsanitis