NBA/NCAA 1313
How good is Nikola Vucevic? Very.
Not long ago, BallinEurope handed out mid-season grades for NBA players representing The Continent; rookie Nikola Vucevic was awarded a solid 3 out of 5 – a 3.5, really, if only this self-imposing grading system weren’t so harsh. BiE assessed that “subjectively speaking, Vucevic has been particularly impressive for the surprisingly impressive Philadelphia 76ers; if […]
Danilo Gallinari redefines transition defense in a single play
Ah, now we have the defensive equivalent of Nick Young’s “alley oop to God” and this one, too, happened amid last night’s NBA action. Via the excellent Sportando, BallinEurope brings you a clip of Team Italy/Denver Nuggets’ stud Danilo Gallinari apparently getting caught quite by surprise against the Cleveland Cavaliers and ending up on the […]
Nick Young makes the worst NBA play of all-time! (or, A nice random basketball “highlight” clip)
Appropriate of absolutely nothing except for the basketball bit of this ‘site, BallinEurope passes on this YouTube of what in American sport commentator parlance might be described as the worst play of all-time in the NBA. On a breakaway play for his Washington Wizards against the Los Angeles Lakers, suddenly, as much-retweeted WayneWash0 pithily remarked, […]
Boris Diaw set to leave Charlotte Bobcats, says “J'ai un choix à faire”
The headline pretty much says it all, with France-based L’Equipe and Catch & Shoot today pretty much assure that Team France captain Boris Diaw will make like the rat and leave the sinking ship known as the Charlotte Bobcats (4-31) within days. Such a release from the ‘Cats would come six months before his contract […]
Tweet of the week: Kevin Love charts Ricky Rubio’s progress in English
Not only did Kevin Love put in a superstar-level 39-point, 17-rebound performance in his Minnesota Timberwolves’ 95-94 win over the Los Angeles Clippers last night, he also has BallinEurope’s informal Tweet Of The Week award locked up on Tuesday. And the 141-characters-or-less bit of pithiness is (drumroll, please) …
Lakers scout: “Germany biggest hope for European basketball”; L.A. interested in Maik Zirbes?
Former Real Madrid/current Los Angeles Lakers scout Antonio Maceiras visited Germany last week, including a stop in Bamberg to watch Brose Baskets destroy TBB Trier (no, seriously: Just look at this box score). Naturally, this gave BallinEurope contributor David Hein the opportunity to chat with the man about working for the Los Angeles Lakers and […]
First half report cards for European players in NBA
At the halfway point of the crazy fast 2011-12 NBA season, BallinEurope flexes the university professor muscles a little bit this morning with midterm assessments of individual performance by the big league’s Continental Players. We’ll be using the European grading system, with 5 being the top score possible and 1 the lowest; the Americans may […]
Ricky Rubio: Closet Justin Bieber fan?
BallinEurope’s man in Italy, Enrico Cellini, passed along this delicious clip uploading to YouTube just today. As Ricky Rubio nonchalantly exits the bus and into the facilities in advance of the Rising Stars Challenge making up part of this weekend’s NBA All-Star festivities, observers may notice the, um, quite stylish backpack slung over one shoulder. […]
Ratiopharm Ulm: “We wanted Jeremy Lin two years ago”
How do you say “Linsanity” auf Deutsch? BallinEurope supposes that the vocabulary term isn’t quite so necessary in Germany but, according to officials at one Bundesliga club, the phenomenon just might have been visible in Europe last season. Back in 2010, few observers of the NBA Summer League had an eye on the NBA’s current […]
Kobe Bryant: Virtus Bologna contract negotiation “was not a hoax”
Italy-based Corriere de Bologna, via Sky News, is today looking back nostalgically at those crazy days of the NBA player lockout – seems like forever ago, doesn’t it? – in quoting from an interview given by Kobe Bryant in Italian vis-à-vis the long flirtation Virtus Bologna and president Claudio Sabbatini carried on with the Los […]
Rumor: Timberwolves pursue Team Spain connection with Derrick Williams for Pau proposal
Could Pau Gasol be reunited with his Spain teammate Ricky Rubio on the Minnesota Timberwolves? According to Hoops World, Minny management is pursuing such a situation and is reportedly willing to send over rookie Derrick Williams and draft choices to the Los Angeles Lakers for Pau. No comment seems to have been made by Lakers […]
Roll ‘em! Charlotte Bobcats visit Minnesota, Rubio-to-Johnson connection gets ‘Tubed
When the Charlotte Bobcats come to town, do NBA players consciously seek to create highlight reels? The Human YouTube Highlight Clip himself, Ricky Rubio, was able to demonstrate his ridiculous court vision early and often last night – How difficult is it, after all, to bring the circus to town against an NBA team that’s […]