Dusan Ivkovic 33
The streaky shape of a Final Four contender
They live and die off streaks but Efes need to find what they are if they are to make a legitimate Final Four push according to Emmet Ryan On paper this team is stacked. Heurtel, Saric, Granger, Diebler, Dunston, Tyus, Osman, are the type of names that belong on a Final Four roster. This side […]
Infographic: 2012-13 Miami Heat vs. 2004-05 CSKA Moscow – Who’s more impressive?
As the Miami Heat look to add another W to their ongoing historic 23-game streak when playing at the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight, here’s a nifty little argument discussion starter put together by BallinEurope’s Lithuanian agent Y. Sure, the Heat’s run is mighty impressive, but just look at what CSKA Moscow did to the competition in […]
What’s wrong with team Serbia? Coach Duda’s confession
Those who tuned into David and Davis’ podcast over at heinnews this week and/or have been reading the rants posted on BallinEurope on Milos Teodosic’s play in the recent FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualifiers know that BiE fears something is amiss in Serbia. BallinEurope’s contributing writer from over there, Marko Savkovic, today tells us that head […]
Good Milos vs. Bad Milos: Is Teodosic the problem for Team Serbia?
The increasingly good Bball Headlines reported on a little high-profile commentary from the peanut gallery recently, quoting former Team Serbia head coach Zoran Slavnic in singling out Milos Teodosic as central to the current team’s woes in EuroBasket 2013 qualifiers. “Some of the players that I called up to the national team for the first […]
Eurobasket 2013 qualification round bullets – plus Official Fearless Predictions™
With 13 games to play tonight in the EuroBasket 2013 qualifying round, BallinEurope takes a quick look around the blogosphere regarding a few subplots, storylines and players to watch. We’ll do this in the time-honored tradition of the ESPN TrueHoop Network, i.e. bullet-style. ● Some in the Spurs Nation were enthused with Davis Bertans’ play […]
Twenty years ago today: Champions in Europe and USA, 1992
In celebration of certainly still the most significant year in international basketball history, BallinEurope today begins the “Twenty years ago today” series in which we’ll peer back in time through the lens of YouTube to that era of morphing European national teams and Dream Team dominance. In the wake of that Greatest Basketball Team Ever […]
Quiz: The NBA- and Euro-centric year in basketball, 2011-12
Quick! Before those memories of basketball championships European and NBA fade completely, take a brief look back at the season that was – one crazy one on The Continent that began with Tony Parker, Ty Lawson and Mehmet Okur playing over here and concluded with titles taken by King James and Emperor Spanoulis. Get out […]
Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! (a.k.a. *The* European basketball story of 2011-12)
Let’s put this into perspective. The last time Olympiacos took the Greek national title, they were led by David Rivers and Dragan Tarlać. Vassilis Spanoulis was 15 years old and not near professional club play. Dejan Bodiroga was in the middle of his career and Mirsad Turkcan had just turned 21. Across the pond, Lebron […]
On Olympiacos Euroleague championship: From crises emerge heroes
European basketball fans know that history was made with Olympiacos’ stunning victory in the 2012 Euroleague championship. And so BallinEurope contributor, the self-proclaimed hoops history junkie Uygar Karaca looks back with perspective on the title bid, reaching all the back to the Great Depression of 1929 through the collapse of the Soviet Union and into […]
Kirilenko on playing for Utah Jazz, CSKA Moscow: “It’s hard to compare”
Amid a crowd of athletes well-versed in jockspeak, Andrei Kirilenko is a breath of fresh air. Though no controversy-stirrer on the Charles Barkley level (and who is, really, aside from Sir Charles himself), Kirilenko is personable, patient, friendly and fluent in two languages in the interview milieu. Kirilenko arrived late to “open media” session after […]
Jonas Kazlauskas vs. Dusan Ivkovic: Euroleague history will be made
It’s a trivia question with an expiration date – and that date is tomorrow. To wit: “Which head coach holds the record for longest time between Euroleague titles?” For the next, what, 26 hours or so, the answer is “Alexander Gomelsky.” Most well-known as the Team USSR coach, the Naismith/FIBA Hall of Famer took the […]
Eclipse watching: All-time records under threat at Euroleague Final Four 2012
For all the history/stat junkies out there – including myself, as BiE readers know – BallinEurope today takes a look at what all-time Euroleague Final Four records might fall this year … and some that seem unbreakable. • Under assault could be the all-time free-throw mark of 56 held by Nikos Galis. Galis set this […]