Orlando Magic 40
Franz Wagner has found his groove at the right time for the Orlando Magic
Franz Wagner was superb in Game 4 and he appears to be hitting his stride right when the Orlando Magic need it in the NBA playoffs. Emmet Ryan on the German star and his ever expressive brother, the joy of life that is Moe Wagner It took a half for Franz Wagner to get truly […]
Boys do cry so get over it
The reaction to Rudy Gobert crying after finding out he didn’t make the NBA All Star game was a mix of sympathy and scorn. Emmet Ryan on the utter stupidity of those who took issue with Gobert being in tears after addressing the media for the first time following his snub Best to get the […]
Pat Burke – There and back again
Pat Burke stands alone as the only Irish born player in NBA history. Emmet Ryan sat down with the former Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns big man to talk about his adventures in Europe with Panathinaikos, his fondness for Felipe Reyes, playing under Mike D’Antoni, and how he learned a lot about himself by realising […]
Mario Hezonja was sent here to wreck you
The NBA Summer League got a brutal introduction to Mario Hezonja yesterday, even though he had already made one huge game-ending play in his previous outing Playing for the Orlando Magic’s blue team in the NBA Summer League, Croatian sensation Mario Hezonja hasn’t wasted time making an impression. We all knew about his confidence from […]
Eurobasket 2013: Which NBA players are in, which are out?
Because it’s never too early to start looking ahead to Eurobasket 2013 – wait a minute, there’s only 11 weeks left until tipoff? Definitely not too early, then, to take a look at the formative rosters for the big Continental tournament. While only a few national teams (Croatia and Lithuania among them) have released preliminary […]
NBA site spotlights Marcin Gortat’s days with Anaheim Arsenal
Friday saw the NBA official website launch a new feature on its pages devoted to the D League. The new “D-League Alumni Spotlight” page currently sports six highlight videos featuring current-day NBA players who came into the big league the hard way. BallinEurope was pleased to see the Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat among the half-dozen. […]
Taking stock of European players in the NBA, 2012-13
BallinEurope will be celebrating NBA Opening Day with lots of stuff centered on the big league; firstly, BiE takes stock of Continental ballers in the ‘States. Taking a look at this year’s roundup, we note that 53 Europeans have been named to NBA clubs’ 15-man roster, just beating the pace of the 52 listed in […]
Enes, Ersan, Ömer and Hedo: Turkey’s quartet in the NBA preseason
As one who believes wholeheartedly in the forthcoming Turkish invasion of the NBA, BallinEurope sends props to Trend Basket today; via Tweet by a Turkey-based fan, the preseason statistics for the country’s four current NBAers are listed. Here’s how they looked (based on 36 minutes of playing time): ● Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz: 21.2 points, […]
The BallinEurope video tribute to Anthony Parker
For those not necessarily in the know about European basketball, the announcement of Anthony Parker’s retirement from professional hoops today may not have exactly made most sit up and take notice – just another Cleveland Cavalier gone, right? Except that Parker’s six-year European CV is loaded with team accomplishments and individual accolades, bringing Maccabi Tel […]
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 […]
Magic-Lakers-Nets three-way blockbuster trade: Why wouldn’t this work?
Ever since the Los Angeles Lakers’ dreary loss to the Orlando Magic last Friday and straight through to yesterday’s brickfest in a loss to the Indiana Pacers, this fan’s thoughts are turning to – OK, now nearly obsessed with – making a trade to shake things up. First and foremost, BallinEurope feels for Pau Gasol. […]
The Eurocentric 2011-12 NBA Eastern Conference preview (plus Official Fearless Predictions™)
While basketball lovers are getting something of a Christmas gift this season in the December 25 NBA opening day – BiE says “something of” there because this belated debut is kinda like your parents saying, “Well, we’ll just give you your birthday gift at Christmas.” When your birthday’s in October – BallinEurope would like to […]