The NBA draft can make or break the future of a franchise. Using the third overall pick to select Adam Morrison ahead of Rudy Gay can set your franchise back for over a half a decade. Landing a gem such as Tony Parker with the 28th overall pick can put a team in position to be a title contender for years. With the increased luxury tax penalties of the new CBA set to be implemented in the 2013-2014 season, it has become
The Spurs stars may be getting old, but their blueprint for winning remains as strong as ever. They were beaten at their own game by former Spurs executive, Sam Presti, this season, but they still have a few more tricks up their sleeve with Erazem Lorbek and Nando De Colo. Since that fortunate day in 1997 when the ping-pong balls magically awarded Tim Duncan to San Antonio, the Spurs have written the instruction manual on how a small market team can achieve
While the Heat, Celtics, Spurs and Thunder have been slugging it out chasing an NBA title, teams from all over Europe have been battling to win their domestic league championships. With a stable of recent NBA draft picks, former NBA players and former NCAA stars currently playing high-pressure playoff games in Europe, now is a good time to check and see who has been stepping up this time of year. Spain (ACB) – Semifinals Regal Barcelona took a 2-1 advantage over Valencia
TEL AVIV — With the announcement of this year’s early entry candidates for the NBA draft, now is a good time to take a look at this season’s international crop. There are no clear cut stars coming from abroad in this year’s draft, but there are a few names that have a good chance to be solid contributors to teams down the line. (Click here to reach Tommy Dee’s column on 5 Hidden Gems among the Americans who ar entering the draft
TEL AVIV — After a long and arduous season, Maccabi Tel-Aviv took home the 2012 Adriatic league title with an 87-77 win Monday night over KK Cedevita Zagreb. This season, Maccabi Tel-Aviv has played in three separate leagues, playing well over 80 games in a compact schedule that often involved taking connecting flights around Europe to get to countries such as Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia. Despite the fact that Maccabi typically breezed past opponents in the Adriatic league, there was
Steven Smith is the starting power forward for the Greek team Panathinaikos, which will be competing in the Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul next month. After having a successful career at La Salle, where he was a two-time Atlantic 10 player of the year, the Philadelphia native took his talents overseas after a short spurt with the Philadelphia 76ers. After working his way through the ranks in Europe, Smith will get an opportunity to participate at the highest level of competition in
TEL AVIV — After yet another exciting game, Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Panathinaikos are set to face off in a do-or-die showdown in Greece next Thursday. Last night, Panathinaikos edged out Maccabi 78-69 in a grind-it-out duel, in which Panathinaikos held a mere three-point lead with two minutes remaining. Taking place in Tel-Aviv’s Nokia Arena, a relatively small gym that holds 11,000 rabid fans, the atmosphere had at least as much intensity as an NBA playoff game. Every possession was a battle,
In a rematch of last year’s Euroleague Championship, Maccabi Tel-Aviv is set to take on the Greek team, Panathinaikos, in the first round of the Euroleague playoffs. With both teams possessing several NBA-caliber talents, and Maccabi rolling with two of the top Greek players in Theo Papaloukas and Sofoklis “Sofo” Schortsanitis, this promises to be among the more exciting playoff battles. While two of the premier coaches in Europe, Zeljko Obradovic and David Blatt, will face off, this matchup contains some of