By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The real game starts in the play offs and that’s more than obvious in the NBA. After a strange regular season with many teams having an eye on the future – this is also called tanking by some – Eurohoops is ready to evaluate the stars who are still among the elite, those who are in danger of falling out of grace and the emerging new faces.
The top of top
The holly trinity of European basketball in the NBA consists of three legitimate All Stars who are more than important for their teams. Enter Tony Parker from France, Dirk Nowitzki from Germany and Marc Gasol from Spain. UPDATE: And we should also add to the top of the ladder one more French player, the winner of defensive player of the year award Joakim Noah of Chicago Bulls. We are more than sorry about our initial misjudgement of his great season.
Why those players are above the rest? Because they are not just pieces to a puzzle but cornerstones to their teams. Tony Parker, the reigning FIBA player of the year, is on a mission to “redeem” Spurs for last season’s finals, Dirk still is the franchise player of Dallas and 10th in the all time scoring list of the league, while Marc Gasol’s presence is the key for Memphis to succeed. He is the best passer playing the center position since Sabonis and the 21 games he missed due to injuries is the main reason for his team finishing seventh in the West. The same passing ability is the key for the leadership role of Noah in Chicago and he is also the heir of Marc Gasol in winning the DPOY award, creating a small streak for Europe.
Honorable mentions: Goran Dragic is one of the best point guards in the league, he exploded this season and he was part of the most fun to watch teams. He is not among the top, because the Suns missed the play offs. Still he got the well deserved most improved player award. Also Pau Gasol, despite losing his thunder from his younger brother, has more than great numbers. However, he coudln’t save the Lakers from a disastrous season.
The starters
Most European players who are making the jump to the NBA have the tools to succeed. That’s why many of them are key parts on their teams and they don’t end up being just role players. Portland’s Nicolas Batum, Cleveland’s Luol Deng, Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas, Minessota’s Nikola Pekovic and Ricky Rubio, Orlando’s Nick Vucevic, Dallas’ Jose Calderon, OKC’s Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha belong to that category. The newest addition in this list in Enes Kanter in Utah. Those are players who would be valuable assets for any team in the league and if you also add the top six names of the list you could make a case even for a Team USA vs Team World division in the All Star Game.
Important role players
Europeans always had a reputation of being great shooters and this tradition is upheld proudly by the latest three points shootout winner, Spurs‘ Marco Belinelli. Mirza Teletovic of the Nets also falls into this category. Evan Fournier and Timofey Mozgov in Denver provide quality minutes, Boris Diaw is doing the same in San Antonio and also the duo of Omri Casspi and Omer Asik in Houston. Nick Calathes of Memphis is part of this category but his season is ending on a sour note with a 20 games suspension. He has the NBPA on his side, however he is missing the play offs. His teammate and fellow country man Greek Kostas Koufos got the chance to show his talent during the injury of Gasol. Nets‘ former All Star Andrei Kirilenko despite diminished minutes can still do damage and that applies also to always reliable Beno Udrih who currently plays for Memphis. Two more veterans, Ersan Ilyasova and Zaza Pachulia, are doing their usual thing in Milwaukee and Jeff Taylor in Charlotte is building a career.
The surprises
Number one on this list is of course Pero Antic. The veteran two times Euroleague champion with Olympiacos is ready for the play offs with Atlanta as a starter. Yes, he got the role, because Al Horford is injured, but he is playing better than anyone expected. That been said also for rookie sensation Giannis Antetokounmpo. The mystery man of last season’s draft adapted in record time to the NBA and his potentials seem endless. So far he is the only European stand out from a draft that included many names from the old continent.
The unlucky ones
The Italian duo of Bargnani and Gallinari suffered from injuries and can’t be evaluated, even if Bargani’s games in New York are less than stellar. Gigi Datome never got a real chance in Detroit in what was essentially a lost season for all three of them. We add Donatas Motiejunas to this category, because he is a real talent, but in front of him there are Dwight Howard and Omer Asik. That makes difficult for him to find minutes.
On the way back..
It will not be a surprise to see some of the European players of the NBA even return to the old continent. This doesn’t mean that they will, but their value in the market is dropping real fast and if their contract ends, then it may be the end of the road for them. Jan Vesely of Denver is the most obvious case and also Tornike Shengelia is already waived by the Bulls. Andris Biendris of Utah is also a free agent, like Miroslav Raduljica of the Bucks and Nando De Colo of Toronto. Also players like Alexey Shved of Minessota and Jonas Jerebko of Detroit haven’t yet lived up to their potential and their future in their teams may be questionable.