• LeBron James is planning on switching his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 and the superstar wants all NBA players wearing #23 to retire the number in order to honor Michael Jordan, but is the King really making the change for altruistic reasons? We don’t think so.

• The 24-year old Andrew Bogut may never live up to the expectations of being the 2005 #1 overall draft pick, but if the 7-0 Aussie can continue being injury-free and putting up 15, 9, and 1.5 blocks while shooting over 55% from the field, no one in Milwaukee is going to protest too loudly despite other draft picks Deron Williams (#3), Chris Paul (#4), Andrew Bynum (#10),  and Danny Granger (#17) flourishing.

• Joakim Noah continues his improvement. The 6-11 center has recorded five-straight double-doubles including 15 points and 14 rebounds in last night’s 101-87 win over the Sacramento Kings. In fact, Noah has only had one game in which he didn’t have 10+ rebounds. For the season, the third-year player has started all 10 games for the Bulls and is averaging 12.1 points, 12.4 rebounds , 2.1 assists, and 2.0 blocks.

• Ask Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a question about his recent Leukemia announcement.

• After being let go by the Houston Rockets on Friday, Pops Mensah-Bonsu was immediately picked up by the Toronto, where Pops had a career-season in 2008-09. Mensah-Bonsu suited up for the Raptors last night; played six minutes, scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the Rap’s 130-112 setback to the Nuggets. Pops played just 12 minutes with the Rockets before being waived.

• Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 16 points off the bench last night in the Toronto’s 130-112 loss to the Nuggets. The 6-5 shooter from Italy is averaging 8.9 points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Raptors this season.

• David Andersen, former Euroleague star pivot, hit 9-14 shots and scored a career-high 19 points off the bench in the Houston Rocket’s 101-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.  The 6-11 center-forward from Australia also pulled in 6 rebounds.

• Who are your 2009-10 NBA All-Stars?

• Sasha Pavlović scored 30 points off the bench in two Minnesota losses (17 vs the Golden State, 13 points vs. Portland). Previously, Pavlović had yet to reach double-figures all season and had scored just 33 points combined in the season’s first seven games. After the Timberwolves won their first game of the season against the New Jersey Nets, they have since dropped 10 straight.

• After Allen Iverson was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies because of disagreements over his playing time, Iverson still wants to play in the NBA, but really, who would want him after such a public debacle that was basically a temper-tantrum? An NBA team would really have to be desperate to… oh wait the Knicks want him. Makes sense.

A few days ago, we looked at five NBA teams with the least amount of international diversity.

From a look at the comments, it definitely hit a nerve with many readers. The overall feeling was that international diversity didn’t really matter; that Interbasket was creating some form of controversy out of nothing.

(Discuss the NBA’s international diversity in our NBA forum)

We told you to check back with us, and we would go over the NBA teams with the most international diversity and we’d talk about how it correlated with wins/losses and team success.

How we did it
We analyzed all 30 NBA team rosters and determined how many players played for that particular team the last five NBA seasons, then added up how many of those spots were occupied by foreign-born players.

We know it’s a simple way of looking at team diversity, but we feel that the data we collected can give some insight into which teams are more open to having international players on their roster.

We found that NBA teams had an average of 17 players on their roster during the last five seasons, and of those 17 players, NBA teams average about 3 international players on those rosters, for an average of 16% of their total rosters.

In our list of the top-5 most internationally-diverse NBA teams, each of the teams in the list averaged 25% diversity or more, that’s an international player for every four roster spots.

1. Golden State Warriors

Int’l players in last five years: 27/88
International Diversity Index: 30.68%
Winning Percentage: .468
Of the 88 available roster spots throughout the last five complete NBA seasons, the Warriors had international players in 27 of those spots, or 30.7%.

Two seasons saw the Warriors boast seven international players on their roster; most recently in 2006-07 when their roster included Andris Biedrins (Latvia), Kelenna Azubuike (England), Marco Belinelli (Italy), Mickael Pietrus (France), Stephane Lasme, DJ Mbenga (Belgium), and Kosta Perovic.

Since the 2005 NBA draft, the Warriors have had eleven draft picks, using three of those on internationally-born prospects.

In the last five season, no other NBA team boasted seven international players on their roster in any one season. Golden State did it twice in the last five years; it’s a testament to their international diversity.

2. San Antonio Spurs

Int’l players in last five years: 26/89
International Diversity Index: 29.21%
Winning Percentage: .725
With the success of Manu Ginóbili and Tony Parker, arguably the most successful international players in the last five years, it’s no big surprise that the Spurs are high up on the international diversity list.

Out of 89 roster spots, 26 were filled by international players over the last five seasons, making San Antonio second in best international diversity with 29.21%.

Manu and Parker form two parts of the big three (some would argue that Tim Duncan is also an international player) that has brought two championships in the last five seasons, and three in the last seven seasons.

With the consistency of Manu and Parker on their roster the last five years, the Spurs have added contributions from other foreign-born players in Beno Udrih, Fabricio Oberto, Francisco Elson, and Rasho Nesterović as well as using their draft picks on more international players over the last five years (6) than domestically-developed players (5).

3. Toronto Raptors

Int’l players in last five years: 23/86
International Diversity Index: 26.74%
Winning Percentage: .453
A team based in Canada should be open to international players and the Toronto Raptors comes in as the third-most popular destination for international NBA players.

With 86 roster spots in the last five years, 23 (26.74%) were filled by foreign-born players like Jose Calderon of Spain and Andrea Bargnani of Italy. Adding to their international flavor, the Raps have drafted 4 foreign-born players with their 9 draft picks over the last five drafts.

During this summer, the Raptors picked up coveted free-agent Hedo Türkoğlu of Turkey and traded for Marco Belinelli of Italy.

4. Utah Jazz

Int’l players in last five years: 20/77International Diversity Index: 25.97%
Winning Percentage: .550
The Jazz, along with the Wizards, have had the least amount of roster fluctuations in the last five years, averaging  just a little bit over 15 spots per season.

Still Jerry Sloan’s team has boasted Andrei Kirilenko (Russia) and Mehmet Okur (Turkey) the last five seasons, as well as Gordon Giricek (Croatia) for four seasons.

During that same span, the Jazz have drafted four international players with their 13 NBA draft picks. The Jazz’s international diversity stands as the fourth-best in the league at 25.97%

5. Phoenix Suns

Int’l players in last five years: 21/84
International Diversity Index: 25%
Winning Percentage: .695
It seems that any team touched by Mike D’Antoni, who was a star guard in Italy, will have do well in international diversity.

Even though the Suns haven’t suited up an international draft pick since 2005, they have used a third of their draft selections (4/12) on players like Marcin Gortat (Poland), Sergio Rodriguez (Spain), and Rudy Fernández (Spain).

With 2-time NBA MVP Steve Nash (Canada) running the team the last five years, Leandro Barbosa of Brazil backing him up during that time, and Boris Diaw (France) playing a large role in four seasons, the Suns have no problem finding and keeping international talent.

International Diversity and NBA Success
Ok, so why does international diversity matter? The last four years has seen two NBA teams win an NBA championship without one international player on their roster, so were interested to find out if there was any correlation between success and the amount of international players.

On the surface and by itself, it doesn’t matter, but I believe that it gives some insight into the a club’s overall dedication to team success.

It’s not foolproof, but International diversity correlated with a higher-success as far as wins/losses:

The top ten teams that had the most international players on their rosters over the last five years won an average of 47 games in a season (.571%) during that span, while the bottom ten teams won an average of just 36 games per season (.441%).

That’s a difference of 11 games, and 55 games over five seasons.

You can find the 10 most-internationally diverse and the 10-least diverse NBA teams below (with international diversity and winning percentage):

1. Golden State Warriors (30.68%, .468)
2. San Antonio Spurs (29.21%, .725)
3. Toronto Raptors (26.74%, .453)
4. Utah Jazz (25.97%, .550)
5. Phoenix Suns (25.00%, .695)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (24.69%, .395)
7. Denver Nuggets (23.86%, .605)
8. Dallas Mavericks (23.81%, .715)
9. Los Angeles Lakers (23.17%, .608)
10. Cleveland Cavs (21.84%, .633)

21. Los Angeles Clippers (11.70%, .415)
22. Sacramento Kings (11.24%, .455)
23. Charlotte Bobcats (10.87%, .360)
24. Minnesota TWolves (8.86%, .387)
25. Philadelphia 76ers (8.75%, .492)
26. Washington Wizards (7.79%, .475)
27. Miami Heat (6.67%, .532)
28. Indiana Pacers (4.71%, .480)
29. New York Knicks (4.40%, .360)
30. Boston Celtics (3.75%, .575)

Again, we are not saying that international diversity directly equals team success, but is only one factor that can be looked at as far as how NBA clubs function and maintain, providing resources, budget, scouting, as well as other operations.

We can all agree that not all NBA franchises are created equal as far as the daily operations and management.

The 2009-10 NBA Season: Same Patterns
Going into this season, it seems that the pattern is continuing.

Just yesterday, we posted about the NBA teams with the most international diversity on their opening day roster, and again, the team with the most international diversity was in our top-six (Milwaukee Bucks), and the bottom three teams included teams NBA clubs that were on the bottom of our international diversity list; the Celtics (#30), the Pacers (#28), as well as the Clippers (#21).

Does this pattern really matter?  Is it really just a coincidence or is there something about teams that consistently find themselves at the top and bottom of international diversity?

The Toronto Raptor’s two Italian players Andrea Bargnani and Marco Belinelli will make an appearance at this weekend’s Sport & Design.it event being held at at Yonge-Dundas Square in downtown Toronto.

The two will appear Saturday, October 24, 2009, from 3:00-4:00 p.m.

The Sport & Design.it exhibition is a ten-day event of Italian-made sporting goods and apparel held at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto from October 22-31, 2009.

To learn more about the Sport & Design.it exhibit, please visit www.italy4sportdesign.ca or check out the official press release here.

The NBA season is upon us and the clubs were in action this past week with NBA Media Day – a chance for the local and national media to interview the players about this upcoming season, have the players stick their feet in their mouth, pose for photographs, and have a jolly old time.

Below is an image gallery of International NBA players during the NBA’s 2009-10 media day.

[Show as slideshow]

(Photos are courtesy of the AP, Reuters, Getty Images, and the NBA)

For the second-year in a row, Kobe Bryant has topped the list of the most popular NBA jerseys in Europe.

Bryant also has the most popular jersey in the U.S. Bryant, who was recently named the most-hated basketball player, continues to polarize; a player that is so popular around the world, can also be the most-disliked.

The top four most popular jerseys were Kevin Garnett of the Boston Celtics (#2), Pau Gasol of the Lakers (#3) and last year’s MVP LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers (#4). Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat was at #5 on the list followed by Tony Parker of France at #6.

The full list of the most popular fifteen jerseys are below:

1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
3. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers
4. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
5. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
6. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
7. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
8. Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors
9. Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors
10. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
11. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
12. Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trailblazers
13. Marco Belinelli, Golden State Warriors
14. Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
15. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards

Though American-born players dominate the top of the list, international players, especially from the Toronto Raptors, fill six of the spots from from slots 8-15.

Starting with Italy‘s Andrea Bargnani at #8, comes José Calderón at #9, then Germany‘s Dirk Nowitzki (#11), Spain‘s Rudy Fernández (#12), Italy’s Marco Belinelli (#13), and France’s Joakim Noah (#14).

Here’s betting that if Danilo Gallinari does half as well as expected, he’ll be in the top-10 next season.

The Most Popular NBA Jerseys in Europe list is based on sales from retail locations across Europe during the 2008-09 NBA season.

Just when Interbasket was getting all excited the Toronto Raptors and all the international players they had on their roster…

Now comes this rumour that the Canadian NBA franchise is trading away Argentinian Carlos Delfino and Croatian backup point guard Roko Ukić to the Milwukee Bucks for Amir Johnson.

If true, Toronto will no longer have as many international players.

However the Raps still have the potential for the first ever (?), all-international NBA lineup with José Calderón running the point, Marco Belinelli at shooting guard, Hedo Türkoğlu at small forward, Andrea Bargnani at the four, and veteran backup center Rasho Nesterović.

Belinelli and Nesterović would be backups, but as long as all five remain healthy, the situation is highly-likely this next season.

Delfino left the NBA at the beginning of the 2008-09 season to sign with Russian club Khimki. Delfino has since left Russia because the club could no longer afford to pay the 6-6 shooting guard.  The Raptors owned Delfino’s NBA rights.

The 6-5 point guard Ukic played 12 minutes a game for the Raptors and averaged 4.2 points and 2.1 assists in his first NBA season.  Ukic is 24 years old.

Amir Johnson is a 22-year old, 6-9 forward that was drafted by the Detroit Pistons #56 overall in 2005.  Johnson played his entire career with the Pistons before being traded to the Bucks this offseason as a part of a three-team trade that sent Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs.

Nicolas Batum” src=”http://www.interbasket.net/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/france-coach-nicolas-batum1.jpg” alt=”France’s coach Vincent Collet speaks with Nicolas Batum” width=”267″ height=”196″ />

Cagliari, Italy - Without Tony Parker, who is nursing a mild ankle spain in San Antonio, Team France squeezed out a 80-77 win over Italy in the EuroBasket 2009 Additional Qualifying Round.

With the win, France takes a key step in qualifying for the Eurobasket tournament in September.

After two free throws by Marco Belinelli with 33 seconds remaining, the game was tied at 66.  Ronny Turiaf and Nicolas Batum both missed as regulation ended, taking the game to overtime.  Les Bleus went on a 10-2 run in the extra period to seal the win.

Is France a stronger team with Tony Parker?  Without a doubt.  However, let us not forget that France still boasts a talented roster that features Turiaf, Batum, Boris Diaw, Florent Piétrus, Johan Petro, and 2009 NBA draft pick Nando De Colo.

Florent Piétrus, Mickaël’s older brother, and Batum led Team France with 20 points a piece.  Boris Diaw added 15 points for Les Bleus.  The 21-year old Batum added 8 rebounds for the winners.

Italy was led by Marco Belinelli’s 26 points while Angelo Gigli added 13 and Andrea Bargnani 10 for the Italians.

In Group A action, Bosnia & Herzegovina defeated Portugal 62-56 led by rising star Nihad Dedovic’s 15 points.

France along with five other teams, Italy, Finland Portugal, Belgium, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are battling for the last berth to Eurobasket.  The tournament’s winner will head to Poland for the all-important Eurobasket 2009.

France’s next game will be against Finland on Saturday.  Parker leads the team with a 26.8 point average in AQR games and is expected to be back in uniform in time for the match against Finland.

The senior national teams from Italy and Canada participated in a “friendly” game Saturday night that ended in a brawl between the two teams (discuss)

Physical play between Italy’s Stefano Mancinelli and Canada’s Aaron Doornekamp at the end of the game prompted the fight between the two teams. After being pushed, Mancinelli delivers an elbow to the back of the Doornekamp’s head.

Belinelli and Andrea Bargnani will suit up for the Toronto Raptors, Canada’s only NBA franchise, next season and are seen in the video trying to diffuse the situation between the two teams.

Italian team captain Matteo Soragna apologized on the Italy’s behalf after the game, “I am sorry that it happened. The team has responded as one and that is a positive, although we did not want the incident to happen.”

This was the second match between the two teams. Italy had defeated Canada 91-69 last week in the Trentino Cup and played each other again in preparation for upcoming tournament games..

On August 5th, Italy will face France on their quest to qualify for the Eurobasket tournament. While Canada is preparing for the Tournament of the Americas that begins on August 26, 2009.

This is the second fight in as many weeks that has occured in a “friendly” game. A brawl between Iran and Jordan erupted during the William Jones Cup last month that eventually cost Jordan the Cup championship.

The Toronto Raptors, already the third most-international roster in the NBA last season, just added to their global diversity.

The Raptors picked up 6-5 Italian Marco Belinelli to a roster that already included six international players.

Toronto traded 31-year old journeyman Devean George and “cash considerations” to the Golden State Warriors for Belinelli.

The 23-year old Belinelli joins newly-acquired Hedo Türkoğlu of Turkey, fellow countryman Andrea Bargnani, as well as José Calderón (Spain), Roko Ukić (Croatia), Rasho Nesterović (Slovenia), and Pops Mensah-Bonsu (England).

The addition of Belinelli gives Toronto seven legitmate international players that can realistically play anywhere from 7-42 minutes a game next season.

Belinelli never found touch in Bay Area
After being drafted 18th overall by Golden State in the 2007 NBA Draft, Belinelli first made splashes stateside with his spectacular shooting performances in the NBA summer league.

But he quickly found himself on the bench during the regular season with a glut of shooting guards ahead of him – namely Monta Ellis, Kelenna Azubuike, Mickaël Piétrus, and sometimes Stephen Jackson.

He played much more in his second season, but the Warriors still lost 53 games.  Going into his third season, the prospects of more playing time was not looking good especially with the development of Anthony Morrow and the Warrior’s selecting NCAA standout guard Stephen Curry in the 2009 draft.

With the Raptors, Belinelli will compete against rookie shooting guard DeMar DeRozan for playing time this upcoming season.  Belinelli averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 assists, and nearly one steal per game in 21 minutes last season.  He also shot 44.2% from the field and 39.7% from three.

Serge Ibaka, the Congalese big man that was drafted #24th overall in last year’s NBA draft, has signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 6-10, 220lb Ibaka was drafted in 2008 by the Seattle Supersonics before the team moved to Oklahoma City for the 2009 season.

Serge spent last season playing professionally with Ricoh Manresa of the Spanish ACB League.

Originally from Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, the 19-year old Ibaka is an athletic power forward that isn’t afraid of initiating contact and physical play, but still lacks offensive refinement.

Ibaka was named MVP of the 2008 Nike Eurocamp. previous MVPs include Andrea Bargnani, Rudy Fernández, Roko Ukić and Marco Belinelli.

The Oklahoma City Thunder also announced the signing of their 2009 draft picks, guard James Harden and center B.J. Mullens.

Links and Resources:  Serge Ibaka earns Nike Eurocamp MVP (Interbasket Forums)

• Nenad Krstic is on his way back to the NBA. The Serbian center that left the NBA after last season has reportedly left Russia and has signed a 3-year $16 million offer sheet with the Oklahoma City Thunder.  The New Jersey Nets now have a week to match the terms of the multi-year agreement.  If not, Krstic will most-likely slip into the starting lineup where other international centers, Johan Petro (France) and Mouhamed Sene (Senegal), have failed.

• Who knew Rex Walters (pictured right) was half-Asian? The San Francisco Chronicle recently featured a great article on Asian American basketball players and how negative perceptions and stereotypes have followed them at every level of the game, from playing to coaching (Dec 21).

• Euroleague superstar Nikola Vujcic hits the 2000 point milestone in his eight-season career.  The Croatian center is only the fifth player this decade to hit that mark joining Marcus Brown, Luis Scola, Jr Holden, & Jaka Lakovic.  The milestone doesn’t sound like much when compared to NBA milestones, but when you factor that the Euroleague plays less than 20 games a season, each game of which are 8 minutes shorter, it holds more water.  (Decc 20th)

• In the final three minutes of the Phoenix-Denver game, Steve Nash scores eight-straight points as he outshoots Mr. Big Shot (Chauncey Billups) in the Sun’s 108-101 win over the Nuggets  (Dec 20th)

• Filling in for Drew Gooden, Andres Nocioni made his first start of the season and contributed 15 points, 8 rebounds and usual bulldog energy in Chicago’s 106-98 triumph over the Utah Jazz.  And when Nocioni gets  minutes, he has contributed.  Nocioni has averaged 17.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists over his last three games (Dec 20th)

• Tony Parker has near triple-double in 107-97 win over Toronto. The 26 year-old  records 24 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds.  I can’t believe Parker is only 26 years old, he seems as if he’s been in the league for like 10 years (actually eight), and barring injuries, will be in the league at least another seven years.  The French guard will likely reach 20,000 points and 6,500 assists by the end of his career… (Dec 20th)

• I’ve only seen 2 Gonzaga games this season and both times I have seen Jeremy Pargo  give the game away with multiple bonehead plays.  The starting playermaker for the Bulldogs has committed 12 turnovers in the Bulldogs’ two losses this season.  He was right to pull out of the NBA draft.  Pargo may have the skills, but the decision-making is not ready for the NBA.  Heck, his decision-making isn’t suited to be the leader of Gonzaga.  (Dec 20th)

• Danilo Gallinari has been out all season with a back injury, but the 20-year old Italian rookie is feeling better and has reportedly been running and participating in shooting drills according to Newsday.  (Dec 20th)

• Boris Diaw goes for 26 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists in Charlotte’s 112-83 blowout over Memphis. In the last four games, the French forward has averaged 19.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4 assists, shot 57% from the field, and the Bobcats have won two of the four games.  The 26-year old’s passing ability has made Charlotte’s offense a little less ad-hoc – since arriving in Charlotte, the Bobcats average nearly eight more points and shoot 3.5% better from the field. (Dec 20th)

• Even though the Warriors are miserable, Marco Belinelli has played well with an increased role. In a loss to Atlanta, he scored 27 points and passed out 6 assists.  In the loss to the Indiana Pacers, the 6-5 Italian had 21 pts (5-8 on threes), 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 38 minutes of play.  In the last four games, the Italian has averaged 20.3pts on 52 FG% (Dec 19th).

• If new evidence provided is true, Yi Jianlian is REALLY 24 years old and not 21 years old as we’ve all been led to believe.  (Dec 19th)

• Mike Kahn of Fox Sports passed away this week at the age of 54.  Mr. Kahn was truly one of the best basketball/NBA writers in the business.  Kahn was intelligent, empathetic, honest, and was one of my favorite sports writers.  I always looked forward to his weekly “Ten Things we Learned in the NBA” and enjoyed his passion and understanding of the game.  I know I didn’t know you personally, but Rest in Peace, Mike Kahn.  (Dec 19th)  Mike Kahn: Pioneer of Web journalism, loving father (FoxSports.com).

• Toronto has cleared Aborigine Nathan Jawai to begin workouts. The 6-10 rookie from Australia has sat out the entire NBA season due to a heart abnormality and is really eager to get in shape and back on the court.  He is so overzealous that it concerns some of Toronto’s staff, “(Jawai) was going from one (wight) machine to the next trying every singleone,” said Jay Triano, head coach of the Toronto Raptors.(Dec 17th)

• Luke Nevill of Utah (NCAA) is a 7-foot senior from Australia and is averaging 17.2 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks.  (Dec 17th)

• Swiss NBA-baller Thabo Sefolosha began the season as a starter, but now finds himself deep on the Bull’s bench totaling only 10 mins in the last nine games.  However, the 24-year old is staying positive and staying prepared, “You have to get your mind off the playing time. You work for down the line. It’s not the five or six games I didn’t play that matters, it’s the next game, five games, 10 games that matter.” said Sefolosha…   (Dec 16th)

• Woowee…  I know Yao gets dunked on a lot, but the Nene dunk on Yao during the second-quarter of the Denver-Houston game was particularly rim-rattling? Yikes. Despite getting dunked on by Nene, Yao shrugged off another facial and went on to lead the Rockets to a 108-96 win over Denver with 32 points & 7 rebounds. (Dec 16th)

• Idiot L.A. Times writer calls Puerto Rican guard JJ Barea, “MEXICAN SMURF“… check out #13 of their power rankings.  (Dec 16th)

• With Dwight Howard out, Marcin Gortat (Poland) has started in his place for the Orlando Magic.  And in Orlando’s 109-98 win over the Golden State Warriors, the 6-11 center recorded career highs in points (16) and  rebounds (13), as well as blocking three shots.  The Magic have won both games with Gortat in the middle. (Dec 16th)

For more you can follow Interbasket’s twitter account @ www.twitter.com/interbasket

The Toronto Raptors are out to a 2-0 start with Jose Calderon as the starting point guard.  After the Raptors traded away TJ Ford this past summer, they all but handed the starting role to Calderon, and so far results are good.  Yeah, it’s two games into the season, but I like building it up, ok?

Playing 37 minutes a game, the Spanish point guard is averaging a double-double, 14.5 points and 10 assists, in wins over Philadephia and Golden State.  Calderon has only accumulated two turnovers, for a gaudy 10-1 assist to turnover ratio.

His backup, rookie Roki Leni-Ukic, is still probably still trying to adapt to the gameplay.  Ukic is getting 12 minutes a game, shooting just 20% from the field, and averaging 2.0 points and 2.0 assists.  Former number one draft pick Andrea Bargnani went from going scoreless in Toronto’s first game, to shooting 8-10 for 19 points in the second game.   The 23-year old, 6-10 Italian is averaging 9.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks.

With Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest in tow, Yao Ming has led the Rockets to 2-0 start.  The 7-5 center is averaging 25.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks on 58% shooting from the field.  Big Yao has also hit all 17 of his free throws, downing Memphis in their first game and withstanding Dirk Nowitzki‘s 36 point outburst in Dallas’s home debut.

Filipino Spoelstra gets First Win
Erik Spoelstra is the coach of the Miami Heat and has never played in the NBA, which is a rarity for a coach in the league.  But even more rare is that he is the first Filipino-American coach ever in the four major professional sports in the United States (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL).

HIs mother is from the Laguna, Philippines and his father Joel Spoelstra, is Dutch-Irish and was an NBA executive for three NBA teams.

Spoelstra got his first win last night when the Heat destroyed the Sacramento Kings 103-77 on Halloween.  The win was a balanced attack that saw four of the five starters score at least 13 points; Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem, Shawn Marion and rookie Michael Beasley all hit double-figures.  As did bench players Daquan Cook and Mark Blount.

The Heat players recognized Spoelstra’s win by honoring him with the game ball and placing him in the middle of a 16-man locker room hug.  “They tried to mess up my hair,” Spoelstra said.

Spoelstra is 37 years old and is the NBA’s youngest coach this season.  He turns 38 today, November 1st.  Happy Birthday Eric!

Denver rejoices, Nene has started out the season on the active list (not injured) and showing promise.  The physical Brazilian center is putting up 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and hitting 63.6% from the field including 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks in a overtime win over the Clippers.  Nene has also fouled out of both games, showing his aggressiveness hasn’t suffered while on the injured list.

On the other side of Denver, Linas Kleiza hasn’t had such a great start.  The 6-8 Lithuanian has been inserted into the starting lineup because of Carmelo Anthony’s two-game suspension, but his performance isn’t anything to write home about (home being Kaunas, Lithuania).  Kleiza is shooting 3-16 from the field (18.8%) to the tune of 5.0 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Maybe it has something to do with Kleiza not being offered an extension by the Nuggets yesterday. That means Denver can match any NBA offer after the season, but there’s a chance Kleiza may head home to Europe.  “Denver definitely is (my first choice), but there are a lot of opportunities out there,” said Kleiza. “Europe being so big and things. Such big money now. Being from Europe, it’s definitely something I’m going to have to consider.”

Stay tuned, Kleiza could be the next Bostjan Nachbar, Juan Carlos Navarro, or Nenad Krstic, NBA players that went back to Europe.

Another international player moved into the starting lineup and not performing in his first two games is Thabo Sefolosha of Switzerland.  The defensive player is shooting just 37.5%, and has just nine points, three rebounds and one assist in 30 minutes of play.  The 6-7 guard/forward does have three steals and has hit all his free-throws (3-3), but definitely needs to crank up his play to justify the starting role.  Me thinks that Thabo is a rhythm player, and since the Bulls aren’t playing so well, that reflects on Sefolosha’s play.  We’ll see if I am right.

Karma for putting up with the ‘Jailblazer’ Era
This must be karma for Portland fans that had to sit through the Jailblazer era.  A ten-year span that saw players like Isaiah Rider, Reuben Patterson, Zach Randolph, Bonzi Wells, Rasheed Wallace, Shawn Kemp, Qyntel Woods et. al. run roughshod over Portland’s reputation.  I should know, I was a Portland fan back then.

Now, what an exciting time it must be to be a Portland fan, their roster is packed with young and exciting players with much potential, and unquestioned character – such as Greg Oden, Lamarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Channing Frye, and Steve Blake.

Twelve of the Fifteen players on their roster (including inactive players) are 25 years or younger.  Three of which are international players- Sergio Rodriguez, and rookies Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum.

Interbasket hearts Rudy Fernandez.  He is smart, aggressive, has serious ups, and is a feisty, savvy shot maker -  he’s basically a right-handed Manu Ginobili.  Rudy’s debut was nice, but his second game wasn’t nearly as successful (6 points, 8 rebounds, 1-6 shooting).

Who cares…. Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! (blind fanboy love here)

Rudy’s Portland teammate and fellow NBA rookie Nicolas Batum had a much better game in his second NBA game.  The 19-year old Frenchman with a huge wingspan and calm demeanor contributed 12 points and 2 blocks in the Blazer’s 100-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Oh, and one of his two blocks came when he stuffed Tim Duncan’s dunk attempt (see image).  Rumors are that Portland coach Nate McMillan has seen so much potential in the young Batum, that he has been toying around with putting Batum in the starting lineup.  And it’s not just McMillan that sees him, Portland’s leader on the floor, Brandon Roy thinks highly of Batum also, “Honestly, I think (Batum) might be able to start at the three.’

And San Antonio has lost their first two games, by a total of six points.  Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are coming strong out of the gate, avergaing 29.5 and 28 points respectively, but they are obviously missing Manu Ginobili, who is out with ankle injury, and Fabricio Oberto, who is sidelined with a irregular heartbeat.  Oberto will be back for San Antonio’s third game, and Ginobili is out until mid-December.  Parker is also dishing out 8.0 assists and shooting 53.5% from the field.

Mickael Pietrus had a decently successful debut for the Orlando Magic, putting up 20 points and 3 rebounds, the only thing he didn’t get was a win.  In Orlando’s second game, Pietrus only hit 1-6 shots for 3 points, 5 fouls in only 17 minutes of run.  Hedo Turkoglu has averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Magic.  The Magic have lost both their games thus far, their second game on a buzzer beating jumper from Rudy Gay.

Pietrus’ old teammate Andris Biedrins, an Interbasket favorite, has also started out 0-2.  However, the 7-0 Latvian is continuing his strong play for Golden State, 14 points and 12 rebounds against New Orleans, and 17 points and 13 rebounds against Toronto.  The 22-year old Biedrins is shooting nearly 62% in his first two games, which is expected, but Biedrins is shooting terribly from the line, just 5-13, for 38.5% from the line.

And we are mad with joy that Kelenna Azubuike is getting some run and shots at the basket, going for 15 and 17 points in the Warrior’s first two games.  Once the 24-year old English player finds his groove, and Monta Ellis returns, the combination of the two and Biedrins will keep the Warriors exciting at the very least.  Now if only Marco Belinelli could get some playing time…

Postscript: Mike D’Antoni puts Stephon Marbury on the inactive list, after riding the bench the entire first game. Marbury had met with coach D’Antoni if he was going to play on Friday. When told he would not be seeing action, Marbury reportedly requested he be put on the inactive list. D’Antoni and the guard mutually agreed to take that action for Friday’s game.

Links and Resources: Jose Calderon turns up the Heat on Raptor’s PG Situation (Interbasket), Nuggets opt not to offer extension to Kleiza (Rocky Mountain News), Miami Heat: Fun Facts (ESPN), Spurs’ Oberto sidelined by irregular heartbeat (Yahoo!), Brandon Roy thinks Batum could start for the Blazers (SLAM),  Nicolas Batum: Gets Start Tuesday (Yahoo), NBA Highlights October 31, 2008 (YouTube), Knicks put Marbury on Inactive List (Yahoo!),

With Detroit Piston’s rookie Rodney Stuckey recently being named to the 2008 NBA all-Rookie second-team and his performances in the 2008 playoffs (while filling in for an injured Chauncey Billups), Darko Milicic is getting further haranged for things not directly in his control.

In February 2006, after Darko rode the Detroit bench for 2 1/2 years, the Detroit Pistons unloaded the infamous Milicic (and Carlos Arroyo) to the Orlando Magic for what eventually turned out to be Rodney Stuckey, the 15th pick on the 2007 NBA draft, and Kelvin Cato.  “Milicic is long gone, Arroyo has hardly played lately, and Stuckey might become the key to this series.  (Stuckey’s) performance — good or bad — could change the complexion of this best-of-seven second-round NBA playoff matchup.”

You know, I get their point.  However this type of media speculation bothers me and only serves to fuel flames that doesn’t need to be fanned.  I don’t love or hate Darko, but who says that Orlando Magic would have even picked up Stuckey if they retained the pick anyways?  The Magic could have easily have picked up Nick Young (#16), Sean Williams (17), Marco Bellineli (18), Javaris Crittenton (19), or Jason Smith (20) and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.  I’m not asserting that Young, Williams, Bellineli are busts, not at all, I am just saying that it’s very convenient to make those jumps when a player does well.

Sources: Pistons’ Rodney Stuckey sore reminder of Darko deal for Magic (Detroit Free Press), Pistons get Cato, first-round pick for Darko, Arroyo (ESPN), 2007 NBA Draft (Wikipedia)

This week we look at the Anderson Varejao’s return to Cleveland, Manu’s amazing week, Tony Parker without Tim Duncan, international baby-Bulls, Marco Belinelli says no to the NBDL, Jose Calderon’s consistency, and the Seattle Sonics’ Mickael Gelabale, Johan Petro and Mohamed Sene. Every Wednesday during the NBA season, interbasket takes a closer look at ten international NBA players that has caught our eye. (This week is for period 12/06 – 12/11/2007)

Anderson Varejao Debuts (Only 20 games into the Season!)
From causing chaos off the court, to causing chaos back on the court (and getting paid millions for it), Anderson Varejao made his first appearance this season last night vs. the Pacers. We couldn’t get a good reading on how the Cavs fans took to him as he entered the game the same time as the back-from-injury Lebron James and Larry Hughes.

It was a really smart move reportedly initiated by Lebron James, “I thought it would raise the intensity of the fans, having me, Larry and Andy come in at the same time — and it worked,” James said. “I thought by coming in with Andy it might stop some of the boos Andy might get, just protecting my teammates.”

A King manipulating his subjects, unheard of! Though Varejao ended up playing well in his return (6 points and 9 rebounds in 23 minutes), I would have loved to see how the Cleveland crowd would have reacted to a player that basically stated that he would never play for Cleveland again.

In case you’re wondering, I would have boo’ed him.

Manu Ginobili: Where Amazing Happens
Is there any player more unique in the NBA today than the Spur’s Argentine wonder Manu Ginobili? He’s not exactly blessed with overwhelming athleticism, high-flying grace, imposing physical power or the picture-perfect jumpshot, but that’s one of the reasons why it makes him the most unique player in the league.

Without Tim Duncan in the lineup, Manu herked, jerked and sidestepped his way to the hoop and shot his left-handed crossbow jumper to the tune of consecutive 37-point performances. Both came in wins over two very tough teams (Dallas and Utah) before the Spurs (and Manu) fell back to earth in a terrible showing against the equally-unique Golden State Warriors last night. In just 28 minutes, Manu managed only 13 points and 5 turnovers as the Warriors collapsed on Ginobili every time he attacked the basket.

But lets not dwell too much on last night’s game… let’s focus on his two amazing 37 point outings. In these days of detailed player reports (even my mom knows he’s going left) Manu is one of those special players that can get to the basket almost every time down the floor. And he did against the Mavericks and the Jazz, bringing the Spurs to victory despite the odds. Really, would you have thought that the Spurs would have been able to beat Dallas and Utah without Tim Duncan? Me neither.

A little fun fact about Manu: Ginobili’s top-five scoring games in his career (the Spurs have won all five), three of them have come when Tim Duncan has been out of the lineup – Manu went for 40 points against Atlanta, and the aforementioned back-to-back 37 point games.

What makes the Spur’s wins more amazing was the fact that Tony Parker’s perfomances in that same span were terrible. TP shot only 38%, averaged 16.6 pts and only 5.3 assists; stats all well below his season averages. Last week we talked about the critics that were going to watch Mr. Longaria’s boxscores with a discriminating eye, hoping to prove their contentions that Parker is the player he is only because of Tim Duncan. Well, Tony, I have to say that although stats don’t always say everything, you didn’t help your case this last week despite winning 2 of 3.

International Bulls Update: Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni
After the Chicago Bulls had such an awesome 06-07 season, it seemed as if all the Baby Bulls were going to come together this season and make a serious run for the Eastern conference. However, that hasn’t quite happened as the Bulls have struggled waiting for Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon to find their shots. Both are shooting less than 39% from the field this season and it’s not a secret that the Bulls need those two to bring up their percentages in order to succeed. And though much relies on Hinrich and Gordon, the poor-shooting is all over their roster; nine of their 14 players are shooting sub-40% from the field. Hell, even Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas are shooting less than 40% and all those two do are mostly dunk the ball – ok that’s not entirely true for Thomas, but it sounds good, right?

Anyways, I wanted to highlight that though the Bulls aren’t meeting expectations, the two main international Bulls are shooting over 40% and are quietly putting up decent stats despite the atmosphere.

Last season it was all about Luol Deng, whom had a breakout season and was on the cusp of becoming a perennial 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assist on 50% from the field guy. He was the silent assassin, hitting corner jumpers with ease, going to the boards on both ends, and cutting to the basket for easy layups. Deng is one of those players that does everything right – a coaches dream player.

The Sudanese-born forward had a slow start to the season, but has steadily ratcheted up his game – 17.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists on 47% from the floor – all number below last season, but are climbing as he gets his flow. As the Bulls continue to improve through the course of this season and their offense will begin to flow , look for Deng’s numbers to rise above the 20-point level.

Andres Nocioni is another player that is key to the Bulls success. The aggressive Argentine forward goes hard to the hoop on offense, goes to the floor on defense, and is that energy player for the Bulls. The funny thing about Nocioni, he is one of those rare players that attacks the hoop and plays such intense defense but also has a great three-point shot.

The 28-year old Nocioni is putting up a career-high 15.2 points thus far along with 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists. His shooting isn’t where it has been the last two seasons, but he isn’t too far off from those percentages. Like Deng, Nocioni offense will only benefit when the Bulls fnd their groove, but I wouldn’t look for Andres points to get much higher than they are now, but his FG% should improve. Now get a haircut Noc, that hair is whack.

Steve Nash Passes Out
Steve Nash has been on fire… wait, can you be on-fire when it comes to assists? In the last seven games, Nash has dished AT LEAST 14 assists in each of those seven games — averaging 16 assists in that stretch and good for a gaudy 6-1 assist/turnover ratio. In the same timeframe, Nash has shot an un-Nash like 40% from the field and missed his first three free-throws of the season.

I remember the beginning of the season, Nash was scoring at a higher-pace and not passing out nearly the amount of assists we were used to seeing. Maybe there is a correlation to the change in the mindset of the Nash?

Belinelli would Rather be Tenth than First
Marco Belinelli was given a choice to head down to the NBDL to develop his game, shoot up shots and consistently play in every game. Instead, Beli decided to stay with the team even though it would probably mean he would be tenth man saying “I don’t want to go because I think that I am an NBA player,” Belinelli said. “I think that I can play at this level, and I want to be here, to work with my teammates. We have a beautiful group and I’m part of it.”

And with the Warriors rolling lately, it’s unlikely that Belinelli is going to get his chance anytime soon as he went from getting spots minutes, to accumulating DNPs to the inactive list. It’s not all bad as promising rookie Brandan Wright hasn’t seen much time either this season. No doubt Belinelli will get his shot and the only person that knows that is his coach don Nelson “I love him. I think he can be real good. Not yet, however. He’s got a lot of work to do in practice.” Maybe it’s defense? Toughness? It certainly can’t be confidence.

Not bad for a second-thought
When Roko Leni-Ukic decided to stay in Europe instead of taking the backup PG role for the Raptors.  With Ukic not an option, Toronto decided to go with a free-agent that was not well- known outside of the United States in Spaniard Jose Manuel Calderon.

The funny thing is Ukic signed with Calderon’s European team, Tau Ceramica, so essentially, Ukic and Calderon switched places.

Calderon is still with Toronto today, and has done a great job in making people forget about Ukic. The 6-3 Calderon is doing a solid job his third season in Toronto by going for career highs in points (9.9), assists (7.6), rebounds (2.7), three-point percentage (45%), FT (91%), and is averaging the least amount of turnovers during his career (1.3). His overall FG% is off by less than a percentage point from last year’s high (52.1% to 51.4%). And Calderon is doing this in only 25 minutes a game (also a career-high).

JMC’s minutes looks as if they’ll rise as TJ Ford took a frightening fall on his back last night that had him rushed to the hospital in a stretcher. Considering TJ’s well-known fall several years ago that caused him to have problems with his spine, we can only hope that TJ is alright.

Sleepless in Seattle
Sorry for the crappy cliche title, but it kinda fits, no? It doesn’t bode well for international players Mickael Gelabale’s, Johan Petro’s and ‘s playing time when they can’t even get off the bench for the 2007-08 incarnation of the Sonics. The Seattle Supersonics aren’t exactly setting the world on fire and are basically taking this season off to develop their younger players (see Kevin Durant) so they can fill up stadiums in Oklahoma City come next season.

Unfortunately for Gelabale, Petro and Sene, Oklahoma City doesn’t have a booming French or Senegalese population because those three need all the help they can get in trying to squeeze any type of playing time out of Nate McMillan.

Gelabale is only 24 year old while Petro and Sene are only 21, these three young players are in definite need of development – the problem is that they’re not getting the chance on a crappy team. Most games the three are on the bench as they watch Kevin Durant mature shot-by-shot. Combined, the two Frenchmen (Gelabale and Petro) and the Senegalese center (Sene) are averaging barely 26 minutes together and have a total of 32 DNPs between them.

There could be a number of reasons why these three aren’t seeing any time, so I won’t go into detail and speculate. All I know is if they can’t get decent minutes on this squad, the future’s not looking bright for them.

Sources: Marco Belinelli Chooses Bench (rotoworld), Video: TJ Ford goes down hard against Al Horford and the Atlanta Hawks (YouTube)

Around the World: International NBA Player Report
With a week or so into the NBA season behind us, interbasket is here to report on the international players making news in the NBA.

Luis Scola hasn’t shown much with the Houston Rockets thus far (3.4ppg, 4.6rebs, 1ast in 18 min) and all the xenophobes are out.  I’ve already heard this sentence many times “Look at Luis Scola, he is supposed to the be the best player outside the NBA and…”  It is a little shocking to me that Scola hasn’t done more than he has, making the Spurs keeping Fabricio Oberto over Scola look genius, but I am very confident that his name will be in the rookie-of-the-year running by the end of the year.  And teams have better look out because when the 4-1 Houston Rockets mesh him into their offense (and figure out their point guard situation), they’ll be a very very tough team to beat.

Speaking of the Houston Rockets, one of the knocks against Rocket’s center is that Yao Ming has been his lack of toughness, and one can infer that the critics are looking at Yao’s size and then looking at his career rebounding (8.9) and blocked shot numbers (1.8) as evidence.  Now I understand that he isn’t the fastest nor most-atheletic person on the court, but admittedly Yao’s rebounding and blocked shot numbers should be much better than they are.  If the first four games are any indication (and they normally aren’t) Yao Ming is finally getting it; hitting the boards (11rpg) and blocking shots (2.6), it looks like Yao may average a double-double this year, and for only the second time in his six-year career,

Luis Scola isn’t the only international rookie struggling; he can take some solace in a a couple other foreign rookies that were expected to start off a little quicker this season. Spaniard Juan Carlos Navarro of the Memphis Grizzlies was supposed to come in and give familiarity and help to Pau Gasol, and thus far he has only given the former.  La Bomba is only averaging 4.0 on 23% shooting, all four of his field goals in his first three games have been three-pointers, c’mon Navarro, where’s the floater?

Marco Belinelli of the Golden State Warriors made waves, no shockwaves, during the NBA summer league with his smooth quick-release jumper and he surprised many with his ability to get to the basket on his way to a 37-point outing.  So far, Belinelli is struggling as much as the Warriors are (0-4).  Once the Warriors right the ship, Marco should have time to adjust and improve on the 13.7 minutes, 4.3 points and 33% from the field he’s shown early on.

Instead, the mystery of the 2007 draft, Chinese forward Yi Jianlian has taken the lead as far as international rookies performing.  After a rough first couple games — Yi is showing he can hit the jumpshot, block a few shots, and gather a lot of fouls in a short amount of time.  The latter can be worked on, but the Bucks love the potential that he has shown, particularly his ability to hit the long-range jumper.  He is currently third in rookie scoring, behind Kevin Durant and Daequan Cook, averaging 9.8ppg on 44% shooting as well as 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 blocks (4 fouls) in 26 minutes.  Yi was #2 in Nba.com’s rookie report for the first week of the season.  Not bad!

Hey, anyone remember Peja Stojakovic?  Let me refresh your memory, Stojakovic was THE international player several years ago.  But now four years later, a couple injuries, and two teams removed from his glory days in Sacramento, Peja’s reputation has since suffered.  Though his stats arent’t bad, Peja is no longer mentioned in the top ten international NBA players, and maybe not even top-15.   How the three-time all-star is getting a fresh start and running small forward for the New Orlenas Hornets.  Peja has been inconsistent in his first five games, but his game against the Lakers deserves a mention, Peja went off for 36 points in their win.  With Chris Paul running the show and dishing, Peja hit 10-13 threes to set a Hornets franchise record and to let the league know that Peja is still around.  Peja is only 30 years old, I hope he finds his way back up the ladder to one of the elite international NBA players.

Manu Ginobili is playing like a man possessed.  Despite coming off the bench; everyone in the league knows that Ginobili will be there to finish the game.  In just under 30 minutes per game, Manu is putting up 20.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.6 steals.  He spent the summer resting instead of playing for his National Team and his performances this season is showing what a rested Ginobili brings to the table  “At this point, I can really tell the difference” Ginobili said about how rested he is from taking the summer off.