Nilsen: Deng, Biedrins Examples Of Impact Players
I have to admit to having been left bemused by the thankfully now resolved cliffhanger otherwise known as ‘Pau Gasol and Poland'. The Spanish nation really love a bit of gossip and soap opera but the ‘will he, won't he?' saga was in danger of becoming tiresome.
Certainly not because of the NBA play-off champion himself, nor those in Iberia eagerly anticipating the decision. Simply because I couldn't help wondering amidst all of the fuss how much it actually mattered. For the sake of the tournament itself, I guess it is hugely significant. Pau heading to Poland means more exposure at so many levels.
However even with another NBA star in Jose Calderon withdrawing due to an injury, it always felt to me that whether Pau played or not, the Spanish team has so much quality at its disposal that a ‘no gracias' from Pau would not have exactly spelled disaster.
Sergio Scariolo has the luxury of another member of the Gasol family, the MVP of the Spanish league in Felipe Reyes and someone like Barcelona center Fran Vazquez to call on - I am sure if fate had decided Pau wasn't going, Vazquez might have actually made himself available (he says with tongue in cheek). Consequently sympathy for those tortured Spanish supporters did fade a little during this epic saga!
Spare a thought for those National teams who don't have the same kind of calibre and depth, teams with a ‘marquee player' whom if they decide to ‘rest' or get injured, mean the chances of the side progressing in the tournament diminish drastically.
Yes, I have been choking back the EuroBasket tears at the prospect of Luol Deng being sidelined. While British basketball fans engage in every kind of superstition imaginable to summon luck in the faint hope that Deng can still make it, I didn't. This potential disaster just got me thinking.
Which teams at Eurobasket 2009 are most reliant one player and would suffer a mini-disaster if they didn't have him on court? It was an intriguing notion and while sadly, I kind of knew Deng would be high on the list, I felt it deserved a bit of non-scientific exploration.
My first finding (and a pretty obvious one) is that all of the top rated teams heading into EuroBasket 2009 could just about cope with the loss of any individual player without it significantly changing their prospects. This was the easy part. I found that there were 6 teams who would not be sunk, merely weakened. Those teams were Spain, Greece, Lithuania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. For me, they either have too much quality and depth (Lithuania) or, they don't have any one stand out star in the first place (Croatia).
I then had a bunch of teams heading for Eurobasket 2009 such as Israel, Turkey, FYR of Macedonia and hosts Poland that I could genuinely not fathom. Perhaps these teams just don't have that one big star and neither do they have the quality of those teams listed above to cope with a major injury. The closest I got was thinking that Hedo Turkoglu getting injured for example could really affect Turkey but then they are a team with a history of so many personalities and surprises that it didn't convince me.
I therefore ended up with a list of five EuroBasket teams who I consider to be significantly reliant upon one individual player and significantly, should that player in question miss the competition, the entire outlook for the tournament would be turned on its head. I guess it also potentially highlighted the five most influential players heading for Poland.
1. Latvia - Biedrins
Latvia have a really settled team and some great players supporting the Golden State Warriors star. Valters has been snapped up by DKV Joventut after a stellar year, Blums has shined with Bilbao while Berzins has made it an ACB trio after signing for Fuenlabrada next year. Janicenoks is also hugely underrated but Biedrins showed during qualifying that he is a tower of strength and arguably the biggest marquee player out there. Top scorer, top rebounder and all round go-to-guy. Don't even think about him wearing civilian clothes in September - a truly nightmare scenario for this nation.
2. Great Britain - Deng
The influence Deng has had on the game in the UK both on and off the court is immeasurable. His talent helped the meteoric rise of this fledgling basketball nation while his mere presence draws defenders and exposes the space for his team-mates to exploit. Without him, the team loses their heartbeat and inspiration. While Great Britain captain Andrew Sullivan put on a brave face last week, the fact is that with him, Great Britain can win a game and progress. Without him, an early trip home looks a nailed on certainty. You just can't replace Luol Deng.
3. Germany - Nowitzki
With so much debate raging in German basketball about an ageing team, the need for re-building, import player quotas in the domestic league and a perceived lack of talent to choose from - it isn't surprising that so much hinges on the uber-influential Mavericks player committing to his homeland once again. Someone said to me recently that without him, Germany will be relegated and can forget it. I didn't argue. So much rests on the shoulders of this legend that his possible EuroBasket sabbatical means some serious issues suddenly coming home to roost for this National team.
4. Bulgaria - Jaaber
Hugely instrumental in qualifying, his energy and Euroleague experience are vital but not as much as his defence. Jaaber has quickness and defensive qualities that at this level could keep Bulgaria competitive while he is also the top scorer. Without him, even the hugely experienced Pini Gershon couldn't find a way of plugging that gap!
5.Russia - Kirilenko
While he was named in the Russia squad last week (maybe in hope rather than expectation) it looks like Kirilenko might actually miss EuroBasket 2009 and that would be a hammer blow to Russia. He might not have had the greatest seasons in the NBA but without him, the defending champions lose a whole lot of experience and quality. You feel with him they have a faint hope of making the latter stages but without him, their hopes trickle away and fade to pretty much nothing.
Hopefully the next time you are sat over some coffee with friends and looking forward to the big EuroBasket 2009 tip-off, this is a debate worth having. Just remember that for those of you who hail from either Latvia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany or Russia - you might be better off putting that cup of coffee down and instead, saying a little prayer that your main guy makes it onto the floor this summer.
I have to admit to having been left bemused by the thankfully now resolved cliffhanger otherwise known as ‘Pau Gasol and Poland'. The Spanish nation really love a bit of gossip and soap opera but the ‘will he, won't he?' saga was in danger of becoming tiresome.
Certainly not because of the NBA play-off champion himself, nor those in Iberia eagerly anticipating the decision. Simply because I couldn't help wondering amidst all of the fuss how much it actually mattered. For the sake of the tournament itself, I guess it is hugely significant. Pau heading to Poland means more exposure at so many levels.
However even with another NBA star in Jose Calderon withdrawing due to an injury, it always felt to me that whether Pau played or not, the Spanish team has so much quality at its disposal that a ‘no gracias' from Pau would not have exactly spelled disaster.
Sergio Scariolo has the luxury of another member of the Gasol family, the MVP of the Spanish league in Felipe Reyes and someone like Barcelona center Fran Vazquez to call on - I am sure if fate had decided Pau wasn't going, Vazquez might have actually made himself available (he says with tongue in cheek). Consequently sympathy for those tortured Spanish supporters did fade a little during this epic saga!
Spare a thought for those National teams who don't have the same kind of calibre and depth, teams with a ‘marquee player' whom if they decide to ‘rest' or get injured, mean the chances of the side progressing in the tournament diminish drastically.
Yes, I have been choking back the EuroBasket tears at the prospect of Luol Deng being sidelined. While British basketball fans engage in every kind of superstition imaginable to summon luck in the faint hope that Deng can still make it, I didn't. This potential disaster just got me thinking.
Which teams at Eurobasket 2009 are most reliant one player and would suffer a mini-disaster if they didn't have him on court? It was an intriguing notion and while sadly, I kind of knew Deng would be high on the list, I felt it deserved a bit of non-scientific exploration.
My first finding (and a pretty obvious one) is that all of the top rated teams heading into EuroBasket 2009 could just about cope with the loss of any individual player without it significantly changing their prospects. This was the easy part. I found that there were 6 teams who would not be sunk, merely weakened. Those teams were Spain, Greece, Lithuania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. For me, they either have too much quality and depth (Lithuania) or, they don't have any one stand out star in the first place (Croatia).
I then had a bunch of teams heading for Eurobasket 2009 such as Israel, Turkey, FYR of Macedonia and hosts Poland that I could genuinely not fathom. Perhaps these teams just don't have that one big star and neither do they have the quality of those teams listed above to cope with a major injury. The closest I got was thinking that Hedo Turkoglu getting injured for example could really affect Turkey but then they are a team with a history of so many personalities and surprises that it didn't convince me.
I therefore ended up with a list of five EuroBasket teams who I consider to be significantly reliant upon one individual player and significantly, should that player in question miss the competition, the entire outlook for the tournament would be turned on its head. I guess it also potentially highlighted the five most influential players heading for Poland.
1. Latvia - Biedrins
Latvia have a really settled team and some great players supporting the Golden State Warriors star. Valters has been snapped up by DKV Joventut after a stellar year, Blums has shined with Bilbao while Berzins has made it an ACB trio after signing for Fuenlabrada next year. Janicenoks is also hugely underrated but Biedrins showed during qualifying that he is a tower of strength and arguably the biggest marquee player out there. Top scorer, top rebounder and all round go-to-guy. Don't even think about him wearing civilian clothes in September - a truly nightmare scenario for this nation.
2. Great Britain - Deng
The influence Deng has had on the game in the UK both on and off the court is immeasurable. His talent helped the meteoric rise of this fledgling basketball nation while his mere presence draws defenders and exposes the space for his team-mates to exploit. Without him, the team loses their heartbeat and inspiration. While Great Britain captain Andrew Sullivan put on a brave face last week, the fact is that with him, Great Britain can win a game and progress. Without him, an early trip home looks a nailed on certainty. You just can't replace Luol Deng.
3. Germany - Nowitzki
With so much debate raging in German basketball about an ageing team, the need for re-building, import player quotas in the domestic league and a perceived lack of talent to choose from - it isn't surprising that so much hinges on the uber-influential Mavericks player committing to his homeland once again. Someone said to me recently that without him, Germany will be relegated and can forget it. I didn't argue. So much rests on the shoulders of this legend that his possible EuroBasket sabbatical means some serious issues suddenly coming home to roost for this National team.
4. Bulgaria - Jaaber
Hugely instrumental in qualifying, his energy and Euroleague experience are vital but not as much as his defence. Jaaber has quickness and defensive qualities that at this level could keep Bulgaria competitive while he is also the top scorer. Without him, even the hugely experienced Pini Gershon couldn't find a way of plugging that gap!
5.Russia - Kirilenko
While he was named in the Russia squad last week (maybe in hope rather than expectation) it looks like Kirilenko might actually miss EuroBasket 2009 and that would be a hammer blow to Russia. He might not have had the greatest seasons in the NBA but without him, the defending champions lose a whole lot of experience and quality. You feel with him they have a faint hope of making the latter stages but without him, their hopes trickle away and fade to pretty much nothing.
Hopefully the next time you are sat over some coffee with friends and looking forward to the big EuroBasket 2009 tip-off, this is a debate worth having. Just remember that for those of you who hail from either Latvia, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany or Russia - you might be better off putting that cup of coffee down and instead, saying a little prayer that your main guy makes it onto the floor this summer.
Comment