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It's been a pretty competitive season so far in the NBA. It's assumed that Cleveland and Los Angeles will play in the Finals, but there will be some stiff competition from Denver, Orlando, San Antonio, Dallas, and maybe even Atlanta.
Leaving out established players like Dirk, Manu, and Nash, international players continue to find success in the league (we should probably leave out Bogut, Scola, and Horford too). Unfortunately, for every successful international player, there is another one who finds disappointment.
Successes
Disappointments
Either/Or
Leaving out established players like Dirk, Manu, and Nash, international players continue to find success in the league (we should probably leave out Bogut, Scola, and Horford too). Unfortunately, for every successful international player, there is another one who finds disappointment.
Successes
- Carlos Arroyo - It was only a matter of time before Arroyo returned to an NBA starting line up
- Andrea Bargnani - After being declared a "bust" his rookie year, Bargnani broke out last year and continues to show fantastic athleticism
- Rodrigue Beaubois - He wasn't supposed to play this year, but his 7 points in 10 minutes per game shows incredible promise
- Andrew Bogut - Bogut has Milwaukee playing enjoyable, tough basketball and is averaging career highs in points and rebounds
- Omri Casspi - the NBA has been waiting for an Israeli player for many years; the first has been great, scoring 11 points and 5 rebounds per game
- Goran Dragic - When Steve Nash eventually leaves Phoenix, the Suns will be smart to keep this scoring PG
- Danilo Gallinari - a poor rookie season last year has turned into a great sophomore season under Mike D'Antoni
- Marc Gasol - with Gay and Zach Randolph, Gasol has helped Memphis gain some respect in the NBA. He's a half rebound away from averaging a double-double
- Hamed Haddadi - in recent games, Haddadi has gotten some minutes and shown that he's pretty good
- Al Horford - He's got Atlanta in a good play-off position and is half a rebound away from averaging a double-double
- Ersan İlyasova - His triumphant return as a solid role-player after leaving Milwaukee for Barcelona has been great to watch
- Yi Jianlian - His team is terrible and he's missed a lot of games, but Yi's scoring is up
- Luc Richard Mbah a Moute - He's from UCLA, but I still like him. Great defense and solid offense, plus his team is a strong play-off team
- Luis Scola - Scola anchors Houston's front court with 16 points and 9 rebounds per game. Somewhere, a GM in San Antonio is crying
- Thabo Sefolosha - His scoring is down this year, but OKC is in the play-offs with some thanks to his defense
- Anderson Varejão - Cleveland is playing great and Varejão's hustle has become a huge factor for the team
Disappointments
- Andris Biedriņš - Injuries have hampered him all year and he's only had one double-double. That's a far cry from the kid who signed a $54 million contract last year
- Marco Belinelli - He teases Raptors fans with beautiful shooting but he's too hot and cold
- Jose Calderon - He's lost about 3 assists per game since last year and his team is not playing well
- Kyrylo Fesenko - Perhaps too much was expected of Fesenko, but he hasn't shown very much in his third season with Utah
- Dan Gadzuric - He's seen better years. His minutes are down significantly from past years and his 42% shooting has made him a non-factor for Milwaukee
- Marcin Gortat - Orlando didn't let him go to another team this summer, knowing that he was a great player who won't get many minutes behind Dwight Howard
- Darko Miličić - He's finally on a team that actually wants him to play and he's put up good numbers, but still nowhere close to what he's capable of
- Andrés Nocioni - Instead of playing for a play-off contender, Nocioni is stuck on a team that's rebuilding
- Zaza Pachulia - After rocking Atlanta into their recent success in 2005/06, his minutes are way down this year
- Sergio Rodríguez - It might not be his fault, but a lot of people expected a lot more from Spanish Chocolate when he got to New York
- Peja Stojakovic - Once an MVP candidate when he was with Sacramento, Peja's career has dropped precipitously
- Hedo Türkoğlu - It's hard to say that Türkoğlu has improved. He's down in all statistical categories and can't seem to do a thing to help Toronto. Absolutely disappointing after a great few years in Orlando
Either/Or
- Rudy Fernández - He still has jaw-dropping plays, but he missed a month, hurting Porland and his chances at the starting line-up
- Nenad Krstić - his team is successful, but his statistics are down from his days as New Jersey's play-off center
- Andre Kirilenko - everyone wants him to repeat his 2005/06 season when he was an MVP candidate and triple double machine...he's doing OK but has never gotten back to that level
- Žydrūnas Ilgauskas - if he goes back to Cleveland, he'll be a wild success as his career winds down
- Hasheem Thabeet - he's still a rookie and it shows
- Beno Udrih - Udrih is still playing well for an awful team, but a lot of his fans expected more. Rookie Tyreke Evans is taking a little away from Udrih's game
Plus, I really think it was a matter of time before he started in the NBA again. 
Definitely a major success: he's getting great minutes on a decent team even though he's a rookie. He's also making good contributions to OKC with his hustle on the boards. Good call.
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