This week we pay tribute to Zeljko Rebraca. We also look at the Yao’s anger, dissect Steve Nash’s comments, Diaw’s disappointing season, Nene’s back, the Brezec and Herrmann trade, under-rated Fabricio Oberto, Juan Carlos Navarro finding his stride, and plead Don Nelson to play Andris Biedrins more minutes. 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 12/12- 12/18/2007)

Yao Ming is Angry and Steve Nash isn’t Happy.
Two of the nicer guys in the league, both on and off the court, are Yao Ming and Steve Nash. I’ve seen both guys get a little competitive in games; showing their emotions, but I don’t recall a time when either have spoken up as strongly as both had this past week.

We start out with Yao, whose Rockets were down six against Toronto. Yao looked at his team and shouted “Let’s go! Wake up! Let’s go!” Well, the Rockets didn’t wake up or go, they ended up losing the game 93-80.

Yao was not happy after the game.

“I feel this is the worst game I ever had in my career,” Yao said. “When we played on the court, no intensity, no patience, no (adherence to the) game plan, don’t know our game, don’t know their game, no trust (of) each other, no defense. I hate this game. I hated it. It’s all on us. Us. I’m one of us.”

The next night was more of the same, and then some. The Rockets lost to the Philadelphia 76srs, basically the same team they defeated last year by 50 points. Yao went off “When you are soft yourself, everything will feel tough,” Yao said. “It’s not because they are so tough. It’s because of how soft we are.” If Yao Ming is talking about your toughness, then there is something definitely off — read into that sentence however you like.

Steve Nash hasn’t been happy with the Sun’s play and recently called out a teammate in an interview after one of their loss to the Hornets – “I wish I could come up with a way to make sure each guy is ready to play. What do you do? Have an interview with each guy before each game to make sure he understands?”

So who is Steve referring to? Looking at Phoenix’s top-nine players we can assume that Nash isn’t talking about himself; he’d be the first to admit his mistakes. One can immediately eliminate Brian Skinner, Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks, and Raja Bell; those guys’ games are based on hard work and playing right. And you just know it ain’t Grant Hill. For some reason, I just don’t think it’s Leandro Barbosa, who seems to play in one speed – fast.

So who does that leave?

Many believe the player Nash is speaking of is Amare Stoudemire, who is lackadaisical on offense without the ball, and non-existent at times on defense, but that’s mostly been the case, so maybe Amare’s turned it down a notch? A more solid reason to assume it’s Stoudemire is because he was recently seen arguing with Raja Bell on the court and with Marcus Banks on the bench. If you’re arguing with Raja Bell on the court and you aren’t on the opposing team, odds are you aren’t giving forth your best effort.

Diaw on the Outs?
Or perhaps Nash could have been referring to Boris Diaw, who admittedly came into camp out-of-shape. Diaw’s stats have suffered across the major categories having dropped since his breakout-year in 2005-06 when he filled in for the injured-Amare Stoudemire.

Now with Stoudemire back and the Suns bringing in Grant Hill, who does everything that Boris can do, only better (except maybe passing), Diaw’s skillset has became redundant.

Recently Boris’s defense has been called into question, or should I say his lack of defense. His D has been publicly blasted by Sun’s coach Mike D’Antoni, “(Diaw’s) got to pick it up. At some point, you’ve got to pull the plug, and that’s what I’m doing” And then you add Suns general manager Steve Kerr comments on top of that “If we’re ever going to be a championship team, we have to improve defensively.” it doesn’t sound promising for the French point-forward. It’s no surprise that Diaw’s names is coming up in trade rumors.

Nene ready to practice
After looking at several Nuggets boxscores this season and not seeing Nene listed, I just assumed that he was injured and was out for the season. Really, can you blame me? I had no idea that he was injured, didn’t even know he had already participated in five games this season. Apparently, Nene had injured his thumb November 7th in a game against the Boston Celtics and needed surgery plus six weeks to repair it. He was cleared this past Tuesday to begin light drills.

The 6-10 Brazilian power forward is in his fifth season after a disappointing Fiba Americas Championship in which Brazil failed to win a berth to the 2008 Olympics. Nene is coming off career-highs in points, rebounds and blocks last season.

New life for Brezec and Herrmann
Looks like the Bobcats have given up on Primoz Brezec and Walter Herrmann. The former just hasn’t returned to form after his injury and the latter just hasn’t been able to build on his fantastic finish to last season. The Bobcats sent Brezec and Herrmann to the Detroit Pistons on Friday, December 14th.

Primoz Brezec had been Charlotte’s starting center since the expansion, but with his injuries and the new situation, he was looking to move on “I wanted to get out of Charlotte. It was just not a good opportunity for me, with a new system, a new coach.” It seems as if Herrmann wasn’t very happy with his spot minutes either “In Charlotte, I didn’t play, just five minutes, 10 minutes,” Herrmann said. “Here in Detroit, it’s different.”

The Pistons have apparently been looking at both players for some time: “We talked to Charlotte about Herrmann earlier this season and had spoken to Charlotte last season about Brezec. So for this deal to come together today to get these two guys we like, it’s a really good deal for us and we feel fortunate to make the deal,” said Pistons GM Joe Dumars, “(Brezec) can step out and flat-out shoot the basketball. Just that length and size and ability to shoot the basketball is appealing to me, especially with the way the game is being played today, especially with the way we play as a team. In terms of Walter Herrmann … he has an energy and a toughness I like. That’s why we were interested in these guys.”

The Pistons gave up Nazr Mohammed in order to get the Slovenian center and Argentinain forward who looks a lot like Fabio. In order to give roster spots to the two new players, the Pistons waived Ronald Dupree. The 7-1 Primoz Brezec sounds as if he has a better shot at gaining minutes in his new situation, as Rasheed Wallace (6-9) and Jason Maxiell (6-7) are more power-forwards than they are centers.

Not Bad for a Second Thought Part II feat. Fabricio Oberto
Last week we discussed how Jose Calderon only became an NBA player when he did mostly because a supposed-better player, Roko Leni-Ukic decided to stay in Europe.

The case can be said for Fabricio Oberto whom only signed with the Spurs when his National teammate, the European superstar, and 2004 Olympics MVP Luis Scola decided to stay in Europe.

Fabricio Oberto, the Argentine “center” for the San Antonio Spurs, has been called the most “ugliest productive player” and a “Bull in a China shop” by his Coach Popovich. Most would probably take that as an backhanded compliment, but considering the source of the quote and the team that he plays on- it’s most definitely an all-around compliment.

On the heels of a 9 point, 16 rebound game in a loss against the Los Angeles Lakers, Oberto went 10-11 from the floor, good for 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers in a win over the Denver Nuggets. His performance brought back fond memories of his 11-11, 29 point 10 rebound performance last season against the Suns (that was also Oberto’s first career double-double).

For the season, the 32-year old Oberto is putting up career highs in minutes, points, rebounds… well, all across the board. And if Fabricio shot a little more often, he would lead the league in overall FG% (at 66.7%), however since Fab only averages 4 shots a game, he doesn’t qualify (he must make 3.7 FGs a game to qualify, Oberto currently makes “only” 2.9).

Navarro Finding his Stride, Shot
Juan Carlos Navarro is getting his opportunities and is catching up with the speed of the NBA. JCN hit two huge threes in win over the Orlando Magic on Monday. Both Navarro’s two crucially-timed 3-pointers, with 2:58 and 45.6 seconds left in the game, gave Memphis six point cushions at the time.

After a very rough start in which his shooting percentages hung in the 20% area, the 27-year old Spanish rookie and former all-Euroleague player has turned it around. Juan has brought up his percentages and is now shooting 40.5% from three, 90.9% from the FT and 44.6% from the field overall.

La Bomba has gone from the bench to starter back to the bench and is starting once again, and that’s reflective of his season thus far. Part of that is his lack of consistency, but a larger part could be his defense. Though Navarro gives effort, he can’t help but find himself being posted-up game after game. Offensively, Navarro has shown that he can succeed when given his opportunity and FG attempts. Look for him to improve on both ends as the season progresses and he starts to learn the NBA nuances.

Zeljko Rebraca Hangs Up His Sneakers
Former Detroit Piston, Atlanta Hawk and LA Clipper Zeljko Rebraca has decided to call it a career. The great Serbian forward-center spent roughly 6 seasons, most of them plagued with injury, in the NBA before being waived by the Clippers earlier this year.

Rebraca then signed with Pamesa Valencia in hopes of rejuvenating his career in Europe. However Zeljko couldn’t get back to playing form because of his consistent minor injuries and his recent procedure to prevent the recurrence of irregular heartbeat symptoms.

Originally drafted in 1994, Rebraca decided to stay in Europe where he garnered many championships

Playing in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Rebraca and his Yugoslavian teammates received a silver medal and Rebraca was named the MVP.

In 1997, playing for Benneton Treviso, Rebraca won Italian League Championships. In 1998, Rebraca joined Dejan Bodiroga, Aleksandar Djordjevic, Dejan Tomasevic, and Predrag Drobnjak on the Yugoslavian National Team winning the Fiba World Championships.

Then in 1999-01 playing for Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos, Rebraca won two Greek Championships from 1999-01 and one EL championship during that stretch. What stod out to many was his Final Four performances in Thessaloniki and during the final vs Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Though drafted by the Seattle Sonics before being traded to the Pistons, Rebraca came to the NBA for the 2001-02 season and spent nearly three seasons with Detroit before being involved in the trade that brought Rasheed Wallace to Motown. The Pistons went on to destroy the Shaq-Kobe-Karl-Malone-Gary-Payton Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals.

Though Rebraca came late to the NBA (he was 29 at the time) and never amounted to more than a backup center with averages of 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 52.7 FG% in six NBA seasons. Rebraca was a super player in the late-1990s in European basketball, when international players were gaining legitimacy. He will be missed dearly on the court. Discuss his career and send well-wishes in our forum.

Nellie, Give Andris Biedrins More Minutes!
Ok Nellie, I am beginning to think you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s one thing if I didn’t live in the Bay Area and wasn’t able to catch the majority of games, but that’s not the case. What else can Andris Biedrins do to earn more minutes?

Let’s take a look at Golden State’s last game. Against the Memphis Grizzlies, Biedrins put up 12 points and 7 rebounds in only 13 minutes. Let me say that again — 12 points and 7 rebounds in 13 minutes! The guy is leading the league in FG%, 9th in offensive rebounds per game and is nearly putting up a double-double in only 26 minutes! Nba.com has him #7 overall in rebounds per 48 minutes. Did I mention that the Latvian center with great hands and timing is only 21 years old?

Nelly, I know you’re all about match-ups and trying to mess with the other team by playing small-ball, but I think you’re holding back a player that can not only be a great center, but giving Biedrins the experience now will only serve to benefit the Warriors when the playoffs come around. Just wanted you to know that.

Sources: Yao fumes about team’s woes (Houston Chronicle), Who is Angering Steve Nash? (Sporting News), Suns debating whether or not to make a major move (Yahoo), Diaw Trade Rumor Mention (Chicago Tribune), Fabricio Oberto’s a Perfect 11-11 Against the Suns (Interbasket), Futures Market: Pistons Acquire Herrmann and Brezec (NBA.com), Brezec Wanted Out (MLive.com), Zeljko Rebraca Retires (Interbasket), Rebraca Undergoes Heart Procedure (ESPN), Zeljko Rebraca Waived (Interbasket)