FIBA Tournament Play

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Bjelica only played 18 minutes this morning as Serbia blew out Iceland by 30. His numbers were relatively modest, but efficient...7 points (3 for 4 shooting) and 4 rebounds. Next up for the Serbs is Turkey (led by Ilyasova) tomorrow at 7:30 AM CDT, and then Italy (Gallinari, Belinelli, Bargnani) Thursday at 7:30. Turkey got blown out by the Spain team that Serbia beat, and Italy played Turkey very even, so Bjelica may not get too many minutes in either game, but you never know. It's a grueling schedule, so smart coaches are limiting their stars' minutes when prudent.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I am pulling for Bjelica. Has any other reigning Euro MVP's made the move?

Yep and he made the jump to the Wolves! AK lol

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euroleague_MVP

Also Anthony Parker played in NBA after winning back to back Euroleague MVP-awards. He played six years in NBA as starting shooting guard and was mainly getting credit about his good defense. Juan Carlos Navarro had played in NBA in previous season before winning Euroleague MVP. He started 30 games for Memphis team as shooting guard. Sergio Rodriguez and Vassilis Spanoulis did win Euroleague MVP award several years after their NBA visit. Before current Euroleague was established, there was European championship league which Final four MVPs for example Kukoc, Radja and Danilovic were before they got to NBA.

I think that generally Euroleague stars have been quite successful in NBA too. Only real Euroleague stars that did not have any success in NBA that I know are: Spanoulis, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Alexander Djordjevic and David Andersen. All four had already had plenty of success in Euroleague before coming to NBA and in NBA they really struggled to get even any playtime. It seems that transition from Euroleague to NBA has been easier for big men than for guards.

The transition for big men is easier because the gap in athleticism is a lot closer. Euroleagues aren't filled with Westbrook's and Wall's running PG and the NBA only has a handful of bigs that are truly superior athletes like Griffin, AD and DJ.

[Monster]

I am pulling for Bjelica. Has any other reigning Euro MVP's made the move?

Yep and he made the jump to the Wolves! AK lol

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euroleague_MVP

Also Anthony Parker played in NBA after winning back to back Euroleague MVP-awards. He played six years in NBA as starting shooting guard and was mainly getting credit about his good defense. Juan Carlos Navarro had played in NBA in previous season before winning Euroleague MVP. He started 30 games for Memphis team as shooting guard. Sergio Rodriguez and Vassilis Spanoulis did win Euroleague MVP award several years after their NBA visit. Before current Euroleague was established, there was European championship league which Final four MVPs for example Kukoc, Radja and Danilovic were before they got to NBA.

I think that generally Euroleague stars have been quite successful in NBA too. Only real Euroleague stars that did not have any success in NBA that I know are: Spanoulis, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Alexander Djordjevic and David Andersen. All four had already had plenty of success in Euroleague before coming to NBA and in NBA they really struggled to get even any playtime. It seems that transition from Euroleague to NBA has been easier for big men than for guards.

The transition for big men is easier because the gap in athleticism is a lot closer. Euroleagues aren't filled with Westbrook's and Wall's running PG and the NBA only has a handful of bigs that are truly superior athletes like Griffin, AD and DJ.

I think that's a pretty good point khans. I've been thinking that same thing when it comes to PGs. JJ tends to really play well in these FIBA tourneys because who has a guy that can stay with him? He is an elite athlete that can shoot and score at the rim. Of course the 3 point line being a little shorter may help him a little also but he can be a real Dynamo and is a triple double waiting to happen. It could be the same type of thing if say Nate Robinson played for some other national team where he got to just go crazy.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

- Wiggins with an efficient outing last night in Canada's win over previously undefeated Mexico, going 4-4 on 3-pointers. He's now shooting 44% from 3 (16 makes on 36 attempts) over the course of his 11 international games this summer. While it's a small sample size and the FIBA line is a bit closer, I'll take any good news I can get. Wiggins' outside shot fell off a cliff in the second half of last season.

- Serbia about ready to tip-off against Turkey this morning. Turkey is a solid team, but certainly not as good as Spain. Serbia should be the favorite.

- Canada plays again today at 2:30 Central against the Dominican Republic.

All or most of these games can be watched live or via replay on ESPN 3.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Nice to see Bjelica displaying his inside offensive game early against Turkey...2 post up buckets already in the first 5 minutes.

Post-game edit: Bjelica didn't do much after the first five minutes...frankly he wasn't needed against a poor Turkey team and with former Wolves great Miroslav Raduljica scoring 20 for Serbia! Bjelica only put up 8 points and 1 rebound in 23 minutes. While his rebounding stats continue to be an issue, I came away from today's game even more convinced that Bjelica will contribute a lot this season. I think I now understand how a guy who only put up 12 and 7 last year in Euroleague could be MVP...his value goes far beyond his stats. Think of him as a better version of Robbie Hummel...a guy who is not very flashy but always seems to do the right thing, who makes his teammates better and who generally ends up with very good +/- numbers.

He doesn't touch the ball enough with ball hog Teledosic on the court, but he is clearly the guy who makes the offense work. The ball never stays with him very long, as he consistently gets the ball to somebody in the right place on the court. While he only had 2 assists, I would estimate that he had over 10 "hockey assists". He has an innate ability to see where the defense is vulnerable and move the ball in that direction. Most of Raduljica's easy buckets happened because Nemanja found an open man with a quick pass forcing the center to jump out on that man...this invariably left Raduljica open for an easy layup. In addition to facilitating the offense, he has also shown (in closer games) that he can score in a variety of ways...3-pointers, putting the ball on the floor (albeit apparently only with the right hand) and finishing strong, or posting up.

I was very impressed with him defensively today too. Turkey came into the game with a very good pick and roll reputation, and Serbia took it away...mostly because of Bjelica. He has good defensive instincts, and is quick and athletic enough to stay with wings on switches.

I have mentioned his low rebounding numbers before, but I will even give him some credit here. He boxed out better today, and he also seems to use his length a lot to volleyball the ball until a teammate can control it. I sill worry that he will be a below average rebounder in the NBA.

I like that Bjelica has produced better stats in their closer games against Spain and Germany. In games against weaker teams like Turkey, he seems content to get his teammates involved, but he wanted the ball in his own hands at the end of their two close games. Tomorrow morning they play Italy, and that will be a tougher test. Italy is undefeated like Serbia, and also has wins over Spain and Germany. I think Namanja will put up some better numbers tomorrow.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I was thinking today about the number of players the Wolves have playing in the various international tournaments this summer...and not just playing, but in most cases, starring for their teams.

Gorgui Dieng: Was clearly the best player on Senegal, although Senegal didn't fare too well in the African tournament

Nemanja Bjelica: The best player on the team I think will win the European FIBA

Andrew Wiggins: The best player on the team I think will win the Americas FIBA

Anthony Bennett: Starting at center, and putting up double doubles (on a per 36 basis) for Canada. 4-5 today on 3-point shots.

Plus three other players who could be playing a key role for their national team, if they were playing:

Ricky Rubio: Injured, and Spain is clearly struggling without him (2-2 with wins only against weak Iceland and Turkey squads).

Nikola Pekovic: Montenegro is not in the European FIBA competition, but I believe Pek would have been eligible to play on the Serbian team if he were healthy. Would have been a nice upgrade over Raduljica at center

Karl Anthony Towns: Would have been the best player on a not very good Dominican team this summer, or the second best player on a better team had Horford elected to join him

That's seven of our 16 contracted players who are talented enough to play key roles for their country's team. And of course there's an 8th guy too, but Damjan Rudez is only 2-15 from the field for Croatia.

More evidence that Flip Saunders has assembled a talented roster. We have to be patient, because 5 of the 7 star international players have less than 3 years of NBA experience, but the enormous potential is there. The real question is whether Coach Flip Saunders is good enough to win with the roster his PBO has given him.

[Monster]

LST you left out the other Wolves big from the Montenegrian team
Bojan Dubljevi? who would likely be a good player for them if they had qualified to play.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Nice to see Bjelica displaying his inside offensive game early against Turkey...2 post up buckets already in the first 5 minutes.

Post-game edit: Bjelica didn't do much after the first five minutes...frankly he wasn't needed against a poor Turkey team and with former Wolves great Miroslav Raduljica scoring 20 for Serbia! Bjelica only put up 8 points and 1 rebound in 23 minutes. While his rebounding stats continue to be an issue, I came away from today's game even more convinced that Bjelica will contribute a lot this season. I think I now understand how a guy who only put up 12 and 7 last year in Euroleague could be MVP...his value goes far beyond his stats. Think of him as a better version of Robbie Hummel...a guy who is not very flashy but always seems to do the right thing, who makes his teammates better and who generally ends up with very good +/- numbers.

He doesn't touch the ball enough with ball hog Teledosic on the court, but he is clearly the guy who makes the offense work. The ball never stays with him very long, as he consistently gets the ball to somebody in the right place on the court. While he only had 2 assists, I would estimate that he had over 10 "hockey assists". He has an innate ability to see where the defense is vulnerable and move the ball in that direction. Most of Raduljica's easy buckets happened because Nemanja found an open man with a quick pass forcing the center to jump out on that man...this invariably left Raduljica open for an easy layup. In addition to facilitating the offense, he has also shown (in closer games) that he can score in a variety of ways...3-pointers, putting the ball on the floor (albeit apparently only with the right hand) and finishing strong, or posting up.

I was very impressed with him defensively today too. Turkey came into the game with a very good pick and roll reputation, and Serbia took it away...mostly because of Bjelica. He has good defensive instincts, and is quick and athletic enough to stay with wings on switches.

I have mentioned his low rebounding numbers before, but I will even give him some credit here. He boxed out better today, and he also seems to use his length a lot to volleyball the ball until a teammate can control it. I sill worry that he will be a below average rebounder in the NBA.

I like that Bjelica has produced better stats in their closer games against Spain and Germany. In games against weaker teams like Turkey, he seems content to get his teammates involved, but he wanted the ball in his own hands at the end of their two close games. Tomorrow morning they play Italy, and that will be a tougher test. Italy is undefeated like Serbia, and also has wins over Spain and Germany. I think Namanja will put up some better numbers tomorrow.

Good write-up LST. I always like it when players get compared to Robbie Hummel!

Yeah, Bjelica's game against Spain was awesome, but it's not really his thing to go off for 20 or 30 points on opponents. He's more likely to give you solid all-around play in a team-oriented setting than take over games. However, we have seen that when the game is on the line, he is both willing and able to take the big shot or create something off the dribble.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I was thinking today about the number of players the Wolves have playing in the various international tournaments this summer...and not just playing, but in most cases, starring for their teams.

Gorgui Dieng: Was clearly the best player on Senegal, although Senegal didn't fare too well in the African tournament

Nemanja Bjelica: The best player on the team I think will win the European FIBA

Andrew Wiggins: The best player on the team I think will win the Americas FIBA

Anthony Bennett: Starting at center, and putting up double doubles (on a per 36 basis) for Canada. 4-5 today on 3-point shots.

Plus three other players who could be playing a key role for their national team, if they were playing:

Ricky Rubio: Injured, and Spain is clearly struggling without him (2-2 with wins only against weak Iceland and Turkey squads).

Nikola Pekovic: Montenegro is not in the European FIBA competition, but I believe Pek would have been eligible to play on the Serbian team if he were healthy. Would have been a nice upgrade over Raduljica at center

Karl Anthony Towns: Would have been the best player on a not very good Dominican team this summer, or the second best player on a better team had Horford elected to join him

That's seven of our 16 contracted players who are talented enough to play key roles for their country's team. And of course there's an 8th guy too, but Damjan Rudez is only 2-15 from the field for Croatia.

More evidence that Flip Saunders has assembled a talented roster. We have to be patient, because 5 of the 7 star international players have less than 3 years of NBA experience, but the enormous potential is there. The real question is whether Coach Flip Saunders is good enough to win with the roster his PBO has given him.

That's a lengthy list. From a pure developmental perspective, I really think only two players from this list benefit from international play: Dieng and AB. Dieng because he's put in the position to be THE man on his team and use a ton of possessions. That has helped him become a better offensive player in the NBA (my issues with him are his defense, which isn't helped at all by playing for his national team).

AB because he just needs to keep getting reps and gaining confidence. I can absolutely envision AB eventually becoming a solid rotation PF. I'm just not sure I want to keep paying him $5M+ to find out and a decision needs to be made for 16-17 in about a month or so.

Everyone else pretty much plays the same role they normally would for the Wolves or their club teams, as it were. I'd much rather they spend the time working on their individual skills and bodies, as guys like Rubio, Bjelica, and even Wiggins aren't really playing very unique roles for their respective national teams.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

LST you left out the other Wolves big from the Montenegrian team
Bojan Dubljevi? who would likely be a good player for them if they had qualified to play.

Good point. monster...I forgot about him. I just read up on him...didn't realize he had such a good season for Valencia. Not much of a rebounder for a guy his size, but a terrific shooter and scorer. Valencia likes his so much they locked him up though 2018 with no buyout option. Who knows, maybe he'll be the next Bjelica...a guy who develops his body and game in Europe until about age 27-8, and then comes over as a "rookie" to help us out.