After all evidently Gigi Datome can help a NBA team.

International,

This is a link to a Euro game, not an NBA game. I do hope, though, that Datome can help the Pistons just as much I hope that Vitor Faverani can help the Celtics.


bob


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international wrote: Bob,He was playing against a very good competition Mark Gasol,Ricky Rubio,Rudy Fernandez,Sergio Rodriguez,Jose Calderon,Victor Clavel and He was clearly the best player in the game.Its time for people to realize that in other parts of the world beside the USA are playing quality basketball.Players like Nowitski,The Gasol Brothers,Rubio,Nene,JJ Barea,Varejao ,Tony Parker and many others are the best examples of that.

international,

I don't think that people think that only Americans can play ball anymore. The way we play ball is different, though. We tend to be more physical here, while Euros tend to play more of an uptempo, run-and-gun style.

For what it's worth, I prefer latinos over Euros. I like the Varajaos and Ginobilis and the like more. That doesn't mean there aren't good Euros like Parker, Nowitski but I like the latinos better. They're tougher hombres than the Euros, based upon my observations.


btw, you left out Gallinari when you mentioned good foreign players. I'm hoping we will be able to say the same thing about Vitor.


bob

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international,

Well, they certainly are right about that, they do complain a lot. Not as much, now that Ts are handed out for that, but still too much.

Too much flopping too, despite the league's promise to crack down on that. Boy, what a joke that threat turned out to be. The NBA is as bad as soccer. At least with soccer there's only one ref and he can't be everywhere and see everything from every angle. In the NBA there are 3 refs.


bob


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Here's another article on Datome.  He wants to be, for Detroit, what Shane Battier is for Miami.  


Why are things clicking for Italy this year at the Eurobasket compared to previous FIBA competitions?

Gigi Datome: We are satisfied. After several years underachieving, we are overachieving right now. But we still want to push ahead. We are playing very good basketball and the thing I like the most is the mentality and the attitude in which we're playing most games. Fans in Italy are paying attention. There were lots of Italians watching us in the first round and you can see on Twitter and Facebook that they care. Nobody expected us to advance to the second round, but we surprised everybody – especially in Italy.

Do you feel any extra pressure  because you're an NBA player now?

GD: No, no, no. First of all, I don't consider myself an NBA player because I didn't play in the NBA yet. When I play basketball, I just go to the court and try to play my best and contribute. The team has confidence in me and I'm satisfied for this. I look forward to having more responsibilities with the team in the future.

How did the NBA interest finally materialize into an actual contract?

GD: Last year there was a lot of talk about Rome and scouts came from overseas to see me. There was a lot more attention from scouts and managers. Then this year was the best for me in terms of performance. I was the MVP in the Italian championship and everybody knew me. This was really the first year when I had the opportunity to go to the NBA. I was lucky because I had the possibility of choosing among several teams. I'm looking forward to start and see if I deserve minutes and I can be an NBA player or not.

What expectations do you have for yourself in this rookie year?

GD: For sure, it's not going to be easy for me. It's my first time outside of Italy and first time in a league that I don't know. Maybe I will need some time to adjust. I hope to have the opportunity to see the court and show my skills. That's why I signed for two years because usually in two years you're going to have your opportunity. But I hope I can show my best from the beginning.

How would you describe yourself to people that don't know you? Would you compare yourself to any current NBA player?

GD: It's tough to make comparisons because all NBA players are very good players and I'm a rookie, so nobody knows me. I would like to make myself known over there. I'm an athletic player and a shooter, for sure. That's why they signed me – to open up the court. I'm a player with great passion for the game. I would like be for the Pistons what Shane Battier is for Miami. Not the star, for sure, but a player that's a shooter and contributes to the team's good results. Maybe you're not a star, but you're helping the team. That's who I want to be.


Read more at http://hoopshype.com/interviews/sierra/gigi-datome-i-would-like-be-for-the-pistons-what-shane-battier-is-for-miami#5me0vWtySc3dPuep.99

sam wrote:I don't believe knowledgeable basketball people hesitate to credit top foreign players where credit is due.  I thinks it's the typical competition against which the top foreign players are matched that creates some doubts that great play overseas can translate to even good play against NBA opponents.  Obviously, there are major exceptions like Dirk.  But I think it's no coincidence that, for one reason or another, none of last year's Chinese League imports is still on the Celtics roster—
despite their comparatively low price tags.

sam,

I think we've got a little fruit salad here.  

What international has been saying is that players that are foreign-born and who learn and play the game elsewhere can play NBA ball here in the US.  What you are saying is that there are American players, born here and learning the game here, who cannot play NBA ball but can play in foreign leagues.  Your conclusion is that the Chinese league that takes them is evidence of inferior competition.  I would agree with that, the Chinese league is nothing more than a better paying D-league, but China's not Europe.  Maccabi-Tel Aviv is the Celtics of the Euro league, with more championships than anybody else (5 Euro championships and 3 Triple Crowns, which require them to win their domestic league, their domestic championship and the Euro championship in the same year).  They have a permanent exhibit at the Naismith HOF.  A lot of good players have played for them.  They are no slouches.

Are there international players that come here to play and find they don't do as well as they did in Europe?  Absolutely.  I'd lean towards including Nenad Krstic in that group, who is doing well in Europe but was seen as too soft in the NBA.  There certainly are a lot of Americans that go overseas because they can't make the NBA.  Neither of these statements address foreign born-and-raised players being able to adapt their game to play here, only that some of them cannot.

Every NBA team has full-time international scouts now.  That is not a coincidence.

If not all leagues are equal, with the NBA being the top dog, then it is also true that not all leagues are equal even excluding the NBA.  Players in the Chinese league are often players that couldn't play in Europe either.

My issues with international players do not have to do with their skill sets so much as with their style of play.  Euros play differently than us.  They like it better, I do not.  I have not, in general, been impressed with Euro players who come to the NBA because they tend to be very soft on defense.  There are exceptions, of course, but overall I don't see Euros as being overly physical players but finesse players instead.  Just as Euros are not Americans, neither are they Latinos.  I favor latino players over Euros because, once again as a general rule, I have seen they are tough hombres who like to mix it up and not just run-and-gunners, and that is a style I prefer and is more common in the NBA.  That's why I'm hopeful for Vitor Faverani, he's a Brazilian who has been playing in Europe but is not a European.  I'm hoping he hasn't forgotten his macho latino roots while learning the finesse game (translation: setting breeze picks, where the defender feels the wave of air as Faverani fakes a pick and rolls to the basket without actually making contact) in Spain.


bob


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