11/05/24
May 02, 2004
Meanwhile, in Europe:: Israeli basketball club Maccabi Tel Aviv wins the Euroleague's championship, crushing its opponent in the finals 118-74 (oh, the joy!), and demolishing a few records on the way (of course, hosting the final four sure helped!). Traditional thinking is that defensive teams have the edge come the post-season, but this year it's been all about the offensive-minded yellow devils from Tel-Aviv. Do you see a chance for an offensive-minded team (the Mavs and Kings come to mind) to go all the way in the NBA?
posted by CountZero to basketball at 02:07 AM - 12 comments
dusted: Don't count out Minnesota as a title contender. The Wolves may not have a history of playoff success as a franchise, but Sam Cassell two championship rings and Sprewell has played in the NBA Finals as a Knick. It was never Garnett's fault that they couldn't get past the first round. Finally, he has the supporting cast to make a legitimate run. Too bad they'll probably still lose to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals.
posted by Scott Carefoot at 04:02 AM on May 02, 2004
The rules in the Euroleague follow the general FIBA rules for international basketball. The biggest difference is probably the fact that the game is indeed shorter - 40 minutes divided into 4 quarters (Until a few years ago it used to be two 20 minute halves, as in college basketball). Due to the shorter game, players can only commit five fouls before they're out, instead of the NBA's allotment of six (Oh, and technicals count as regular fouls, so you better watch your mouth...). The 24 second shot clock is also a relatively recent addition, having been a 30 second clock until recent years. The rule change has caused the games to have more posessions, resulting in higher scores (a couple of memorable finals games from the 90s ended with the whopping scores of 59-55 and 58-44). There are many other subtle differences that influence the game mechanics - players can't call for time outs, smaller 3 point arc, clock doesn't stop after a basket is scored, to name a few.
posted by CountZero at 05:37 AM on May 02, 2004
Thanks, CountZero. 55 points in 20 minutes is impressive.
posted by dusted at 11:17 AM on May 02, 2004
Especially without all the freaking clock stoppages in American play.
posted by billsaysthis at 11:24 AM on May 02, 2004
Whoa, I actually caught part of this game last night, but didn't realize it was a championship. I wound up in the other room screwing around on my friend's computer thinking how strange it was that they were singing the "Ole Ole Ole Ole" song at a basketball game. Thanks for the post, countzero.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:34 AM on May 02, 2004
The Wolves may not have a history of playoff success as a franchise, but Sam Cassell two championship rings and Sprewell has played in the NBA Finals as a Knick. OT: How strange is it that Houston took Sam Cassell (24th pick in 1993) and Big Shot Bob Horry(11th pick in 1992). The point being that neither was a sure thing pick and they draft two of the best clutch shooters in the NBA. Houston must have some "pressure shooting" scouting metric.
posted by Mike McD at 02:34 PM on May 02, 2004
Welcome CountZero, even though you are a Padres fan.
posted by jasonspaceman at 04:06 PM on May 02, 2004
Thanks for the nice welcome, all. Been reading y'all for a while and thought it's time to start putting my two cents in (and what better way than with your team winning a championship?). oh, and jasonspaceman - who would have thought it'd be a Dodgers/Padres battle for first place before the season started?
posted by CountZero at 04:28 PM on May 02, 2004
Why don't technical fouls count as personal fouls in the NBA? I've wondered that for some time.. Also, I was watching bits and pieces of the NBATV broadcast of the Euroleague Championship on this weekend. Within a minute or two of turning it on, NBATV had the final score of the game running on their ticker at the bottom of the screen. Can't say the game was too suspenseful after that.. Finally, and sort of off topic.. can someone explain to me how Israel gets a team in the Euroleague? The name "Euroleague" would imply to me that they were in Europe, but a map would say otherwise. I've never really understood this. I know that there are Israeli teams in European football (soccer) tournaments, but never knew why.. do Israel's neighbors count as "in Europe" also? Can someone clue me in?
posted by blarp at 10:13 AM on May 03, 2004
Israel has been playing basketball in Europe for a long time (at least the sixties, if not even before). As for soccer, they started playing in Europe only a little over a decade ago. Before they got accepted to European soccer the national team had to play against the likes of Australia and New Zeland in world cup qualifiers, since it's not that easy to organize a game between Israel and its Arab neighbors. So the switch to Europe seemed to make more sense than travelling halfway around the world.
posted by CountZero at 03:37 AM on May 04, 2004
t's not that easy to organize a game between Israel and its Arab neighbors Cricket provided Pakistan and India a release valve, maybe soccer and basketball would do the same for Israel and its neighbors.
posted by dusted at 10:17 AM on May 04, 2004
Welcome, CountZero! What are the differences in rules between Euroleague games and NBA games? Some of those records are surprising. 55 points doesn't seem like a record-setting half, but the 69% field-goal shooting is amazing. The games must be shorter, no? I think we can scratch the Mavs as a possibility for going all the way this season, but I like the Kings' chances against the Timberwolves. As for the championship, defensive teams have a much better shot. I'd be shocked if any team other than San Antonio, Los Angeles, Detroit or Indiana won the trophy.