[UPDATE: Check out this link for a solid preview of the tournament and the Euroleague players expected to contribute to their countries. As a side note my Cameroon upset special looks worse and worse. On the bright side Korea is as big a mystery to others as it is to me.]

As I mentioned in a previous post I'm diving into the international basketball scene. And with the 2008 FIBA Men's Qualifying Tournament kicking off later today in Greece, now is as good a time as any. Hat tip to FIBA.com for the world rankings and numerous other contributions to my crash course in international basketball. Of the 12 teams involved only Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Puerto Rico don't play until Tuesday. More on them tomorrow. In the meantime let's check out the first four games.

Game One Preview

Greece (Roster)

World Rank: 6

Player to Watch: Dimitris Diamantidis - DraftExpress describes him as an unselfish 6'5 point guard with terrific court vision. More importantly Diamantidis is highly regarded for his defensive play, which is aided by his excellent lateral quickness and long arms. The latter of which is most likely responsible for his nickname - Octopus Man. Furthermore, his euroleague.net player profile lists his numerous individual awards - 2007 Euroleague Final MVP,  2005, 2006 and 2007 Euroleague Best Defender, 2006-07 All-Euroleague First Team, amongst others. As a side note Octopus Man is one of my favorite nicknames of all time.

Recent News: Theo Papaloukas answered some questions about the Greek squad as it prepared for the qualifying tournament. You can check out the interview here. I should note that Papaloukas is a major player on the Greek basketball scene and would have been my "player to watch" if people called him Octopus Man. Alas.

Lebanon (Roster)

World Rank: 23

Player to Watch: It was more difficult to find information on players from Lebanon as sites like this were not as informative as euroleague.net. So I went with Rony Fahed because I enjoyed his highlights. He appears to be a gunner. 

Recent News: As of last week Lebanon was without one of its best players - Joseph Vogel. On top of that Fadi El Khatib is battling a hand injury.

Prediction: From what I've read the Greek squad is a nice mix of youth and experience. Factor in good health and host country status and I'd be shocked if Greece lost.

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In Boston's first match up with Detroit this season, way back in December, Rajon Rondo had an excellent first half. He even pulled out his patented fake pass for one of the first times all season, tricking Rasheed Wallace in the process. Unfortunately Wallace and company are no longer falling for that move. There's a reason Rondo is shooting 34% from the field in the Eastern Conference Finals. And it's not because he's clanking jumpers left and right. Hey I'm realistic. I'm not looking for him to connect on 49% of his shots as he did in the regular season, although it would be nice. At this point I'd settle for 44% (First Round) or even 42% (Eastern Conference Semi-Finals). If he were more of a threat in the paint it would open up passing lanes and get the C's some easy buckets.

Ultimately I just don't want to see another game 7, particularly with the Lakers hanging out in LA. Go Celtics. On and Rip Hamilton is going to play.

via cache.boston.com

- It looks like Doug Collins could end up in Chicago. My gut reaction, which admittedly means very little, is that's an awful idea. Head over to Blog a Bull to see what they're is saying. And trust me they're saying a lot.

- I have to admit the Lakers looked good closing out San Antonio. Real good. Solid crowd too. Man I hate them.

- The news that the NBA will fine players for flopping next season caught me completely off guard. Of course I immediately analyzed the current Celtics and considered who this could hurt. James Posey and Paul Pierce go down a lot but they usually take a hit. In the end I decided on Rajon Rondo. Meanwhile, who do you think will earn the first fine? That's a tough question. Although the smart money might be on a guy whose last name rhymes with Minobili.

- More importantly for the Celtics, Rip Hamilton is questionable for Game 6. At gunpoint I'd expect him to play. As a side note isn't "at gunpoint" and odd expression. I've never been at gunpoint. And I imagine most people who use the expression have not either. Furthermore, if I were at gunpoint do you think the person holding the gun would be asking my opinion on whether or not Rip Hamilton would play in game 6? And what's with the black box? Why not make the whole...Sorry about that.

- Is anybody else surprised that just over 1/3 of the guys taken in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft played in the 2008 playoffs? On top of that some of them, such as Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace, have prominent roles on their teams. Of course many of those guys are no longer in the Association. And that includes this guy:

via images.askmen.com

Last Saturday I was hoping the Celtics would come back to Boston with the series tied 2-2. That's exactly what happened. And yet now I am disappointed. I've narrowed my disappointment down to three reasons:

1. In my last post I ran a poll about whether or not the Celtics would win game 5. There have been spurts of participation and throughout it has been close to 50-50. While I'm assuming that some of those who responded don't like the Celtics the end result feels a lot like how I view this team right now. I have no idea what to expect from this group on any given night.

2. Every time the Celtics have an opportunity to establish themselves as a group of guys people should fear they seem to take a step backward. It has been a maddening sub plot to the the 2008 playoffs. Monday night was no exception.

3. The Celtics still don't have a rotation. That strikes me as troublesome.

Random Thoughts on the Series/Tonight's Game

- If Boston's point guards continue to struggle the ball has to go through either Paul Pierce or Kevin Garnett on every single offensive possession that one of them is out there. If they are both out I'd like to see them run the pick and roll as well.

- Antonio McDyess has been awesome. He hits that mid range jumper with consistency, contends on defense, rebounds and won't back down from anyone. Detroit fans must look at him sometimes, then look at Rasheed Wallace and then enter a confused state.

- Count Rip Hamilton on the list of guys - Joe Johnson and David West are a few others - that I drastically underestimated. He's deadly from all over the court and is a lot tougher, nastier, and more physical than I realized.

- Paul Pierce has labeled this a must-win game and I'm not sure I entirely agree with him. There are 2 Celtics teams. One of them I can envision winning games 6 and 7 to advance to the Finals. The other one I have very little faith in. Which one is going to show up tonight?

The word out of Detroit is that Chauncey Billups is not 100%. After watching last night's game I'd say that is fairly obvious. Although the bigger questions might be as follows:

- What is up with Rasheed Wallace right now?

- Why was Billups hurt after losses and fine following the victory? Is it a chicken and the egg type thing where the Pistons lost because Billups was not fine?

- And just for kicks - if the NBA got a do over on the 2007 NBA draft, knowing what we know now, does Rodney Stuckey make it to the Detroit at 15?

I’m not sure if you’ve heard or not but the Celtics have not won a road game since the New York Knicks decided to feed Boston’s fans way back on April 14th. That’s a long time. Any guesses on how many times Michael Wilbon, Jon Barry and Stuart Scott mention this in the pre-game show? Let’s be conservative and put the over/under at 15. Of course the big issue is that the Palace of Auburn Hills is one of the most obnoxious places in the NBA to play. I’m not trying to start a blog war. Nor am I implying that Boston is the mecca of sportsmanship. That’s not the point. And to strengthen my argument I’d like to bring forward two pieces of evidence. 

1. I know Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and, even though he somehow received a minimal amount of blame, Ben Wallace were all prominently involved. And you could make the argument that the Artest/Jackson duo could have taken the show on the road anywhere. Yes even Utah. But the fact remains that this happened in Detroit.

2. When you talk about (hat tip Mark Jackson) the Palace of Auburn Hills you eventually have to talk about John Mason. As a fan of the Celtics I don’t like his patented DEEE-TROIT BASKETBALL! Yet I respect it as much as the Tennessee band playing Rocky Top Tennessee, Kansas' Rock Chalk Jayhawk, or any other chant/song/tradition that is observed by a group of fans of a team I don’t support. I’d argue that DEEE-TROIT BASKETBALL! makes more sense when it is used to signify the hometown team’s style of play rather than the Pistons obtaining possession. However, I’m willing to give that one to Mason and Pistons fans. I even respect the work whistle, although it would be cooler if the blue-collar fans could afford to go to games. Or better yet if they actually had jobs. However, I'm confused by the way Mason says Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups. Should we reward people for working in a stutter? I’m downright glad that I don’t hear Rajon R-R-Rondo at home games.

Of course the bigger issue here is that the Pistons went 34-7 at home in the regular season and are 5-1 at the Palace in the playoffs so far. It’s imperative that Boston at the very least splits. And hopefully the Celtics will get the monkey off their backs tonight.

Hat tip to Ball Don’t Lie for the Pistons Audio Page.

Maybe it's because the Celtics have lost every road game and won every home game in the playoffs so far. Maybe it's because I'm just enjoying the games. Maybe it is because Kevin Garnett is averaging 20.7 points (52.2% from the field, 81.2% from the line), 9.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game in the playoffs. Whatever the reason I find myself content to sit back and watch the games. That's bad for blogging, but good for being a fan, which is what this is all about.

What I'd Like to See Tonight:

1. Win
2. Paul Pierce continue to play at another level.
3. Rajon Rondo attack.
4. Kendrick Perkins hit the boards.
5. Ray Allen hit 2 three poitnters.
6. Low turnovers.
7. Neutralize Chauncey Billups.
8. Frustrate Rasheed Wallace
9. Push tempo
10. KG just be KG

I know ESPN and ABC have muscled out Comcast. But how about a little Tommy Heinsohn?

I caught game 7 of the Spurs/Hornets series and was struck by Tim Duncan’s performance. He finished with 16 points (5-17 from the field) and 14 rebounds. Furthermore, his last points came from the free throw line with 6:27 left in the 4th quarter. The Big Fundamental then missed his final three shots and saw Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili carry the scoring load down the stretch. Contrast that to Kevin Garnett’s game 7 against the Cavaliers when he scored 13 points (5-13 shooting), grabbed 13 rebounds and watched Paul Pierce have the game of his life.

I am not saying KG is a better player than Duncan or that the Spurs superstar is not clutch. But it’s easy for us to assign reputations to individuals and teams and then view events with those reputations in mind. It’s a crutch we fall back on because it is incredibly useful when formulating stories. For example Rasheed Wallace’s performance Tuesday night – 11 points (3-12 from the floor), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a turnover – was not a question of clutch play. Rather Wallace is known as someone who may or may not show up to play on any given night. Now Wallace and KG have both earned their respective reputations – disinterested and anti-clutch. My concern is that we tend to ignore performances that do not fit with our pre conceived story lines. When KG does step up what do we say? If Duncan puts forth a pedestrian performance by his standards and yet it only adds to his legend and that of his team’s, is there something wrong? Is there a self-fulfilling prophecy at play here? If a player answers enough questions on the same topic, sees that opinion on TV constantly and in general can’t escape it, does it eventually impact his game?

The fact is no player is as good or bad as his reputation. And if those reputations are built without all the facts something is amiss. Ultimately the margin between winning and losing is a lot smaller than we like to admit. And yet we try to explain the outcome of events in the simplest of terms. This is something that has always bothered me. For example if a team goes to the Super Bowl, does not have a curfew and loses we'll talk about their lack of discipline and focus. But if that team acts the exact same way and wins then it is complimented for being loose and not getting caught up in all the pressure. Hey I'm guilty of it. By my count I've written two "Uh oh here goes KG in the clutch" posts in the playoffs already. My posts in general are littered with this type of lazy analysis. Something to think about...

Pistons Blogs to Check Out
Detroit Bad Boys
Need4Sheed
Full Court Press
PistonsNationBlog

via assets.espn.go.com

Go Celtics.

Arron Afflalo – A rookie out of UCLA, Afflalo may be best known for his collegiate career and announcers stumbling over his last name for some inexplicable reason. To be honest I was a little surprised to see that he played in 75 regular season games (12.9 MPG) and 9 of Detroit’s 11 playoff games thus far. Afflalo entered the Association with the reputation of a defensive stopper that could score as well. Playing 9 minutes per game in the playoffs to this point Afflalo’s statistical contributions have been modest across the board. For what it’s worth he is further along than his former Pac-10 rival Gabe Pruitt. Remember him?

Chauncey Billups – Billups appeared in 3 games against the Orlando Magic but for all intents and purposes was only a factor in 2. Allegedly he is healed and ready to go. Regardless Rajon Rondo should attack the 11th year player and test that hamstring. On the flipside Billups is a match up nightmare for Sam Cassell, Eddie House and Rondo. That’s why I’d like to see the former Celtic work on the defensive end of the court. In closing check out what I wrote about Billups prior to Boston’s first game against Detroit, way back in December:

"On a team full of Celtics killers he might be the number one guy. He's a big point guard that creates all types of match up problems. And we all remember how the Ricktator shipped him out of town after 51 games. But here's my question. Why did it take him so many teams to finally emerge as a player? Billups is not a system guy like Matt Harpring who just had to catch on with the right team. I know his field goal percentages were rough over those first four seasons (39%, 35%, 37%, 34%) and point guards take time to develop. But you're lying if you saw this coming. Finally, Billups is yet another player that was robbed this year. Robbed of the chance to dominate Sebastian Telfair four times a season."

I enjoyed that Telfair joke. And if you click on that old post you’ll notice I recycled the pronunciation point about Afflalo. In closing Billups is supposed to be good friends with Kevin Garnett. Check that best friends. For some reason Tyronn Lue always stands out for me in that story.

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