*Los Angeles Lakers fans, over whom a huge cloud of doom hangs to start this season, excluded (sigh).

As in the Eastern Conference preview, BiE seeks to keep an eye on those players who contributed a stint in Continental ball this summer during the lockout period and even, to some, extent participants in Eurobasket 2011. BiE believes that the running start from real game-time situations plus the suddenly intensive NBA season will give the Euroballers an advantage in the short-term against more laggardly opponents not in “basketball shape.” And with the shortened regular season, a jump start will provide lasting effects.

To BiE, it looks something like this.

Northwest Division
It’s another case of ecstasy in being proven wrong: Since at least, what, the beginning of the 2009-10 Euroleague season, BiE has brazenly (though not Fearlessly™) told anyone who’d listen that Ricky Rubio would never play ball for the Minnesota Timberwolves, we’re just a day away from that very occurrence. The Human Highlight Clip went to work a couple times in the preseason and could start all 66 games this year.

But could Ricky even lead what GM David “Noonien Singh” Kahn likes to think may be a “steady rise to the top”? Wellllllllllllllllllllll, BiE wouldn’t necessarily go that far, though this is a scintillating, exciting lineup suddenly, with Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Derrick Williams and J.J. Barea aboard.

But wait! From Europe are ‘Wolves Nikola Pekovic and – o, yeah – Darko Milicic. Does any realize that Minnesota is 19-90 (.174) since acquiring Darko? These two things can’t be related, can they? This dude is as good a passer as Vlade Divac, after all…

We’ll see early on as the Timberwolves get to play tomorrow night against the mighty scary-looking…

…Oklahoma City Thunder. European basketball fans can’t help but to have noticed Serge Ibaka in the past half-year, with the naturalized Spaniard going from the NBA playoffs to Eurobasket to Liga Endesa/Euroleague play with Real Madrid. And he’s looked mostly real good throughout.

As essentially the sole new member on Team Spain for the European championship, Ibaka typically got 15-20 minutes per game for Los Rojos. A couple of key performances came against Lithuania (15 points on 7-of-9 shooting with quite a few dunks and putbacks, nine rebounds, two blocks) and France (10 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of play) in early rounds, but the real badass came to play in the championship game. While scoring just four points, Ibaka controlled the middle whenever on the floor and totaled five blocks in denying Les Bleus access to the paint.

Chasing this, Ibaka merely contributing single-digit scoring with a block or 1.5 per game in Spain and in the EL for weeks, until suddenly unleashed and blowing up just as the lockout ended for back-to-back games of five blocks and 12 points against Spirou Charleroi, then a monster 15-point, five-dunk, nine-rebound, six-block tour de force against CAI Zaragoza.

BiE can’t wait to see this guy in a starting role playing a lot of minutes – any question he’ll win the block title this season? And, o yeah, the rest of the Thunder’s pretty good, too. Real good. Championship-level good.

The Denver Nuggets have an interesting roster happening, including lockout Euroballers Danilo Gallinari (with Emporio Armani Milano), Rudy Fernandez (Real Madrid), Ty Lawson (Žalgiris Kaunas) and Timofey Mozgov (BC Khimki Moscow Region). Gallinari is certainly getting the thumbs up from top-level pundits, with ESPN’s fantasy basketball machine proclaiming him “[maybe] the best player on the Nuggets this season,” while touting his “game-high 23 points in a game-high 34 minutes in the Nuggets’ preseason finale victory Thursday night. Gallinari’s shot was off (6-for-17 FG), but he was able to get to the line (9-for-9 FT) and knock down a couple of treys while also producing six boards, three assists and two steals.”

Indeed, Gallinari’s shooting percentage has been in a steady decline in the NBA since entering the league, a trend that keeps him away from all-star (or at least near all-star) status. Who knows? Maybe the lack of distraction will help.

BiE believes Lawson will be worth watching. Established as point guard with a swell stat line of 11.7 points on 50.3% shooting plus 4.7 assists per game, Ty will serve as the poster boy for BiE’s “ready to play” ideology. Plus, maybe he’ll tweet something interesting…

Then there’s Fernandez. Probably the last NBAer out of Europe, this guy has been pining to get out of American ball for some time. As the lockout ended, Real Madrid talked about attempting to keep Rudy aboard … then he had troublesome visa problems … let’s just hope the new team means a new start for the Madridista.

Finally! Enes Kanter suits up for the Utah Jazz! And with Mehmet Okur now dealt, Kanter should be seeing lots of quality time behind Al Jefferson – after seeing some nice continued development on Kanter’s part during Eurobasket, BiE anticipates the Turk’s season highly; with more confidence and work on ball-handling skills, this guy is bound to leave up to his ample promise. (Doing it in Utah, do you think anyone will notice…?)

Who can tell what the Portland Trail Blazers will do? And how much Nicolas Batum (SLUC Nancy) will be a factor? BiE loved what he did in Euroleague after another up year in the NBA…

Southwest Division
First up here: The champs, Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. It would be so easy to choose the Mavs to repeat – after all, this is the NBA, where dynasties and mini-dynasties happen. All the time – but wasn’t there something of a lightning-in-a-bottle effect last season? A perfect storm of events that included an imploding defending champion and an arrogant up-and-coming contender? Remarkably free of injury late for a squad bringing so many key veterans (Jason Kidd, Peja Stojakovic, etc.), the Mavericks weren’t exactly lucky per se but as with championship teams, the breaks went their way.

None of this is to detract from Nowitzki’s remarkable 2010-11 season, however. Nowitzki entered discussions of “top 20 NBA players of all-time” and “top European players ever” last year, and justifiably so as everyone discovered that he’d been doing this for years. And years and years in Dallas. Imagine the talk triggered by a repeat…

So can they repeat? Well, the best deal of the offseason may ultimately go down as the Lamar Odom-for-soda crackers trade – what a great shot in the arm for this roster, and one that will allow Dirk’s range to be further extended with Odom inside. Scary.

In the European interest is the current development of Rodrigue Beaubois, now ready to garner more minutes (last season marked his career high of 17.6 per game) with the departure of J.J. Barea. Much more than expected, say, three months ago, of the onus to repeat will be on Beaubois in 2011-12.

Despite his 10 years in the uniform, it will be strange to see Tony Parker donning San Antonio Spurs gear again. After a half-year’s worth of status as undisputed team leader and center of hype for Eurobasket’s silver-medaling Team France followed by Eurocuppers Asvel Villeurbanne, Parker becomes yet another piece in the puzzle with the perpetual playoff team. Again, though, BiE thinks the European warmup will do Parker and thus San Antonio much good in the early going. If he’s looking like an all-star point guard by late February, will management be so willing to trade him as has been so often rumored?

Then there’s Tiago Splitter, the former Euroleague force with Caja Laboral Baskonia. Splitter got in late to the European game this autumn, thereby playing just a handful of games with Valencia BC, though he looked impressive in his element of endless waves of the pick-and-roll. BiE found Splitter quite frustrating in NBA play in 2010-11, however, as he looked far too often to contentedly plant in the high post and set the occasional pick. Splitter could help form the nucleus for this team’s future with a modicum of constructive aggression.

What should have been could have been Pau Gasol’s new team before the whole Chris Paul-to-the Lakers deal was cruelly and pathetically subverted voided, the Houston Rockets, still have some Europeans to look for. Luis Scola is still around, fighting for minutes with three other power forwards on the current roster, while BiE fears Goran “The Dragon” Dragic may starve for minutes behind Kyle Lowery.

The best re-signing of the offseason: It’s gotta be the Memphis Grizzlies reupping Marc Gasol, doesn’t it? And in terms of the preseason workout ethic, Marc and brother Pau may have made the best decision of the lot in merely training with FC Barcelona: With little chance of injury and mostly basketball-skills conditioning going on, aren’t the Gasols primed to play?

As for Jeremy Pargo, formerly memorably of Maccabi Tel Aviv, his two-year extension signed in December is a good sign he’ll stick around despite a crowd at point guard in Memphis.

In the short term, perhaps the best that can be said for the New Orleans Hornets in 2011-12 is that Chris Kaman is in a contract year. (What? He’s German, right?) And we’re cheering for Marco Belinelli, too. On those one or two occasions we watch the Hornets.

Pacific Division
All the hype going into the season is on the newly christened “Lob City,” a.k.a. Los Angeles, Clippers. And why not? What’s more exciting sounding that YouTube fodder feeder of Chris Paul to Blake Griffin. On the other hand, can BiE throw a little sobriety into the party? Look, after these two and Chauncey Billups, the roster gets pretty damn sparse. Do they really have no natural centers to back up DeAndre Jordan? After Griffin at power forward, they’re going to Ryan Gomes and Brian Cook? And don’t the Clippers have a history of bizarre knee ailments? BiE’d be holding his breath between gasp-worthy dunks if he were a Clips fan. Otherwise, enjoy the party.

For the Phoenix Suns, the battle at center: Robin Lopez vs. Marcin Gortat!

Message from Sacramento Kings: Come back, Omri Casspi! All is forgiven!

Golden State Warriors’ starting center Andris Biedrins is looking to bounce back from a couple injury-riddled seasons with the club. He’ll definitely be depended on from among a very slim frontcourt … And who’s this? Jeremy Tyler? And listed on the depth chart behind Kwame Brown … how utterly appropriate.

Then there are the Los Angeles Lakers. As a Lakers fan, BiE can tell you that two years removed from a title already seems like decades … and the season hasn’t even begun yet. What is this existential angst hanging over this team going into 2011-12? Of course, it’s all about The Trade That Was Never Made. It’s impossible to determine what exactly was the worst bit about that disaster – even if you keep it Laker-related. Maybe it was losing Odom for nothing to the team that smoked ‘em in the playoffs last year. Maybe it was having a vision of a clear future of excellence nastily snatched away in hours. Or maybe, as BiE fears, it was the effect on Pau Gasol’s psyche.

As the Lakers crumbled steadily in the playoffs before collapsing in Dallas, Gasol was the epicenter of rumor and implied blame; many stories revolved around a nasty breakup with a girlfriend. Whatever the cause, it didn’t take B.F. Skinner to see that Gasol was in shape but distracted, blessed with stamina but not willpower.

After the non-trade was announced, he reportedly felt “devastated,” probably, reasons the suddenly suicide-level pessimistic L.A. backers (you’d be too if your fourth-best player was Josh McRoberts), erasing any good an all-tournament team showing in Eurobasket and proper training with Barcelona. And, as a Laker fan, BiE will just stop before the keyboard gets too soggy with tears.

The Official BallinEurope Fearless Predictions™ for the Western Conference playoffs, in order of seeding: Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves. Your Western Conference champions will be Oklahoma City, but they’ll lose to the Chicago Bulls in the finals.

To the games!

Here’s BallinEurope’s predominant working theory for at least the first two months of this season: The teams with more critical players who did a stint in Europe (or South America, for that matter) during the lockout will jump out to the best starts. And with a shortened season increasing the importance of every individual game, imagine what a, say, 17-5 could mean in the long-term – for a European equivalent of this model, how ‘bout that CSKA Moscow turbo boost?

So Kevin Garnett’s complaining that the preseason is too short … guys like Deron Williams have already been in real-game situations. Manu Ginobili is well rested but not “in basketball shape?” The Danilo Gallinaris, Mehmet Okurs and even the Gasol Brothers of the basketball world are set to go. More back-to-back games than ever before in NBA history? Hey, perhaps those two-a-days European coaches are so notorious for assigning will have readied these NBAers well more than the fortnight many of their colleagues are getting.

BiE would even argue that latecomers such as Tiago Splitter and late-peakers like Serge Ibaka are surely few steps ahead of the many American ballers who did not take Continental clubs up on even the most outrageous of offers. It is with this dictum in mind that this preview and Official Fearless Predictions™ were written. Today, the Eastern Conference.

Atlantic Division
First and foremost, of course, BallinEurope will be paying close attention to the New Jersey Nets, and not merely because of would-be Russian President Mikhail Prokhorov. (What? You don’t go to games to see the owners? Weren’t we supposed to learn that during the lockout?)

The future Brooklynites have a nice Euro-centric situation at point guard with D-Will (Beşiktaş) and Jordan Farmar (Maccabi Tel Aviv) warming up overseas. Depending on how one feels about Brook Lopez, European basketball fans have got to be loving last night’s acquisition of Mehmet Okur (Türk Telekom) for a song from the Utah Jazz – with the implied news that Enes Kanter is coming along over there – and former Team France/Pau Orthez big man Johan Petro may see some quality time in a Nets frontcourt with a huge Dwight Howard-sized hole.

Perpetual BiE attention-grabbers the Toronto Raptors are bringing disappointingly few European players into the 2011-12 season, though it’s not as though they didn’t try with Mickael Pietrus. Pietrus was almost a Raptor for a day before a knee injury voided a trade. Most recently, he’s been waived by the Phoenix Suns … how long before Pau Orthez puts in a bid…?

Meanwhile, the Raps still boast José Calderón, Andrea Bargnani and Linas Kleiza among the ranks … and, um, whoa. Is this really Toronto’s depth chart? Even at 66 games, this could be a long season. Or, as something called The A(bro)citation puts it, “I can’t believe that there is a question as to who the worst team in the NBA will be in 2011-12. I don’t even care about records. This team will NOT fill seats, make it on SportsCenter, or even provide the ladies with some eye candy. Rough times in Toronto right now.”

As for the New York Knicks, BiE’ll get over the disappointment of neither Amare Stoudamire nor Carmelo Anthony coming overseas to play this fall long enough to compliment the interesting-looking starting five – Amare, Melo, Tyson Chandler, Landry Fields and Toney Douglas – while goggling at the bottom of the roster. Is Jarred Jeffries really the top frontcourt option off the bench? Could the difference-makers for New York be Mike Bibby and Baron Davis? Can four starters actually play 48 minutes in every game? Scary. For Knicks fans.

For the Boston Celtics, it’s been one step backward after another since acquiring the “Big Three.” BiE’s still puzzling over the bizarre late-season move which had Nenad Krstic coming to Beantown for Kendrick Perkins, a human spark plug during the Celtics’ mini-run in the ‘00s … only to see Krstic never fit in and sign with the tough Red Army. For whom he’s doing some serious damage.

More bothersome for the Cs are KG’s above-cited comments. Garnett noted that the short preseason does no good for team chemistry; clearly he’s thinking specifically of his own team here. Who else thinks Danny Ainge’s half-baked dealing isn’t finished yet?

Euro-centrically speaking, the Celtics have signed Sasha Pavlovic, but despite Boston’s lack of true no. 3s behind Paul Pierce, the Serb may not even stick. Assesses Jessica Camarato of CSN New England: “Pavlovic flashed some outside-shooting ability earlier in his career, but he’s unlikely to do much in Boston even if he makes the team.”

In general, BiE likes the workman-filled Philadelphia 76ers roster. Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand lead a defense-minded, intangibles-first squad that could go far in a weak Atlantic Division. While the Sixers have essentially kept the 2010-11 final roster intact, word has it that Iguodala has been the subject of trade rumors; really? Meanwhile, look out for seven-foot draft pick Nikola Vucevic out of USC to steal away the starting role from Spencer Hawes; BiE believes that Vucevic is primed for a long and successful NBA career and it may just begin early.

Central Division
BiE’s NBA team to watch in 2011-12: The Chicago Bulls. Love the nice Eurobasket 2011 representation with Joakim Noah (Team France), Omer Asik (Team Turkey) and Luol Deng (Team Britain and truly one of the tournament’s studs in his short stint). Love the return of Brian “One of Us” Scalabrine after his ego-boosting term with Bennetton Treviso. Love Derrick Rose; how could you not? Love coach Tom Thibodeau and his staff’s excellent defensive sets which offensive strategy that allows for each player’s strengths to be accentuated. Love the way these guys match up with the Miami Heat. Hell, BiE even loves the Carlos Boozer extension well enough.

From Detroit Pistons land, the biggest Euro-centric news is all about Jonas Jerebko. Finally coming back to the Pistons after spending all of 2010-11 laid up, the Swede is already a fan favorite, may have earned the starting power forward job by opening day and will seemingly sign an extension with the club. O, and he’s guaranteed that Detroit will make the playoffs. Okay, BiE buys that.

The good news for the ClevelanCled Cavaliers: Omri Casspi (Maccabi Tel Aviv, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalmost) is aboard. The bad news: Well, just about everything else is bad news.

What? No Europeans on the Indiana Pacers? Former University of New Mexico stud Danny Granger needs to be traded soon so that BiE has absolutely no reason to pay attention to these guys…

Brandon Jennings (yeah, BiE still has fond memories) hopes to reclaim that “Fear the Deer” feeling with his nicely international-flavored Milwaukee Bucks in 2011-12. Ersan Ilyasova (Anadolu Efes) has looked generally decent in preseason play and in tandem with Drew Gooden comprises a nice 1-2 combination at power forward, especially in comparison with the East. New acquisition Beno Udrih backs up Jennings and has seen a ton of time – 32.2 minutes per game through five – in the preseason, perhaps indicating a respectable role with the team.

Southeast Division
As a follower of European ball, you gotta dig the Orlando Magic because they keep Hedo Turkoglu employed. What would the NBA preseason be without the annual “How much does Hedo have left in the tank?” questions?

Meanwhile, Magic fans worry about 1) if Dwight Howard will depart, 2) when Dwight Howard will depart, and 3) how disgruntled he’ll be in the meantime. If the Magic get off to a 2-8 start, well, Orlando backers will be welcoming Pau Gasol to town before February.

The mix the Atlanta Hawks has concocted is crazy enough that it just might work. European ball is well represented with Zaza Pachulia, Vladimir Radmanovic and Pape Sy. Sy may actually play this season for the Hawks. Or maybe, judging by the extremely few minutes he’s getting in December, not.

Re: What BiE wrote above about the Magic and Hedo? Ditto and even more so for the Charlotte Bobcats and Boris Diaw (JSA Bordeaux).

The Washington Wizards look so exciting and interesting that BiE’s nearly giddy enough to back Jan Vesely as a dark-horse NBA Rookie of the Year candidate. “Nearly,” BiE said, as it seems breaking into the DC starting lineup ahead of Rashard Lewis ain’t gonna happen. Nevertheless, local media is loving the Flying Czech.

The Wiz also boasts a pair of Team France guys in Kevin Seraphin (Caja Laboral Baskonia) and Ronny Turiaf (Asvel Villeurbanne). Seraphin is still looking to break out after getting limited playing time in 2010-11; hopefully for him, his decent production for Caja Laboral (10.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, about 20 minutes per ACB game; 8.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 19.25 mpg in Euroleague play) will inure him to the Washington coaches a bit more.

Turiaf spent much of his lockout time sorting out insurance issues and such, but did some respectable work for Tony Parker’s French team; BiE opines he’ll be viable bench support on this playoff team.

So the whole Miami Heat-as-Evil Empire thing is old hat, huh? Not for BallinEurope! This Euro-free team doesn’t even have Zydrunas Ilgauskas any more, so what’s the point? BiE may even have to start hating on former fave Shane Battier…

The Official BallinEurope Fearless Predictions™ then, have the following in the Eastern Conference playoffs, in order of seed: Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards, New Jersey Nets, Detroit Pistons. And your 2011-12 NBA Eastern Conference champion is … the Chicago Bulls! (That’s right, BiE said it.)

Next: The Western Conference, including (sigh) Pau and those Los Angeles Lakers.

• Big shot of the night, NBA-related or no, was certainly Mehmet Okur’s three-point dagger to give Turk Telekom the 83-81 win over Pinar Karsiyaka. Reports FIBA Europe in part: “With Turkish basketball still talking about the 50-point explosion by Okur’s former Utah Jazz teammate Deron Williams for Beşiktaş last week, Okur capped another solid performance with a long-range shot that gave the Ankara team an 83-81 triumph on Tuesday.

“Utah Jazz big man Okur, like New Jersey Nets guard Williams, is to soon head back to the United States following Saturday’s announcement that the lockout is set to end this week.

“Okur had 14 points and 10 rebounds in Izmir against Karsiyaka. … His free throw had given Turk Telekom an 80-79 advantage with 31 seconds to go, but Karsiyaka went back out in front when Alper Saruhan landed a jumper.

“After a timeout by the visitors, Okur caught a pass by Muratcan Güler and hit the shot from the arc with nine seconds to play for a two-point lead. Mire Chatman of Karsiyaka had an opportunity to put the home side back in front but his three-pointer was off target.”

• The Jerusalem Post informs that “Maccabi Tel Aviv fans got their last look at Jordan Farmar at Nokia Arena on Saturday night when the yellow-and-blue improved to 8-0 in the Adriatic League with a 96-89 victory over Cedevita Zagreb.”

Right. So let’s have a look, then.

And check out this nice work from Israel-based Haaretz on the remainder of the EL/NLB contender’s 2011-12, i.e. “With Farmar’s departure for the U.S., Maccabi’s second season begins.”

• For Valencia BC, Tiago Splitter in his second departure from European pro ball went for nine points on just 4-of-12 shooting to go with 12 rebounds in under 30 minutes of playing time. Valencia ended up winning at Lukoil Academic, 72-64, as former University of Maine/Estudiantes Madrid forward Nik Caner-Medley put in a ridiculous 27 points.

Splitter ended with stint with the Spanish side having played two games each in the Eurocup competition and the Liga Endesa, with a cumulative average of 12.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

• Asvel did not play with Tony Parker or Ronny Turiaf but won 70-53 at Oostende anyway, and Beşiktaş was without Deron Williams – though the New Jersey Net “looked on as a supporter” and watched before the game as *his freaking jersey number was retired.* In D-Will’s stead, Erwin Dudley (a.k.a. Ersin Dagli) had 20 points and 14 rebounds in Beşiktaş’ Eurochallenge victory against ZZ Lieden, 76-69.

• Coming soon (maybe): Euroleague games featuring final turns by Thabo Sefolosha with Fenerbahçe Ülker, Ty Lawson with Žalgiris Kaunas, and Nikola Pekovic with Partizan Belgrade, among others.

One interesting consequence of the NBA lockout – and possibly a precedent-setter – are the cases of Ersan Ilyasova, who has long stated that he ultimately prefers playing with Anadolu Efes rather than the Milwaukee Bucks, and of frequently disgruntled Rudy Fernandez, whom Real Madrid would like to keep around.

In fact, France-based Basket News yesterday reported that “Ersan Ilyasova, encore lié à Milwaukee pour un an, souhaiterait négocier avec les Bucks pour rester à l’Anadolu Efes.”

Second season, indeed…

In riding the wave of sentimentality to the shore, BiE today presents the virtual scrapbook of 10 favorite individual performances from locked-out NBA players. (Not included are those NBA guys who were off-season free agents; therefore no appearances by, say, Nenad Krstic, or, sadly, Adam Morrison are forthcoming.)

• Deron Williams: Leaving his mark in Europe
An obvious choice to lead off, D-Will was dubbed by BallinEurope way back at the beginning of the nothingness as already among the most influential American players in European basketball history. Perhaps that was a tad presumptuous (BiE was one of the cynics who figured the entire 2011-12 NBA season would be cancelled), but the truth is that Williams may ultimately be the sole locked-out player to leave a tangible mark on Continental hoops history in emphatically dropping 50 on BG Göttingen for the FIBA Eurochallenge record.

Said Göttingen coach Stefan Mienack in the post-game: “It’s so hard to win against a team in which Deron Wıllıams plays for.” Hear that, New Jersey Nets fans?

(Also awesome: Williams’ 24-point, 10-rebound show against Pinar Karşiyaka in TBL play.)

• Euroleague Player of the Week Andrei Kirilenko: Parts 1 and 2
The best locked-out NBA player in Europe? AK-47, and it’s not even close. CSKA Moscow’s prime addition in a busy offseason just about got off an airplane, suited up for the Red Army and bagged the Euroleague’s first Player of the Week trophy with a dominant 17-point, 15-rebound performance in the Russian side’s 87-74 victory over Žalgiris Kaunas.

The Euroleague brain trust was apparently so geeked by Kirilenko’s show at season’s tipoff that he was also credited with the dunk of opening night…

…the block of opening night…

…and the assist of opening night.

Five weeks later (and just days before suffering a concussion in the PBL game at Krasnye Krylya Samara), Kirilenko turned in perhaps the most fascinating stat lines of Euroleague play this season against Unicaja Malaga in an outstanding display of his unique skills: minutes played, 34:59; points scored, 17; 2-pt FG shooting, 1-of-2; 3-pt FG shooting, 1-of-1; FT shooting, 12-of-13; offensive rebounds, 2; defensive rebounds, 7; total rebounds, 9; assists, 2; steals, 6; turnovers, 1; blocks, 3; performance index rating, 39.

• Brian Scalabrine: Fan favorite on two continents
One of us! One of us!

• Serge Ibaka: The Shot Blocka returns against Zaragoza
In his likely final game for Real Madrid, the Oklahoma City Thunderer led his team to an easy 84-67 win over CAI Zaragoza in Liga Endesa play with 15 points (on 7-of-8 shooting, including five dunks), nine boards, six blocks (five in the first half) and a performance index rating of 29 in 25 minutes of court time – This after averaging about 12 minutes per game in Spain to that point.

As BallinEurope’s Enrico Cellini put it: “But stats can’t convey how much Ibaka dominated. His overwhelming athleticism under the boards discouraged any penetration and deterred any other shots from inside the paint. Simply all over the place.”

• Ty Lawson: A Day in the (Twitter) Life
October 25 could go down in the sports pages as a day in Twitter history – you know, if we had stuff like Twitter history. Or sports pages, for that matter. For two hours, Lawson had European basketball fans (and probably about half the population of Lithuania) spellbound with his laid-out feelings on playing for Žalgiris. And NBA 2K12.

• Nicolas Batum: Brilliantly besting Baskonia
Sayeth the league’s official writeup, in part: “SLUC Nancy forward Nicolas Batum was at his best against on Thursday with a brilliant all-around performance to lead the French champs to a 90-85 win over previously unbeaten Caja Laboral. The victory made Nancy 2-0 at home this season and just like in their previous win in front of French fans, Batum was the star of the show and subsequently earned Week 4 bwin Euroleague MVP honors. Batum amassed an impressive stat line of 21 points with just three missed shots in addition to nine rebounds, four assists and one block en route to a performance index rating of 35. Beyond the numbers, Batum was also crucial to the Nancy effort in that he played all 40 minutes – his average 39:26 minutes per game is most in the league – and was clutch down the stretch with seven points in the game’s last five minutes.”

• Tony Parker: Decisive against Cholet
Asvel Villeurbanne, wave bye-bye to your alpha dog. Parker was actually slightly under his LNB scoring average in Asvel’s match at Cholet Basket on October 29, but the two-time NBA champion contributed a “decisive” performance for his French team, going for 19 points, including nine in the fourth quarter in the 79-70 Asvel victory.

After some time in his rookie season as an undrafted player with the Miami Heat in 2005, Walsh played for the D-League’s Arkansas Rim Rockers before jumping to Europe for contracts with Olympia Larissa, Basquet Manresa, Spirou Charleroi, Union Olimpija, Aris BC and Asvel Villeurbanne.

Below, BallinEurope presents some links, highlight clips and like on some of the competing teams starring Igor Rakocevic, Tiago Splitter, D.J. Strawberry and that Williams guy, among others. O, if only BiE had time to properly cover all this basketball … sorry, the NB-what?

• Rod Higgins of the Basketball Post provides much food for thought going into Montepaschi Siena’s game against Unics Kazan on how Igor Rakocevic affects the Italian side’s game plan: Has Ferdinando Minucci sacrificed trademark defensive trickery at the cost of a faster game with another shooter?

On the other hand, perhaps Minucci’s master plan with Rakocevic is just crazy enough to work … tonight provides another nice litmus test: Unics Kazan is middle of the Euroleague table in terms of turnovers at 13 per game while Montepaschi is fifth in team scoring at 84.0 points per game.

• Once resembling a super team, CSKA Moscow entered last week’s PBL game against Krylya Samara short-handed; with Andrei Kirilenko now out for two games minimum, the situation approaches near-critical mass as the Red Army hosts Žalgiris Kaunas. Will a holey CSKA still have enough against the outmatched-on-paper Žalgiris?

Said head coach Jonas Kazlauskas in the post-game: “The thing that worries me is that Kirilenko is injured seriously. [Milos] Teodosic is injured. Taking into account that [Darjus] Lavrinovic is not practicing with the team yet, [Nenad] Krstic had a high temperature … I don’t want to get back to the difficult situation we had last season.”

So, Krstic’s back tonight while the other three above-mentioned won’t be suiting up; adjust your Euroleague fantasy rosters accordingly.

• Speaking of playing/not playing, Da’Sean Butler won’t be on the VEF Riga roster for the team’s Eurocup game against BC Khimki Moscow region – indeed, BiE believes Butler hasn’t yet left the ‘States and is not even 100% sure that the “European team” the locked-out San Antonio Spur’d claimed to have signed with is in fact Riga – but he’s anxious to get there.

• Which naturally leads to Butler’s NBA teammate Tiago Splitter; he’ll be making his 2011-12 Eurocup debut when his Valencia Basket host Telenet Oostende. Splitter went for an impressive 12 points and 10 rebounds in his team’s squeaker of an 86-83 win at UCAM Murcia in ACB play.

• In the leadup to the Anadolu Efes-Partizan game, um, here’s a picture of Sasha Vujacic:

• More seriously, Anadolu Efes claims they’re close to signing locked-out Dallas Maverick Jose Juan Barea.

• Incredibly, Hapoel Jerusalem posted its first win against Maccabi Tel Aviv in 21 years in a 78-64 shocker on Sunday – and D.J. Strawberry says it “wasn’t even our most important game of the week.” According to Strawberry, that would be Jerusalem’s Eurocup match against Cibona Zagreb.

Reports the Jerusalem Post: “Hapoel’s 80-71 defeat at BC Donetsk in its Eurocup opener means its situation inGroup A is already complicated just one game into the regular season, making a home win against Cibona crucial to Jerusalem’s hopes of finishing in the top two and advancing to the last 16…

“Zagreb’s streak of 20 straight years in the Euroleague ended this season and its Eurocup campaign got off to a nightmare start when it was thrashed at home 101-71 by BCM Gravelines of France.

“We need to win our home games in Europe, starting on Tuesday,” Jerusalem coach Oded Katash said. “There is good reason to celebrate after the win against Tel Aviv, but I told the players to put the party on hold until we beat Cibona.”

• Yet another Spur isn’t playing. Tony Parker’s shoulder injury will keep him out of Asvel Basket’s game against Lukoil Acadmic in Sofia; this will mark the first time Asvel plays without Parker since his arrival. Said head coach Pierre Vincent, “We still have a team capable of playing. It is certain that Tony makes a difference, especially in the pick-and-roll. We’ll see if others can take over. And there are other solutions to implement.”

Incidentally, the guard/team executive stated that he and Boris Diaw “have already spoken. If the season is canceled, I will make him an offer for him to come play with me and Ronny [Turiaf].”

• Deron Williams and his Beşiktaş Milangaz meet BG Göttingen in Eurochallenge play tonight. From the In Case You Missed It Department, the Eagles’ troika of D-Will, Semih Erden and Marcelus Kemp wasn’t quite up to spec in TBL play on Saturday; Erdemir handed heretofore undefeated Beşiktaş its first loss of the season by a score of 88-84. Williams went 6-for-16 overall in scoring 16 points and contributing eight assists, Kemp was 5-of-15 for 15 points and Erden battled foul troubles throughout, seeing less than 16 minutes of playing time. In that one, Erwin Dudley (!) was the top scorer for Beşiktaş with 19 points and Zoran Erceg (!!) had 16 points to go with his team-high six rebounds.

It’s been a rough 2011-12 in Göttingen, meanwhile. The team sits dead last in the Bundesliga at 1-8 while going 0-2 in Eurochallenge play, last losing to ZZ Leiden, 80-71, at home in EC play last week.

• No, Linas Kleiza isn’t getting with Lietuvos Rytas any time soon.

Whoever questions NBA stars’ ability to adapt to the European game may see Parker’s performance of last night to be a partial answer: The locked-out San Antonio Spur essentially iced EuroCup Player of the Week honors in scoring 34 points for Asvel, including 13 in his team’s high-flying 29-point fourth quarter. Parker also dished five assists and added one steal to his stat line.

Meanwhile, Ronny Turiaf came off the bench to become one of Asvel’s five double-digit scorers, contributing 12 points and five rebounds over 25 minutes in the win.

Official game writeup follows the break.

(Eurocup Basketball) – With a virtuoso performance from one of its owners, Asvel Basket delighted its home fans by downing two-time champion Valencia 87-78 on Tuesday in the Group D opener for both teams.

Point guard and part-owner Tony Parker hit back-to-back three-pointers with under four minutes remaining to break open what was a two-point game. Parker finished with 34 points, with 13 in the final four minutes. Ronny Turiaf added 12 points for Asvel, Dijon Thompson and Edwin Jackson 11 each, and Kim Tillie 10.

For Valencia, Nik Caner-Medley downed 19 points, Serhiy Lishchuk had a double-double of 16 and 12 rebounds, while Rafa Martinez added 12 points, Stefan Markovic 10. Asvel’s advantage of nine three-pointers made – with Parker and Edwin Jackson hitting three apiece – to just four for Valencia was the difference.

Both teams established inside points for their big men early, until Parker landed a three that put Asvel up, 7-6. Caner-Medley took the lead right back for Valencia on a three-point combination, and soon had nine points early on another basket to tie it up at 13-13. The game’s sixth tie would be broken on a three-point play by Parker to which Turiaf added an inside basket to take control for Asvel, 20-15, after 10 minutes.

Rafa Martinez got Valencia closer with the second quarter’s first basket, but Asvel responded with a 9-0 run that featured a steal and a block by Dijon Thompson plus five points from Parker for a 29-17 advantage. Florent Pietrus ended the drought with a layup for Valencia, but Parker was on fire, answering with a layup as he reached 13 points. When Jackson buried a triple, Asvel was up 15 points, 34-19. Martinez and Markovic cut into the Asvel lead, then Rihards Kuksiks kept it going until Valencia went on an 8-0 run to go into the locker room having cut the difference almost in half to 34-27.

Lishchuk dunked and Martinez downed a triple to get Valencia even closer, 36-32, soon after halftime, but Thompson answered from deep for Asvel. A breakneck pace surprisingly favored Valencia, as layups by Nando De Colo and Caner-Medley made it 39-38. Parker and Turiaf revived Asvel with an acrobatic layup and a dunk, respectively, to pull out to a 43-38 lead.

Lishchuk and Markovic struck back for Valencia, but Jackson’s next triple kept Asvel ahead, and when Parker found Thompson for another, the hosts led 55-47. Kuksiks came off Valencia’s bench for a three-pointer that Rodrigo San Miguel soon matched, as the difference was reduced to 58-55 after three quarters of play.

Martinez made it a two-point game with free throws to open the final stanza, but those were answered threefold, as Phillip Goss and Jackson scored from long range to boost Asvel to a 64-57 advantage. Valencia wouldn’t go away, however, as De Colo pumped in a corner triple at 69-67 with four minutes left. Parker had seen enough, however, and returned from a timeout to blast back-to-back three-pointers and make it 75-67. When Thompson soon downed a layup and Parker two free throws, it was 80-71. One more Parker jumper gave him 31 points and his team a double-digit lead to send Asvel on its way to a big home victory to start the Eurocup season.

Basket: l'ASVEL en chute libre?

Official press release on the giddy night and highlight video from last year’s Unics Kazan-Cajasol final runs below the break.

(Eurocup Basketball) – The tipoff on Tuesday of the season-opening game between Spartak and Cedevita in in St. Petersburg, Russia will mean that the Eurocup’s 10th-anniversary season has begun, too! Over that decade, thousands of basketball players from 127 different clubs have entertained more than a million fans in 27 countries across the continent. The Eurocup, originally known as the ULEB Cup, has brought elite-level basketball to arenas and audiences all overEurope and the world. As such, it has also played a major role in the continued growth of the basketball not just throughout Europe, but globally, with Eurocup teams having been home to Olympic, World, European, South American, African and Oceanic champions over the last decade.

The reach that the Eurocup has enjoyed cannot be overstated. Among the 27 countries that have competed, 17 of them have had at least three different clubs participate, which shows how the Eurocup has met its goal of broadening the talent and fan bases of the game. Similarly, some of Europe’s major national leagues have seen 10 or more teams qualify, showing that the Eurocup can also be a springboard for important basketball growth projects. Indeed, 11 of the 24 teams now competing in the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines Euroleague have played at least one season in the Eurocup. The inclusive nature of the Eurocup is even greater, if possible, when it comes to the competition’s exposure on television. Eurosport, beginning its seventh season as broadcasting partner of the competitions, brings Eurocup action to more than 50 million homes in 57 countries and 17 languages.

This season, 32 teams from eight countries will vie for the honor of lifting the Eurocup’s 10th-anniversary title. The winner’s journey will last 16 games through countless hours of travel to many countries. At the end of a decade’s worth of great basketball, it will have proven to be a journey well worth the effort for clubs, players and fans alike.

“This decade of dedication to the Eurocup on the part of the clubs is evidence that our sport is always finding new and ambitious projects, markets and fan bases,” Euroleague Basketball president and CEO Jordi Bertomeu said. “The Eurocup stands for inclusiveness. Any club ready to grow and prosper in the right ways on and off the court can aspire to this elite competition, where their efforts will be rewarded.”

In three LNB games with Cholet, the Houston Rockets draft pick out of the University of Florida, Parsons managed averages of 10.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. In his sole Euroleague appearance, Parsons played for 16 minutes in a 77-70 Qualifying Round loss to Cibona Zagreb, scoring two points to go with five rebounds and two assists.

No specific reason has been given for Parsons’ departure, and in Saturday’s match against Tony Parker’s Asvel Villeurbanne, the prospective Rocket played 27 minutes to contribute nine points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Parker’s first public appearance at the Angers-Loire airport was naturally YouTube-worthy … would you believe screaming girls…?

And prior to the game, Tony took time to sign autographs to a bit of a throng of fans, as seen in the newsy portion of the below clip – yeah, that’s Ronny Turiaf hanging out there, still dressed in street clothes.

Following the public appearance and hype, a few highlights follow, including a just wicked steal by Parker at about 0:50.

And more … the Cholet office itself put together this clip of more goodwill from Parker, plus a bit of Asvel’s practice session. (Hey, look! There’s Turiaf hanging out again!) D’ya think French basketball is excited about having Tony back home…?

After three matches, Parker is averaging 19.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals in 28.0 minutes per game. Asvel Villeurbanne is currently 2-2 in LNB play; they host defending champions/Euroleague side SLUC Nancy, currently alone atop the LNB table at 4-0, on Sunday evening.