As one who believes wholeheartedly in the forthcoming Turkish invasion of the NBA, BallinEurope sends props to Trend Basket today; via Tweet by a Turkey-based fan, the preseason statistics for the country’s four current NBAers are listed.
Here’s how they looked (based on 36 minutes of playing time):
● Enes Kanter, Utah Jazz: 21.2 points, 17.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.0 blocks per in five games
● Ömer “The Turkish Hammer” Aşık, Houston Rockets: 12.4 points, 16.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals, 1.2 blocks, five games
● Ersan İlyasova “2.1”, Milwaukee Bucks: 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.9 steals, three games
● Hedo Türkoğlu, Orlando Magic: 12.8 points, 5.7 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals, three games
Gut reactions: Looks like the even bulkier Enes Kanter is primed for a monster year two (whether anyone outside of Salt Lake City notices is another matter) … we’ll see how Asik fits with the remade Houston roster, but BiE guesses fans there might be disappointed with the results … Europe’s favorite boomerang (with three stints in Europe and four in the NBA in his eight-season career) continues to evolve nicely … as for Hedo, well, let’s just say no Dwight Howard will likely mean less production from this Turk.
So, okay, it’s only the preseason, but which Turk do you like in 2011-12?
