Kostas Papanikolaou 18
Watch this amazing one handed steal and assist by Papanikolaou
Kostas Papanikolaou made an amazing one-handed steal and assist to set up this slam The Rockets however fell to the Clippers 110-95.
What the Rockets can expect from Papanikolaou
The Houston Rockets finally secured the services of Kostas Papanikolaou on Friday night but what will the two-time Euroleague champion bring to the table? The Rockets locked down Papanikolaou on a two-year $9.4 million contract, a big step up from the $4m dollar deal over the same period he was initially offered. With a $1.5 […]
EuroBasket: Jonas Valanciunas Leads Centres in Points Per Possession
Lithuania may want to consider giving Jonas Valanciunas more minutes after checking out this chart. The Toronto Raptors big man leads all centers in points per possession (PPP). This chart by Simon Jatsch of In-the-game.org shows, unsurprisingly, that Valanciunas does most of his work around the rim. The “Rest Two” category relates to jump hook […]
Shuffling pre-threepeat, Russians in Brooklyn: Last week’s five most intriguing Euroleague (and one NBA) acquisitions
All right, now things are getting interesting. Euroleague rosters are falling into place with top names signing with clubs that leave BallinEurope stretching the imagination – thinking about Papanikolaou outfitted in the Blaugrana here – and most of the prime pickups in the NBA have chosen their destinations for 2013-14. (Except … except … what […]
On Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Giannakopoulos and the Greek League mess
The history books will forever record Panathinaikos as having won game three of the 2012-13 Greek League championship series over Olympiacos by a score of 76-72 to complete a three-game sweep. The reality, as is sadly so often the case in Greens-Reds match, was more complicated. With just under a minute and a half remaining, […]
Euroleague Power Rankings: 2012-13 Opening Day Edition
All right, it’s that time again! With hours to go before the 2012-13 Euroleague season tips off, BallinEurope breaks out its first power ratings for the big league. Whereas normally a disclaimer to the effect of “the following ratings are based on current trending only and are not necessarily based on the overall quality of […]
Upset in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament today: What are the chances?
Right, so BallinEurope has already publicly logged Official Fearless Predictions™ for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament knockout stage in bracket format. Europe’s four representatives – group winners all – take on some decent African and North American competition, but nevertheless the bookies like an all-Europe final four in Venezuela. Indeed, there’s a high probability that […]
2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament Preview: Greece
Just one more day (or so, CET) until the heartily-named 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men tips off in Venezuela. BallinEurope continues with previews of the four European qualifiers with an assessment of Greece, a.k.a. Olympiacos and a bunch of other guys. Roster: Vassilis Spanoulis, Georgios Printezis, Kostas Papanikolaou, Kostas Sloukas, Evangelos Mantzaris […]
Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! (a.k.a. *The* European basketball story of 2011-12)
Let’s put this into perspective. The last time Olympiacos took the Greek national title, they were led by David Rivers and Dragan Tarlać. Vassilis Spanoulis was 15 years old and not near professional club play. Dejan Bodiroga was in the middle of his career and Mirsad Turkcan had just turned 21. Across the pond, Lebron […]
Taxi ride in the aftermath: Three Russians, a Turkish driver and the question why
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a YouTube clip worth? Even at tenfold the still image, the figure probably still wouldn’t be high enough for the Tolstoyesque level of descriptive prose necessary to capture the insanity that was the final, say, 12 minutes of the 2012 Euroleague championship final between […]
Euroleague Power Rankings: Do-or-die Week Edition
The key word in week three of the 2011-12 Euroleague Top 16 round: Blowout. The closest game was decided by eight points (Bennet Cantù 82, Maccabi Tel Aviv 74) and the average match showed a 16-point differential as certain teams (CSKA Moscow, FC Barcelona, Montepaschi Siena) asserted their superiority, a couple of sleeping giants (Olympiacos, […]
France U20s rely on fundamentals to take FIBA European Championship over golden Greeks, 73-62
Congratulations this morning go out to Team France, who delivered a brilliant upset in taking out Greece and another golden generation in the 2010 FIBA U20 European Championship men final, 73-62. For the second consecutive year France and Greece met in the decisive match of this tournament and, despite a complete roster makeover, Les Bleus […]