Kyrie Irving 9
A Euro perspective on David Blatt and the Cavs
The melodrama of the Cleveland Cavaliers season has seen David Blatt come under increasing pressure. BiE’s Emmet Ryan looks at how the pressure for the first-year NBA coach is nothing he can’t handle based on his previous posts. In 1977, at the height of the Cold War, Maccabi Tel Aviv beat CSKA Moscow 91-79 in […]
The Dream Team’s children
The now elder statesmen of international hoops often speak about the influence the Dream Team had on them but what about the players who were born in the wake of that defining event in international basketball? Emmet Ryan looks at the most interesting young players at the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball. This seems […]
US Presidential Election 2012: America’s basketball diplomat hits hardwood for last-minute votes (plus Official Fearless Prediction™)
Love him or hate him after nearly four years in office, one thing is for certain: Barack Obama is the first basketball president – a fact that could curry lots of favor with Generation X and Y voters in a celebrity-charged election. Sure, Bill Clinton was lucky enough to enjoy his home-state University of Arkansas’ […]
How good is Nikola Vucevic? Very.
Not long ago, BallinEurope handed out mid-season grades for NBA players representing The Continent; rookie Nikola Vucevic was awarded a solid 3 out of 5 – a 3.5, really, if only this self-imposing grading system weren’t so harsh. BiE assessed that “subjectively speaking, Vucevic has been particularly impressive for the surprisingly impressive Philadelphia 76ers; if […]
Sam vs. the Future: Basketball predictions for 2012
It’s always a good time for some predictions, eh? Sam Chadwick, Ball in Europe’s man in the UK, today dusts off the Official BallinEurope Crystal Ball in looking forward to another year of top-quality basketball in the world’s top competitions. Who does Sammy like in the NBA, Euroleague, college ball and the Olympics? Read on […]
NBA Nuclear Winter settling in; Twitter bursts with news of player exodus
You know who benefits from the NBA player lockout? Twitter, that’s who. The website has become an endless source of interest as each event/non-event transpires in the NBA lockout soap opera. Minute to minute, commentators, players, pundits and rumormongers pithily weigh in and/or report on the immediate future of professional basketball in America… …and Europe! […]
Frustrated with players' union, Omri Casspi joins Maccabi Tel Aviv
BallinEurope welcomes another NBA player to the Continent this afternoon with the long-awaiting signing of Omri Casspi with Maccabi Tel Aviv today reportedly a reality, according to the Cleveland Plains-Dealer. The locked-out Cavalier first expressed frustration with the NBA Players’ Union this weekend and took Israel’s Euroleague club up on its longstanding offer. Writes Tom […]
Kyrie Irving: “Overseas here I come” if NBA labor deal not done soon
All right, time for more speculation. To wit: Which European team could be most in need of a locked-out point guard itching to play some minutes? The CV of the player in question includes turns on the gold-medal Team USA of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in addition to performances in the Nike Hoop Summit, […]
Watching the Las Vegas Superstar Challenge online
In the wake of the NBA lockout, those players from the big league not hawking their wares in Europe or elsewhere overseas are looking to schedule alternative games. Though a big-name international tour appears to be stalling at present, this weekend will see quite an exhibition in the four-team “Las Vegas Superstar Challenge” headed up […]