Two starters in Newley and Maric have been kept out of the two games against Spain because of minor injuries. I don't know if it was because of the injuries but the coach was using a small ball line up with 3 point guards.
I forgot about Newley. Watching them continually jack up and brick 3s against Spain while Ibaka played Human Eraser made them look pathetic. I'll admit to not watching any of their other warm up games. Maybe they played better.
Not to mention that if the Heat had Rubio as their starting PG they might end up as the worst team in Euroleague. It would be desastrous for the image of the NBa.
Considering that the Heat were exposed by the half zone the NBA allows by the Mavs.............in the NBA, defenders must be within an arm's length of the offensive player and also you can't stay 3 seconds in the lane......... In the Euroleague, you can use a true zone (no rule about staying within an arm's length) and there is no defensive 3 seconds rule. There is also hand checking allowed in Euroleague (it's banned in NBA) and they do not award free throws for piling into the lane defenders (eliminate most of Wade's offense). In the Euroleague, traveling is not allowed (it is in the NBA). Also, the rules are different, as you only get 2.5 steps without a dribble (it's 3 in the NBA and they usually allow more than that anyway) and you must dribble (with the ball hitting the floor) before you can make any offensive move from a stationary position (eliminate most or nearly all of LeBron's offense). Then you have Rubio, who can't shoot if his life depended on it and was already an enormous offensive liability in the Euroleague, with his team playing 4 on 5 on offense all the time, and with teams literally leaving him 10-15 feet wide open all game long, with him still managing to air ball shots and failing to make teams pay for leaving him open all the time. He was basically a worse version of Rafer Alston. So, the team you propose of the Heat plus Rubio would indeed be an epic disaster in the Euroleague.
Yep I'm from Europe myself and am one of the guys that agree with your thoughts about Rubio. Actually it is really depressing seeing how he performed being under 17 and how much potential he seemed to have. He seems to have zero confidence on offense nowadays and stealing and scoring/passing on transition seems to be all he has left. Also think he will disappoint the guys here thinking he will be an all-star. He'd also be a terrible fit if he'd play for MIA as he has absolutely no use with guys like Wade and Bron slashing and demanding the ball. But still, do you really think European teams can defend Bron and Wade on transition and on drives and prevent guys like Miller or Jones from hitting 3s? How would they perform against MIA's athleticsm on D? Could a zone run by European players really stop their drives without fouling out? I really can't see it.
If Wade and LeBron were not allowed to travel on every single play, which they would not be in Euroleague, then their supposed athleticism would drop drastically. LeBron looks so out of this world athletically because he can take 3-5 steps without a dribble every time he touches the ball in the NBA. Almost all of his athletic dunks would be eliminated in the Euroleague, just simply be the different travel rules.
Can you provide a clip of these so-called 5 step moves? I don't care what league they are playing in, they are going to dominate. Thinking otherwise is just foolish.
No, but you can watch every game on ESPN3. Don't live in the US? http://www.eurobasket2011.com/en/ci...ompID_qMRZdYCZI6EoANOrUf9le2.season_2011.html
Thanks. I didn't know all the games would be on ESPN3. That is totally awesome! Because of the lockout, I'm really fired up for this. Watching Spain's warm-up games with the standard-sized key (instead of the trapezoid) was kinda strange. Looks like FIBA Americas will also be on ESPN3 the next couple of weeks.
The Olympics allows Team USA to travel. Not remotely similar rules criteria as the Euroleague has. In the Euroleague you are NOT allowed to travel. FIBA and Olympics competitions give an enormous allowance of travels to Team USA players. This is not even in the same discussion.
