ESPN: Top 30 International Players in the NBA Today (Yao #5, Scola #20)

I think there's a couple people on that list (biedrins) that are not as good as scola now, let alone how good he will become. other than that I can't argue too much, and they did say yao would be higher if he wasn't hurt so much.

 

yao >>>> ginobili. gimme a break.

and yeah i read his reason why.

 

It also bothers me that Yao is behind Ginobili, even in the face of Yao's injuries. If this list suggests, in any way, that GMs around the league would take Ginobili over Yao, then Hollinger may want to get his head checked.

 

so what about an american allstar vs international allstar game next year?

 

Weird that Beno Udrich isnt on the list. He's had a heck of a season.

I'd include Mutombo too of course.

 

Would be fun to watch. The international allstar can field this team which will be very competitive.

Nash
Ginobili
Luol Deng
Duncan
Yao

With Dirk, Gasol, Tony Parker, Kirilenko, Turkoglu come out from the bench. It would even be better if somehow they can make the outcome matter.

 

Would be mighty fun.

International Roster
C - Yao Ming
PF - Tim Duncan
SF - Kirilenko
SG - Ginobili
PG - Nash

Bench - Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Luol Deng, Calderon

American Roster
C - Dwight Howard
PF - Amare Stoudemire
SF - Lebron James
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Chris Paul

Bench - Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony

Actually, on second thought, the International squad would get crushed.

 

I think I'd rather have Peja at the SF to punish teams teams that double/collapse on Yao. I'd probably grab Parker before I took Calderon too. With guys like Nowitzki coming off the bench? That international squad could beat the US.

 

Yeah, the Americans would crush them, even with out KG, TMac, DWade, Shaq.

 

I think when Yao's healthy, he was at least as good as Duncan this season. He carried this team during Dec-Jan.

Then again, you can't argue with the fact that Yao's missed so many games in the last three years and the Rockets have done well without him.

 

Where's Carl Freaking Landry?

He was born on Planet Krypton.

 

I didn't know a lot of them people were internationals.

 

I would love to see that instead of East vs West. I think the games would be a lot more competitive.

 

he does make some good points about Biedrins, though. He's only 21 (which I was surprised by...I knew he was young, but he's been around now...he may be the youngest player with the most experience in the league). He would have better stats and heard more from on a different team, and yet, he is also effective in the Warriors system. I think it's a toss-up between Biedrins and Scola, and depending on the current state and style of your team, you might choose one over the other.

 

Allstar vs International will never happen. Players might get too serious and injuries could happen. It's too much about the Americans vs the World which will piss alot of people off.

 

Why is Duncan listed as an International when he plays on Team USA??

 

Where have you been? Arkansas?

 

Duncan plays on the Virgin Islands team, because that's where he was born.

Interesting that Wally World was born in Spain, even though he was just an Army Brat.

 

this whole "every gm in the league would take yao over X any day of the week and twice on sundays" stance is fairly narrow-minded and another example of fans tending to overrate their own players.

yao is an incredible basketball player no doubt, but to deny that he can be a liability on defense is foolhardy, as it's happened in 2 playoff series in a row now (guarding josh howard against dallas; guarding carlos boozer or okur against utah). while many GMs might take yao over manu no questions asked, yao's marketing value probably heavily influences that decision.

from a pure basketball perspective, taking the marketing $ and the global significance of yao out of the question, any solid GM will take the best player that helps them the most; not every team needs a yao. yao might be a no-brainer for many teams, but for others, an incredibly efficient and dangerous 2-guard like manu might be a better pick. factor in yao's injuries and its very hard to argue against hollinger's picks. even if having yao guarantees a victory every game he plays in, if he only plays half the season due to injury, some people might rather have a lesser player who plays the full season.