Panathinaikos head coach Zelimir Obradovic "I don't agree with the game being played only by NBA rules. Since it's an exhibition game and a European team plays, I think the rules should have been considered. But anyway, there is no reason to wast time talking about this. Now, we play against the champions of NBA, the San Antonio Spurs, and we must be better. Here everything is very good and we are very pleased coming to the States and playing these games." Panthinaikos swingman Kennedy Winston "We didn't play the way we were supposed to play. Of course, there was frustration from our side with the referees and the rules, but the thing is that we didn't play that well. Now Saturday, we're going to come out and try to play better. Of course, the Rockets played very well today and we cannot do anything about the referees." Houston Rockets head coach Rick Adelman "Panathinaikos is a hard team to play against because they have so many pick-and-rolls and they shoot the ball so well. That is one thing that hurt their team is they were so frustrated. They couldn't figure out the rules, with the defensive three seconds, the moving picks and the hands on people. Their assistant coach told me they were really frustrated." Houston Rockets guard Mike James "We know this was a good team. We've got to give them credit because they're a good ball-moving team. This is preseason for us, but we understood that they were going to come out really hard and so we had to come out with intensity early. We did and we kind of took their heart from them early and we kept pounding on them early and we didn't let them back into the game. We still had a lot of turnovers tonight and there is a lot of room for improvement, but a win is a win." Houston Rockets forward Louis Scola "It was tough to play against Panathinaikos here. I have played against them a lot in Europe. I told our guys if we do what we have to do, then we would have success. I think it was a little bit easier for me to play against Panathinaikos, since I know a little bit the way they act on the court. I think I am adjusting well in the NBA, even though I still try to learn how to avoid fouls on pick-and-rolls." http://www.euroleague.net/item/16012
We have to play by their rules in the tournaments. They sound like a bunch of whiners. You are playing in NBA stadiums in NBA cities against NBA teams. Of course you have to play by NBA rules.
I have to disagree with him. If you play in our league, you have to play by our rules. Exhibition or not. I believe whenever an NBA team plays over there, its international ball rules and not NBA rules or comprimised rules. Euro's best team without their best player got ran over by a Houston Rockets team in the preseason without their best player while trying to learn a new offense.
lets see here who do you think would draw more $ here? an NBA team or a euro team? same with overseas and if its an NBA organized event then yeah its NBA rules
typical whinny euros with their rules and what not....we play by their rules and lose in the world championship but we dont complain. and that was a championship. they are playing an exhibition series! in the usa and they are playing OUR PREASON! so why wouldnt it be by OUR rules! its not like we dont have international players on our team that have to adapt to the rule change also. i didnt see scola get as many TO as they did and he only has one game more experience in the NBA then them.....sad....but the truth is no euro team can beat an NBA team i just dont see it happening...if you play in the best league in the world, on their home court, your playing with their rules, no questions about it
It's never a good idea to match two teams that play by two very different sets of rules. Each side has a valid argument. 1. It's between two different leagues, so it should be played by a "neutral" rule, which is the international rule. 2. It's on NBA turf, so it should be played by NBA rule.
Although I agree the visiting team should abide by the home team's rules, the recent internationalization of basketball should have FIBA scrabbling to impose some kind of uniform standard when it comes to rules. Just look at soccer (football). No matter which league or continent you play on, the rules are relatively uniform. A slide is a slide. An off-side is an off-side. Granted, basketball is much more difficult to officiate than soccer. But from a purely basketball perspective, I think David Stern has sold out purely for profit and rating incentives. But I guess that's a catch 22. Without the ratings, bball wouldn't be as popular as it is today. Rules such as no hand checking, no zone, and 3 second violations make for high scoring, entertaining basketball but it destroys the game itself. So that's why I think FIBA should come up come up with a set of uniform rules that only applies when it comes to "inter-league" competition.
The Grizzlies lost to Spain's Unicaja on Tuesday night 102-99. I'm not positive but since this is a NBA sponsored event, I'm sure they were playing by NBA rules.
i like what their headcoach said, expressing his disagreements, but not b#ithing in anyway and looking forward
You can't compare basketball with soccer. Soccer has fairly simple rules. Basketball rules are a lot more complicated. Most importantly, basketball is a lot more individual dependent. A freakishly talented, or physically dominating player can change how the whole game is played. You can't take over the game like that in soccer no matter how talented you are. A lot of unique rules in the NBA are the results of some specific players' effects on the game.
They played with hybrid rules. Which is the best thing to do, in order to have competitive games. They should have done the same in the USA.
that coach was an idiot for not finding out the rules beforehand. given that the game doesn't really mean anything, no big deal. can you imagine, though, if team USA lost its first few games and Coach K's excuse was they didn't know there'd be different rules. don't blame the refs, or your players....you're the coach, you should find out what the rules are and relay those changes to your team.
really? defense 3 seconds is changed to defense 5 min. moving screen becomes under 3 steps moving screen is ok.
