World Basketball Championships for Men 2006

[Slo spurs fan]

Slovenia also have the best PG in Eurpleague (Jaka Lakovic (Panathinaikos)), I know he´s not related to NBA but he is so good...

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Slovenia also have the best PG in Eurpleague (Jaka Lakovic (Panathinaikos)), I know he´s not related to NBA but he is so good...

Yes, he is good, but not as good as Pablo Prigioni (Tau Ceramica)

[Slo spurs fan]

Yes, he is good, but not as good as Pablo Prigioni (Tau Ceramica)

You mus be joking, right?

[MaNuMaNiAc]

Pearl Harbor

hmmm... yeah... not the same thing BY FAR! Very bad example Comparing 2000 dead soldiers against 100,000 dead civilians! pffff Not to mention the problems caused by radiation

Didn't mean to hijack the thread jeje, but I had to comment on that post

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

You mus be joking, right?

Different players. Lakovic is a scorer, while Prigioni is a playmaker. Prigioni has been huge for Tau in the last few months, he led them to winning the King's Cup and was selected MVP over Scola.

We also have one former NBA player, Marko Milic.

From group A, I think Lebanon and Nigeria (or Venezuela) won`t make it.
From B Panama and Japan.
From C Qatar for sure and probably Turkey, but it˙s hard to say.

From D It`s very hard to say. Senegal, and I think China won`t make it either.
I just hope Slovenia doesn`t srew up something. Having 9 players related to NBA in some way and not coming through would be a bit embarassing. The only thing that could make up for that is a victory against the US.

My favourites for winning are USA, Argentina, Spain, Lithuania and France.

Venezuela, on paper, is much more than Lebanon and Nigeria.
I agree on group B, but if New Zealand has a bad day against Panama they could be surprised.
In C, Qatar will be last for sure, the other one will be hard to say.
In D, Senegal, and the other one should be the one that has the worst form between China, Puerto Rico and Italy.

[adrien]

^Interesting enough that they were not scary on EC. Parker not at his best at the beginning and Diaw not very reliable. I am impressed with Diaw's play for Sonics. If Parker will be able to pull out some Nash's way of leading France national team, Diaw could be major factor.

@Zeleni: you are real Zeleni (Green). Chill out. Argentina is reigining Olypic champion, show some respect.

Diaw not very reliable ? Have we watched the same tournament ?
Diaw has been awesome carrying France when Parker was tired at the begining and playing his versatile style. He was named in the best starting five of the EC.
By the way, he plays for the Suns

[SlovenianGuy]

Diaw not very reliable ? Have we watched the same tournament ?

FT% 19.2
5/26

[spurschick]

hmmm... yeah... not the same thing BY FAR! Very bad example Comparing 2000 dead soldiers against 100,000 dead civilians! pffff Not to mention the problems caused by radiation

Didn't mean to hijack the thread jeje, but I had to comment on that post

What part of "I wasn't comparing" didn't you understand.

[zeleni]

Different players. Lakovic is a scorer, while Prigioni is a playmaker. Prigioni has been huge for Tau in the last few months, he led them to winning the King's Cup and was selected MVP over Scola.

Lakovic is a playmaker. Prignoni is a sub who gets favorite treatment couse he needed to perform quickly after Ukic's injury. He is making a name for himself... but he is still not a guy everyone is relying on.

Lakovic is by far more reliable as a player and more skilled as well. Panathinaikos will be champs mostly on his and Mike Batiste's account.

Tau on the other hand doesn't stand a chance in TOP 16. Not against CSKA or even Rytas. Smodis is a better player than Scola and Stelmahers is a better playmaker than Prigioni.

Left hand, Tau is more a fractured team than Spurs. Their injuries are more fundamental. Their players less qualified. Tau is not going to final4.

[Pero]

Smodis is very good, but it`s hard to say if Smodis is a better player than Scola, considering he`s injured a lot...

[prerok]

just to notice
Slovenia is only a 2mio country

wonder if there's any region with 2mio population in the world that could compete in so many sports on same level

[zeleni]

Smodis is very good, but it`s hard to say if Smodis is a better player than Scola, considering he`s injured a lot...

Smodis could be the only one who could play Nowitzki that game we lost and still respond to those triples late in the game by Pascal.
Truth is, that he has troubles with his back, but that can be fixed if treated carefuly all season long. Scola is a great player, but Smodis...he could be in NBA long time ago making a name for himself. Even when playing with Ginobili he was as important as Manu or that physical giant.
They almost won the next championship with Smodis alone, if only Sani Becirovic didn't convert that late FT. Smodis would then surely be MVP.

Europewise:
Smodis: 1 Euroleague
Scola: 0 Euroleague

That would be it, wouldn't it be, Pero?

[Solid D]

USA has to play Puerto Rico again first thing in Sapporo. Remember what happened in Athens? Arroyo and PR wiped the floor with Team USA.

[zeleni]

just to notice
Slovenia is only a 2mio country

wonder if there's any region with 2mio population in the world that could compete in so many sports on same level

Do not bragg with 2 MIO...please. We should be better... How can we win a handball championship by being satisfied with a silver medal long time ago, eh?

Ben Franklin said:
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

Let's do it!

[zeleni]

USA has to play Puerto Rico again first thing in Sapporo. Remember what happened in Athens? Arroyo and PR wiped the floor with Team USA.

Puerto Rico will be pumped up again.. This will be a great game.

[Pero]

Smodis could be the only one who could play Nowitzki that game we lost and still respond to those triples late in the game by Pascal.
Truth is, that he has troubles with his back, but that can be fixed if treated carefuly all season long. Scola is a great player, but Smodis...he could be in NBA long time ago making a name for himself. Even when playing with Ginobili he was as important as Manu or that physical giant.
They almost won the next championship with Smodis alone, if only Sani Becirovic didn't convert that late FT. Smodis would then surely be MVP.

Europewise:
Smodis: 1 Euroleague
Scola: 0 Euroleague

That would be it, wouldn't it be, Pero?

I forgot about that, Smodis was amazing. Even when Manu was there, he was very important, his clutch play in the Euroleague playoffs (finals) was one of the keys to Kinders victory if I remember correctly.
If they would`ve won that final four he`d defenetly be the MVP.

I just hope he`ll play for Slovenia this time...

[prerok]

Do not bragg with 2 MIO...please. We should be better... How can we win a handball championship by being satisfied with a silver medal long time ago, eh?

Ben Franklin said:
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."

Let's do it!

ts ts
we're trying to fool the enemy

and forget handball on this forum. these guys have no idea it is a team sport or sport at all.

I am just marking down august date for Slovenia:USA
and hoping for
1 - Beno
2 - Vujacic
3 - Nachbar
4 - Brezec
5 - Rasho

With second team on the bench scary enough for any yuro team.

[zeleni]

I just hope he`ll play for Slovenia this time...

(Erazem Lorbek hugging Matjaz Smodis)

That would be a great attack tandem along with Rasho and Brezec. The best frontcourt in WC! And Milic... And what about Tušek?! That would be too good to be true.

Team Slovenia is equal to Team USA on size and skill with such guys on our team. We lack only in backcourt with Lakovic and Udrih, Becirovic and Capin. I expect problems only with compact teams like Puerto Rico. Those would be the most hardheaded teams to break.

[angel_luv]

Slovenia
Primoz Brezec (Bobcats)
Bostjan Nachbar (Hornets)
Rasho Nesterovic (Spurs)
Beno Udrih (Spurs)
Sasha Vujacic (Lakers)
Sani Becirovic (Nuggets)
Erazem Lorbek (Pacers)
Uros Slokar (Raptors)

More NBA Slovenians- yea!
When do these guys come over? And how is Jaka Lakovic?

[zeleni]

ts ts
we're trying to fool the enemy

and forget handball on this forum. these guys have no idea it is a team sport or sport at all.

I am just marking down august date for Slovenia:USA
and hoping for
1 - Beno
2 - Vujacic
3 - Nachbar
4 - Brezec
5 - Rasho

With second team on the bench scary enough for any yuro team.

No Nachbar please... He needs to play better. We will see how he does in playoffs.

I do not trust Sasha as well. Beno could grow up and play a decent game, Sasha would be more a defensive guy...and I cannot see him do a lot. Except he already went under Iverson's skin. Maybe he would be our tough guy

This will be a great summer... I'm so sorry I don't get to go to Japan... I missed football, and now this basketball... I'm not sure Asian are worth this kind of hassle for me. The timezones and all that.

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Lakovic is a playmaker. Prignoni is a sub who gets favorite treatment couse he needed to perform quickly after Ukic's injury. He is making a name for himself... but he is still not a guy everyone is relying on.

Lakovic is by far more reliable as a player and more skilled as well. Panathinaikos will be champs mostly on his and Mike Batiste's account.

Tau on the other hand doesn't stand a chance in TOP 16. Not against CSKA or even Rytas. Smodis is a better player than Scola and Stelmahers is a better playmaker than Prigioni.

Left hand, Tau is more a fractured team than Spurs. Their injuries are more fundamental. Their players less qualified. Tau is not going to final4.

Lol. Prigioni isn't a sub of Ukic, he was a sub last year but he had Calderon in front of him, and even then, when he wasn't 100% fit, he played for long streches, sending Calderon to the SG spot.

He has directed Tau this season, Scola's impressive season is directly linked to Prigioni's playmaking.

I don't agree with this whole "Panathinaikos will win, Tau don't stand a chance in Top 16". You are way overrating Eastern European teams and underrating Spanish teams. Remember that last season Tau went into the final 4, and even won an incredible match in Moscow, something that many other teams weren't able to do. Greek, Israeli and Russian top teams are very good, but the overall level of the league can't be compared with Italy or Spain. CSKA, Maccabi or Panathinaikos always have a walk in the park to win their league. Smodis in no way is a better player than Scola; again, he's a different kind of player. Does Smodis bring so many scoring options and moves in the post as Scola?

And if we are going to compare les...
Scola:
1 Olympic Gold
1 Silver medal in World Championships
1 Spanish League
2 times Euroleague runner-up
3 Spanish King's Cup

[zeleni]

Lol. Prigioni isn't a sub of Ukic, he was a sub last year but he had Calderon in front of him, and even then, when he wasn't 100% fit, he played for long streches, sending Calderon to the SG spot.

He has directed Tau this season, Scola's impressive season is directly linked to Prigioni's playmaking.

Yes, he was meant to be a sub. Ukic then fell apart due to that horrible game against Spain. Scola will always have an impressive season...he IS a GO-TO guy for them after all. Not many teams have a big man to score big points in Europe.

I don't agree with this whole "Panathinaikos will win, Tau don't stand a chance in Top 16". You are way overrating Eastern European teams and underrating Spanish teams. Remember that last season Tau went into the final 4, and even won an incredible match in Moscow, something that many other teams weren't able to do. Greek, Israeli and Russian top teams are very good, but the overall level of the league can't be compared with Italy or Spain. CSKA, Maccabi or Panathinaikos always have a walk in the park to win their league.

Spain and Italy have the strongest league compe ion. But we are not comparing leagues, are we? Maccabi won Raptors...ergo Euroleague is better than NBA? No one is saying that. Maccabi is just a team stronger than Raptors.
Overrating Eastern teams? No. Tau has a chance going to Final4 by winning 4 of 6 games, Rytas cannot. But Rytas is capable to beat TAU twice, while the same cannot be said vice versa. Panathinaikos on the other hand can beat everyone on his group. Tau is a thin team, plagued by injuries and in the middle of creating a team for years to come. They will not win anything except maybe Spanish les (they already done that with Kings Cup).

Smodis in no way is a better player than Scola; again, he's a different kind of player. Does Smodis bring so many scoring options and moves in the post as Scola?


And if we are going to compare les...
Scola:
1 Olympic Gold
1 Silver medal in World Championships
1 Spanish League
2 times Euroleague runner-up
3 Spanish King's Cup

1 Slovenian League (he has beaten Olimpija by himself)
2 Italian League
2 Italian Cups
1 Euroleague
1 Euroleague runner-up

Too bad our NT is just now beggining to rise up. It would be great if we had some NT medal to add to this CV.

You are right, they are hard to compare. Smodis has great scoring options and a good 3pt game. He is a great rebounder and a decent defender with ability to block shots. His only problems is his back..an injury waiting to happen.

[Dario]

ts ts

I am just marking down august date for Slovenia:USA
and hoping for
1 - Beno
2 - Vujacic
3 - Nachbar
4 - Brezec
5 - Rasho

With second team on the bench scary enough for any yuro team.

1 - Beno
2 - Lakovič
3 - Smodiš
4 - Lorbek
5 - Brezec
is our first team

[MI21]

Australia will rise from below and earn the le of World Champions.

[zeleni]

1 - Beno
2 - Lakoviè
3 - Smodiš
4 - Lorbek
5 - Brezec
is our first team

2nd team:

Becirovic
Milic
Nachbar
Tušek
Rasho

+Capin
+Vujacic
+Slokar

WOW...

Watch out USA...