Euroleague.net reports: Although it may seem contradictory, the best testimony for the first monthly MVP of the 2008-09 Euroleague season is how little he played while pacing his team to early dominance in its group. Ersan Ilyasova of Regal FC Barcelona did so much so early in both games during October that his team coasted to easy victories without needing his help to finish them off. Against quite distinct opponents and in quite different circumstances, Ilyasova and Barcelona won their first two games in Group B by an average of 26 points. That the second of those blowout wins came by 24 points against another group favorite, Panathinaikos, capped off in spectacular fashion what was already an incredibly busy and successful month for Barcelona. In between tying for first place in the Spanish League with a 4-1 record in October and taking on the Euroleague, Barcelona flew to Los Angeles for 72 hours in the middle of the month play two 100-point-plus exhibition games is less than a day against NBA teams. Every step of the way, Ilyasova’s versatility has been apparent. He ranked seventh among all Euroleague players in performance index rating for the month, third in rebounds, 11th in scoring. Most telling, he led Barcelona in both scoring and rebounding despite playing only the fourth-most minutes on the team. For his amazing efficiency on the court in a pair of huge wins that could easily have been difficult for his team, Ersan Ilyasova is Euroleague Basketball’s choice as October MVP.
Category: NBA News Blog
NBA news blog
Week 3 Euroleague MVP is Igor Rakocevic
Euroleague.net reports: One of world basketball’s best shooters has outdone himself at the start of the Euroleague season. Tau Ceramica guard Igor Rakocevic, a former Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner, recorded the competition’s best individual performance in Week 3 to lead his team to a blowout 106-65 home win against Alba Berlin. Tau is now the only undefeated team in Group C and one of four Euroleague teams that has yet to lose. Rakocevic needed just 25 minutes to score 27 points against Alba on 6-for-6 three-point, 1-for-3 two-point and 7-for-7 free-throw shooting. Rakocevic also added a game-high 5 assists and 4 fouls drawn to reach a performance index rating of 34. Sani Becirovic of Lottomatica Roma followed with a 33 index rating based on his 23 points in a road win over Union Olimpija.
Matt Barnes now father to twin boys
Phoenix Suns forward Matt Barnes left the team prior to last night’s 113-103 win over the Indiana Pacers to be with his fiancée, Gloria Govin, who gave birth to twin boys, Isaiah Michael Barnes and Carter Kelly Barnes.
The timetable for Barnes’ return is undetermined. The Suns return to action Friday night in Chicago against the Bulls at 6:30 p.m. (Phoenix time).
Jerry Sloan has 999 coaching wins
Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan is one win shy of 1,000 victories as head coach of the Jazz. With the win, Sloan will be the first head coach in NBA history to achieve 1,000 wins with one team. The Jazz head coach currently holds an overall record of 1093-717 and a 999-596 record with the Jazz.
Currently in his 21st season as head coach, Sloan is 204 victories ahead of Red Auerbach (second all-time wins with one team) and 366 wins ahead of the only other active coach in the top five, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (third all-time). Sloan is also the longest tenured coach in all of major professional sports. There have been 219 coaching changes in the NBA since he was named head coach of the Jazz on December 9, 1988.
Over his first 20 seasons, he has produced two conference championships, seven division titles, 16 consecutive winning seasons, 12 seasons with 50-plus wins and 18 playoff appearances. The 4-0 Jazz are seeking their third straight Northwest Division title in 2008-09.
Sloan will celebrate his 20th anniversary as Jazz head coach on December 9 when the Jazz travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves at 6 p.m. MST.
Greg Oden still hurting
So far, Greg Oden’s NBA career has consisted of weight-gain and injuries. He’ll be OK eventually. And this will be ancient history someday. Hopefully. But for now, things are questionable.
The Oregonian (Jason Quick) reports: It’s not exactly encouraging news on the Greg Oden injury front. As of Wednesday night, Oden was definitely being ruled out for tonight’s game against Houston, Saturday’s game against Minnesota, and now his status for the team’s upcoming trip east is tenuous at best because of his sprained right foot. “He’s not pain free,” coach Nate McMillan said. “He still feels something.” Today marks Day 9 since Oden suffered the injury on opening night against the Lakers. The team figured his rehab would take 2-to-4 weeks, and a popular prognosis being sold by some people was that Oden’s recovery would be closer to the two weeks than the four.
Amare drops 49 on Pacers
The AP reports: Amare Stoudemire scored 49 points, falling a point short of his career high in the Phoenix Suns’ 113-103 victory over Indiana on Wednesday night. Stoudemire was 17-for-21 from the field, made 15 free throws without a miss and had 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals. He just missed his career high of 50 points, set against Portland on Jan. 2, 2005.
Redd has minor ankle sprain
Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd missed Wednesday’s game. But he’ll be back soon. The AP reports: Michael Redd, expected to return Friday night at Boston, was injured Sunday against New York when he landed awkwardly chasing a loose ball in Milwaukee’s 94-86 victory.
Matt Barnes out with family issue
The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: Suns center Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup for tonight’s game because starting forward Matt Barnes left the team moments ago for a family emergency in the Bay Area.
Obama played basketball on election day
The AP reports: Barack Obama unwound with a couple hours of basketball Tuesday as he awaited Election Day results that he hoped would give him not only the White House, but by a margin that would help to unite red and blue America… Later, Obama spent two hours at the Attack Athletic Center on the city’s west side to play basketball with friends and staff. He made the game a voting-day ritual early in the primary campaign after he won in Iowa and South Carolina on days when he’d played basketball. He’d lost in New Hampshire and Nevada, on days when he didn’t play. As Obama played basketball, a crowd of about 75 people gathered in a park across the street in hopes of catching a glimpse when he emerged.
Thunder sign Steven Hill
Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti announced today that the team has signed center Steven Hill.
Hill (7-0, 245) saw action in three preseason games with the Portland Trailblazers, recording averages of 1.0 points, 0.7 rebounds, 0.67 blocks and 9.0 minutes.
The Missouri native played four seasons at the University of Arkansas where he averaged 4.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.11 blocks as a senior. Hill was named Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a junior.
The Thunder roster now stands at 15.