I agree with Fubar, the level isn't that far apart especially when real basketball rules apply. As much as the NBA teams don't take the games as seriously, you'd think there'd be a bit of pride on the line. If the NBA is better by so far why has Team USA lost a handful of games in international competition?

1. NBA is better than Euroleague in nearly every way.

2. Euroleague is a damn tough competition which has several teams that could mix it on an NBA level, however it drops off after the top tier.

3. Exhibition games are in no way indicative of a realistic comparison between the leagues.

[/thread]

2012 Dallas no Nowitzki
2012 Boston Starters limited minutes team orders Garnett 15 mins. Bass 20, Pierce 26
2010 barcelona Lakers - Kobe plays 25 mins, Metta 25 - Juan Carlos Navaro plays 35 mins, Mickeal 39


What a joke of a thread, these "Exhibition games" mean nothing to the NBA players other than chasing a bit of tale on the road in Europe. None of them take it seriously at all and either dont play stars or hardly play them as all as indicated by some figures above.

Nice try but you fall drastically short of putting forth a legitimate argument.

>

You are the JOKER.

Box score proving Barca was playing their players no more than the Lakers were, and that they used a big rotation. Also, the play by play at the same link will prove the Lakers starters played the 4th quarter.

http://www.nba.com/games/20101007/LALBAR/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0011000024

Shall I continue, or will you stop trolling?

Sorry but anon is spot on here ... Nba teams don't take these games seriously, stars either sit it out or just play limited mins. The euroleague teams however go for broke as they have something to prove. To base your argument on those games scores is just not realistic. The best nba teams are another level above euroleague, thinking otherwise is just absurd... The weakest nba sides however are not much different to the top euroleague sides.

> FALSE. Phil Jackson and Doc Rivers were absolutely FURIOUS with their teams after they lost to Barcelona and Fenerbahce.

They screamed and yelled and threw things in the locker room after the losses according to the media at those games.

Jackson was so pissed off that he could barely even answer questions at the post game conference.

2012 Dallas no Nowitzki
2012 Boston Starters limited minutes team orders Garnett 15 mins. Bass 20, Pierce 26
2010 barcelona Lakers - Kobe plays 25 mins, Metta 25 - Juan Carlos Navaro plays 35 mins, Mickeal 39


What a joke of a thread, these "Exhibition games" mean nothing to the NBA players other than chasing a bit of tale on the road in Europe. None of them take it seriously at all and either dont play stars or hardly play them as all as indicated by some figures above.

Nice try but you fall drastically short of putting forth a legitimate argument.

>

Box score proving Fener also played several of their starters limited minutes when they beat Dallas, that is "limited minutes" based on your own claims.........:

http://www.nba.com/games/20121005/BOSFBU/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0011200001#nbaGIboxscore

Onan - 23:55

Karaman - 20:48

Savas - 29:04


You need to greatly improve the level of your trolling skills.

1. NBA is better than Euroleague in nearly every way.

2. Euroleague is a damn tough competition which has several teams that could mix it on an NBA level, however it drops off after the top tier.

3. Exhibition games are in no way indicative of a realistic comparison between the leagues.

[/thread]

>

"1. NBA is better than Euroleague in nearly every way."

So NBA has better defense than the Euroleague?

So NBA has more physical play than Euroleague?

Right.................................whatever.

If defense is so good in the Euroleague why is the knock on nearly every Euro NBA player that they can't play D?

If the physicality of the Euroleague is so high why do most Euro NBA players struggle with the strength of NBA players?

There is more holding, grappling, etc. in FIBA play sure, but you can't deny that NBA players are bigger, stronger, and therefore more physical, even if the rules aren't.

This isn't a knock on the European game because I rate it highly indeed (don't get me wrong here, I'm not one of those Euro-bashing one-eyed NBA fans) and in the past defense was certainly not a priority in the NBA game, but since the turn of the century at least, and especially since the Boston Celtics' last championship, defensive schemes and the utilisation of ridiculous athletes' gifts for defensive purposes has gone beyond anything we've ever seen before. You can call it the NBA playing catch-up if you like?

Miami's defense is insane, and it is only possible because of the athleticism of their players. It goes beyond X's and O's. That's the NBA. The individual skill level is so high. Those guys are so good that they can gamble way more than any textbook says you should be able to and get away with it. It blows the whole thing wide open.

Now we can argue this until we are blue in the face, and many of the bottom (and middle) tier teams are indeed atrocious on the defensive end even now, but to win a championship in 2013, you have to be a world-class defensive team on top of the offensive proficiency that is traditionally associated with the NBA.

All I'm saying is that the TOP TIER defenses are beyond anything seen in the Euroleague, and that's simply because the schemes are executed by guys who can cover tremendous portions of the court in very short timeframes due to their otherwordly natural gifts.

There's also a different way they have to approach the defensive end, because of the high individual skill level of each and every player. Ballhandlers in the NBA are so good that you don't see full-court traps, pretty much ever, which are a staple of the NBL and the European game as well. So in that regard it makes an A/B comparison difficult and probably not worth discussing.

Because players and coaches that have played or coached in both said Euroleague and EuroBasket is more physical and better at defense than NBA.

Chris Kaman said it.

Larry Brown said it.

Mike Fratello said it.

Joakim Noah said it.

I am going to trust their opinions on it more than yours. Sorry.

Maric and Baynes were borderline scrubs in Euroleague.

MY GOD there are some totally crazy lunatics here.

if the Lakers did not try to win they would no0t have had their starters play the 4th quarter of that game.

PERIOD.

Baynes averaged a double-double in Euroleague play this past season FUBAR.

And Maric was All-Euroleague FIRST team in 2010.

Well, I like both Euro league and the US based league... er, what is it called, oh yeah the NBA!

At the risk of being abused online on such an intense thread, my opinion is this...

1. The NBA is still the top of the pyramid as far as elite of the elite goes, otherwise you wouldn't see players dreaming of going there, it is untouchable for all but the very few.

2. Euro is excellent, but not quite at the level of elite athlete or physical specimin you will find in the NBA, however for the purist you will find true ballers coming from European countries that can hold their own against the USA athlete when it comes to skill.

So, in the US it is athleticism versus in Euro the pure skill, IMO!

Best example I can come up with recently is the Nike Hoops Summit game.

The US kids couldn't match it with the World team when it comes to pure shooting and structured play, but if it was a dunking contest or one where grabbing the ring gave you bonus points, well the US boys win hands down...

The US beat teams with their opponents with their athleticism no doubt but not always. But in most games they try to kill teams on transition either crashing the boards or creating turn overs and running it down the opponents throat.

It doesn't always work and that's why Spain play them better than anyone else. They can go big (Gasol brothers, Ubaka) and they can grind and slow the game down to half court with their good ball handlers and their team work in the half court. And when the USA do run on them their hit the hard like the Calderon / Durant 1st quarter foul in London.

Having said that, the US rod Durants hot outside shooter hand all the way to the Gold. The fact 6 of the Spain side are in or have been in the NBA speaks volumes for which league is the best.