USA win U19 FIBA World Basketball Championship for fifth time

The American basketball future - much like the American basketball present - is shining bright.

USA's under-19 Men's Basketball team defeated Serbia on Sunday night in Prague (Czech Republic) to lift the 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship for a record fifth time. No other team has won the tournament more than once. The USA used an impressive 13-1 run in the fourth quarter to sneak away to a 82-68 victory, thus ending the tournament undefeated.

It was Serbia's second consecutive silver medal at the tournament, after finishing as runners-up to Lithuania in 2011.

The Americans, who were dominated through the course of the tournament, were given some healthy competition for three quarters by a feisty Serbian side in the Final. Jovan Novak of Serbia was the game's leading scorer with 21 points, but the USA used a balanced attack, led by forward Montrezl Harrel (17) to slip away to victory.

USA's Aaron Gordon, who only had six points and six rebounds in the Final, was named the tournament's MVP for his efforts leading up to the Final game of the tournament. He was the finest amongst near-equals in a balanced USA team. Gordon, who is committed to the attend Arizona next season, is one of the brightest young American players and was named the MVP of the 2013 McDonald's High School All American game.

Defending champions Lithuania had to settle for the bronze medal after defeating Australia 106-100 in overtime earlier in the day. Lithuana were led by Tomas Dimsa (19) while Dante Exum (28) and Dane Pineau (20) led the way in a losing effort for the Aussies.

Earlier on the semi-finals, USA had destroyed Lithuania 100-60 in a balanced effort led by Marcus Smart. Nikola Jancovic scored 21 points to lead Serbia past Australia 63-58 in the other semi-final. Dante Exum had 20 for Australia.

Final Standings

1. USA
2. Serbia
3. Lithuania
4. Australia
5. Spain

All Tournament Team

• Jahlil Okafor (USA)
  
• Aaron Gordon (USA)
  
• Dario Saric (Croatia)
  
• Dante Exum (Australia)
  
• Vasilijie Micic (Serbia)
  

NBA's loss is CBA's gain

When the NBA and it's players failed to agree on a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), and thus, put an end to the current lockout, there is another CBA that seems to have gained: the Chinese Basketball Association. And now that the NBA's player's union has disbanded, and the 2011/12 NBA season is seemingly slipping away, China will start looking like an even more attractive destination for NBA players.

Of course, going overseas isn't a newly-discovered option for former NBA players - bit players who couldn't find NBA jobs and those who were past their prime have occasionally taken the leap overseas and taken their talents to Europe, South America, and in rare occasions, to Asia.

But the change in economy has also directly influenced the change in preferred basketball-player destination. The NBA, which is the richest and the most competitive basketball league in the world, is obviously the dream destination for every basketball player in the world. But the NBA is no more (for now): and so, during this lockout, more and more players are thinking China. Europe is in serious recessions, while China has become the world's second largest economy. It also happens to be a country crazy about hoops - of course, the cultural barrier in the Far East as compared to Europe may be a tougher hurdle for the average NBA player - but the CBA has rising competitiveness and relative financial strength in its favour. No team outside the NBA can really match NBA salaries, but in today's economy, it seems that the CBA comes the closest.

The CBA was only founded 16 years ago - in 1995. The first American player to play in the league was James Hodges. There are 17 teams in the league.

The first American to play in the CBA was James Hodges, back in 1996. Since then, former NBA players slowly made their way back and forth, but the biggest breakthrough in NBA to CBA history was the arrival of former All Star and Timberwolves/Nets/Suns/Knicks/Celtics guard Stephon Marbury. One of the most exciting (and possibly crazy) players in the NBA, Marbury shocked the world when he joined China's Shanxi Brave Dragons in 2010. Since then, Marbury has played for the Foshan Dragons and has now signed for the Beijing Ducks. In the process, he has become one of the most popular players in China, all while also promoting his shoe company there. For a former perhaps-nutcase, Marbury has flipped his career around for the better with the China move.

Now, to promote their own talent, Chinese teams have quite stringent rules for allowing foreign players on their rosters and for the playing time that the foreign players get. All teams except the Bayi Rockets can have a maximum of two foreign players, although the bottom five teams in the league are allowed to sign an additional Asian player to their roster. When facing an opponent in any game, the foreign players are allowed to play a combined total of six quarters, except for when teams are facing the Bayi Rockets, in which case the foreigners can play up to five quarters.

Why the Bayi Rockets exceptions, you ask? Well, the Rockets are China's Army Team, and thus, they feature only Chinese players. The Bayi Rockets also happen to be the squad that beat up players from the Georgetown University team in a 'friendly' game a few months ago. They also happen to be the most successful team of the CBA, winning 8 of the 16 titles so far.

Until last season, a few former NBA players did manage to make their impact on the, although none of them were as well known as Marbury. These included former Kings player Quincy Douby (Xinjiang Flying Tigers), who was last year's China All Star MVP, former Knick/Hawk Randolph Morris (Beijing Ducks), former Spur/Clipper/Bobcat Marcus Williams (Shanxi Brave Dragons), former Clipper/Mav/Wizard James Singleton (Guangdong Southern Tigers), former Rocket/Wizard Mike Harris (Shanghai Sharks), former NBA journeyman Andre Emmett (Fujian Sturgeons). Another former NBA big name - Steve Francis - had a shot with the Beijing Ducks, but it never really worked out. Former Kings player Bonzi Wells had a pretty successful 1 season in China with the Shanxi Brave Dragons.

Still, nothing prepared China for what was going to happen across the pond this year. When the NBA went into lockout, most of the players took the wait-and-see approach before deciding on their futures overseas. But some of them were more proactive and decided early. Now, compared to basketball leagues in other countries, China has strict rules that are still keeping NBA-ers at bay: once a player signs with a Chinese side, he has to play the whole season. In other countries, players can break their contract and return to America if the lockout ends; not in China.

But many players have made the jump eastwards anyways, and from the looks of things, many more are now considering it. Already, a major portion of the former Denver Nuggets have traded the Rocky Mountains for the Great Wall: Wilson Chandler (Zheijiang Lions), Kenyon Martin (Xinjiang Flying Tigers), and JR Smith (Zheijiang Golden Bulls) signed for CBA teams a few months ago. They were joined by the Nets' Dan Gadzuric (Jiangsu Dragons), and the Hawks' Josh Powell (Liaoning Dinosaurs). Chinese stars Yi Jianlian of the Wizards also headed back to his homeland to play for the Southern Tigers, who are the league's defending champions.

And a few days ago, the Suns' Aaron Brooks became the latest to accept a contract with the Chinese team, signing with the Southern Tigers. Chinese teams have been showing interest in bringing over Shane Battier, too.

And of course, there was a major push a few months ago for Kobe Bryant - it didn't resolve to anything back, but since the NBA's status has gone from bad to worse, I'm sure that even the Mamba would be thinking about expanding his horizons. Kobe would definitely become the biggest basketball name in country, and perhaps the best NBA player to ever play in an overseas league. But Chinese fans shouldn't get too carried away about that, yet, as he has a lot more international options and offers to choose from.

The NBA, our favourite league, is unfortunately slipping. Who knows when, and if, there will be a settlement between the two sides, especially now that they're going to court. But the NBA's loss has become the CBA's gain. And while the world's best basketball league in the world's strongest economy squabbles and shuts down over money matters, the second-strongest economy in the East seems to be becoming a brighter option for the basketball starved players.

It's Prediction Time!

Now, with the trade deadline behind us and the rosters for the NBA teams more or less finalized, I've decided that it's a good time to make my end-of-season predictions for the NBA. These include my predictions for end-of-season awards (MVP, ROY, etc), the All-NBA team, and who will be the last team standing as 2010 NBA Champions...

There are a few more months to go in the regular season, and, in any other year, the favourites for the playoffs and the championship would've been crystal clear. This season, though, is a lot more unpredictable. There are lot more 'favourites' for the title, and the playoff race, especially in the West, looks like heading towards a wild finish.

On to my bold predictions then. Let me know if you have any views, disagreements or wagers (I'll make them as long as they involve KFC or Mutton Fried Momos.


Most Valuable Player (MVP): LeBron James. There have been contenders all season. Kobe was the favourite early on, Steve Nash made some noise of his own, D-Wade is always in contention, Dirk has been playing better than he did when he won MVP, and Kevin Durant has been playing out of his friggin MIND these days. And of course, the definition of 'Most Valuable' too changes from person to person. But whatever you're reasoning - best player on best team, best statistical averages, or a balance of the two - this year, there is no debate. LBJ has been on a whole different level.
I'm a bigger fan of all those other players mentioned above, but LeBron won't be denied. Although they've lost three straight, the Cavs will end up with the best or second best record in the league. LeBron is averaging 30.0 ppg (1st in league), 7.1 rpg, and 8.5 apg (6th in the league). Those numbers make me sick.
And then he went along and had a 43, 13, and 15 night in the loss to the Nuggets. 43, 13, and 15. I think I just threw up in my mouth.

Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans. I'm really happy about this one. Since my main man Ricky Rubio decided to defer his journey to the NBA, Evans became my favourite for this award. Brandon Jennings' hot start (capped by that incredible 55-point game) threatened my early season prediction, but it seems that Evans' consistent play (20.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.2 apg) should see him comfortably win this award. If only the Kings can now start winning some basketball games again...
You might have already read about this, but if Evans finishes the season with a 20, 5, and 5 average, he would only be the fourth rookie to achieve it. The other three? Some players called Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, and LeBron James.


Most Improved Player: Aaron Brooks. This is an especially contentious award, because everyone has a different opinion of what they would call most improved. Other contenders in my mind were Brooks' former teammate Carl Landry (same kind of improvement, but he wasn't a team leader like Brooks, and he got traded), Rajon Rondo (close call), Marc Gasol, Gerald "Crash" Wallace, Trevor Ariza, JJ Hickson, Josh Smith, and Kevin Durant (who went from ROY to elite, to superstar in 3 seasons).
But I choose Brooks, who improved his scoring averages from 11.2 to 19.4 this season and assists from 3.0 to 5.0. He is now playing major minutes at the point and leading a hard-working, overachieving team from the front. Rockets lost their three best players in Yao (to injuries), Artest (to Lakers) and McGrady (to injuries and Knicks) and they're still relevant. Tell me the last time that has happened?

Sixth Man Award: Jamal Crawford. Carl Landry was actually my front-runner for this award, until he got traded to the Kings, for whom he will become a regular starter and thus not really be eligible. Crawford has helped strengthen the Hawk bench, and the Hawks are now amongst the best teams in the East. A senseless jacker in the past (mostly with my Knicks), Crawford is now averaging an efficient 17.6 ppg as a 6th man.
Other contenders for this award are Jason Terry, Al Harrington, and Manu Ginobili.


Defensive Player of the Year: Gerald Wallace. This is one of my favourite categories: "Crash", as he's called, is the best defender in the league's second-best defensive team, the Bobcats (ya, I bet you can't believe that!) - only the Celtics are better. Wallace is a versatile player and a hound on the defensive end. Defense is terribly hard to quantify through statistics, so it is a combination of things that would help voters in judging the 'best' defender. My main man Ron Ron and Dwight Howard are contenders too, but this is Wallace's award to lose.

Coach of the Year: Scott Brooks of the Oklahama City Thunder. This is another difficult category, but from all the contenders, three stood out: Brooks, Rick Adelman (Rockets), and Lionel Hollins (Memphis Grizzlies). I'm gonna hand this award to Brooks though: the young Thunder team won only 23 games last season, and the same squad of players have improved along with Brooks' guidance so much this season that the Thunder have already won 32 games, and are on their way to a 48 win season. That is improvement.


All NBA Team:

G: Steve Nash
G: Kobe Bryant
F: LeBron James
F: Kevin Durant
C: Dwight Howard

Notable emissions: Nowitzki, Bosh, Wade, Duncan, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony.

All Rookie Team:

G: Brandon Jennings
G: Tyreke Evans
F: Omri Casspi
F: DeJuan Blair
C: David Anderson

Other rookies have played really well, Anderson is only there because Centers are a dying breed.

Ok, now that the invidual predictions are out of the way, this is what I predict the Playoff Picture will look like, for the East and the West.

East

(1) Cavaliers
(2) Celtics
(3) Magic
(4) Hawks
(5) Raptors
(6) Heat
(7) Bulls
(8) Bobcats


So in the first round, I predict that the Cavs will get past the Bobcats, the Celtics play a rematch of last year's thrilling first round series against the Bulls, and will win it again, the Magic will beat the Heat, and my first upset prediction: Raptors over Hawks.
2nd round: Cavs will play and beat the Raptors, and Celtics will get by the Magic.
Conference Finals: Cavs over Celtics - but I say it goes seven games, making the Cleveland Cavaliers the Eastern Conference Champs.

West

(1) Lakers
(2) Nuggets
(3) Mavericks
(4) Suns
(5) Jazz
(6) Thunder
(7) Blazers
(8) Spurs

I know, putting Spurs EIGHTH is sort of blasphemous towards the last decade's best team, but that's just how competitive the West is. There will be three teams in the West with winning records that won't make the playoffs: Hornets, Rockets, and Grizzlies.
So, that sets up an exciting Lakers vs. Spurs first round series, which I say the Lakers will take in six or seven difficult games, and thus preparing them for more battles later on. Nuggets will get past the Blazers, Mavericks will beat Thunder, and Suns will beat the Jazz - no upsets here.
Second round: Lakers over Suns and Nuggets over Mavericks, setting up a repeat of last year's conference finals...
... Which I say the Los Angeles Lakers will win again, and go into the finals as Western Conference Champs.

NBA Finals: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Los Angeles Lakers.
So the Finals will be an exciting battle between Kobe/Gasol/Bynum/Artest/Odom against LeBron/Shaq/Jamison/Mo Williams/etc... Mamba vs. LeBron and Shaq! Artest (the best defender against a LeBron) against LeBron! Gasol and Bynum vs. Jamison and Shaq! There's a lot going on here...
But... I say the Lakers win and repeat as NBA champs.


Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant... Mamba will win the series and the award over LeBron, the regular season MVP.

Now, let the season proceed: I will compare my predictions to the final results at the end of June. Feel free to add your own predictions for comparison/debate. It's looking like an exciting few months in the NBA, before the great free agent class of the Summer of 2010 offer us an intriguing offseason.