(interbasket.net) -- With the NBA playoffs set to begin in a couple hours, Ibn would be remiss not to talk about the unprecedented competitive Western Conference this year and the roles that international players are having on every playoff-bound team. There is no less than 20 foreign-born players playing important roles on those eight teams. Interbasket will break down each team's international player and how important they are to their team's success.

1. Los Angeles Lakers
Key Rotation Players: Pau Gasol, Ronny Turiaf, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic
International Importance: 8.5/10
Notes: The Lakers have the most players in their likely playoff rotation with four and the newest one, Pau Gasol, has arguably been the most important player for the Lakers since being stolen from Memphis. The Lakers went from being serious pretenders to contenders with the late-season addition of the Spanish Superstar and World Champion.

Vladmir Radmanovic starts for the Lakers because he has the potential to become a game-changer with his outside shot, the problem is the 6-10 Radman isn't very consistent with his play.  If Radmanovic isn't breaking his leg in skiing accidents and lying about it, he can be a game-changer for Los Angeles.

I'm convinced that Ronny Turiaf is posed to make a splash in this year's playoffs. With his energy, all-out hustle, defense (he led the team in blocks with 1.4 a game), and with opposing teams focusing on other players -- Turiaf is going to that X-factor player that everyone talks about this time of year.

What a difference a year makes.  The former-baby-faced Slovenian has longer hair, facial hair, and grown up this year for the Lakers - bringing consistency and competitiveness off the bench.   Sasha Vujacic is the sniper that the Lakers need, is showing feistiness on defense while leading the Lakers in three-point shooting percentage (43.7).

2. New orleans Hornets
Key Rotation Players: Peja Stojakovic
International Importance: 5/10
Notes: Peja not only brings his well-known three-point shooting, but also brings the most playoff experience to the inexperienced Hornets.  Peja's range keeps the middle open for Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler to manuever inside.

I'm hoping Peja can help the Hornets advance and have a better playoff showing that his last couple years in Sacramento. Peja's always been a better second or third option player, and with Chris Paul dancing around the paint and the threat of David West, Peja is free to roam the arc for open shots.

3. San Antonio Spurs
Key Rotation Players: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Fabricio Oberto
International Importance: 10/10
Notes: International players have always played a big role with the championship Spurs teams, and with every year that Tim Duncan gets older, the more the Spurs seem to rely on French point guard Tony Parker and Argentine superstar Manu Ginobili, whom is arguably been their best player this year. If the Spurs win it this season, it would be surprising if Manu wasn't named the Finals MVP (he was ROBBED last year).

And Manu has a good repoire with Fabricio Oberto, the Spur's starting center and glue guy. The Argentine center clogs up the middle, cleans up the messes and rolls to the hoop for easy baskets.  Oberto is sometimes the forgotten Spur, but that doesn't mean Fab isn't important to their overall success.

4. Utah Jazz
Key Rotation Players: Andrei Kirilenko, Memo Okur
International Importance: 8/10
Notes: AK and Memo Okur are the #3 and #4 players for the Jazz and their play is hugely important for the Utah Jazz to advance on their progress from last year. As some of you may recall, Kirilenko wasn't in the best place last season and Memo Okur couldn't find his outside stroke in the playoffs despite earning a reputation for being a big-time shooter. Kirilenko is playing this season as if last season didn't happen, with renewed confidence.  It's likely he got a shot of adrenaline from leading Russia to the gold medal in the European Championships (and the automatic bid to this years Olympics).

Okur was well on his way to becoming the best Turkish player in the world before he lost his outside shot last season and before Hedo Turkoglu found his career in Orlando. Okur has suggested that his down year hasn't affected him, that he'll take the shots as they come. With Carlos Boozer demanding double teams and Deron Williams passing the ball, the Jazz are certainly hoping that Okur is on his game this playoff season.

5. Houston Rockets
Key Rotation Players: Luis Scola, Dikembe Mutombo
International Importance: 7/10
Notes: When Yao Ming went down, every one thought that the Rockets would go down with the 7-6 Chinese center, but that hasn't been the case. Not by a long shot. Houston definitely is more of a threat with him in the lineup for the playoffs, but the team-based play and the impending threat that Tracy McGrady could go for 50 on any given night is what makes this current version of the Rockets go. With that said, Mutombo, at age 57, is still intimidating and blocking shots, while Scola's adapting to the NBA game will help fuel the Rockets forward.

6. Phoenix Suns
Key Rotation Players: Steve Nash, Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa, Gordan Giricek
International Importance: 10/10
Notes: Steve Nash by himself is a 10/10. The reigning MVP is enough to say that international players really play important roles for the Phoenix Suns, but we need to recognize the roles that multi-talented small forward from France Boris Diaw, and power bench players Leandro Barbosa and troubled Gordon Giricek play for the revamped, re-Shaqed Phoenix Suns. Adding Giricek's shot-making ability has made the Suns that much more dangerous, and his shooting will become more important as Shaquille ONeal gets more comfortable in their re-tooled offense.

7. Dallas Mavericks
Key Rotation Players: Dirk Nowitzki
International Importance: 10/10
Notes: As the 7-0 German with the gimpy ankle goes, so goes the playoff chances for the Dallas Mavericks. Enough Said. 10 out of 10.  It's going to be a ugly off-season filled with second-guessing if the Mavs don't make it to at least game seven of the Western Conference Finals.

8. Denver Nuggets
Key Rotation Players: Linas Kleiza, Eduardo Najera, Nene
International Importance:
Notes: These three big guys cannot be more different from each other and that's why they'll play important roles. Linas Kleiza has become a surprisingly consistent offensive option coming off the bench with his ability to not only shoot the three but put the ball down on the floor and attack the basket with his 6-8, 255-pound frame.

Eduardo Najera really has created a great niche for himself. He's a poor-man's jack of all trades and I don't mean that in a detrimental manner. He plays defense, he rebounds, he gets on the floor, dribbles, drives, and is efficient with his time. Najera has also added a consistent three-point shot, the 6-7 Mexican forward has shot and made more threes this season than in all of his seasons combined. his newfound touch which will stretch the defense for Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony to work their offensive moves with more space to spare.

Nene is working his way back into the rotation after having a tumor removed, but if the Brazilian power player can get into game shape, the Nuggets will be in good shape on the inside.  Even if Nene can give 10-15 minutes of smart play, strong defense and throwing his weight around, the Denver interior will be fortified and that much more ready for a rugged playoff run.  The Nuggets will need his strength to counter Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in the first round.

What about the East? This isn't the case in the East where the amount of international players in key roles can be counted on one hand and two fingers - Hedo Turkoglu, Jose Manuel Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Anderson Varejao Sasha Pavlovic, Carlos Arroyo, and Andrea Bargnani. And none of those players are the true, unquestioned leaders that the West has in Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. Hedo Turkoglu plays a key role in Orlando, and Calderon runs the Toronto team, but the rest of those guys are solely role players. Teams like Washington (Darius Songaila), Boston, Detroit (Walter Herrmann), and Atlanta (Zaza Pachulia) have international players, but none of them play a significant enough role.

Want more?  Visit us at Interbasket.net and our international basketball forum...

(interbasket) - Don't get lost in the hype, Kobe Bryant may be the youngest player to reach 20,000 points in the NBA, but it certainly doesn't mean he was the fastest nor most efficient. 14 players reached 20,000 points before Kobe.

All these news outlets talking up this youngest-to-20,000-record has left me a little perplexed. I know it’s a nice-sounding record, but since I am a stats-kinda-guy, I find that it's inherently flawed to judge these type of records based on age. Perhaps if all NBA players entered the league at 18 years old, then the accomplishment would have some weight, but that’s just not the case - making all this mostly just hype.

Viewing this as an apples-to-apples comparison, Kobe’s feat isn’t nearly as amazing-sounding. Using the amount of games-played as our simple yet equal measure- Wilt, Jordan, Big-O, Kareem and ten other players reached 20,000 points faster than Kobe Bryant. On this list, Kobe falls to 15th. Here's the top-ten list of players that reached 20,000 points in order of the least amount of games played:

1. Wilt Chamberlain (499 games) during the 65-66 season (7th NBA season)
2. Michael Jordan (620) January 08, 1993 vs Milwukee Bucks (9th)
3. Oscar Robertson (671) during the 1968-69 season (9th)
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (684) during the 1976-77 season (9th)
5. Elgin Baylor (711) during the 1968-69 season (11th)
6. Allen Iverson (713) January 23, 2007 vs. Denver Nuggets (11th)
7. Jerry West (~720) during the 1970-71 season (11th)
8. Shaquille O’Neal (727) March 20, 2003 vs. Sacramento Kings (11th)
9. George Gervin (~745) during the 1985-86 season (10th)
10. Bob Petit (~760) November 13, 1964 (11th)
11. check out the entire list
12. check out the entire list
13. check out the entire list
14. check out the entire list
15. check out the entire list

Researching the internet and referring to basketball-reference.com I was able to determine the top-15 list (some I had to go with approximate games played) as well as including other players in the 20,000 point-club. To see where Kobe stands and where players like Dominique Wilkins, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Larry Bird, Kevin Garnett and Charles Barkley rank on this list check out the entire list and article if you dig.

This week we look at the Utah Jazz's international players, Andris Biedrins, Tony Parker and Manu without Tim Duncan, Anderson Varejao's holdout, Andrew Bogut's career thus far, discuss Hedo or Memo, and introduce Kyrylo Fesenko. Every Wednesday during the NBA season, interbasket takes a closer look at ten international NBA players that has caught our eye. (This week is for period 11/29 - 12/05/2007)

The Warrior's Steady-Hand
When one talks of the Warriors most will first think of Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis. Then they'll think of Monta Ellis, Al Harrington, and Matt Barnes. Those five maybe the faces and the heart of the team, but I think the efficiency and work down-low of Latvian center Andris Biedrins is hugely-underrated.

Biedrins is averaging 10.1 rebounds, and the 12 players that average more rebounds per game than Biedrins, Biedrins averages the least amount of minutes. Did I mention that he leads the league in FG% too?

Game by game, Biedrins stats may look inconsistent, but it's more the coach and style than the ups-and-downs of the 6-11 center with long arms and great hands. Don Nelson loves his small ball, and he'll start Harrington in the middle against teams with dominant centers, as he did with Dwight Howard. And Harrington played the majority of minutes when they played Yao Ming. So although Biedrins is good for a double-double each game, Harrington's effectiveness in hitting threes determines Andris's playing time about 30% of the time.

I think Nelly may be learning that though Biedrins isn't going to draw opposing centers outside 10-feet, Biedrins is very effective in the pick-and-roll with Baron Davis.

Dare I say that Andris more than held his own against Dwight Howard too and I don't think it was a coincidence that the Warriors started their run when Biedrins was in the lineup.

I am not complaining about Nelson at all. Being in the bay area, I'm lucky to catch many of the Warriors games; and they've perfected the up-and-down, shoot-the-first shot-offense while still getting back to scrap on defense. Additionally, Nelson was the one that first gave Biedrins (and Ellis) his shot, I just wish Biedrin's minutes were more consistent.

Hedo or Memo?
When it came down to whom was the better Turkish player - Memo Okur or Hedo Turkoglu, the last couple of years had only strengthen my belief that Memo Okur was the better player. But things have flipped around this season. Both players are playing for teams that have great records and are contributing, but it's Turkoglu this year that is having the better season, not just of the two players, but of his career.

I've always thought that Hedo Turkoglu's decision making towards the end of games has been terrible, but I have to commend his play this year. He is key to Orlando's start, I would even go to say that outside of Dwight Howard, he is the most important player on the Magic. I have no qualms in saying that Orlando wouldn't be near where they are at this point of the season without him.

Thus far, Hedo has scored in double figures in every game this year and though his shooting percentages have taken slight dips, his offensive stats have skyrocketed. His eighth season in the NBA, Turkoglu is averaging career-highs in points this year (18.6), rebounds (6.1), and assists (4.1).

It's early, and outside of a complete collapse, the Magic should be in the playoffs this season. To me, this is the time when Hedo will prove his worth to me. As I mentioned earlier, his decision making has never been great, and when the Magic are in a close playoff game this year, Hedo is their only truly-playoff-tested player. Let's see if he has learned from his mistakes.

Mehmet Okur on the other hand has never had problems hitting in the clutch. Even last year in the playoffs when he hit a cold streak, he still found ways to hit a couple big time shots when they counted. But unlike Hedo, Memo is having a rough start to the 2008 season.

He truly had a great season last year; not only because he was one of the main cogs on an up-and-coming Jazz squad, he was also named to the NBA all-star team after putting solid numbers, and earned himself a reputation for hitting clutch shots.

But things have dropped this year - maybe because of Andrei Kirilenko's renewed involvement (see below) and the continuation of Boozer's dominance -- however, Okur is playing roughly around the same amount of minutes an only shooting 1.5 less shots a game than last year, so it just might be a matter of raising his shooting percentage.

"I just go out there and play," Okur said. "(Carlos) Boozer, Deron (Williams), Ronnie (Brewer) — those guys, they step up their game, especially on offensive end. So I just want to try to shoot open shots," Okur has taken the team-first perspective when talking about his productivity this year "I'm gonna do what I'm doing out there because Boozer is doing a great job on the block, and Deron creates open shots for us. ... If I'm open, I'm gonna shoot it. If not, I'm gonna pass to whoever's open."

In addition to Memo shooting problems on the court, Okur went down with a slight injury that caused him to miss a game. He did come back strong the next game with 25 points in a win over Miami.

Who is Kyrylo Fesenko?
With the aforementioned injury to Memhet Okur (and to Carlos Boozer), 7-1, 288lbs Ukranian center Kyrylo Fesenko got called up from the Utah Flash, his NBDL team, for the Jazz's game against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday.

Fesenko, who would also leave the game with an injury, did well in his short NBA debut -- accumulating six points and seven rebounds in only 11 minutes.

Fesenko is a physical, energetic, and agile center. Constantly moving, looking for contact, aggressive with hair-flying. The way Kyrylo plays, I can see him being a more-effective Zaza Pachulia.

His naivete might be his biggest asset, he doesn't come into the NBA afraid of anyone and though light-hearted off the court, his intensity on-court will be hard to match. The 20-year old kid wants to dunk the ball like Shaq every time he touches it " I like (Shaq's) animal rage under the basket, his power," he said. "When you look at him even on TV, you are afraid of him. He is huge, big..."

While trying out for the Pistons last year, Fesenko got a chance to meet his childhood idol Shaquille O'Neal. So what did Fesenko when he had a chance to chat with his basketball hero? He reportedly told Shaq in a half-joking fashion "I will dunk over (you), if (you) play one or two more years."

This kind of humor and blase attitude off the court has apparently made quite an impression on the Utah media and his Jazz teammates, even though he's only been a in Utah a month or so "He might be so unaware, he plays well," said Carlos Boozer speaking of Fesenko's

In his only NBA game thus far, Fesenko was hit on the side of the head Chris Mihm while attempting to rebound a missed shot. He left that game, but was activated for the next game against Miami, but with Okur and Boozer back from injury, Fesenko didn't play norget the chance to dunk on Shaq (he also didn't play last night against Seattle).

Things, however are looking up for Kyrylo as his short 20-day stint in the NBDL has made an impression on Jerry Sloan "His demeanor out here is 100 percent better than what it was when he left. Not even playing basketball, just being around his teammates and being a little bit more professional about what he's doing." And Fesenko wasn't phased when he moved to the D-League, "I want to play in D-League and to be here, to get enough of game time to adjust to American basketball," he said before being called up "I repeat it 100 time, I am not upset about it. I glad to be here. What can be better than to have enough of game time — and a guaranteed contract with the NBA?"

I guess it's Utah Jazz talk this week. I would be remiss to not mention Andrei Kirilenko's progress this season. His renewed perspective has him filling up box-scores again including the third triple-double of his career (that seems odd that he wouldn't had had more by now) -- 20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 steals and 4 blocks.

The great thing about Kirilenko, for Kirilenko fans, Utah Jazz fans and Fantasy teams that have him on their team -- it's never just points or rebounds or assists, whenever he is on his game -- you can always account on great block and steal numbers too.

Andrew Who Again?
Has there been any #1 draft pick in the last ten years that has flew under-the-radar as Andrew Bogut has thus far? In his third season, the 7-0 center from Australia is having another decent season by putting up 12.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, but I really haven't heard anything about him; there just isn't much discussion of Bogut. Has he shown any potential to eventually become worth a #1 pick overall?

What I am saying is personally, I haven't heard anything about Bogut, and for being a #1 overall pick, that's a little odd to me. We're still tracking the progress of Andrea Bargnani. Everyone knows all about LeBron James and Yao Ming. We're still talking about Allen Iverson and Tim Duncan. Greg Oden hasn't put on an NBA jersey and we're still talking about him. We know that Olowakandi and Kwame Brown were complete busts; that's been discussed and proven. So what of Andrew Bogut?

Is it because he is playing in Milwaukee and no one cares outside of brewtown? I mean, I feel Yi Jianlian will consistently get more press. The question is, what can we expect from the Australian center? The #1 pick of 2005 hasn't really had the chance to become the focus point because of the Milwaukee's perimeter-orientated offense with great guards Mo Williams and Michael Redd.

I wonder whether it's because Bogut hasn't asserted himself enough. The brash, confident, and dominant college player that we saw at Utah has yet to surface. Is he still learning the NBA game? Can anyone in or outside of Milwaukee let me in on what's going on?

Will Anderson Varejao Still be a Fan Favorite if he Returns to Cleveland?
So Anderson Varejao decides to sign an offer sheet with the Bobcats... 3 years for 17 million... The Cavs have said that they'll match the offer, but as of this writing nothing is solid. Varejao can opt out of the deal after the second season and become an unrestricted free agent - which is likely in either case.

Why? I think it's plainly obvious that Andy is settling for 5.5 million a season and playing for the Bobcats for transparent reasons. Nothing wrong with playing with the improving-Bobcats, but if the choice is to play for $5.5 million on the maybe-playoffs Charlotte Bobcats or play with LeBron James and the Cavs, the Eastern conference champions? Andy's got dollar signs in his eyes still.

It seems to me that Varejao's plan is to play his #### off, opt-out when the time comes, and play the free-agent game again trying to get his ridiculous 10/mil. Andy my friend, you better pull in 20 and 10 this season to even get close to that -- good luck. You're competing with a lot of other up-and-coming Bobcats that have already established themselves offensively with the Cats -- Okafor, the under-rated Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, Matt Carroll, and Jason Richardson. Whoa, on second thought you better focus on grabbing 15 rebounds, blocking 5 shots, and play D like Ben Wallace circa 2004 in order toget the 10 mil you are looking for. Maybe the Bulls will sign you?

Seriously, I'd rather pay Fesenko 10x his salary, I think he has much more potential than Varejao.

Nash done with Canada?
Steve Nash has said that he probably won't participate in next year's Olympics in Beijing even if Canada qualifies, and many believe that the two-time NBA MVP might be done with the Canadian National Team altogether.

Though Nash is saying that he is still undecided, he is leaning towards not participating. citing his responsibilty to the Phoenix Suns "I would say no, but I can't really talk about it until the situation arrives and this season's come to a conclusion," Nash said. "But in my mind right now, I'm not going to play for Canada anymore. I just can't do both."

Many speculate that when Canada decided to part ways with Jay Triano, the Canadian National Team coach from 1998-2004 and a good friend to Nash, they knew that the decision would not entice Nash to come back.

Unlike many countries (and their press), Canadians aren't calling for the Steve Nash's head. Overall, it seems they take a nicer and more understanding approach to Nash's likely decision.

"We can't fault him." said Triano, whom is currently an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptor "Nash has given so much over so many years. I mean, you can't expect guys to play until they can't walk any more. Especially now, when he's playing on a team that plays so deep into the summer."

Current national team coach Leo Rautlins was quoted as saying "(Steve's) got a young family, and he's got to do what he feels is best for him ... And whatever he feels is best, we all support him."

Coincidentally, Nash and his Phoenix Suns will be in Toronto tonight to play the Raptors. Even with the disappointing news, no doubt the Canadians will be giving the Victoria BCnative a warm welcome/thank you.

Tony Parker, Ginobili Bigger Factors than Ever
With Tim Duncan going down with an injury that will keep him out the next few games, it will be time for Tony Parker to quiet those critics that assert his success is only based on Duncan's inside presence. Given, the numbers of those critics have grown smaller over the last few years, but when Duncan went down, it was inevitable that I would come across something to that fashion.

While people drum up something to complain about the Spurs, they continue rolling through the regular season again at 15-3, with the second-best record in the league. And they're doing it with less-reliance on Tim Duncan as Parker and Manu Ginobili are both averaging career-highs in points, FG attempts, 3pt FG attempts, FT Attempts, Assists and Rebounds.

Yes, without Duncan, they would be a different team, but the Spurs wouldn't have had the last couple championships without the play of Manu and Tony Parker. The fact that the Spurs are still successful with less-effective Tim Duncan, shows that the Spurs are special and says a lot about the system Popovich has in place.

Sources: Interbasket News, Okur Steps Back, Others Step Up (Deseret News), Fesenko Might Get Chance to Dunk on Shaq (Salt Lake City Tribune), NBDL Stint Helps Fesenko (Salt Lake City Tribune), Fesenko Fine with D-League (Deseret News), Cavs Match Bobcat's Varejao Offer (AP), Nash at End of an Era with Canada (National Post), Tony Parker Profile (Yahoo), Manu Ginobili Profile (Yahoo)

Every Wednesday during the NBA season, interbasket takes a closer look at ten international NBA players that has caught our eye. (This week is for period 11/22 - 11/28/2007)

We start with some big news out of Toronto. Spanish small forward and Toronto Raptor Jorge Garbajosa is going to have another surgery on his leg.

Ok, that's not news. That happens all the time in sports, Stuart.

True, but there's an added layer to the situation; Garbajosa played in the European Championships this past summer despite the Raptor's strong advice to skip the qualifier and have surgery done on the same injured leg that wasn't healing correctly according to the Toronto's medical team.

Instead, Garbajosa chose to represent Spain, backed by Spanish doctors that claimed further surgery was superflous. The Spanish team wanted him so much that they took out a $1 million dollar insurance policy that would cover his $4 mil salary had Garbajosa injured himself during National team duty. Looks like the Raptors might be filing a claim against that policy soon.

That's only the tip of the iceberg right now. With the Memphis Grizzlies coming into Toronto tonight, it would have brought four Spanish players in one NBA game -- Pau Gasol, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Jose Calderon with Garbajosa on the sidelines. What should be a celebratory photo-op at mid-court, has become a huge controversy in Spain and with one Pau Gasol.

Pau Gasol and the Spanish press feel as if the Raptors don't have Garbajosa's best interest in mind by sending him off to surgery, but rather they're punishing him for going against their will. Stay tuned...

On a sidenote: Would this have been the first time that four international players from the same country played in the same NBA game? I know the Houston-San Antonio game last week brought three Argentines together, but can anyone remember four players? Maybe those Sacramento Kings with Vlade and Peja?

For all our Spanish readers, there is a lighter side - Juan Carlos Navarro is finally finding his groove. In the last three gamee, the Spanish superstar has played his 34, 37, and 38 minutes -- by far his highest total minutes logged this season. During that span, Navarro has averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, has shot 55% from the field and 45% from three. Navarro had his first NBA double-double last night, 16 points and 11 rebounds (his previous high was 4 rebounds!). It seems as both La Bomba and his coach are finally gaining confidence in... well, Juan Carlos Navarro.

Is this really Desagana Diop's seventh NBA season? Yeah, I guess it is. The 25-year old came straight out of high-school and was drafted eighth overall in the the 2001 high-school-crazy draft (that saw Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, and Eddy Curry go 1, 2, and 4)

The 7-foot center from Senegal has finally found his niche averaging great numbers (also career-highs) in rebounds (7.8) and blocks (2.4) for the Dallas Mavericks - holding down the middle for the Dallas Mavericks... 

What's even more amazing, Diop has usurped Erick Dampier as the starting center, the same Erick Dampier that proclaimed himself the second-best center in the league (after Shaq)!  Make that the third-best, Damp.

Vladamir Radmanovic was never the face of consistency and level-headedness.  Despite his shooting touch, size and agility, Vladimir's career has been marred by a reputation of a bad work-ethic, whining on his national team, and sever inconsistency from game-to-game. Add all that to his lying about how he got a leg-injury last season (he hurt himself snowboarding). Not a great legacy thus far.

Despite all that, Radman has started out the season with perhaps the most promise. His points per game were holding steady at double-digits, is hitting the long ball when he open, and the Lakers are wnning games in the West. Radmanovic is shooting at a career-high clip almost across the board.

And then it came down in a 102-100 loss to the New Jersey Nets in which he shot 0-7 from three and a combined 0-10 from the field. He was 1-2 from the free-throw line and had 3 turnovers, all this in just 24 minutes. Even with his performance, Radmanovic is still shooting 44% from three.

On the other side of the shooting spectrum, Steve Nash hasn't missed from the free-throw line this season. Nash is 40-40 on free throws this year. The only other player that hasn't missed a free-throw this season is another international player - Darius Songaila of Lithuania. Songaila is 21-21.  Previous to Nash's season-record, Yao Ming had a streak of 30 straight free throws made.

When Luis Scola scored a then career-high 20 points against the Spurs last week, I dismissed it as a mere coincidence. Though he was a Spur, Scola was traded away before any real hard-feelings could be accumulated.

Now, when Beno Udrih went for 27 points (8-12FG, 9-9 FT), 5 assists and 4 rebounds in a win vs. the Spurs. I have no doubt that Beno had a little more jump to his step before and after the game against his former team.

Nenad Krstic returned from his leg-injury this season and has been slow-going in regaining form. The Serbian center is averaging career lows in all categories and has played only 3 minutes in the last four games. It doesn't look good for Krstic since the struggling Nets have won three of those four games.

Speaking of struggling Nets players - Bostjan Nachbar is averaging more minutes, points, assists, steals, blocks, FG-attempts, 3pt FG attempts and FT attempts this season but hasn't been able to carry-over his efficient shooting percentages from the previous year.

I respect Scott Skiles coaching, I do, but with the Chicago Bulls struggling, why isn't Viktor Khryapa playing more? Or why was he not even activated? I am not one of those guys that blindly love-on all international players, but did anyone in Russia send Skiles a tape of what Khryapa did this past summer?

In the one game that Khryapa has played in this season, he scored 7 points (3-5), grabbed 5 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots in 21 minutes (he also was 1-4 from FT and had two turnovers). This guy can play, plays hard, and hits open shots, I really believe he needs another look. Thank god he isn't Spanish, or Skiles would have Pau Gasol on his back...

NBA Notes: Man, that Golden State vs. Phoenix Suns game was fun to watch. Monta Ellis was the man in that game, blowing by Steve Nash like a statue and hitting multiple jumpers over Shawn Marion. Baron Davis has nothing to worry about just yet (he's playing like a beast), but we're seeing a star in the making with Monta Ellis.

Every Wednesday during the NBA season, interbasket takes a closer look at ten international NBA players that has caught our eye. This week is for period 11/15-11/21/2007.

(interbasket) - After three years of gathering splinters on the bench (and two championship rings), and with Jacque Vaughn getting the backup PG calls, little-used Beno Udrih was finally traded by the Spurs. The Minnesota Timberwolves then promptly waived the guard from Slovenia.

With the injury to Mike Bibby that will keep him out of action for nearly two months, Udrih was then signed by Sacramento and is now the team’s starting point guard. Beno had 23 points and 6 assists in Sacramento’s impressive win over Detroit and is putting up 13 points, 4 assists 2.7 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in six games with the Kings before he was injured in Tuesday’s game with a thigh contusion.

Unlike Udrih, Luis Scola never got the chance to don a Spurs jersey, garner splinters and be on the receiving end o####regg Popovich spit-filled tirade. Scola was shipped off to Houston in hopes of more playing time and not taking any minutes from fellow Argentine Fabricio Oberto. Scola came in with high-expectations and many labeling him and Kevin Durant as the serious rookie of the year candidates, but the transition hasn’t been nearly as smooth as all had hoped. Scola was struggling to find his way, and from a few games that I watched, it seemed his teammates had lost confidence in his abilities.

With Tracy McGrady injured and unable to look Scola off, Luis grabbed the opportunity to show off his wares - mid-range jumpshots, rolls to the hoops to the tune of 10-11 shooting and 20 points against… well, the Spurs. Coincidence? Probably. “It kills me to have him on that team,” Popovich said after the game, “Enough to make you spit.” Whoa, relax Pop, don’t go spitting. The man needs anger management!

Scola followed his breakout game with 20 points (on a career high 19 FG attempts), 11 rebounds and 4 assists against the Suns - unfortunately the Rockets lost both those games and have lost 4 straight after starting the season off 6-1, but it’s good to see Scola finally getting his confidence back. Hopefully when McGrady returns, the Rockets can incorporate the 2006 Spanish league MVP.

I love Manu Ginobili, but really, I am tired of talking about how he’s having a fantastic year and looks revived and is the most-exciting NBA player to watch yada yada yada… luckily I can talk about his international backcourt mate Tony Parker. After a couple slow games, Parker torched the Hawks for 17 points in the second quarter, and 31 points for the game last night. TP started the season strong but has since settled; his stats so far this season almost mirror the previous 3 seasons - 18 points, no more than 6 assists a game, 3.5 rebounds, 1 steal a game, 50% from the field on 14 shots a game. I thought Tim Duncan was supposed to the boring and consistent one?

After having another 0 point outing, Juan Carlos Navarro found his stroke in his eighth NBA game; going 8-9 from three-point and totaling 28 points in their loss to New Orleans. With those eight threes, Navarro tied a rookie-record for threes made (shared by Jason Kidd and Chris Duhon). Since then Navarro’s shooting has been much improved (it helps to go 8-9), following his record-setting night, he has gone 4-8 and 4-5 to help offset his dismal start to the season.

Andrea Bargnani has been an enigma this season. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern as to if he’ll play well one game and awful in the next. The season’s only eleven games deep and already Bargnani has had enough highs and lows to fill a NBA schedule. The 2006 number-one draft pick started out the season with 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds on excellent shooting in two wins for the Raptors - then couldn’t find his shot in the three consecutive losses (32% FG). Bargnani was benched for five games which didn’t improve his shooting confidence much (35%) before he was re-inserted into the starting lineup last night in a heart-breaking loss to the Mavs (he had 20 points and was 5-9 from three).

Golden State put a stop to their winless ways with more than a little help from their Latvian center Andris Biedrins. In their two wins, Biedrins has averaged a monster double-double 19 points and 16 rebounds at 71% from the field. Before Wednesday’s game against the Knicks, Biedrins was averaging a career high in minutes (36), points (13.4), rebounds (11.1), assists (1.9), blocks (1.9), and FT% (70%) (also personal fouls and turnovers, but that comes with the territory of being more involved). Let’s all keep in mind that this is only Biedrins fourth NBA season and he just turned 21 years old in April. I think we’re looking at another international superstar in the making….

Speaking of international big men, is Zydrunas Ilgaukskas really only 32 years old? I guess he was the Greg Oden of his day, looking much older than he actually is. It doesn’t help, despite his soft touch and consistent midrange jumper, that he’s always been slow and hulking around the basket which only served to emphasize his Oden-ness.

After playing all 82 games in his first season, Zydrunas missed 155 games the next three seasons. However, since then Big Z has only missed 14 games in the last five seasons. And this season Ilgauskas is looking like a beast on the boards, demolishing his career average by 4 rebounds per game. The Lithuanian giant is averaging 16pts, 12.1 rebounds, 1.5 blocks on 50% shooting and 84% from the free-throw in nearly 34 minutes a game while holding down the middle for the Cavs. Anderson Varejao who?

Anderson Varejao who? Oh, him. Yeah, the guy that’s still holding out and wants $10m/season (the Cavs are offering $6m). I like Varejao, but c’mon man… someone really should send him a tape of himself playing, particularly of that spin-move prayer during game three of last year’s NBA finals.

Really, this guy must have a warped sense of what he really brings to the table. I am beginning to believe the accounts from the 2006 World Championships when Varejao’s elbow broke Greece’s three bones in Nikos Zisis’ face. Varejao reportedly told him that Nikos didn’t respect him enough, enough for him to elbow an opponents face - I am seeing a little of that in his holding out.

The Dallas Mavs haven’t missed a beat — and that historically meant that Dirk Nowitzki was tearing things up — but thats just not the case this season (before last night when Nowitzki hit four straight 3-pointers in the final 1:41 of the third quarter to bring the Mavs back from a 24 point deficit against Toronto).

With Josh Howard leading the team in scoring at 21.9 a game, Jason Terry motivated by his sixth man role (with a starter-like 20.3), and Devin Harris continuing to improve (15.4ppg), the Mavs can afford Dirk’s slow start. Before his 32 point outing against Toronto last night, Nowitzki was shooting at career lows across the board FG (44.5%), 3PT (26.1%) and FT (78.1%). The last time Dirty has shot at a lower percentage in his career was when he was a rookie (40.5% FG, 20.6% 3pT, and 77.3% from the FT); when everyone thought Don Nelson was crazy for picking the wunderkind. No doubt Dirk will pick up the pace, and if the other guys are rolling as they have been, the Mavs are going to be even tougher.

I don’t know about you, but I have yet to be convinced of Sasha Vujacic. He keeps showing up on the Laker’s roster year after year, but I’ve never seen much out of him when I saw him play.

Looking at his stats this year, it might not be obvious that anything has changed this year - but if you look deeper, you can see that Vujacic is having a very promising start to the season. Currently, the backup guard from Slovenia is averaging a career best in points (6.5), in only around nine minutes a game, his lowest mpg of his career thus far.

It’s not his points or assists, it’s Sasha’s efficiency from the floor which has seen his shooting percentages near Steve Nash levels. Given, thats not a fair comparison seeing as Vujacic shoots about 3.5 times a game, but instead of shooting at a low-30% clip, he’s hitting over half his shots this year. “Sasha last year made every shot in practice — and couldn’t make one in a game,” Kobe Bryant said. “Now he’s starting to put `em together, so it’s cool.”

Other notes: Man, I would really hate to be an opposing NBA center when Dwight Howard hits his prime. That guy is seriously a beast; I’m talking Shaquille O’Neal freak-of-nature-size-plus-athleticism-scary (and the terrible FT%). D-#### (there’s got to be a better nickname than that) is putting up 22pts, 14rebs, and 2.4 blocks on pure overwhelming athleticism without a go-to move or a back to the basket game.

Sources: Sacramento Kings sign guard Beno Udrih to fill in for Mike Bibby (CanadianPress), Popovich and R.C. Buford: How Scola and Udrih got away (MySA.com), Raptors still have confidence in slumping Bargnani (Canada.com), Dallas Comes Back from 24 point deficit to defeat Toronto 105-99 (Yahoo!), Lakers trying to figure out backcourt minutes (Honolulu Advertiser)

News Around the World 11/14/2007: Pain in Spain

News Around the World 11/14/2007: NBA International Report
( interbasket.net) — Yao Ming leads us off this week as he was named NBA player of the week for November 12th (Tracy McGrady won the honor the week previous) as Yao averaged 27.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. The Houston Rockets are now 6-2 dropping their second game last night - Darko Milicic went at Yao all night to the tune of a season-high 20 points (and Rudy #### served up a highlight facial on Luis Scola). Last week I spoke a little too soon about Yao’s early rebounding as a sign of things to come; in the three games since, he’s averaged only 8.3 a game which is more Yao-like. At least he’s still blocking shots at a much better rate (2.5/game).

Manu Ginobili continued his fantastic play. He’s averaging 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.6 and 2.4 assists assists in just under 29 minutes off the bench. The Spurs are 7-1 blah blah blah. #### Hum.

Not to be outdone, the other South American super-six man Leandro Barbosa poured in a career-high 39 points against Orlando Saturday. Barbosa just wasn’t just busy attacking the basket and hitting threes (he hit eight), he also had 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in that game. Barbosa is a####ing 19.1 pts on a career-high (barely) 48.4% from the field.

What ’s up with Steve Nash and his scoring binges this season? Is he taking cues from Leandro Barbosa? Maybe teams are taking the Mavs approach with the “let-him-shoot-so-he-can’t-involve-his-teammates” or Nash is just being more aggressive this season? Nash has already scored 30 or more points this season three times. His efficiency hasn’t suffered any as he’s shooting a blazing 57.8% from the field overall, 54.3% from three (!) and has yet to miss a free-throw (20-20) in averaging a career-high pace of 20.6 ppg. Only bad thing I can say is Nash’s assists-to-turnover ratio isn’t very Nash-like at 2.1 assists for every turnover.

Stay in Europe, Rudy!
Lots of Spanish NBA players in our news this week, and none of the news is overwhelmingly great news in fact, most of it is bad.

In the last two seasons, Pau Gasol has averaged 20.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2 blocks a game. So far this season, Gasol’s stats are down significantly across those categories. Generally, I don’t make much of early season stats, particularly points, but sometimes there is something so glaring that I believe it indicates something larger. Gasol has only blocked a total of three shots in six games this season - this from a guy that’s rejected an average of 1.8 per game throughout his career? In the two losses to Utah and Portland, Gasol had just eight total rebounds in both games, went scoreless in the second half of both games, and taking a total of one shot. So why? Is he unhappy with Rudy ####’s more involved role? Unmotivated by the prospect of another long NBA season without a chance at a championship? Easier to complain in Spanish when you have Spanish National team member Juan Carlos Navarro (who is shooting 28.6% and finally hit his first two-point field goal last night)? Maybe Gasol is miffed by the conspiracy he insists is going on with Jorge Garbajosa minutes in Toronto? Not sure.

Speaking of a Spaniard’s declining minutes this season — Nate McMillan’s early season assertion that Sergio Rodriguez had fallen behind rookie Taurean Green for the backup PG duties haven’t come to fruition yet. I don’t know if it was just lip service to fire up Rodriguez, but he referenced Sergio’s lack of three-point shooting for his reasoning. Though Rodriguez’s minutes have fallen (12mpg last season compared to about 9 this season), he has obviously outplayed Taurean Green and impressed the coach enough to handle at least some of the backup PG duties. This is a good time to bring up that Rodriquez hit an important three pointer followed by a layup to put the Blazers up 87-82 in their win over the Pistons last night. So far, Taurean has only played 2 minutes in the Blazer’s seven games this season.

I’m sure at least a few of these players are in the ear of Rudy Fernandez, and it can’t be helping his case to come over to the NBA any sooner.

Maybe he just needed to let it off his chest.
Andrei Kirilenko is playing like the old AK-47, his last three games Kirilenko has averaged 13.3pts, 9.3rebs, 9.3asts, 2.6stls, and 2.6blks. AK’s statlines for the last three (points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks) look like this- 15-8-8-0-3 against Sacramento, 15-12-9-4-1 against Memphis, 10-8-11-4-3 against Seattle.

Many unfamiliar with the Warriors roster probably wondered why they traded Jason Richardson away this off-season. J-Rich played such a huge part in their playoff run last season. Not to diminish Richardson’s importance, but a big reason why the Golden State management didn’t flinch was because they had a promising second-year, English player Kelenna Azubuike on their roster. Kelenna has a smooth jumpshot along with a 40-inch vertical leap, and the ability to get to the free-throw line (sound familiar?). Let’s not forget that the decision was a little easier when they looked at their books; Golden State is paying Kelenna the minimum, while J-Rich is set to make $11 million this year and 40 million over the next three years. “We liked him last year. He was just awful young,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “He’s worked hard this summer and it looks like he’s a player. … A real player.”

By many accounts, it’s not difficult to cheer for a guy like Azubuike. He’s a nice guy with no-attitude on or off the court and is a strong aggressive player that plays hard, slashes, and can get to the rim with regularity. After leaving Kentucky early to help his family pay for his father’s misdeeds, Kelenna wasn’t drafted in 2005. He tried to catch on with the the Cavs and Rockets, but was eventually waived by both teams. On both occasions, Kelenna landed in the NBDL. He led his team to the championship and was named all-NBDL in 2005, then led the NBDL in scoring his second year. The promising guard is averaging 18.8pts, 5.2 rebounds and shooting 53% from the field this year.

Jose Juan Barea is getting a lot more run this year and he’s doing an efficient job — shooting 57.1% from the field, leading the league in 3pt% at 70%, 100% from the FT line (7-7) while averaging 9.7 points a game. However his biggest strength has thus far been negated; penetration and dishing the ball. Barea is averaging only 1.4 assists with 1.2 turnovers in his limited playing time.

Yi Jianlian continues to impress; playing his best game (statwise) against fellow countryman Yao Ming. “I hate to say this,” Yao said “but he may be better than me.” Take it easy Yao, let’s not get crazy yet. Though the Houston Rockets walked away with the win, Yi gave the Buck’s management a reason to smile with early career-highs of 19 points, 9 rebounds and tying his high of 3 blocks. Overall Jianlian is averaging 11.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks and has scored in double-figures his last four games.

Walter Herrmann can’t seem to find his range. After skipping out on the Argentine National Team this summer to focus on his game. With his extra training. it’s mind-boggling how he hasn’t improved upon his strong finish to the 06-07 season. Instead Herrmann is shooting a horrendous 23% from the field, and is 0-4 from three this season. Herrmann’s bad start has him riding the bench, and has recorded DNPs in a couple games before coming in for garbage time last night against the Miami Heat.

Remember, this was the same way Walter started out last season — Herrmann displayed little to nothing in the preseason, was on the verge of being cut, and along with the injuries he sustained added up to a terrible start. The start continued into his season until after the halfway mark of last season when he finished so strong that his name was brought up for Rookie of the Year and not one giggle was heard - that’s a serious turnaround.

It looks like it might be deja vu this year, hopefully for Herrmann, the work he put in this summer starts to show sooner than later. Even though things may have opened up for Herrmann when Adam Morrisson got hurt, nothing is ever guaranteed as tough-as-nails rookie Jared Dudley has been taking Herrmann’s minutes and been producing.

Random NBA notes: Ugh, Stephon Marbury. What a complete fool. I know I am not privy to all the details and this involves Isiah Thomas, which further muddies the situation, but I can’t help but jump to conclusions with this guy. When does one become smart enough to recognize a pattern in their career? It seems every team Marbury leaves- gets better, and I read that he’s been with 12 coachs in 12 years — probably none of which have ever been completely satisfied with his performance. How about them Celtics? An interior presence, a great outside shooter, and a versatile swingman. Only unbeaten team at 6-0, not bad, but lets stop all the comparisons to the mid-80s Celtics. Thanks. With all this talk of rookies Kevin Durant and Yi Jianlian, don’t forget about Jeff Green. The rookie from Georgetown is making the most of his time off the Seattle bench and he doesn’t have the green light a la Durant. Green scored 12 points, all in the second quarter against Orlando, on an impressive array of jumpers, drives and even a 10-foot hook.

Sources: Yao, Garnett Named NBA Players of the Week (NBA.com), Father’s bad choices reflecting on son’s future (CBS Sportsline), Rookie Yi impresses elder statesman Yao (Yahoo Sports), Gasol Struggling and Unhappy (Yahoo!), Gasol claims Raptors have grudge against Garbajosa (Sportsticker), Sergio Rodriguez Falling in Portland (Interbasket Forums), Seattle vs. Orlando Recap 11/13 (Yahoo!)