March 3, 2010 at 9:29 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Dave Ryan
Luol Deng was missing with a knee injury on Monday as a short-handed Chicago Bulls team went down to a 116-92 home loss against Atlanta Hawks
Deng has swelling in his left knee, and James Johnson, a seldom-used rookie forward replaced him in the starting line-up.
With centre Joakim Noah still out of action, the Bulls were outscored 34-25 in the first period, and Hawks led from tip to buzzer.
Deng is listed as day-to-day, so will hope to return to action against Memphis on Thursday, and Bulls continue their home when they face Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.
The man who may one day be Deng’s Great Britain team-mate, Ben Gordon, did at least get to play, but there was little joy as his Detroit Pistons went down 95-88 at Golden State Warriors.
Gordon came off the bench to finish with eight points, three rebounds, a couple of steals and an assist in 19 minutes.
Pistons managed to blow a 50-37 half-time lead, and were outscored 29-19 in both the third and fourth periods.
They visit the Knicks on Wednesday evening and move on to Cleveland on Friday evening.
Chicago remain sixth in the Eastern Conference table, with a 31-29 record, while Detroit are 12th win 21 wins from 60 games.
Picture courtesy of NBAE/Getty Images.
March 3, 2010 at 3:50 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton
Performer of the week – Joel Freeland
Kieran Achara – Angelico BI (Italy Serie A)
Last weekend saw Angelico take on Vanoli. Unfortunately It was Kieran’s team who went away with the loss going down 75-68. Kieran scored an impressive 11 points in 10 minutes off 8-12 shooting, plus 5 rebounds. All in vain though as Angelico slump to 11th place with a 8-11 record.
Robert Archibald – Malaga (Spain ACB)
Last week saw Malaga take on Zalagaris in Euroleague. In a tight affair it was Zalagaris who came out on top 89-84. Robert had a very good game albeit in vain as he scored 17 points off 12-15 shooting in just 19 minutes. The loss though leaves Malaga almost certainly eliminated from this year competition as they sit 3rd on a 1-3 record in their group. Back to domestic matters last weekend and this time Malaga faced Murcia in the ACB. Malaga got the vital victory away from home 89-74. Robert scored
8 points and 6 boards again in 19 minutes and this helped his team to a 12-11 record and 6th place in the table.
Andrew Betts – Aris ( Greece )
Last Tuesday Aris took on Alba Berlin in round 4 of the top 16 in Euro cup. It was a comfortable win for Aris as they beat the German’s 80-67 with Andrew top scoring with an impressive 19 points off 12-17 shooting & 6 rebounds. The win leaves Aris on a 2-2 record and still in contention to make the final 8. At weekend Aris were back in domestic actionthis time against Trikalla. It was a painful narrow defeat as once again Aris failed to build on an impressive Eurocup outing. Succumbing by a scoreline of 87-85. Andrew once again had a good game, this time scoring 14 points of 9-15 shooting and 5 rebounds in 30 minutes. Might have added more, but he did find himself in foul trouble (4). Ari are now on a 8-10 record way back in 8th spot.
Pops Mensah Bonsu – CSKA Moscow (Russia)
Once again it was Euroleague action for CSKA last Wednesday, this time away to Prokom. It was a shock defeat however that puts CSKA on their first defeat in the top 16 round. The game finished 88-81, but once again Pop’s saw limited action. Finishing on 2 points in just 5 minutes of action Pop’s will be disappointed he is not seeing ore court time in Euroleague. Cska still look set to reach the final 8 as they sit top of group G on a 3-1 record. I t was business as usual on Saturday as CSKA easily dismantled local rivals Dinamo Moscow 77-53. Unfortunately Pop’s did not play possibly due to injury. CSKA are still the team to catch as they 2 games clear at the top on a 12-1 record.
Flinder Boyd – Ourense (Spain LEB Gold)
Flinder provided his best performance in many months as he recorded 13 points in 26 minutes off 5-8 shooting, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. On the down side his team were beaten by La Palma 82-70 and pushes Ourense out to a 12-13 record and 9th spot in the league
Dan Clarke – Estudiantes (Spain ACB)
A tight 89-86 win against Valladolid saw Estudiantes grab their 11th win in 23 games. Dan played just 8 minutes and the only stats of note were 2 boards. Estudiantes are 9th in the ACB table
Joel Freeland – Malaga( Spain ACB)
Joel produced another very good display in Euroleague as he scored 16 points of 8-13 shooting and 8 rebounds in just 20 minutes. Does make me wonder wether if he was to play an extra 5 minutes this tight defeat would’ve turned into victory? Once again Joel was in good form as he registered a double double of 13 points and 10 boards in 21 minutes of action against Murcia.
Nick George – Fastweb (Italy Lega 2)
Fastweb scored anay victory against Solare at weekend. The game finished 85-64 with Nick helping his team to the victory with 16 points off 8-13 shooting and 6 rebounds in 30 minutes. Fastweb are now 4th on a 13-9 record
Jarret Hart – Keravnos (Cyprus)
Keravnos totally destroyed their opponents ENAD 83-34. Jarret scored 6 points and helped his team move on to a 10-6 record and 4th place.
Michael Lenzley – Nymburk (Czech Republic)
astLast wednesday Nymburk produced an outstanding performance to defeat Gran Canaria in Eurocup. the game went to OT and finished 79-71 to the Czech’s. Michael has started to come alive recently and this time he scored 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Nymburk keep their hopes alive of reaching the fianl 8 as they sit 3rd in group L on a 2-2 record. Saturday saw Nymburk not for the first time destroy their league opponents. This time Pardubice were on the end of a hammering 95-52. Michael once again had a good game, scoring 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Great improvement over the last few weeks will certainly have impressed Finch & Nurse as GB look to announce their provisional squad in the next 6 – 8 weeks. Nymburk still top after 32 games on a
29-3 record.
Nate Reinking – Mons ( Belgium)
No game last weekend
Andrew Sullivan – Newcastle Eagles
Andrew continued his good start to his Eagles career as he scored 15 points, 8 rebounds & 2 steals as they defeated Essex Pirates 117-104. Newcastle stay top of the BBL with a 22-5 record.
