Moses Guthrie
Years ago
Are the best players/teams in the NBA?
Sure, we know USA is losing in international competition regularly, but we also know that if Shaq, Kobe, KG and Co all bothered to play in the Olympics, they'd destroy the rest of the world (and please, don't try and make an argument against that). If you don't agree - watch this space for 2008. The world will pay for what happened at the 2004 Olympics (by all reports, the US don't really care about the World Championships - even though they lost them on home soil in Indiana! - but the Olympics hurt).
But what is interesting, is whether the best teams are even in the NBA. Of note, the EuroLeague champions defeated the Raptors overnight. Now sure, the Raptors are B-A-D, but it still makes you think ..... and they won without their number 1 guard from last season, "Jasikthevicious", who as we know, has signed with Indiana.
From FoxSports: "In an exhibition game last night, Euroleague champion Maccabi Tel-Aviv beat the Toronto Raptors 105-103. Even without former star (and current Pacers rookie) Sarunas Jasikevicius, Maccabi beat an NBA squad for the first time since they edged the then NBA-champion Washington Bullets in 1978."
More info available at nba.com/raptors, including this: "Considered the New York Yankees of Israeli basketball, powerhouse Maccabi has cruised to 45 of 51 Israeli titles and three of the last five Euroleague titles. Maccabi heads to Orlando to play the Magic on Wednesday."
Food for thought?
