Petteri Koponen beats Tony Parker!
by The Finnisher on Aug 17, 2009 11:24 AM PDT
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PrintFInland beat France 77-73 in the additional qualifying second round for the Eurobasket!
It was a little disappointing night for a Blazer fan living in Finland (like myself), since Nicolas Batum didn't play (due to his trip to Portland to show his shoulder). The good news is that Petteri Koponen had a good match up against Tony Parker.
Here are the numbers for comparison:
Tony Parker played 30:43 minutes and shot 2/7, 0/7, 0/1 totaling 4 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 turnovers
Koponen played 32:44 minutes and shot 2/4, 2/4, 5/6 totaling 15 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block and 1 turnover
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Batum prevails where Parker fails.
Hmm… was anyone else missing from the French team?
And was this one they could lose for free since they are still the top at 3-1?
And why was Parker shooting so many threes?
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
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yes
this game was irrelevant for France as they had already clinched a spot in the final qualifying round, against either Bosnia and Herzegovina or (less likely) Belgium.
well, Belgium is about to cement a dominant win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, making it less clear who France will face
If Belgium beats Portugal on the 20th, both Belgium and B+H will be 3-1. I’m not sure what the tiebreaker is.
That is the thing about Koponen.
He is so inconsistent.
On his best nights he can rip superstars, and on his worse he hinders his team.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
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He's still just a kid
We should expect that.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
he's just a kid and his life is a nightmare
"There are a few teams you have to watch out for in the fourth quarter."
"Yeah, but Portland definitely is not one of them."
-New Orleans Hornets broadcasters at the end of the third quarter with the Hornets leading 74-59. Portland later ends up winning 97-89.
"They don't mind him shooting that shot at all. Rudy Fernandez is not that great of a 3pt shooter."
-New Orleans Hornets broadcasters right after a Rudy Fernandez missed 3pter. Rudy Fernandez finished the game with three 3pters on six attempts.
by Tofu Anonymous on Aug 17, 2009 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
it's almost that simple isn't it :)
rec… I lol’d hard.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
Very cool!
But, has koponen learned to dribble with both hands? these are the things I want to know. When watching him in summer league he had issues dribbling with his off hand.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
Looks to be so.
Koponen looks a lot better with his left hand, but where he has easily improved the most, from what I have seen in these Eurobasket qualifiers, is his defense. He played excellent defense on Parker in this game. Every single time Parker was on the court Petteri was covering him – and he made himself proud. Not once did Parker blew past him and Petteri even managed to block Parker once.
by Dr. Strangelove on Aug 17, 2009 11:55 AM PDT up reply actions
That is really, really good news
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
very cool
I would assume that Parker is still injured/recovering, but still. Good news. I really hope he ends up coming over as I liked him. Tough to see, but who knows.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
makes me wonder
if KP was at this game, watching PK defend Parker along with Philipi and the other Euro scouts
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I would suppose
that the French would have been aware of that if it was still a problem. So either he has fixed it (hardly surprising if he has) or —
He’s just so good now at dribbling with his good hand that it doesn’t matter?
Our Euro PG (who can’t even make our team) can beat the Spurs starting PG. One-handed.
Koponen FTW.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
great
TWO one handed players with PK and Oden…
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
I don't think you are allowed to dribble with both hands
it is one hand at a time only
"I'm tired" -Me
by 92wastheyear on Aug 17, 2009 12:15 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hee Hee Hee!!!!!!!!!!!
Well played, wise guy! Love it!!!!! rec
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LMA Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I <3 LMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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by LaMarvelous on Aug 17, 2009 12:35 PM PDT up reply actions
that's more harsh than I should have been.
I’m glad Koponen had a good game, but he needs to become a consistent contributer for his pro team before I even start to think of him as a potential future Blazer.
Wrong way to look at it, I think
Everyone knows he’s a long way off, so consistency is not as important at this time as progress. That he can perform like this against a quality opponent (especially defensively) is a sign that he is indeed progressing.
This is not like a rookie that you send to the D League. This is more like a kid that your baseball team drafted, and has sent to the minor leagues for 3-4 years. And he faced Manny when he was in the minors and struck him out 3 of 4 times. That tells you the talent is there to be developed, that he has really good stuff on his fast ball. Doesn’t mean you’ll see him in the majors next year, but it means there’s a decent chance you’ve got a winner in the pipeline.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
I disagree
anyone can have a good game. If, even as a 20 year old, you put up one of the worst PERs in the Italian League and can’t beat out Earl Boykins, that doesn’t bode well for his NBA hopes.
He’s got time though. If he can have a breakout year in Italy, he’ll be worth hanging on to.
Not anyone can have a good defensive game
against Tony Parker.
If his defense is improving dramatically, then we’re getting somewhere. Even if it only means he comes in for spot minutes in limited roles for us, it would really be nice to have even a 3rd string PG who can stop players like Parker.
It’s not his scoring in this game that has me encouraged — as you say, anyone can have a game where the ball is just dropping. But if his defense is improving, we might have a solid role player on our hands, which is all you can really ask for with a #30 pick — anything more would be a huge bonus.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
this was an irrelevant game for Parker and France and perhaps he just had a bad night.
I’m not upset with the Koponen pick— using late first round picks on high upside European prospects is a sound use of PA’s money. I’m just saying this one game doesn’t prove anything to me.
I more agree with you on this one
He has good size and athleticism, but he’s got a long ways to go before he’s a good summer league player right now… at least last time we saw him.
I think he gets the Exotique bump, where we WANT him to be good because it would be cool to have a Finnish point guard, more than he is actually good.
However, I like the draft pick, he is very young, and inexperienced against good competition. Just might need some time to acquaint himself to the higher level of play. I don’t know why he couldn’t beat out Boykins, but Boykins athletic quick scoring might have been more valued by their coach than The Kopper’s inexperience PG play.
I never saw any of their games or know their situation, so I can’t say.
Morty
Boykins had the highest salary in the Italian league last season and was hand picked for the team by the owner.
I think that really says it all.
by Dr. Strangelove on Aug 17, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Boykins is a good player
He’s good enough to be the solid backup point for many teams in the league. Probably better than Bayless and Sergio last year.
"HA HA HA HA HA
I'm not laughing, I'm just listing the five ugliest Blazers ever."
- rockingharder
That's a bit like saying if Bayless was good he would beat out Miller and Blake
Boykins has a decade of NBA-level experience. His coach wanted to have that, so Koponen was in the Sergio/Bayless role last season. His team is now close to broke, so they can’t afford Boykins next season. Maybe not even Koponen. With more playing time, he might improve.
Though I agree that he isn’t NBA ready yet, and I currently consider him the least valuable asset the Blazers have stashed.
"I'm addicted to polo y'all...respect my fresh" - Travis25Outlaw
As a counter example, Ibrahim Jaaber outplayed him in two qualifying games against Bulgaria last year, and in games against Rome where Jaaber was the starter or first backup ahead of Brandon Jennings. And while Jaaber was a quality NCAA player, he went undrafted. The margin of difference or error is small. Both are fringe NBA players at the moment.
"I'm addicted to polo y'all...respect my fresh" - Travis25Outlaw
Nice to see that you are consistent in your impatience
Koponen, Bayless, even LMA. Seems to me you don’t cut young players much slack. I certainly see the value of avoiding being blinded by “potential,” but young guys need time to develop.
Failing to produce can be as much a function of coaching, circumstances, or team fit, as a true sign of a lack of ability. A few guys in their early twenties jump right in and demonstrate a fairly well rounded game. Far more show flashes of good play mixed in with lots mistakes and mediocre play. The trick is to figure out which of those young players are going to figure it out and which will never be able to perform consistently.
I’m not suggesting that my crystal ball is any batter than yours or anyone else’s. I am saying that it does seem like you are frequently pretty tough in your evaluations of young players and tend to focus on their flaws rather than their strengths.
by upper left corner on Aug 18, 2009 7:46 AM PDT up reply actions
This is where I am at.
It seems like fools gold in terms any Blazer future.
But hey, if he is never a Blazer, I still wish him well and am happy for this success.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
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Dfence
Koponen`s defensive skills have improd immensely during the past 12 months.
In defence today he was too fast, physical and tall for Mr. Parker to handle.
This is something that you cannot read from the stats.
However, I do agree that Petteri still needs to develop as a shooter and a ball handler to make in the NBA
Ps. A great for the Finns with former Hawk, Utah Ute adding 1t7 pts.
too fast for Parker ?!! I will wait till I see it to believe it.
We could also compare his stat line with the one of the other french point guard and it doesn’t look so brilliant after all.
1-on-1
Yes, it sounds amazing. Parker couldn`t beat Petteri 1-on-1….
In addition, Finns went below all the screens to force Parker to jump shots.
Petteri was by far the best defender of the Finnish team in this game…
I am sure that this will be a great boost for Petteri`s confidence.
fine print
I believe parker was injured not that long ago, and he may also not be at 100%.
"Fernandez, to my eyes, is the Blazer who walks that walk most comfortably. A lot of Portland's fans (egged on, dare I say, by their local broadcasters) lament things like how Ron Artest or Yao Ming get to hit Brandon Roy's arms.
But I suspect Fernandez sees all that and thinks: We get to hit arms! Cool!"
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-39-135/On-Playoff-Experience.html
As would I
Play with experienced players who run a real offense and play a team game, not the one on one everyone-trying-to-make-the-big-show D-League.
M—
car + villa, versus playing in Idaho and other midwestern destinations?
making more money vs less money?
(not to mention he’s going to be a lot closer to home, in Europe)
the D-league is not really much of an option for a Finn, unless it’s the last resort
When reached 39 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
You guys know nothing
He ups our player hotness ratings through the roof.
"Goals are good. Plans are better." -Ben.
by Sabonis4Ever on Aug 17, 2009 1:54 PM PDT up reply actions
You're a sucker for a man in uniform
His nose is too tiny to be able to ever play 30+ minutes in a NBA game.
Mortimer
I think that's a Nuggets retro jersey
hard to tell from this angle – the Nugs didn’t wear pants in the 70’s
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Aug 17, 2009 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Petro was also out for France.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but he is the giant on the French team.
Not so good against teams with some size like Italy, and good against small teams like Finland.
*Unless KP has a secret plan that makes this statement incorrect.
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Bring him over!
Of course I have a Finnish background, so I’m biased. Not that we need another PG right now.
To add to the eyewitness accounts of the game is this quote from a Finnish teammate
Teemu Rannikko, Finland player:
“The transcript in my head was exactly the same like in the game against Italy when I missed the game-winning-shot. Only that the actor failed to perform accordingly back then. I had a rough time with my shots in the first half, but in the locker room the guys told me to keep shooting. The shots started to fall finally, but you have to give credit to Hanno (Möttölä) who kept us in the game in the first 20 minutes, and to Petteri (Koponen) who did a great job guarding Tony Parker, and Petri (Virtanen) who made some big shots. This has got to be the sweetest victory of my National Team career.”
Parker played almost 31 minutes in a game the French did not need so it would indicate that he was not injured. Learning to play defense is the toughest part of the equation. It is what he will need to get on the floor next year in Italy.
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