Fab Four

PARIS (George Eddy's International Show) - I woke up on Super Sunday and realized that four international players are having a Super Season.

With Manu Ginobili injured and Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol starting off slowly I think the spotlight should shine the most on the following four players.

First off, Tony Parker just went for 42 pts. against the best team in the NBA, the OKC Thunder, propulsing the Spurs to a victory of reference while becoming their all-time assist leader! It was his best performance since 2009 (43 pts vs Dallas) and shows he can be the number one option on offence with Manu out and Duncan slowing down. He's also having his best season concerning assists and deserves to be an All-star reserve from the West.

After the EuroBasket final and direct ticket to London for the French national team, where Parker was also the undisputed leader, this is icing on a glorious cake! Two Spanish players Tony met in the  final in Kaunas are my next two choices.

Marc Gasol has shot ahead of his brother on the efficiency chart for NBA centers and is second behind Dwight Howard (eighth overall among all players) while keeping Memphis afloat despite Zach Randolph's season-ending injury. He's the best high- post passer in the league, has more blocked shots than Howard and will probably replace his brother as an All-star reserve. His big challenge will be requalifying the Grizzlies for the playoffs because now there are ELEVEN teams fighting for eight spots in the West, due to Ricky Rubio  putting Minnesota back on the NBA map of teams that matter.

The Wolves haven't had a 50 percent win percentage after 24 games since Kevin Garnett played there! Saturday, Ricky was a starter, had his tenth double-double, while confirming his rank as the NBA's third best passer and ball-stealer and top rookie on the efficiency char t(the equivalent of overall evaluation in the Euroleague).

He's got his much-improved team playing together, is the king of alley-oop passes and the transition game and will very likely shine in the Rookie Challenge in Orlando. Not bad for a guy who's been overly scrutinized and criticized since he was 15. He's the ultimate all-around guard the way his buddy Marc Gasol is the same thing among the centers of the league.

Ricky should be Rookie of the year  this season and an All-star next season. Wow!

My fourth international standout is Nicholas Batum who set his personal NBA best of 33pts in 25 minutes of playing time on Saturday, hitting a personal career- high and club record of 9 three point shots in a win against a tough Denver team (where Italian Danilo Galinari is leading scorer while impressing observers too).

The irony for the Frenchman is he was coming back from a knee sprain and wasn't sure to play! He said the knee was bothering him on his drives so he was just content to rain in nine of fifteen three- point shots. He was recently unable to reach an agreement with Portland on a contract extention and maybe now the Blazers will regret it because ALOT of teams could use and will make offers to a player like Batman Batum!

Matching those offers will probably cost Portland more than they thought. Like Parker, Batum is having a career year, be it on the national team, with Nancy in the Euroleague or with Portland, where his stats are constant despite a dip in playing time and his difficult role coming off the bench.

Other international players like Galinari who should be mentionned are his national team cohort Andrea Bargnani and the Polish player Marcin Gortat, two guys putting up great stats on mediocre teams. In the end, I would say that even if the old guard of international players probably still has alot left to give, it's nice to see some new blood as we look into the future.

In fact, this kind of renewal has always been a strength of the NBA!

George Eddy

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