Monumental Petteri Koponen Watch: Finland takes France (!) Koponen takes Parker (!!!)

This just in from BlueForest, whom I thought had mysteriously disappeared long ago...

Hello Seth,

I will try to outscoop Hippo for this one, though his complete report with stats should be coming soon...

Petteri had his best game by far this summer, and considering the opposition, maybe ever. His advantage over Tony Parker at both ends kept Finland in the game, and in the fourth quarter Teemu Rannikko caught a supernova shooting streak to win the game for Finns, 77-73.

OK, France had nothing to play for and kept Batum and Petro out of the lineup.
Parker played long minutes, but was clearly not at full speed; he was not aggressive with the ball, and missed every one of his jumpers off the front rim.
Petteri was able to stay in front of his drives, getting two blocks and a steal in the process. At the other end PK hit two pull-up 3s over Parker, got inside paint to dish 6 or 7 perfect assists and drew several fouls. He also iced the game by hitting 2 FTs with 9 seconds remaining.

Finland's third key player Hanno Möttölä had also his best game since coming back to national team this summer. France's most efficient players were the Spurs' prospects Ian Mahinmi and Nando de Colo.

This season PK should get more minutes at Virtus, without the short shadow of Earl Boykins looming over him. After that it's decision time: if Blazers still do not want him, Pritchard should trade his rights, because he looks able to play solid backup PG in the NBA.

Stats:
Finland - France 77-73 (33-36) (Teemu Rannikko 21, Hanno Mottola 17/9, Petteri Koponen 15. 1 - 75,0% (12/16), 2 - 53,3% (16/30), 3 - 39,3% (11/28). R: 20+9=29. TO: 11. - Nando De Colo 18, Antoine Diot 15, Ian Mahinmi 12, Ali Traore 12. 1 - 57,1% (8/14), 2 - 56,8% (25/44), 3 - 33,3% (5/15). R: 24+10=34. TO: 13.

Koponen! Akeem Scott! More from Finland!

Seriously, what kind of NBA blog posts updates from Finland when the playoffs are in full swing here in the States? One that has a sweetpotato as a mascot.

BlueForest chimed in and reduced my fears of The Finnagler being snared in a Joel Freeland-like horrible situation with a Euro team next year. BlueForest (I assume forests are blue in Finland) assured me Koponen has enough support with enough people to avoid the situation of a horrible buy-out clause and limited minutes/development. Whew.

H.T. also sent along a nice recap of the Espoo championship game that featured a surprise injured-Koponen appearance and chants of "Who the fuck is Akeem Scott?!?" He also sent along some nice video documentation. Watch as Akeem Scott breaks out a celebratory Bird, Koponen drops someone with a crossover, and good times are had by all.

Yep,

it was a storybook ending.

Petteri Koponen broke his thumb in Finnish league semifinals. Honka Playboys
coach Mihailo Pavicevic had no other possibilities but to enter Koponen's
substitute PG, Akeem Scott, into starting line-up for the finals.

Akeem struggled with playmaking but showed incredible confidence, turning
two of four final series games into Honka victories with some last minute
heroics. Akeem scored Honka's last seven points in 70-68 game two victory
and scored a grand total of 36 points in deciding game 4, including a
running jumper with three seconds remaining which gave Honka 72-71 lead and a W.

But even Koponen got his share of shine in the finals. When Akeem Scott got
his fourth foul with eight minutes remaining in game 4, coach Pavicevic
entered injured Koponen. Koponen hadn't been able to practice in two weeks
because of the thumb but his presence was needed: Koponen stabilized Honka's
offence and gave Akeem a couple minute breather before the nitro ending.

Honka had a great opportunity to win the championship in game 3, but Kouvot
took a 67-66 lead with Corey Smith's low post basket with four seconds
remaining and Akeem Scott travelled in Honka's last possession. In game 4,
Akeem truly showed what he was made of and more than made up for his game 3
flaw.

Throughout game 4, Kouvot fans harassed Akeem chanting: "Who the f*** is
Akeem Scott, Akeem Scott, Akeem Scott / Who't the f*** is Akeem Scott, he's
a loser", but as you can see, Kouvot fans should've been more careful with
their words..

"Who the f... is Akeem Scott? He's a winner!"


H.T

Whats next for Koponen?

An email from BlueForest got my mind off the playoffs and back on The Finnagler.

The season in Finland is over, and Petteri Koponen has won another
championship with Honka Playboys. Unfortunately his participation in
the playoffs was marginal after the thumb fracture he suffered 2 weeks
ago. After missing the previous final games, today he entered the game
in the 4th quarter when Honka was in foul trouble and helped them to
hold on for the W and 3-1 victory in the series. Streaky Akeem Scott
caught fire for 36 points and hit the winning basket with 3 seconds to
go.

I hope this was the last we will see of PK in Finland. If he can't
earn a contract in the summer league, he will likely move to some
European big league club. He has improved here every season with coach
Pavicevic, but now is the time to move on. Honestly I'm not sure if he
can fit on the Blazers' squad, but at least he deserves a chance to
run the team in Vegas and not be played off the ball again. If he
makes the League, it will be as a pure point with size.

Congratulations for a wonderful season in Portland, and best wishes
for the future that looks so promising!

BlueForest

I'm definitely looking forward to Vegas this summer, assuming we'll get our yearly check in with both Koponen and Joel Freeland. The odds of either one playing for the big team in the fall seem unlikely at present, but things could change. If they don't make the team, it will be interesting to see what route they take. Koponen seems ready to move on to another Euro league, but sometimes that can lead to frustrating situations for NBA-drafted young players. Ask Joel Freeland how that has been working out. According to this source, he was glued to the bench once again in the ACB League.

Akeem Scott's Espoo Debut

Akeem Scott recently had his first game with the Honka Playboys. It went well. Here are some reports:

With national team players Petteri Koponen and Kimmo Muurinen out, someone had to step up Friday night when Honka travelled to Uusikaupunki to play an away game against Korihait. The guy who stepped up was Honka's latest addition, Akeem "The Other Dream"Scott. The newcomer played 39 minutes and 56 seconds, drained 45 points (2p 8-103p 7-10 Ft 8-10), grabbed four rebounds, dished three assists and stole the ball three times. What makes Scott's performance even more astonishing was the fact that the level of play in Finnish Div1 is NOTABLY worse than in the League, but still Akeem managed to get to whole another level. Next Wednesday Honka will host ToPo and we'll see Scott-Koponen-tandem for the first time. Can't wait.

-H.T.

There's more, possibly sad news about Akeem playing for the Honka Playboys:

So, good times ahead for Honka. The only downside is that new mind-blowing videos are unlikely. While the Porvoo playa-cam experiment was hilarious, coach Pavicevic is an old-school hardass who would never allow such nonsense around the team.

-BlueForest

The Akeem/Koponen backcourt is exciting, but you know, I don't think Comcast will carry the games for my personal viewing pleasure. Factor that into the possible loss of Akeem's videos, and I have a moral crisis. Tantalizing basketball? Personal entertainment? Finnish basketball: the gift and the curse.

The Biggest News Ever

My inbox had two messages from Finland today: one from BlueForest and one from H.T. They both were informing me of the of a certain amazing development related to Akeem Scott and Petteri Koponen. I read them both many times to make sure this was not some very random fantasy dream sequence. Yes, Akeem Scott is officially a Honka Playboy. Finally. I hope Koponen appears on Akeem's youtube videos very soon. I'm eager to see how this all turns out.

UPDATE: I'm sorry. I resisted the Jay-Z & R. Kelly references the first time around. I'm only human. Scott & Koponen feels like this:



Bigger than an album. Indeed.