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

Petteri Koponen Watch: Tony Parker is a baby edition

H.T. with more on how Finland beat France and Koponen beat Tony Parker.

(Photo: FIBA)

I see BlueForest escaped from those underground tunnels I locked him in. (BlueForest's game recap here.) Well, it gives me time to withdraw from game recap, the most typical form on narration. So here's a different look at Finland vs. France EuroBasket additional qualification round game.

Yep, France had already clinched their spot at the final qualification round with their very convincing victory over Italy just three days earlier. Nicolas Batum and Johan Petro were missing, and Ronny Turiaf played a total of eight minutes. Despite all this, the victory was something Finland needed and the decisive three pointer was scored by Teemu Rannikko, the same guy who missed the potential clincher against Italy a week earlier.

Even though France wasn't at their best, they surely didn't give this win for free. Young guards Nando De Colo (Spurs draftee, 18 pts) and Antoine Diot (15 pts) gave home team all they could handle and big guys Ian Mahinmi (12/5) and Ali Traore (12 pts) fooled Finnish interior defense in couple occations. But unlike in the first game between these two teams, Finnish big guys lead by Hanno Möttölä (16/9) weren't pushed around easily.

Of course, the main focus of sold-out group of 3354 people was on France's household names Tony Parker and Boris Diaw. Diaw seemed awkwardly overweight and was far from his best form. (We've seen that before. Damn you Diaw. Let me love you!-Ed) France only had six fast break points in the whole game and Diaw was non-existent in the half court offense, scoring only three points.

Tony Parker is still recovering from injury, and he seems to have a long way to go. Petteri Koponen (15/4/4 assists/2 steals) outplayed Parker on both ends of the court, forcing him to shoot from distance and blowing by him in every occasion. When Parker noticed he wouldn't get the superstar treatment he's used to, he concentrated on yapping to the referees and he left Energia Arena without speaking to the media. While Parker ended up with 4 points (with 2-14 field goal shooting), Koponen executed Finland's offense extremely well and had one of the best all-round games of his national team career.

(Of course, I have tremendous respect for Parker and I am sure he will go for MVP at the European Championship games, but even the best of them have bad days occasionally. For instance, I remember one day Hans von Blumenstock only scored 33 points in Finnish Division 4 game, making only 7-9 of his three pointers.)

Backcourt tandem Rannikko-Koponen were the heroes in the late game. Rannikko scored 14 points in a row in a four-minute span starting from last minute of 3rd quarter, leading Finland to 66-57 edge. After France took the next three and a half minutes 13-1, Koponen made a jump shot and Rannikko ended up with and-one, giving Finland a 72-70 edge. After Boris Diaw's one made free throw, Rannikko swished an NBA three pointer giving everyone in attendance the goosebumps. Tony Parker missed a strong layup with just 11 second remaining and France had to foul Koponen, who made both free throws and gave Finland the 77-71 lead.

France will beet Bosnia and Herzegovina or Belgium in the last qualification round, while Finland plays the last national team game of summer 2009 against Italy this thursday. Since this is the first time ever Italy slipped out of European Championship Games, local media is currently butchering everyone involved in this national team campaign excluding Marco Belinelli. Finland tries to snatch their second win in a row and end up 2nd in their additional qualifying group, which isn't exactly impossible; at the moment, Finland is highly motivated and Italy just trying to recover from huge disappointment.

Boxscore Here. Highlights Here.

-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.

Blazers injury bug lashes out at DeceptivelyQuick

Oden's knee. Roy's heel. Today I learned that this injury plague is not limiting itself to Blazer players. None of us are safe, not even obscure sportsbloggers. This weekend, I contracted this. Just read the introduction paragraph, ya, things have not been good.

If I were Jordan, I might just score 47 against the Knicks in my condition. However, I am me, and will settle for a blogpost.



One update that won't gross you out is a new take on my creepy Pippen/Finnagler fantasy brought to you by BlueForest (somehow this had gone unnoticed by me until now):

"BlueForest said...
DQ, those ships could well wage a naval battle. If the Pippen GAMES do happen, one of them should be against Honka. Two years ago, when Rodman played one game for Torpan Pojat, it was against them. Ol' Dennis revealed a new side in his game by shooting 5/14 on THREE-POINTERS, but he could not run, jump or pick up a ball off the floor. I hope Pippen has a bit more left..."

Indeed, it seems the combination of former NBA greats and Finland can produce strange phenomenon. A potential Pippen v Finnagler showdown just got even better. Anybody have a hookup for Finnish airfare?

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.

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.

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.