Some statements have been thrown down earlier in this thread to the extent that Bender is being criticized for not getting minutes despite playing on a crappy team in a crappy league. Israeli-BSL is not at the same level as Spanish-ACB, but it is a fairly strong professional league. It has a few former NBA players scattered about on rosters (Nate Robinson is playing on the Hapoel Tel Aviv team). Bender's team, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv is currently 22-9, so they are not a crappy team and they are playing to win games. His team's roster is dominated by veterans mostly between ages 25-32. So he is basically a baby teenager on that roster.
I would really like to know how much eurobasket you guys get to watch .....
Ah... your basketball fanhood is bigger than my basketball fanhood. Okay.
BTW in Bender`s stats line the 3p% stands out. Do your self a favor and check dig a little deeper than just a %. How many shots ? Was he consistent ? It amazes the amount of details you use here when discussing about other players you get to watch many times each year and yet in this case without watching a single game you seem to be satisfied with ppg and shot% ......
Bender has shot 25 of 56 in his 25 BSL league games so far, a little more than two 3PA per game. But you knew that, of course, because you have watched and followed so much more closely than other folks.
Nice way to distort my post
I don`t claim i understand basket better than anyone else
But wheteher you like it or not i get to watch more european bball than the average poster here which i find very normal consider i live in germany! The same way almost every poster has deeper NBA/NCAA knowledge than me.... But i guess watching a couple of highlights is the correct way to form opinion....
If you had spent some time actually reading my posts about him you should have already seen that i posted his stats so yes i know how 3p he has taken (i would also like to apologize for knowing it)
BTW try next tiime to read without bias. It was an honest question to understand how he has formed his opinion about Bender cause ,you know, maybe he knows something more than me. But when you actually compare the Spanish league to the Israeli league i really doubt you have any knowledge about European basketball
How is saying that, "Israeli-BSL is
not at the same level as Spanish-ACB" in any way an inaccurate statement?
Maybe you should try to read more carefully.
So you live in Germany. That means exactly ... nothing relevant here. Where someone lives in this world means nothing as to how much they watch any particular league, team or players.
Your opinion on I-BSL is noted. I disagree. The league has it's flaws - a stupid one-game Final system in particular. But it's a legit pro league that has been around for decades and the players are legit. They have a lot of guys who have played or would play on some D-League rosters in the States. They have a smattering of guys who have played in the NBA. I watch a lot of basketball (including a lot of international games, including Israeli-BSL) and I've seen far worse basketball played in parts of the NCAA. You can disagree with my opinion, but your opinion isn't necessarily worth more.
Instead of tossing out useless comparisons of our vantage points, how about instead discuss actual useful information about the actual topic: Bender and what it is about him that would make him a good or poor selection with the BKN pick. Would he make a worthwhile pick if he fell to later in the round? Would he be someone to avoid entirely? Why?
I'm not sold on Bender as the #3 pick yet myself. I have access to a lot more video (including several whole games - notably their last 4) this season than you probably will believe and I will get to it before the draft. But I also know that because of his bench role on, several hundred minutes of their game video is going to translate to just about an hour of video on him. And I also know that his role is very limited on that team so it won't likely showcase him much except possibly on defensive substitutions. So I don't expect to be wowed.
I am curious however, as I think are others, as to why a few loud, vocal voices here are trashing him (sometimes angrily) whereas pretty much every mock and draft board out there -- many by very credible analysts -- has him rated to get picked in the top 5 of this draft.
There is a disconnect.
I'm totally open to the possibility that he is, indeed, a bust or simply not good enough of a talent to deserve being picked that high. But some random blogger simply writing, "He's no good!" or "My unnamed buddy says he's trash!" doesn't explain anything.