From our courtside reporter:

The organisation over here is on par with local basketball association standards (lost count how many times I’ve been told to sit down etc) but the games have been awesome.  Watched all 15 pool games in Kayseri where Aus were playing. Back in Istanbul now and went to the first knockout games last night, got Aus and Turkey games tonight (sellout) and got tickets for the next 2 nights which will have US, Arg, Lithuania, Russia, NZ, China, Brazil etc. Hopefully the German fans will lend me their drum again tonight.

The fans that have come over are awesome, Greece vs Spain last night was the best I’ve seen so far, they each took up a section behind the basket right next to each other. No trouble though. Looking forward to a Lithuanian game.

The Aussie fans are mainly family and gf’s of the players, so we’ve been sitting with them, but they’re a bit quiet. We really need some good Australian sporting chants, Aussie Aussie Aussie and D-Fence is getting a bit tiring…

1. Wow Magic, awkward…
2. If you haven’t heard by now, Australia won last night against France.  AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!!
3. Ginobili-less Argentina beats Turkey.  This is going to be an awesome world championships.
4. What on earth are you doing Sasha?
5. The incomplete story of Kwame Brown.
   “In 2001, Kwame Brown graduated from a Georgia public high school and was drafted by the Washington Wizards first overall in the NBA draft, the first number one pick to come straight from the prep ranks. In retrospect, there were on-court red flags the Wizards should have heeded.
   First, Brown was a 19-year-old high school senior, so it’s likely the already dominant high school player had even more of a physical edge on the 18-year-olds trying to “contain” him. Second, much of his appeal was based on his quickness and agility packaged in a tall frame, but in order to withstand the NBA post game, he’d have to bulk up, which made him too stiff to use those gifts. There was more, but consensus holds that what did Brown in was the mental strain of playing in the best basketball league in the world and, more specifically, the hurt Michael Jordan put on him day in and day out in Wizards practices.”
6. Henry Abbott looks at MJ’s year in baseball.
   “There’s something we don’t do well in sports media, and that’s tell stories of vulnerability.
   If athletes are butting heads, dominating, humiliating, pumping iron, dunking, trash-talking or doing anything else high-adrenaline … we have that covered.
   But when those same people are in love, sad, making friends, traumatized, soul-searching, homesick — any of the softer human experiences — we’re just not well equipped to discuss it. We’re about winners and losers, about kicking ass and taking names, figuring out who’s alpha dog and all that. ”
7. Speaking of alpha’s, Kevin Durant… More from NewsOK.
8. Kyle Stack on another conspiracy theory.
9. Are you in the US and have hoop dreams?  D-League tryouts.  Just sayin.
10. Maybe the WNBA just needs more tv coverage.
11. So MJ is in NBA 2K11… so are his shoes…
12. Remember the Skybox ’92 cards?

1. Amar’e, Tony Parker, Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James… tell me you’re not already drooling at the thought of these 4 on a team together.
2. Speaking of which, if you’re going to make a case for your team, might as well tell a player he’ll make a BILLION dollars with you… Forbes shows us what Lebron was privy to, thanks to the Knicks.
3. Hilarious imaginings of the Free Agent Summit…
4. We love that Team Australia wooped on Team Argentina, however it was hardly the epic clash we all hoped for… USA vs Argentina in the under-17′s, however…
5. Chicago fans throw out a challenge to Lebron…

1. How the mighty can fall…
   “The feat? Isiah Thomas’ fiscal irresponsibility became so extreme during his time as Knicks president from 2003-08 that he paid $120 million for a total of 82 games played. ” Tom Haberstroh.
2. I once had the privilege of having JJ Redick destroy my UGA Dawgs.  A look at his year.  Underrated?  Yes.
3. Ray Allen…
   “Allen’s 0-for-13 performance ranked as the second-worst oh-fer in Finals history, falling one miss short of the record of 0-for-14 shared by Seattle’s Dennis Johnson in 1978 and Baltimore’s Chick Reiser in 1948.” Chris Forsberg.
4. Patty Mills will be playing for Australia against Argentina.
5. Derek Fisher – seems before every series he’s described as the “weak link”, then we end up calling him Clutch by the series’ end.  So how does he rate?  HoopSpeak.
6. Take the best NBA players who can play football, and enter them in the World Cup…  Round Ball Fever.
7. Gary Payton as a Coach?  Excellent interview with The Glove.  On Lebron James:
   “I would make everybody wait. My opinion, where you’re at right now, you’re not going to win anymore basketball games if you go to another team. The only place you could do that would be if you went to Boston or the Lakers. You’re with a team that needs something to help them out.”

1. Celtics vs Lakers in the finals… if you’re a fan of wither team you HAVE to check out the head to heads from this past season: FORUM BLUE & GOLD
2. Truehoop’s awesome Top 10 Possessions of the NBA Playoffs 2010.
3. Players that improved their draft stock these last few weeks.  If you’re organising your fantasy leagues, this is key information for you.
4. Australian Basketball is making a comeback, and so is media coverage, with the rebirth of a once-fallen online magazine.
5. Argentina travels to Australia for a pre-World Championships clash.
6. Indonesian basketball is back!
   “After years of declining interest, the Indonesian Basketball League hopes a new name and a new approach will revamp its fortunes.
   The IBL was relaunched as the National Basketball League on Tuesday, boasting a theme of “New Season, New Hope for Indonesia” for its first season.”
7. Bill Simmons on Lebron’s future.
   “I always thought his ceiling looked like this: Jordan’s DNA crossed with Magic’s DNA crossed with Bo Jackson. Nope. Take the Jordan DNA out. Have to. Jordan was a ruthless mother******. Jordan was a killer. Jordan didn’t care if his teammates despised him. Jordan never, ever, not in a million years, would have allowed his team to quit in the final two minutes of Thursday night’s game the way LeBron did. His teammates feared him, loathed him, revered him and played accordingly. Bird had that same quality. In the second half of his career, so did Magic. Winning meant so much to those guys that their teammates almost didn’t have a choice; they had to follow suit. Or else.”
8. A terrible week for NCAA basketball…
9. Will this be Coach Phil Jackson’s last season?
   “Phoenix guard Steve Nash was conducting a quick post-game interview in a congested hallway when a golf cart, stymied by camera wires and other mobile equipment, tried to get by but had to stop. Nash politely stepped to the side, his small smile turning wide when he saw that the passenger was none other than Lakers coach Phil Jackson. The moment suggested the unwashed multitudes making way for the pope. ”
   From Jack McCallum.
10. Andrew Gaze; Australia’s MJ, NBL and NBA (remember the Spurs?) championship winner, all-around great guy… and posteriser? (Dear dictionary manufacturers, please insert new word.  Thank you.)