With all of the action of well-known NBA players bouncing in and out of China this season I got to thinking about which players should be playing there. Part of the issue I see is that the CBA teams have felt that an NBA stint on the resume was enough to fill their arenas and take their teams to the top of the standings. This is not the case anymore. So then who should be coming over to play? Here are a couple of thoughts I have had recently.

Joe Alexander - Why is there no discussion of him coming over? I have watched a few of his games this season on Futurecast this season and he seems to be palying very well. He is averaging 19 pts and 9 rebs for the Texas Legends. More importantly for the CBA he used to live in Beijing and reportedly speaks basic Mandarin. Wouldn't the CBA fans eat up a homecoming? Plus his game translates over well to the CBA - athletic big man who likes to shoot.  

Marcus Jordan - I know he is still playing college ball, but wouldn't it make perfect sense to not waste a few years in the D-League while hoping for an NBA chance and instead take his game and name to China? I am sure Nike would love to place a Jordan in the CBA to battle the Chinese apparel compaines on their home turf. He is putting up good numbers this year, and with two more years of development should be ready to make a splash in the CBA. 

Yao Ming - Why is there not more talk of this? Why should he even try to play 100+ games a year in the NBA when he could move back to China and ply half the games and make money hand over fist in side ventures and endorsements? The chances of a return to form in the NBA seem remote at this point. While in the past a foreign player returning home would be seen as a failure, I think we have moved to a point where you can legitamely be an icon in a foreign market.

Jet Chang - I know this is not as big of news to most as the other names, but I think this actually may be the most likely of all four. Chang is currently playing at BYU-Hawaii (DII) and is the future of Taiwanese basketball (you can read all about him in the "Player Update" section of this site). Will he even bother with the SBL, or will he cash in on day one in the CBA?

I would love to hear from other people about other players who should be coming over to China soon.

We are now one week away from the start of the inaugural NBL Championship Series. The Series will feature a single elimination format over the course of the week. All the games will be held at the DBL Arena in Surabaya. The tournament will follow the typical 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 matchups. Angsapura and Citra Satria will be the only teams left out of the action.

By far the most compelling game of the first round will be the 4-5 match-up between CLS and Garuda. The teams had opposite fortunes this season as CLS started off hot with a 9-2 record after Series II but finished 19-8 overall. While Garuda finished the season with a record of 17-10 they came out victorious over CLS in their last two meetings. The 3-6 match-up of Dell ASPAC and Stadium Jakarta could also prove interesting as Stadium has showed an ability to beat the top teams at times this season. It will all depend on whether or not Stadium can rise to a new level of consistency and intensity for the playoffs.

We can be confident that the tournament will have a great atmosphere as Surabaya fans have been known to fill up the gym. Now if I can only find a way to watch it online . . .

I will get around to the real post later today, but in the meantime nothing I have seen this season has made me laugh as much as this clip from earlier in the week. Poor Byron Eaton . . . I just hope someone had there cellphone recording at the same time.

A hectic schedule, some family illnesses, and the general laziness brought on by cold and rainy weather have caused two weeks to go by without an update. But I'm back now!

Taiwan - Great action over the past two weekends in the SBL. Shawn Hawkins, 2nd year import for KKL, has been on an historic scoring streak since returning from the Chinese New Year break. Over the past five games he is averaging 41.8 points per game, including a record-setting 63 point outing against Yulon. Rashard Jones-Jennings also broke into the record books with a monster rebounding effort against Taiwan Beer. Unfortunately his 33 rebounds could not stop Taiwan Beer coming away with the victory on a buzzer-beater. In the overall standings Taiwan Beer continues to lead the way. An interesting battle could potentially be brewing for the 4th spot with Bank of Taiwan on a 3 game win streak and Yulon still trying to figure out their post-Tseng identity. The biggest game this next week will be #3 Dacin taking on #1 Taiwan Beer on Sunday night.

Japan - The biggest news out of the bj league in my mind is the Osaka Evassa's signing of Tseng Wen-ting. Each bj league team is allowed one Asian import player, but few actually fill this quota. As far as I can tell Tseng will be the biggest name of any Asian import to play in the league in its six year history. Hamamatsu and Osaka are currently leading the two divisions, with Okinawa narrowly sitting behind Osaka.

Tonight should be a fun matchup as Tseng makes his Osaka debut against none other than the Tokyo Apache and Jeremy Tyler. I don't know if I will be able to contain my excitement if the two actually guard each other.

ASEAN - Congrats to the Chang Thailand Slammers on winning the second season title of the ASEAN Basketball League. Really, I am happy that Thailand won a basketball title . . . the only other title they have won is the women's title at the 2007 SEABA Championships.

In the end following the ABL from Taiwan was a real pain in the rear-end. I have drafted a proposal for how to improve and strengthen the league. It should be up later this week.

I hope everyone else has had a good start to the Year of the Rabbit. To jump back into the blogging I'll do a quick update of the various countries. Remember to check out the Player Updates section also.

Philippines - Congratulations to Talk 'N Text for taking home the Philipine Cup title yesterday with a decisive Game 6 victory over San Miguel. Ryan Reyes led the scoring for the victors with 17, while five of his teammates also broke double figures. Jay Washington tried valiantly to keep the Beermen in the game with an outstanding performance of 29 points and 18 rebounds, but in the end there was not enough firepower behind him.

Guards Jimmy Alapag and Jayson Castro shared the Finals MVP award.

ASEAN - Continuing the strong Filipino basketball showing this week, the Philippine Patriots knocked the KL Dragons out as they advanced to the ABL Finals for the second straight year. They will face off in the Finals against the winner of today's Game 3 between the Singapore Slingers and the Chang Thailand Slammers being played in Bangkok.

I imagine there are many people connected with the ABL who are secretly hoping for a Philippines vs Singapore finals. These teams have much stronger followings than Thailand and a bigger media market.

Indonesia - NBL action restarted yesterday with the opening of Series V at Senayan Arena in Jakarta. Writing that brings back all sorts of memories as I used to watch Kobatama League games back there in the 90s. There were two big matchups last night with ASPAC getting the upset over PJE 68-60 and Satria Muda defeating Garuda 65-52. 

China & Taiwan - While perhaps not politically acceptable to lump the two together, it is worth noting that both leagues are taking an extended break now due to the Chinese New Year holiday.