Preview: Adecco Asvel vs. San Antonio Spurs

NBA Europe Live's French swing gets underway Thursday when Adecco Asvel hosts the San Antonio Spurs in the Astroballe in Lyon. The French juggernaut is a winner of 16 domestic league titles, its last one in 2002. On the other hand, the Spurs, NBA champs in 1999, 2003 and 2005, have been among America's most consistent teams for awhile, reaching the NBA playoffs in 15 of the last 16 seasons. The game represents an interesting head-to-head matchup between two great French point guards, Tony Parker and Aymeric Jeanneau. Parker was slated to be the national team's starting playmaker at the world championships this summer in Japan, but after he broke his finger, Jeanneau stepped into that role and helped the team to a respectable fifth place.

"This is a different situation," Jeanneau said of the NBA Europe Live matchup. "He can do a lot of things on the court, even though I know him well."

The Spurs star brings his NBA teammates to his home country for the first time since they faced the Memphis Grizzlies in Paris for an exhibition game in 2003. Another Spur familiar with the baskets on this side of the Atlantic is former Euroleague finals MVP Manu Ginobili. Ginobili won the 2001 Euroleague title with Kinder Bologna.

Both Parker and Ginobili will get some help from defensive ace Bruce Bowen, who spent parts of three seasons with three French clubs early in his career, swingman Michael Finley and point guard Beno Udrih, who played in the Euroleague with Union Olimpija and Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, the team the Spurs will face on Sunday.

Asvel has started this season on the right foot, winning its first three games in the French League to move into first place. The club boasts a versatile backcourt featuring Jeanneau, scoring threats Laurent Foirest and Rowan Barrett and multi-talented forward Amara Sy, who will test his one-on-one abilities against Bowen. Additionally, Asvel will welcome former sharpshooter Harold Mrazek back for one game in a guest role. Asvel's chief goals will be making sure of fluid ball movement while setting the game's tempo.

On defense, the "French Celtics" must focus on slowing Spurs star Tim Duncan, one of the best big men in the world. Duncan was the NBA's MVP in 2002 and 2003, and was named to the All-NBA First Team in each of his first eight seasons. He will get plenty of help from clutch forward Robert Horry, as well Fabricio Oberto, a Euroleague veteran who played with Tau Ceramica and Pamesa Valencia, and Francisco Elson, who spent the 2000-01 Euroleague season with Barcelona.

Asvel will turn to center Vincent Masingue and Chevon Troutman against Duncan, with help from small forward Brian Greene. Asvel will need to make full use of its home-court advantage against the Spurs, but the hosts have confidence in their abilities. Top gun Barrett is cautiously optimistic about Asvel's chances.

"I think that this game maybe comes at the right time for us," he said. "We just won three games and facing the Spurs will give us an idea of what our team is worth. It will be a very difficult game, but we have a lot to show."

Adecco ASVEL
Name Position Height Year
Brian Greene Forward 204 1981
Chevy Troutman Forward 201 1981
Amara Sy Forward 202 1981
Rowan Barrett Guard 197 1972
Makan Dioumassi Guard 190 1972
Yohann Sangare Guard 193 1983
Vincent Masingue Forward 204 1976
Aymeric Jeanneau Guard 185 1978
Laurent Foirest Forward 197 1973
Nouha Diakite Center 207 1980
Marko Cakarevic - - -
Coach Yves Baratet


San Antonio Spurs
Name Position Height Year
Brent Barry Guard 6-7 1971
Matt Bonner Forward 6-10 1980
Bruce Bowen Forward 6-7 1971
Jackie Butler Center 6-10 1985
Tim Duncan Center 6-11 1976
Francisco Elson Center 7-0 1976
Michael Finley Forward 6-7 1973
Manu Ginobili Guard 6-6 1977
Robert Horry Forward 6-10 1970
Charles Lee Guard 6-3 1984
Rich Melzer Forward 6-8 1979
Fabricio Oberto Forward 6-10 1975
Tony Parker Guard 6-2 1982
Jared Reiner center 6-11 1982
Melvin Sanders Guard 6-5 1981
Jamar Smith Forward 6-9 1980
Beno Udrih Guard 6-3 1982
Nick Van Exel Guard 6-1 1971
Jacque Vaughn Guard 6-1 1975
Eric Williams Forward 6-8 1972
Coach Gregg Popovich

NBA Europe Live fever has hit France, with posters on nearly every corner of every street in Lyon. The first-of-its-kind tournament, which pits some of the top teams in Europe against some of the best in the NBA, will tip off on Thursday when Adecco Asvel hosts the Spurs at the Astroballe in Lyon, where local fans will have a rooting interest on both sides. Asvel fans are some of the most devoted around, but they also want to catch a glimpse of their native son, San Antonio Spurs playmaker Tony Parker.

"The atmosphere is electric right now, people are talking about the event all over the city, on radio and TV," Asvel swingman Rowan Barrett said. "The whole city is pushing towards the success of the event."

The fact that Asvel leads the French League with a perfect 3-0 record and is coming off a 21-point home win against defending champion Le Mans adds to the excitement. And with several former Euroleague players on the Spurs roster, you can be sure that the visitors won't be taking the "French Celtics" lightly. Between Parker playing in front of a home crowd, swingman Bruce Bowen returning to France after spending parts of three seasons there in the mid-1990s, and big men Fabricio Oberto and Francisco Elson having made their names in Europe, there is no doubt that the Spurs will want to play their best basketball.

"It is always special for me to come back to Europe," said Oberto, an Olympic gold medalist with Argentina. "The level of European basketball has risen a lot in recent years."

The hosts promise to be ready to live up to their end of the bargain. "Everybody is telling us to beat the Spurs," Asvel center Vicent Masingue said. "We have to take it easy and play hard; We have to be ready for a tough game This is a very big thing for our players... The gym will be packed and that can only be good for us and French basketball."

One member of the Spurs who knows well how tough international competition can be is Greg Popovich, who was an assistant coach for the United States national team at the last Olympic Games.

"The Europeans and the Euroleague have already proven in international competitions like Olympics or World Championships that they can play with NBA players," Popovic said on Wednesday. "Again, I think it is tribute to all the coaching that is going on and the high interest in basketball, so it's more fun for everybody."

Indeed, having added so many non-Americans to his team, Popovich may be the last coach who needs to be convinced that European teams can compete during NBA Europe Live.

"We always had confidence in European players," Popovich said. "We just believe that there are very good players and very good coaches all around the world, not only in the United States, and that has been proven over the last five to ten years. We are confident on the work ethic of the European players, their skills and just the basketball knowledge that they show with the fine coaching that they have. Many years ago, there were some good Russians from the Soviet Union, or some good Yugoslavs at that time, way back 15 years ago when I started to come to Europe to start watching players. Now, good players are everywhere: little countries, big countries, places you would never expect, and I think this is great for basketball."