NBA News

[abadani69]

Tabrik arz mikonam be tamame tarafdarane team Phoenix Suns baraye so'od be marhaleye nime namahie NBA va tasliat arz mikonam be havadarane Lakers ke kheily badjoor bakhtan emshab. Hala eshkali nadare, there is always next year loosers

Team Phoenix Suns tavanest ba natijeye 121-90 az sade La Lakers begzare. In ro baz be tamame havadarane Suns tabrik va be havadarane Lakers tasliat arz mikonam

[kami joon]

ah ah man cheghadr az in team Phoenix Suns badam miad. ONLY LAKERS.
I am so sad. man koli cry kardam.

[donsaeid]

masalei nist abadani... khak to sareshon.... hala miami ba on shaq mipare ro in teame zepertit leheshon mikone

[shazz]

BasketBall Ham Mage Sport BiD

[Rasputin]

Heat delivers on promise

Shortly after being traded to the Miami Heat in the summer of 2004, Shaquille O'Neal's first visit to the American Airlines Arena in Miami drew a surprisingly large number of fans waiting outside in 90-degree heat to welcome him.

The whole thing turned into an impromptu rally with O'Neal addressing the crowd and promising to bring a championship to South Beach.

Promise delivered.

The Heat battled back from a fast start by the Dallas Mavericks, took control late in the second and early in the third quarters and held off a late rally for a 95-92 victory Tuesday night to wrap up the NBA Finals four games to two.



After dropping the first two games on the road, Miami won four straight games.

''I made that promise because of D-Wade,'' O'Neal said of teammate Dwyane Wade. ''I knew he was a special player. I knew we'd have a championship-caliber team.''

O'Neal, who finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, didn't have a big game in the clincher, but he didn't have to.

Wade, the obvious choice for the most valuable player award, led the way with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but this was the Heat's most-balanced game of the series, and perhaps of the playoffs.



Udonis Haslem (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Antoine Walker (14 points and 11 rebounds) each had a double-double and Alonzo Mourning came off the bench for eight points, six rebounds and five blocks in 14 minutes.

Wade averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the series, but bristled when a questioner said he put the team on his back.

''I don't want to say I put this team on my back,'' he said. ''We did it together. Like coach [Pat Riley] said, it's been 15 strong.''

For the Mavericks, Game 6 was just another in a long line of frustrating performances recently.

Whether it was the pressure of having to win to stay alive, the Miami defense or a combination of the two, Dallas just couldn't make enough shots Tuesday. The Mavs were just 34-for-92 (37 percent) from the field for the game, including 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from three-point range.

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavs with 29 points and 15 rebounds, but had just two points in the fourth quarter.



''I am just so proud of our team,'' Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. ''I just told them how much I love them, through thick and thin.

''I think we've made a lot of progress this year. We got knocked out in the first round two years ago, the second round last year. We aimed high this year and I told them a lot of teams have to go through this.''

At 24, Wade has a championship ring and his performance is sure to keep the comparisons with Michael Jordan alive.

''No comparison,'' Wade said. ''The comparison is flattering, but at the same time I always stay away from them because there will never be another Jordan.''

This year's championship is the fourth for O'Neal and seventh for Riley (he won two as a player). O'Neal won his most recent title in 2003. Riley's last came in 1988.

''I said it and I meant it: I would give up all six [previous titles] for this one,'' Riley said. ''It's not being disrespectful to any of them that I won, but after 18 years of chasing you get tired. So this one gives me a sense of absolute freedom. It's very special.''

The Heat ran off four straight wins to become the third team to rally from an 0-2 deficit in the Finals -- the 1969 Boston Celtics and 1977 Portland Trail Blazers are the others -- and the first to do it since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the final round in 1985.

Even after sweeping the middle three games on it home court, Miami still was seen as the underdog in some quarters because the final two games would be played in Dallas.

Riley, though, set the mind-set of his team when he announced he had packed lightly for the trip.

''I packed one suit, one shirt and one tie,'' he said before the game. ''That's it.''

He won't need a suit for Game 7, but was in need of a change of clothes after getting his suit, shirt and tie drenched with champagne in the postgame locker room.



NBA FINALS

Dallas vs. Miami
Heat wins series 4-2
Game 1: at Dallas 90, Miami 80
Game 2: at Dallas 99, Miami 85
Game 3: at Miami 98, Dallas 96
Game 4: at Miami 98, Dallas 74
Game 5: at Miami 101, Dal. 100 (OT)
Game 6: Miami 95, at Dallas 92

[donsaeid]

Go miami... hahaha... arman hala didi in spurset hichi nabod... jigare man bid in heat ba on ghoole siaheshon Shaq

[Rasputin]

Basketball

He's 7-5, 260 pounds, with a 8-foot wingspan. He turned eighteen less than a week ago. He’s a shot blocker with a soft shooting touch. He comes from Iran, and he can grab the rim flat footed and dunk on his tippy-toes!

The natural reaction to “from Iran” is, “So he can’t play, right?” But he can. He’s still raw but not as raw as you might imagine.

Jaber Rouzbahani has been playing basketball for less than four years. He played Yao Ming in an Asian Tournament last year and held him to 15 points. (About half of what Yao was averaging in the tournament.) He also played at the (19-under) World Junior Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece last summer in front of NBA scouts averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds per game and an eye opening 7 blocks, leading the entire tournament.

Jaber (pronounced JAB-er) has been working with Ansar Alameen, a (NBA skill development) coach since moving to America. Alameen said, “His development since I’ve been working with him is like nothing I’ve ever seen. It really comes down to his attitude.”

Rouzbahani was brought over from Iran three months ago after acquiring the necessary visa. He is currently staying in the Bay Area and works out at Contra Costa College.

His caretaker/advisor/translator Hashim Alauddeen, who works for Lebron James’ agent Aaron Goodwin, has brought the kid over and taken him into his home.



“Jaber expected there to be a disco tech on every corner.” said Alauddeen describing Jaber's misconceptions about the US being similar to our misconceptions about Iran. "There are a lot of misconceptions, in Iran it’s obviously a different culture, there is a more traditional dress and public presentation there, but people are people".

Alauddeen, from the Bay Area, is a long time friend of Goodwin who met his Iranian wife while studying in Tahran.

“They would never have allowed me to bring Jaber here if it wasn’t for my wife.”, explained Alauddeen. Describing the pitch he made to Jaber’s family, “I told them that Goodwin represents LeBron James and helped him get a 100 million dollar shoe deal from Nike, they looked at me like I was crazy. For shoes?”

Jaber had a normal family upbringing with loving parents. His father is average height standing roughly 6 foot. While his mother is tall at about 5'11.



pituitary gland disorder as fellow draft prospect Pavel Podkolzine. Also known as “giantism”, it is a disorder related to the pituitary gland which is involved in growth. Left untreated people with this disorder often die from it in their 30‘s or 40‘s as their body cannot sustain the growth.

Unlike Podkolzine, Rouzbahani had his pituitary gland removed 2 years ago. Pavel however is currently taking medication to combat the disorder.

As with much of the world, basketball is an afterthought to soccer. In Iran, basketball is almost non-existant. There is one gym in the city where Jaber is from and it is used by the professional team. Growing up, Rouzbahani had heard of "Shaq" but didn't know what he did.

He had a chance to meet his favorite player (Shaquille O'Neal) on a chance meeting on a trip up to Portland. As the two biggest people for miles around, the two spotted one another from across a parking lot. Shaq walked the length of the parking lot to shake the big fella’s hand. Shaq said, "You're the big kid from Iran right?". When asked how he knew of Jaber, Shaq pointed to his head and said, "I know everything."

Jaber’s English is still in it's infant stages. Since coming to the US, one of the first English words he learned is "foul". Since not knowing the word was causing arguements in pickup games as opponents didn’t believe that he didn't know how to speak English. He’s still reluctant to call fouls, so his trainer tells him to continue going hard to the basket even after the foul.



In Iran everyone plays soccer, and because of his size he was always the goalkeeper. When asked about how he started playing basketball, he said someone handed him a ball (smiling) and he liked the way it felt.

What about the thought of playing basketball for a living? (through Alauddeen) "I knew I would play for the rest of my life, but I didn't know I could get paid doing it."

Jaber comes from a city of 3 million in Iran called Isfahan which means "half of the world's beauty". It is a city widely known in the Middle East for it's beautiful scenery. There’s a famous bridge there called the See-o-Seh where people go to relax and walk around. It’s ironic that his first home in America is the Bay Area which is home to another beautiful and famous bridge: the Golden Gate.

In Iran, Jaber’s basketball development was slow. They lack the basketball fundamentals in coaching and the mindset is different compared to the kids here in the U.S. To give an example, Alauddeen explained that in Iran, if 9 kids show up to play and there's no tenth person to play full court, they all just go home.

[Rasputin]

Jaber has been playing in daily pickup games with former Georgetown center and 7-footer Wesley Wilson. “When Wesley started playing him a month ago he was killing him”, Alauddeen said. “Now, Jaber can play him head up.”

Seen in the photo below posting up against Wilson, Jaber would hit a shot from the top of the key to win this game and walked off the court with a big grin on his face.

Jaber is in the same boat with Pavel Podkolzine and Peter Ramos as he’s young and has great potential but still a big project. He is more raw than the others but defensively there is even more intrigue because of the development curve. He won't ever be a 20 game scorer, but he could be a big value to a team as a shot blocker.

Jaber has declared for the draft and will stay the course and hope to get drafted or worst case scenario hope to get picked up by a team as a free agent and put on IR for a few seasons to develop.

One “unnamed NBA team” has already inquired about hiding him, so apparently teams have interest. With his considerable upside, how could they not?



So how high can he be drafted? It will probably depend on his progression between now and the draft, but he is obviously a long term project but with enormous potential rewards.

Just seeing him workout and play in a few pickup games, it’s tough to project where exactly he will be picked in the draft. With the language barrier, and the rawness, late first round is unlikely but not completely out of the realm of possibility.

When considering Jaber has only been playing for just over 3 years, and has only had intensive training for 2-3 months, one can't help but fantasize about his considerable upside. You could be looking at a future Yao stopper.

Right now his biggest obstacles are learning English (he speaks through his advisor Hashem) and developing his body and skills. He has tremendous size and runs the floor something like Ghorge Mueresan. However, expect it to improve.

When asked what he thinks about possibly being famous in America, he smiles and says, “I’ve already become famous in Iran.”

What stands out most about Jaber, besides the obvious size, is his positive attitude. He has an infectious smile and a great personality which shines through despite the language barrier.

Jaber will leave on Monday, accompanied by Alauddeen, for Atlanta to work out with Shareef Abdur-Rahim for the upcoming NBA draft.

Though he first picked up a basketball less than four years ago, his progression in the past few months is something that will surely peak the interest of the NBA come draft time.

The reach of International basketball continues to grow. Talk of this kid making the NBA is no “jibber-Jaber”.

[jsmith]

albate ta oonja ke man khabar daram...in male parsaal ina bood...in agha dige baraye NBA bazi nemikone...ye moddat oomad ke bazi kone...va bere college ina ...vali pasesh dadan...

[Rasputin]

Nah azizam,esmesh hanouz touyeh list hast !!

[Dariush]

wooow im impressed
hope he can make it to nba
red wine thanks for this great news
i would luv to see an iranian nba players

[donsaeid]

age reza zade ghadde ino dasht ya in ghodrate reza zadaro vay vay ba in miraftim amricaro fath mikardim

[Dariush]

age reza zade ghadde ino dasht ya in ghodrate reza zadaro vay vay ba in miraftim amricaro fath mikardim

loooooooool
are valla

[abbas_agha]

jaber is an Iranian name?

[Rasputin]

Jaber is an arabic name !