BOSTON (USA) (HAGEN. It’s time again to deal with the German men’s national players who are basketballed abroad. The list of players is long. Today we look seven times at the NBA and seven times at Europe. We begin our “inventory” across the Atlantic in Boston:
NBA
Dennis Schröder
Der Point Guard (Photo) has arrived at the Boston Celtics. And even more than that, because he has already provided one or the other highlight in the current season – sometimes as a starter, sometimes coming from the bank. The Celtics play better with Schröder, for example Boston was able to compensate for the loss of All-Star Jaylen Brown. The “Celts” are in tenth place in the east with a record of 13 wins and twelve defeats and have won five of the last ten games. The DBB playmaker averages 17.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 33 minutes. He hits 44.1% of his throws from the field and more than every third threesome (34.8%). His career record means his free throw rate of 89.1%.
Isaac bonga
Let’s move east and land with the Toronto Raptors. There Isaac Bonga switches back and forth between the NBA and G-League. He has been used eight games at the Toronto Raptors so far and averages 0.5 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.3 assists in just over four minutes. The Raptors are twelfth (11:13) in the east and have lost six of their last ten games. In the G-League, however, the Olympian consistently demonstrated his qualities. There Bonga has produced an outstanding 21.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, three assists, 1.8 steals and one block with strong throw rates (55.6 FG%, 43.8 3P%, 100 FT%) in five games so far. A clear recommendation for more NBA minutes.
Franz Wagner / Moritz Wagner
The journey continues, this time south to the Orlando Magic. For Franz Wagner Orlando seems to be the perfect stop to start his NBA career. The Magic lose very often (14th with 5:20, only won one of the last ten games), but the German youngster is convincing as a starter across the board and is one of the strongest rookies in the league. After 25 games, his statistics show an average of 13.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in just under 32 minutes. Franz has already scored two-digit points 20 times. Anyone who previously feared that the Berliner would get his physical problems in the robust NBA has been taught better so far. The 2.06 m tall forward has fearlessly taken some opponents with him on the poster. Brother has a more difficult position in the team Moritz Wagnerwho is still looking for a permanent role in the team. The Big Man is only allowed to go on the floor for just under twelve minutes. He uses it for six points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists. But anyone who knows the 2.11 m man knows that he will do everything possible to consolidate his place in the Magic rotation.
Maximilian Kleber
We’re going west and stopping at the Dallas Mavericks. There, Maxi Kleber recovered from a persistent back injury that forced him to watch nine games. The Mavericks have fallen back to seventh place in the West after eight defeats in the last ten games (11:12), and had to do without their superstar Luka Doncic a few games. Kleber is sent out on the field for 24 minutes and has 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists. The threesome is not quite as good as last season, but still with a decent rate (37.7% vs 41%). The German is still an important option in the Mavericks game, and one can expect a further improvement from him after the longer injury break.
Daniel Theis
In Houston, the Rockets with Daniel Theis are now on a six-game winning stretch after a 15-game slide. With seven wins and 16 defeats, the record in 13th place in the west is still far from the playoff level, but the team has recently shown that it can win. Theis had to pass a few games injured, but in 17 games and an average of 23 minutes of play he has a decent 8.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists. Similar to Kleber, there is certainly more that can be done. Most recently, the name Theis kept coming up in trade rumors.
Isaiah Hartenstein
Chapeau! That would have the German center Isaiah Hartenstein certainly not believed by many. He plays a very good role with the Los Angeles Clippers, who are considered to be the top team despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard (cruciate ligament tear). Perseverance obviously pays off, because the Big Man has secured a permanent place in the Clippers rotation with his universal skills. Hartenstein can actively participate for almost 16 minutes. And he delivers what the 7.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocks on average prove. From the field, the 2.13 m man throws very strongly (2P 64.9%; 3P 66.7%), but goes even more at the free throw line (59.5%). The Clippers are fifth in the West with 13 wins and 12 losses, but have lost six of their last ten games.
EUROPE
Johannes Voigtmann
Back in Europe. There we first take a look at Johannes Voigtmann (at the.) at CSKA Moscow. The Muscovites are not doing quite well this season, but with three wins in a row they have significantly improved their position in the Euroleague (5th, 8: 5). In the VTB League, ZSKA is in fourth place (5: 2). Voigtmann was unable to play a few games due to an eye injury. In the Euroleague, the DBB Center has played nine games in which it was used for an average of 24 minutes. 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists are noted for him. The litter rates are outstanding (2P 82.1%; 3P 41.5%, FW 81.3%). From the two-point area, no Euroleague player hits more than the Olympians. In three games of the VTB League Voigtmann averaged 9.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals.
Danilo Barthel/Ismet Akpinar
Due to his knee injury he had surgery Danilo Barthel at Fenerbahce Istanbul this season very rarely used. His name appears once in the Turkish BSL and once in the Euroleague. There is no need to take a closer look, which we are very happy to take on for the rest of the season. Fenerbahce is at the top of the BSL (10: 1), but weakens extremely in the Euroleague and is only 15th there (4: 9). Three times has Ismet Akpinar so far fought in the strong Euroleague squad of the Turks. In an average of seven minutes, 2.7 points and 0.7 assists jumped out of it. It looks better for him in the BSL, where he has 6.9 points and 1.7 assists in nine games.
Tibor Pleiß
The reliability in person remains Tibor Pleiß at Efes Istanbul. After a catastrophic start (0: 4), Efes advanced to tenth place in the Euroleague (6: 7) and took second place in the BSL (9: 2). Pleiß shines in the Euroleague with a high rate from the field (65%) and collects 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in just over 18 minutes. His rate beyond the triple line is also impressive (41.7%). The 2.18 m center was there six times in the BSL and was good there for 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and one block on average.
Niels Giffey
This year’s Euroleague season began with nine defeats in a row for Zalgiris Kaunas with Niels Giffey. Recently, the Lithuanian champions were able to stabilize a bit, but are still at the bottom of the table (3:10). Giffey last fell out with a corona infection, but was in ten Euroleague games with 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21 minutes. Zalgiris leads the Lithuanian league LKL (10: 1), the German forward contributed 8.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in eight games.
Maik Zirbes
Maik Zirbes has returned to his great “love” at Roter Stern Belgrade. The Serbs are in twelfth place in the Euroleague (5: 8) and in first place in the Adriatic League ABA (9: 1). The German center was used five times in the Euroleague (12 MIN., 6.8 PKT, 2.2 REB), in the ABA six times (4.7 PKT, 2.7 REB).
Robin Benzing
Last but not least, we are with the captain of the German national team. Robin Benzing plays this season for Fortitudo Bologna, which adorns the bottom of the table in the Italian Serie A. So far, only two out of nine games have been won. Even Benzing, with all his experience, could not change that, although his numbers look good. In eight games, the forward scored an average of 13.8 points, got 2.4 rebounds and distributed 1.6 assists.
Photos Schröder / Hartenstein: picture alliance
Photos Pleiß / Voigtmann: Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images
