By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Unics Kazan guard Isaiah Canaan believes that some prominent EuroLeague clubs would be able not only to be competitive in the NBA but possibly make the playoffs.
“I think a couple of teams could hit them [the playoffs],” Canaan said in an interview for RIA Novosti. “Why not? It’s hard to compare these leagues, but the Euroleague is strong too, and several [league] leaders could slip into the NBA playoffs. But this can only be verified if they play there. So far, these are just reflections from scratch.”
Canaan has been a veteran of seven seasons 238 NBA games, most of them with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Houston Rockets. He took crossed to Europe for the first time in his career last season to join Unics in Russia and proceeded to have a standout run in his debut EuroCup campaign.
Unics was promoted to EuroLeague and Canaan adjusted really fine to the top-tier level of European basketball. He’s leading Unics in scoring with 14.6 points (shooting 46.8 percent from the 3-point line on 6.7 attempts) while his team sits at a solid 8 – 6 record and within the playoff zone.
“In the NBA they play more often than practice and in this regard, the EuroLeague game schedule is somewhat similar,” Canaan said. “I like it. The more matches the better. As for the intensity, the EuroLeague games are very intense. It’s not easy in all top leagues in Europe. It’s the same in VTB, there are a lot of excellent players.”