The Erden Watch

In yesterday's game between Turkey and France, Celtics rookie, Semih Erden had a quiet game but still is showing some promise.  He has a nice touch around the basket and his footwork is good.  He has had a few big dunks that show he can finish strong.  His defense has been decent as well.    On Monday, he finished with 5 points on 2-3 shooting and including a monster dunk, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in 18 minutes off the bench.   Through Turkey's 6 games at the tournament, Erden is averaging 9.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.  One thing I have noticed is that he doesn't run up the court very often, even though he runs the court well.  He also doesn't usually run after rebounds.   Let's hope that the NBA can put a little hustle into him.  

Turkey's next game will be against Slovenia at 12:00 AM ET on Tuesday Sept 7.  That's going to be a tough one to catch at that time, but it will be on ESPN 3 for those who want to watch.