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Glenn James/NBAE/Getty Images
Dallas will look to the reigning MVP, Dirk Nowitzki to help the team advance to the semis. Nowitzki sharp shooting and dominate presence down low will be crucial in his team's quest for success.
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By Lauren Brill
The Global Top 10 is your weekly guide to NBA global news. In this week's edition find out who is making a postseason appearance, who grabbed their fourth double-double and which soccer star blogged about the NBA postseason.
Who's in the NBA PlayoffsAll season long we've kept you informed on which international players broke a record, had a game-high or drained a buzzer beater. In reality, all the fantastic plays that have been made and the career milestones that have been reached mean as much as any singer belting out a perfectly pitched tune in Hollywood week of American Idol. It is important to impress the judges during the singers' hell week but if they don't make the cut for the Top 24, the high notes they hit and the songs they nailed mean next to nothing. While players on 14 NBA teams clean out their lockers and the go their separate ways for the offseason, 16 teams move on to the postseason to pursue an NBA title. This year many of the global stars who've headlined the Global Top 10 week after week, will have their chance to be a champion. International players who are now enjoying the fruits of their regular season labor include Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Al Horford, Jose Calderon, Andrei Kirilenko, Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Gordan Giricek, Luis Scola, Andrea Bargnani, Anderson Varejao, Samuel Dalembert, Dikembe Mutombo, Carlos Arroyo and more. Now as NBA fanatics, we must watch the festivities to discover which Global Stars shine the brightest on the big stage.
 Photo: Which global stars will be chasing a title?
1. Who's Who in the NBA PlayoffsAll season long we've kept you informed on which international players broke a record, had a game-high or drained a buzzer beater. In reality, all the fantastic plays that have been made and the career milestones that have been reached mean as much as any singer belting out a perfectly pitched tune in Hollywood week of American Idol. It is important to impress the judges during the singers' hell week but if they don't make the cut for the Top 24, the high notes they hit and the songs they nailed mean next to nothing. While players on 14 NBA teams clean out their lockers and the go their separate ways for the offseason, 16 teams move on to the postseason to pursue an NBA title. This year many of the global stars who've headlined the Global Top 10 week after week, will have their chance to be a champion. International players who are now enjoying the fruits of their regular season labor include Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Al Horford, Jose Calderon, Andrei Kirilenko, Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Gordan Giricek, Luis Scola, Andrea Bargnani, Anderson Varejao, Samuel Dalembert, Dikembe Mutombo, Carlos Arroyo and more. Now as NBA fanatics, we must watch the festivities to discover which Global Stars shine the brightest on the big stage.
Photo: Which global stars will be chasing a title?
2. Lakers Cross Finish LineSome of the teams in the West this season may have felt like they were running on a treadmill. When teams racked up wins they often remained stagnant in the standings as a result of the tight Western Conference race. One team had to rise above the rest and on Tuesday night when the Lakers defeated the Kings 124-101, they crowned themselves the No. 1 seeded team in the West. L.A. Lakers fans should throw a special thanks Pau Gasol's way as he led the team with 22 points, shooting 9-of-11 from the field. The seven footer missed nine games in late March as a result of an ankle injury but appears to be back in the groove of things, which is good because teammate Kobe Bryant told the AP,"It's all about momentum. You want to be playing your best basketball going into the playoffs, and we feel like we're doing that so we ended the season exactly where we wanted to.'' From Kobe's word to Pau's game, the Lakers look to be primed for the playoffs.
Photo: Pau is potent against Kings
3. Parker Leads Spurs to VictoryThe Spurs kept their poker faces on after defeating the Kings 101-98 on Monday night. In a much needed win, the former champs wanted to play their cards right so they could receive the highest possible seed in the tight Western Conference race. Tony Parker let the Kings know that he meant business, registering his second double-double of the season with 32 points and 11 dimes. With Tim Duncan on the bench for much of the fourth quarter as result of foul trouble, the Spurs' point guard took matters into his own hands, draining a 20-footer with 1:08 left on the clock to give the Spurs a 99-95 lead. After the game the France native told HOOPSWORLD,
"Sacramento played a great game, made a lot of shots in the second half and just played good basketball. It was just a battle, a hard game. I'm just happy we ended up with a win."
4. Nash Works for WinI was always told anything worth having will not come easy. That was the case on Monday night when the Phoenix Suns ended Golden State's playoff hopes with a 122-116 victory. After Golden State recovered from a 17 point deficit, it was up to the Suns to regain the lead in order for them to continue to make their case for a home court advantage in the playoffs. Steve Nash was Phoenix's energizer bunny throughout, logging near a triple double with 13 points, 14 dimes and nine rebounds. While the win did not come easy to the run-and-gun Suns, Phoenix's coach Mike D'Antoni would have not tried to rewrite the script if he could. He explained to the AP, "I'm kind of glad it happened that way. We looked pretty good at the end. We looked sharp, and that's the kind of stuff you need to get you going." That being said they may have won the battle but they lost the war as they will not have homecourt advantage when they take on the Spurs in the First Round of the playoffs.
5. Dirk to Drive Dallas in Playoffs It will be Dallas and New Orleans in Round One. With an MVP candidate in Chris Paul, Dallas will look to the reigning MVP, Dirk Nowitzki to help the team advance to the semis. Nowitzki sharp shooting and dominate presence down low will be crucial in his team's quest for success. The seven-footer is currently averaging 23.6 points and 9.5 rebounds and will have Jason Kidd on his side. If the Germany native knocks down shots and crashes the boards, there should be no reason why this loaded team couldn't upset the second-seeded squad from The Big Easy.
Photo: Dirk to Drive Dallas in Postseason
6. A Fourth Double-Double for Okur Mehmet Okur has had his teammates singing his praises as the Jazz made their late season playoff push. Saturday night's matchup against the Denver Nuggets was just another example of the Turkey native's dominate play in the paint. The 6-11 center logged 20 points and 15 rebounds in the 124-97 victory over Denver. The game marked Okur's fourth consecutive double-double. In the days prior to the Denver-Utah matchup teammate Deron Williams spoke highly of his center to the Desert News, "He's a 6-(foot)-11 guy that can shoot 3s with the best of 'em. "He spreads the floor out, he hits clutch shots. And he can put the ball on the floor and be effective when he does. It's tough to stop him." Well it may be difficult to slow him down, Houston will give it whirl in the First Round of the 2008 playoffs.
7. Hedo is Happy for His TeamHedo Turkoglu registered a game-high 24 points and eight dimes in Orlando's 104-84 win over the Bulls. He nailed all four of his freebies, shot 9-of-17 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point land. The Turkey native was responsible for catalyzing a 7-0 run to begin the fourth. He finished off the run that left the Magic up by 15 with a three-point play. After it was all said and done the eight-year vet told the AP, " This is special.'' But the sharp shooting power forward was not referring to his personal accomplishments but rather his team's achievement. The win marked the team's 50th victory of the season and a selfless Turkoglu explained to the AP, "I'm happy to be a part of it." That being said, Orlando made it clear that they believe this achievement simply foreshadows what is yet to come...
8. Darren Bent Blogs Darren Bent is a professional football/soccer player for Tottenham Hotspur FC in London. Excited for the playoffs to begin like the rest of us NBA junkies, Bent wrote a blog for NBA.com where he declared himself a big time fan of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Speaking kind words of The Chosen One, he said in his blog, "LeBron James is my favorite player. He is still really really young and he is just so dominant. I also think he brings out the best in his team as well." The Tottenham Hotspur star also discussed how he grew to be an avid NBA fan and who he believes will be this year's MVP. Also check out his blog to find out which team Bent believes is equipped to be the 2008 champions.
9. Rasho Lets the Good Times Roll Rasho Nesterovic continued to let the good times roll on Monday night. In the Raptors 91-75 victory, Toronto clinched the sixth seed in the East and Nesterovic continued his improved late season play with 20 points on the night. The game marked the Slovenia native's 17th consecutive double-digit performance. Helping his team pull out the win, the seven-footer scored the first four points of the final period to give the Raptors a 74-64 lead. After the game teammate Chris Bosh complimented the big man's game as he told the AP, "He's been playing great all year and he's especially picked it up lately. The thing I love about him is he never steps outside of his boundaries. He knows what he's good at, he doesn't try to do too much. When that right hook is falling, he's mean."
10. Scola Leads Houston in Win While Luis Scola may have received the bronze in Dave McMenamin's Rookie Rankings, he was the golden child for the Houston Rockets in the last regular game of the season. Wednesday night the Rockets defeated the Clippers 93-75 to clinch the fifth seed in the Western Conference. In the final matchup of the regular season the first-year led the team with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. For the big man it was just another day on the job, as he has continued to help fill the void that Yao's absence has left. Despite the fact that the Rookie of the Year accolade will likely go to Kevin Durant or Al Horford, fans should keep a close eye on Scola in the postseason as we just might see what this frosh is really made of.
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