Nikola Mirotic, left, is presented by the Chicago Bulls alongside Pau Gasol in July 2014. Kamil Krzaczynski / EPA
Nikola Mirotic, left, is presented by the Chicago Bulls alongside Pau Gasol in July 2014. Kamil Krzaczynski / EPA

Nikola Mirotic’s success at Chicago Bulls paves the way for Mario Hezonja’s route to the NBA



Nikola Mirotic, from Montenegro via Real Madrid to the Chicago Bulls, may deserve the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

He averages 9.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and is shooting 41.1 per cent from the field, 30.3 per cent on three-pointers. While his numbers do not compare well with those of Minnesota’s rookie, Andrew Wiggins, Mirotic turned into an indispensable cog for a Bulls team still competing despite the latest scene from Derrick Rose’s Shakespearean injury saga.

Nonetheless, whether or not Mirotic wins the rookie trophy, his success in going to the United States bodes well for another Balkan prodigy starring in Europe for a Spanish powerhouse.

Mario Hezonja, just 20, should have no trouble landing in the NBA draft lottery, after the Euroleague season he’s had.

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The Croatia international has scored 8.4 points per game in 18 games for Barcelona, level atop their Euroleague last-16 group table with Madrid. He is shooting 42.2 per cent from three and 49.1 per cent overall despite being only 19 most of the season and playing against mature professionals.

Not long ago, European players were discovered by the NBA mostly on the basis of height. Anyone 7 feet (2.1 metres) or taller had a shot of getting drafted by an NBA team, whatever their basketball skills.

They rose up draft boards on whispers and far-flung scouting reports. They often failed.

Now we can better measure European players before they cross the Atlantic. Scouts can watch them more easily with their own eyes.

Hezonja is rangy. He has nice shooting form and great leaping ability. It might be tired, at this point, to compare every wing with good size and a nice three-point shot to Klay Thompson, but the 2.03m Hezoja has some of that in his game.

His Barcelona numbers at age 20 compare well with Mirotic’s Madrid statistics at age 22: 51.8 per cent shooting, 35.4 per cent from three. That was when Mirotic was one of the best players in Europe.

They are dissimilar players, but the skill of thriving against seasoned professionals should be one that translates.

Dominant college players are never a guarantee in the NBA. It is difficult to put their numbers into context; they usually face massively inferior competition.

Europeans once were the great wild card in the NBA draft. But if Mirotic is an indication, or Rudy Gobert, coming from a solid early career at Cholet, in France, it is the Euros who now may represent the surest value in the draft.

And Hezonja looks next in line.

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Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
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Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

MATCH INFO

Who: France v Italy
When: Friday, 11pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
Find the right policy for you

Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.

Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.

Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.

Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.

If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.

Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.

Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”

MATCH INFO

Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')

Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')

Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

GROUPS

Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)

Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)

MATCH INFO

Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 55')

Man of the Match Allan (Everton)

The line up

Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego  

Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh  

Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

The biog

Age: 19 

Profession: medical student at UAE university 

Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman

Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)

Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe 

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Lost in Space'

Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen

Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins

Rating: 4/5

Brief scores:

Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first

Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)

Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15

Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)

Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49


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