Hamed Haddadi faces criticism after his blunders in the quarterfinals of FIBA Asia C’Ship – NBA News
The self proclaimed best centre in Asia, Memphis Grizzlies’ Hamed Haddadi is facing the wrath of his teammates following a series of crucial mistakes in the final 10 minutes of the quarterfinal game against Jordan, which ousted
Iran from the title contention in the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship. With the loss, Iran’s hopes of qualifying for the 2012 London Olympics were also quashed.
With Iran leading by five points in the fourth quarter, the Memphis Grizzlies big missed a two from outside the paint and followed with a series of missed shots and fouls. This meant that despite of finishing with a game-high
27 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists, Hamed became the focus of criticism.
Iran’s point guard Mahdi Kamrany was the first to fire the salvo,
"Hamed is good but sometimes not all the big NBA players can play good, he missed some shots and had some bad passes. We are very disappointed, but that happens, that is basketball. The loss was very bad for my country; we just
couldn't make it happen."
Before being knocked out against Jordan, Hamed Haddadi has vowed to clinch the Olympic spot by winning the tournament. Naming China as the biggest opponent, the 7 foot 2 inch centre touted himself as the best centre in Asia after
the retirement of Chinese superstar Yao Ming.
However, when the time to deliver came, Haddadi trembled and with him being the centre of the offensive system, Iran failed to match the Jordanian attack.
"The media, the reporters, they helped Iran lose, they keep saying 'you are the best, you are the best', we had too much pressure.” Iran’s forward Samad Bahrami said.
On Haddadi’s proclamation to be the best active centre in Asia, Bahrami said, “The best player in Asia is the player that wins the championship; you cannot say that one player is the best in Asia when his team finishes sixth or
seventh."
Hamed Haddadi might have had some amazing performances in the 26th FIBA Asia Championship; however his poor stretch in what turned to be the most important game of the tournament, has turned his team against him.
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