I guess we can put this in one thread like the nba thread. Team usa plays later this afternoon. Right now on nba tv its france and serbia about to enter the 4th with france down 2, trying to avoid an 0-2 start. Even without parker and noah france still entered this tourney thinking they could medal. This would be a brutal start. Lost a nail biter to brazil in their first game
Croatia beat argentina (minus manu) despite 30 from luis scola. Spain won their first game behind 33 from pau. Ibaka did not play (hammy), but is expected shortly
Brazil (nene, varejao, splitter, barbosa) will be playing iran at noon on nba tv.
Team usa vs turkey at 330 on espn. Turkey is probably the strongest opponent in our group/pool. By fiba rankings they certainly are
brazil looked dominant vs iran today and are off to a 2-0 start themselves
team usa tips in a little over an hour
Curry had one of his worst showings so far, all he did was chuck it up early in the shot clock. Curry is by far the best shooter on the team and he is arguably the most important player on the team because of his zone-busting shooting beyond the arc. But he was just in chuck mode yesterday, he absolutely needs to play smarter. His Splash brother Klay Thompson had a similarly mediocre game.
Derrick Rose is clearly there or pretty close to it athletically. But he played like ass yesterday. He was easily the worst player who got big minutes for the team yesterday. 17 mins -- 2 pts -- 0-4 FG (0-3 on 3s) shooting -- 0 Ast -- 2 TOV. He played 17 minutes and had 0 made FGs and 0 Assists, how does that even happen? I remember when Durant went down that a lot of us were saying that it was now D-Rose's team and that he was "the guy". At this point that looks like an absurd claim. He just isn't there yet with his game.
Kyrie played really well, the only other guard who did. Based on what I've seen, he has been one of the most consistently valuable players on the team. His touch and skill around the rim is so impressive. Just so fun watching him finish off the glass with so much english. His name might as well be Kyrie English. He was very good yesterday.
But the best perimeter player on the US was easily James Harden. He was the only guy on the team in the 1st half who wasn't chucking up bad shots early in the shot clock. He was playing a calm and measured game while setting up his teammates. And he had a tremendous 2nd half where he just carved up Turkey's defense and was getting easy points for himself and others with ease. There was a sequence in the 2nd half when the US was pulling away where Harden had 3-4 consecutive great assists just going through the Turkey D. He finished with 7 assists and 0 turnovers while also dropping 14 on 4-7 FG shooting.
And yet absolutely everyone on social media and the news is completely shitting on him for another defensive lapse he had in the game. He was caught ball-watching and left the Turkey shooter wide open by a mile for a corner 3. It was just an awful play on his part. No excuses, Harden's off-ball defensive IQ needs to improve. But it was literally the one truly bad defensive play he had all game. He played pretty damn good D yesterday. Curry and Kyrie were clearly worse than Harden on D yesterday.
It's just so annoying to watch the game and see Harden be the best perimeter player on the court by miles, and then see him get absolutely ripped by the media for one bad play. I've never seen a player go from overrated to underrated so fast. The media and fans are just going overboard with the Harden hate. It's ridiculous that Curry and Rose get complete passes for their garbage performances yesterday while Harden gets shit on despite dominating the game. But if Harden continues playing like he did last night, he'll shut a lot of people up.
I was really talking about perimeter players in this post and Harden was America's best yesterday. But the 2 best players on the court were Faried and Davis. Faried's motor and hustle are so important for this team. And he has developed a nice little hook shot. He went 11-14 from the field and was a major part of the win, I'd give him the game ball. Davis was invisible in the 1st half scoring 0 pts, but then he just demolished Turkey in the 2nd half with a ridiculous 19 pts. I love Davis and think he'll be a legendary player but he still needs to get stronger. Asik was pushing him around early on. Asik/Davis could really be a devastating frontcourt defensively, can't wait to see how the Pelicans play this year.
Offensively, team USA looks good whenever they go pick and roll, but when teams play zone, you see the slop you see yesterday. And sorry Osi, when Harden plays ISO, its hard for me to watch.
As for Rose, it was a poor showing yesterday, but he has to play more PG than playmaker on this team and he clearly isnt back yet. He isnt forcing the issue, he has his athletcism on the floor. He just needs games. This is why I am glad he is getting 18-20 minutes in these games. It will get him back quicker than just practicing.
This is a big game for Rose. He has looked dreadful so far and choosing him over John Wall seems like a really poor decision right now. But we all know when Rose is feeling right he is clearly a better player than Wall.
If the US wins this game by halftime like you'd expect, Rose is probably going to get a lot of run with the US bench in the 2nd half. Low pressure situation against a bad team that's already conceded defeat. Rose really needs to play well if he plays in that situation. Especially important for Rose since it's the 2nd game in 2 days.
This is a big game for Rose. He has looked dreadful so far and choosing him over John Wall seems like a really poor decision right now. But we all know when Rose is feeling right he is clearly a better player than Wall.
If the US wins this game by halftime like you'd expect, Rose is probably going to get a lot of run with the US bench in the 2nd half. Low pressure situation against a bad team that's already conceded defeat. Rose really needs to play well if he plays in that situation. Especially important for Rose since it's the 2nd game in 2 days.
Disagree. His defense has been the best of any guard on the floor. Hos shot is way off, which is a problem. I think the problem with Rose is he is trying to be unselfished and a pass first PG, which is obviously not his game.
I like your theory Osi. If its a blowout, let him play in the 2nd half and run the offense through him. He is still not Rose, but defensively he has been very, very good.
I think I mentioned this earlier, but it would be wise for the Bulls to run the offense through Paul and Noah, since they are such great passers. This way Rose can use his athleticism (which he has showed he still has) to beat guys off screens and back door cuts.
I am really pumped for this year. If everyone on both the Cavs and Bulls stay healthy, that could lead to a great, great rivalry for a few years. The NBA needs an intense rivalry.
Well rounded game for anthony davis even though hehas struggled with his shot some. I cant wait to see him hit the floor this season. Having asik next to him is going to help too
spain up 5-0 early on france, trying to join slovenia, greece and us (after tonight) as the only teams at 4-0
I'm surprised that his shot is off. You'd figure that he'd have been shooting a ton during all the time off. I guess it's a matter of shooting while at game speed that he needs work with.
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this is shaping up much like we thought it would. Team usa and spain on a collision course, with us needing to do it in their house
Yeah from what I read it sounded like he may miss a game at most. Dont want to see any more serious injuries.
btw kyrie said hes ok
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turkey and lithuania in a good one right now entering the 4th on nba tv. Turkey led team usa in the 2nd half of a game in the group stage, right now trying to advance vs a game lithuania squad led by jonas valencunas of the raptors, who is having a big tourney
Our bigs have been excellent all tourney, and faried has surprisingly enough been our best player this summer, another huge night so far
theres no doubt in my mind dragic brother can play in the nba. You could saythat about more than a few non nba players in this tourney. Some dont want to move across the globe. Others get bigger offers as stars overseas than they would as solid bench players here, like that mexican center who beasted on us. Its crazy how much basketball talent there is all over the globe at this point compared to just 20 to 25 years ago
I think Coach K is making a mistake by not going to the Cousins/Davis frontcourt more often. Because this is going to come down to Spain and it's going to come down to Pau Gasol. And Anthony Davis needs to be guarding Pau. Davis is a shot-blocking beast but not a good low-post man defender yet, but he is easily our best option against Pau. Davis' best game last year happened when he utterly dominated the Lakers and Pau in a head to head matchup.
So either you'll have Davis guarding Marc and Faried guarding Pau, which is a recipe for disaster. Or you have Cousins/Drummond in the game guarding Marc and Davis guarding Pau. Faried has been an animal in this tourney outworking lesser athletes, but against the big boy athletes of Spain he becomes less useful. I don't think we can beat Spain with Faried getting heavy minutes guarding one of the Gasol's.
serbia beat brazil down today, very surprising. Theyll play the winner of france v spain. Usa will play lithuania to round out the final 4
serbia beat brazil down today, very surprising. Theyll play the winner of france v spain. Usa will play lithuania to round out the final 4
id still expect spain to win, but this is crisis time
Faried has been awesome this tournament but I don't like him against Spain should we play them because he can't shoot.
espn needs to do something about these graphics. You can barely read the clock its so dark
spain 2 for 19 from three.
France is going to be a force 2 years from now in olympic play if they have their guys. Its an amazing accomplishment to make it to the final 4 so shorthanded
eric, I deserve no credit. Im as stunned as anyone, I was just passing along a halftime score