https://twitter.com/MarcoRomo_/status/1414022436409036804

It was just an exhibition but it should serve as a wake up call. This ain't the 90s. The gap between the US and the rest of the world ain't anywhere near as wide as it used to be.

Even when they won the Nigerian team acted like it wasnt no thing. Very impressive.

You cant just throw a bunch of NBA players and shooting guards together and think it will work. It still has to be built with cohesion and accurate players at each position. Though so many players opted out im not sure they had much of a choice.

*I have no idea how much he actually played. But play him more.

And Lopez wouldn’t have played either against a team hellbent on tossing up perimeter shots all game. They played Precious Achiuwa at center— neither Love nor Lopez has the agility or speed to hang with a small ball 5 like that.

>And Lopez wouldn’t have played either against a team
>hellbent on tossing up perimeter shots all game. They played
>Precious Achiuwa at center— neither Love nor Lopez has the
>agility or speed to hang with a small ball 5 like that.

So what was Bam doing? His dad is Nigerian so did he throw it?

I’m not especially surprised to see some of these guys that haven’t represented USA on a big stage like this before struggle due to phoning it in versus a team they should easily beat. Bam, Dame, LaVine, and Beal and Tatum haven’t played for USA since, like, the U-19s or something. Of course, all of them struggling together wasn’t especially likely, nor was the opponent shooting 48% from 3 on a billion shots—but still.

Durant *has* to be the experienced leader and take over games like this, but he too probably heard “scrimmage” and thought “fuck it.” To a lesser extent, the team needs Draymond to be a vocal leader too for the defense. And whether it’s fair to Bam or not, he’s *got* to carry a ton of the defense on his shoulders as easily USA’s most talented and versatile big. He can’t be our main big and get beat up by guys like Achiuwa and Okpala.

I don’t expect this sort of “I don’t give a shit” vibe to carry over into the games that count, for whatever that’s worth. Still embarrassing, still shouldn’t have happened.

You’re gonna lose. Not complicated.

Nigeria shot 12-31 from 2… and 20-42 from 3! Bonkers, lmao. How you gonna shoot 38% from 2 and 48% from 3? So wild.

Anyway. Good wake up call for USA. 100% chance that most international teams know that the recipe to beating USA is the same recipe so many mid-majors use against high-majors in college: toss up a ton of 3s and hope for a good shooting night. Like, you just *can’t* assume, at a time when more elite 3-point shooters exist than ever before in basketball history, that an inferior opponent will miss enough shots that you can just out-talent them on offense with some my turn, your turn stuff.

Of course, it’s also super unlikely that your opponent shoots 48% from 3 on a massive volume, lol. But hey, shit *can* happen. Guys like Dame need to give a fuck about contesting 3s, otherwise some squad can absolutely sneak up on USA by tossing in a fuckton of 3s. Especially now, every team will try to replicate this. Defend the goddamn perimeter some, lol.

The purpose of an exhibition game is to build chemistry, learn the offense,
and to get a concept of what the starting lineup is going to be.

Those are the types of takes that should be given. The first Dream
Team was beaten by college kids in practice, and people didn’t really find
out about that until a documentary was released on the team.

had the Copa final on the tv but i had this on the 2nd screen. they got a lot to work on that I dont think Booker/Jrue/Khris/Bropez (is Bropez on the team?) really solve other than adding more numbers

But yeah, I think the Lillard defense concerns in international play are real unless he's going Dame Time Mode. Too many teams understand that he's a weak link on the perimeter that can be bullied-- and without someone like Anthony Davis or whoever who can both protect the rim *and* switch on the perimeter, you're left with either (a) choosing drop coverage, where teams that can shoot (i.e. most international teams) can pick you apart, or (b) choosing all switchability, which is a good idea... but best believe the weak link better not suck, or he's gonna get fried repeatedly.

I *do* think Dame can be a little more feisty in the actual play-- again, the team just looked to be coasting for much of the game, and USA would be favored over Nigeria by more than 20 in a game that counted. But yeah, there are lessons to be taken from this, both by USA and by USA's competition.

for the US but has a Nigerian father and could've been on the other side...

Giannis is called the "Greek" freak but his parents are from Nigeria...

Embiid is from Cameroon...

Clint Capela was born in Switzerland but his parents are from Africa...

Rudy Gobert is from France...

Deandre Ayton is from the Bahamas...

KAT's mother is Dominican and he played for their national team...

Nikola Jokić is from Serbia...

Domantas Sabonis was born in Portland but obviously his father is from Lithuania...

I could go on, Vučević, Valančiūnas, Kristaps Porziņģis, Nurkić, Kanter...

Why is it that American players shy away from the center position? Is it still the Shaq effect? Is Kevin Love really the best we have?

The best American born big man is probably Anthony Davis and he is adamant about "not being a center"...

this team in trouble if these reinforcements dont hit right

imma need Beal, Tatum, Lavine to humble themselves and focus on hard D and rebounding. somebody gotta suck it up and do the dirty work like Kobe did for team USA

He pointed out that a lot of these less talented teams have been playing together literally since they were teenagers, for like 10-15 years. In these early matchups and/or scrimmage situations, you can’t just assume that the team with the most talent and far less experience playing together can phone in a win against a squad that knows their rotations, knows their cut timings, knows their teammates’ ins and outs flawlessly.

USA will still be the favorite to win gold irrespective of these scrimmages. But they are definitely learning a valuable lesson. If they don’t get on the same page as soon as they can, shit’s gonna get real in a way they can’t just talent their way back from.

>USA will still be the favorite to win gold irrespective of
>these scrimmages. But they are definitely learning a valuable
>lesson. If they don’t get on the same page as soon as they
>can, shit’s gonna get real in a way they can’t just talent
>their way back from.

>He pointed out that a lot of these less talented teams have
>been playing together literally since they were teenagers, for
>like 10-15 years. In these early matchups and/or scrimmage
>situations, you can’t just assume that the team with the
>most talent and far less experience playing together can phone
>in a win against a squad that knows their rotations, knows
>their cut timings, knows their teammates’ ins and outs
>flawlessly.

That was a key reason why they played well.

Recently, it's been hard to get players to commit cycle-to-cycle. I have no real idea why. But the lack of in-game experience between players may come back to hurt Team USA.

Rolling the ball out there and expecting blowouts for Team USA just isn't a reality now.

>That was a key reason why they played well.
>
>Recently, it's been hard to get players to commit
>cycle-to-cycle. I have no real idea why. But the lack of
>in-game experience between players may come back to hurt Team
>USA.
>
>Rolling the ball out there and expecting blowouts for Team USA
>just isn't a reality now.

he is more of a "system coach" and players don't have time to learn or by into his system

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/08/carmelo-anthony-denied-team-usa-chance

jacking up 3's? While playing little defense? didn't watch but I assume this is the case.

some of these guys would be better served taking a full summer off to work on their individual games if that's the case. might as well go play in the drew in la and not waste the time in empty stadiums and a tokyo olympic village bubble. that shit is a significant tease. being in one of the most incredible cities in the world but not being able to do shit. but i digress.

>jacking up 3's? While playing little defense?

that's pretty much what happened
draymond basically ran point when he was in the game but had several turnovers

They are not going up against untalented players.

Chill out.

... I bet their Vegas odds at winning gold will fall to somewhere between -250 and -300, and Daddy might have to hammer that, lol. Scrimmage issues or no, that would be a *bonkers* line for a Team USA team that has at least five of the best ten players in the field.

they lost by 23 to Nigeria a couple of das ago so who knows

still be their best player and he's like 40

Then Australia smoked Nigeria

So I guess the good thing is at least we didn’t lose a 3rd time. Hopefully they are figuring some things out

and deserve to have Sri Lanka as a basketball team.

You guys are such shallow spectators....When they win gold,
y’all better sit there and not say shit!

>When they win gold,
>y’all better sit there and not say shit!

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31823595/bradley-beal-expected-miss-olympics-jerami-grant-enters-protocols-sources-say

https://news.yahoo.com/trae-young-channels-isiah-thomas-has-ideas-about-who-should-replace-bradley-beal-on-team-usa-001406704.html

Taking no chances

All-Stars in the WNBA all-star game.

The Sparks Nneka Owguimike, a 6-time All-Star and former league MVP was selected for neither team, the first league MVP to never play in the Olympics.

Then she was told she couldn't play for Nigeria in the Olympics where she has dual-citizenship because she had played for other FIBA teams with the US?

the opportunity to play for team Nigeria for similar reasons as NNeka...

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/31818962/let-nneka-ogwumike-play-nigeria-fiba-bad-decision-bad-basketball

of not being selected for the US Olympic she should be allowed to play for whomever she wants

the dog on this one and there is no Michael, Kobe or Lebron to bail him out.

They need to be on phone with Trae and Julius ASAP.

But you know that dude ain't in no types of playing shape.

>But you know that dude ain't in no types of playing shape.

he's probably sitting over a shrimp po' boy with a bowl of gumbo and a plate of praline beignets right now lol

Let him play with buttery fingers, IDGAF, lol.

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1416078483168665606

the best part about being in tokyo is hanging out in tokyo. these guys will only see tokyo from the bus. i wouldn't want anything to do with these olympics either.

and who doesn't like pop? seriously? has anyone ever spoken poorly of the guy?

>the best part about being in tokyo is hanging out in tokyo.
>these guys will only see tokyo from the bus. i wouldn't want
>anything to do with these olympics either.
>
>and who doesn't like pop? seriously? has anyone ever spoken
>poorly of the guy?

despite his winning tenure free agents haven't exactly flocked to go play for him.

Most of the modern players don't take well to his leadership style. It worked well in San Antonio because it started with David Robinson who was a military guy that fell in line and he passed that mentality down to Duncan.

Kawhi couldn't wait to get away from there. He had success with those guys putting foreign guys around them and when that ran out you see what the Spurs' record has been the last couple of years.

Aldridge was a marquee free agent when he signed there.

Kawhi did bolt, but I was always under the impression that was his dissatisfaction with how they handled his injury, which was clearly worse than they thought it was. To my knowledge they haven't really had cap space to be in the mix for any FA's post LMA. Perhaps people don't like Pop, but let's not act like they've continually struck out on people.

Due to drafting well.

They went from DRob to DRob/TD to TD/Manu/TP to TD/Manu/TP/Kawhi and then signed a premiere FA when the opportunity was there.

Granted, the other time I can remember a FA flirting with SA was Kidd back after the Nets lost to them in the Finals. Kinda makes sense that DIDNT happen but it didn't seem like Pop was a real issue. I dunno - maybe he was - but let's not act like they had a bunch of cap space they had to spend like ever. They had a bunch of all stars.

We’ll see.

I’m just saying you can’t really in earnest say that about the Duncan spurs.

>We’ll see.
>
>I’m just saying you can’t really in earnest say that about
>the Duncan spurs.

Tim Duncan has been retired for 5 years he’s in the HOF

You mentioned 25 years of the Spurs. He was there for what…19 of them?

>
>despite his winning tenure free agents haven't exactly flocked
>to go play for him.
>
>Most of the modern players don't take well to his leadership
>style. It worked well in San Antonio because it started with
>David Robinson who was a military guy that fell in line and he
>passed that mentality down to Duncan.
>
>Kawhi couldn't wait to get away from there. He had success
>with those guys putting foreign guys around them and when that
>ran out you see what the Spurs' record has been the last
>couple of years.

The weirdest olympics + COVID is popping off in Tokyo + a short offseason + many stars are injured.

Team USA basketball is as close to a guarantee to getting Olympic gold as you can get, regardless of who is coaching. And even if you hate the coach, you only gotta deal with him for like a month and you get a medal out of the deal. Why would the top stars care about any other tournament if they can just join on when it really matters? This year is just a weird exception for the reasons I listed. That’s why people are shocked that Durant joined on and Booker is still going to.

The COVID situation in Japan is much much worse than it is in America right now. It seems as if playing in the Olympics is a worse version of playing in the bubble in terms of the solitude the players are subjected to. Can't venture out and see Japan and they have to play without fans in the stands. And the players aren't getting paid for it? And they have to eat into their off-season time to rest up and/or improve to their skillsets and/or bulk up with a good strength and training regimen?

>The COVID situation in Japan is much much worse than it is in
>America right now. It seems as if playing in the Olympics is a
>worse version of playing in the bubble in terms of the
>solitude the players are subjected to. Can't venture out and
>see Japan and they have to play without fans in the stands.
>And the players aren't getting paid for it? And they have to
>eat into their off-season time to rest up and/or improve to
>their skillsets and/or bulk up with a good strength and
>training regimen?

>The COVID situation in Japan is much much worse than it is in
>America right now. It seems as if playing in the Olympics is a
>worse version of playing in the bubble in terms of the
>solitude the players are subjected to. Can't venture out and
>see Japan and they have to play without fans in the stands.
>And the players aren't getting paid for it? And they have to
>eat into their off-season time to rest up and/or improve to
>their skillsets and/or bulk up with a good strength and
>training regimen?

>


So there’s no excuse when we beat them

https://news.yahoo.com/team-us-as-zach-lavine-placed-in-covid-19-protocols-wont-fly-to-tokyo-with-team-193737155.html

And why was it a month ago

There were signs months ago that the Delta variant was going to mess things up, yet they still pushed ahead with the Olympics. And holding training camp in a wild-ass city filled with people who don't GAF was pretty fucking stupid.

And I don’t mean basketball. I mean the Olympics. This seems very very dumb.

(inside and out) for these NBA Finals games?

But at least I can wrap my head around it in the US because our vaccine rollout has been as successful as the willingness to take it.

Japan is only at 21% of the population vaccinated - and then factor in the other countries participating. I dunno enough to know what IS a good time to do these and I feel for all the athletes but this seems like a very dumb idea - and worse than the fans in the stands at US games.

.

but fuck man, delta isn't playing. that 63% vaccine efficacy against symptomatic covid out of israel seems to be holding up here, unsurprisingly. today the markets seem to agree with this sentiment as well.

time to rein in the hot boy summer vibes a bit. i would prefer not to even get a "common cold" from this shit.

First and foremost, Who cares

As the gap has closed international teams still have clear go to guys
And those guys are good enough to take over- even in the NBa for short stretches.

The spacing and pace of the international game is just different and these guys are more used to it. You can’t play with the same space and pace

The international stars don’t have to worry about ball hogging and hero ball. Where you we see early on — nobody really on team USAwants to be “that guy” who just playing like a dick with other stars.

These guys ain’t really out here playing their hardest— especially on D. There’s only one ball so if you’re gonna shoot lots of 3s with this kind of slower pace, you really gotta shoot well.

I’d rather see a bunch of these nba players on a couple of American 3on3 teams using their 1-1 and ball skills to dominate that game now.

So it's not totally insane for him to have a big game

Dude can score

I know people will say “but the USA doesn’t have their top guys—“ fam, let me stop you right there, lol. There’s enough talent on Team USA to go undefeated, and it’s not close.

Chemistry is certainly an issue, as a lot of these international teams have played together for years so they know how to play together better… but coaching is the bigger issue. Space the floor better. Create driving lanes. Pressure harder on defense, force the opponent’s issue. If our halfcourt is struggling, create transition opportunities. And get the fuck on these guys if they don’t defend.

Not to be “The Duke Guy” here, but K may just be notably better at managing egos and assigning roles on a team like this than Pop is.

Also all of this may be an overreaction, as clearly the final few minutes involved some anomalously bad shooting on open attempts by USA. Like, make 1 or 2 open shots, and USA wins, and this conversation takes a very different tone. But still, the talent is there to make it so the game shouldn’t have even had an opportunity to go that way.

Like, in 2008 those non Bron/Kobe guys (Melo, Wade, CP3) were all at a higher level than the non-KD guys on this team.

2008 had 3 point guards(Deron when he was good, Kidd, CP3) that brought things to the table that nobody on this team does.

lots of “stars” but non-elite guys on this current team, and no real PG.

Obviously having prime Bron is a massive advantage that certainly made K's life easier, that goes without saying, lol. And there's also no doubt that the international teams are improving.

But outside of Johnson and McGee, *every player* on this roster has been an All-Star. Like, this is a substantially better roster than the 2004 Bronze roster. There are thirteen All-Stars in the field, ten of them on our roster. There are six All-NBA players in the field, three of them on our roster. Like, winning a couple of games by single digits because the team's sleepwalking? Okay. But we should be winning Olympic basketball games by an average of 18-20+ with this roster. The talent advantage is just enormous.

K had those spells where the team was sleepwalking too-- obviously look at 2016, where we only had something like two returning Olympians, and we won one-possession games against Serbia and France, because you can't sleepwalk against a team that's played together as long as some of the international teams have. But then, of course, in the gold medal game, we beat that same Serbia team by 30 (the spread was something like 15, I remember because I smashed USA to cover, lol). And I think the lowest average margin of victory was also 2016, and it was still easily over 20 points per game. Even if 2021's talent is worse, it's still easily enough to be winning on average by, at minimum, 15+.

And we've got a PG in Lillard who should be fine for what we need. The roster honestly has a ton of guys who can pass and move the ball really well. We needed a better game plan for their bigs. (Which, as we may recall, is why Pop said Kevin Love was on the roster originally-- specifically to play against Gobert in the France game.) Credit to France-- going two centers when the NBA goes increasingly with no true centers is something that the USA players just weren't equipped to handle unless they were knocking down 3s (which they weren't).

Seems like if you’re going the “just throw a bunch of all stars together” route you need PG’s that are primarily distributors. Dame is great, but that’s not him.

But they are. Like... nearly everyone of consequence on the roster is a good passer. Two of the top 5 Americans in the NBA in assists per game last year are on this team. 3 of the top 15 Americans. 5 of the top 25 Americans.

And outside of *maybe* Chris Paul, there really isn't a pure PG in the NBA who's an actual star that people would respect on the roster. All the leading assist guys are combo guards who also just happen to be really good passers. I don't think, like, Lonzo Ball or TJ McConnell would've made much of an impact here, because Durant, Lillard, or Tatum aren't deferring on playmaking to them.

>

https://twitter.com/FlamesNBA21/status/1419297924966670336?s=19

>
If the warriors never drafted him he wouldn’t be there .

Like we didn’t see him look like total dogshit for a whole season . Lost as fuck

mr triple single indeed

And y'all act like his "genius" stuff comes from anyone
other than PLAYERS and COACHES. They came up with that
because they SEE IT on the court

Media sure as hell didn't create that narrative

Thanks for that laugh this morning . I got meetings all day and am dreading it

>
>And y'all act like his "genius" stuff comes from anyone
>other than PLAYERS and COACHES. They came up with that
>because they SEE IT on the court



>Media sure as hell didn't create that narrative

“Among polled NBA players , Draymond Green was named Most Overrated Player in the NBA, earning 17 percent of the votes. Also earning votes in this category were: Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns (6.3 percent) and James Harden, Ben Simmons, LeBron James Kyle Lowry (4.2 percent).

>
>“Among polled NBA players , Draymond Green was named Most
>Overrated Player in the NBA, earning 17 percent of the votes.
>Also earning votes in this category were: Jimmy Butler, Andrew
>Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns (6.3 percent) and James
>Harden, Ben Simmons, LeBron James Kyle Lowry (4.2 percent).
>

All those votes for Kat was probably Jimmy Butler voting multiple times

Nba player opinions >> media and Reddit nerds


>>
>>“Among polled NBA players , Draymond Green was named Most
>>Overrated Player in the NBA, earning 17 percent of the
>votes.
>>Also earning votes in this category were: Jimmy Butler,
>Andrew
>>Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns (6.3 percent) and James
>>Harden, Ben Simmons, LeBron James Kyle Lowry (4.2 percent).
>>
>

Wiggins and Oubre put up negative defensive box plus-minus numbers on the season, and Curry put up a defensive box plus-minus of exactly zero. The four guys who played easily the most minutes this season were three net negative impact defenders... and Draymond. And their defensive rating was Top 5 in the NBA.

Like... he made All-Defensive First Team for a reason, lol. Anyone acting like he doesn't create obvious value on a basketball team is just shoveling an agenda.

Also, in a game where Durant, Lillard, and Tatum combine for sub-30% shooting and a negative assist-to-turnover ratio... Green isn't close to where the finger should be pointed, lol. The finger starts with the coach, then goes to three of the four best players in the entire Olympic field for shitting the bed collectively.

>Wiggins and Oubre put up negative defensive box plus-minus
>numbers on the season, and Curry put up a defensive box
>plus-minus of exactly zero. The four guys who played easily
>the most minutes this season were three net negative impact
>defenders... and Draymond. And their defensive rating was Top
>5 in the NBA.


Lmao he got fucking torched by Evan Fournier yesterday morning . Stop it .



>Like... he made All-Defensive First Team for a reason, lol.
>Anyone acting like he doesn't create obvious value on a
>basketball team is just shoveling an agenda.

Omgz like totally ! But like , I can like think of like so many more players than would be better on this team like totes mcgotes!!!


>Green isn't close to where the finger should be pointed, lol.
>The finger starts with the coach, then goes to three of the
>four best players in the entire Olympic field for shitting the
>bed collectively.

Obviously, but Draybronze is garbage

lol

the first 3 coaches in 92,96, and 2000, Daly, Wilkens and Tomjanovich let guys play. We dictated instead of trying to adapt to their style of play.

Then in 2004 they brought Larry Brown in with is system trying to "play the right" way and we struggled.

Coach K came in and let guys play and we dictated in 08, 12, & 16.

Then we went back dug up Larry Brown's top assistant from 2004 and are getting the same results. Pop doesn't relate to the modern NBA player and his teams' recent records show that. At this point we might be lucky to get bronze.

The 2019 FIBA World Championship was a precursor to what's happening now like 2002 was for the 2004 Olympics.

Colangelo needs to sit his ass down and let Grant Hill take over.

In the Olympics where the players have a short time to get together they don't have time to learn a new "system" they need a player's coach that will let them play. Give somebody like Monty Williams or Nate McMillan a shot.

It seems like now the international teams play more physical like we used to while we're running around jacking up 3's.

>Then we went back dug up Larry Brown's top assistant from 2004
>and are getting the same results. Pop doesn't relate to the
>modern NBA player and his teams' recent records show that. At
>this point we might be lucky to get bronze.

anybody with the sense God gave a tadpole can see that the Spurs problem is picking outside the top 25 for the last 25 years

its the same thing that eventually sank the Detroit Red Wings

late round foreign gems kept both teams afloat for a long time, and then when everyone else's scouting caught up it was just a matter of time.

on top of that, Gregg Popovich been talkin about it openly and honestly longer than just about any white dude in sports. that has to mean something to players

said nobody wanted to play for Pop in 2019 for the FIBA championships, he is an old coach that needs to retire instead of have swan songs at the expense of USA basketball

style of coaching is not suited for a team USA format regardless of his social justice statements

These international teams are catching up..

The NBA Finals MVP isn’t American.

Its a new day America.

>These international teams are catching up..

people have been saying since 2004, even before that

>The NBA Finals MVP isn’t American.

the regular season MVP isn't either

>Its a new day America.

I still say we need to let guys play instead of trying to play an "international" style make them adapt to us, I know the rules are different but at the end of the day its still basketball

It's not a huge statement considering how many ex and current NBA players they have on their rosters but it matters in the sense that they're no longer in awe of our team. The international teams are also not falling over themselves for autographs like loyal citizens of Zamunda because they have alot more experience against our guys.

We still have a talent advantage but it's not big enough to overcome a poor game plan or lack of familiarity any given night anymore.

Especially Lillard. Him and KD need to just do their thing

And that’s a big part of almost all these modern ISO scorers games.

Bam is a good player but he’s not a bully. This team needs a bully who will score 80% of his points at the rim.

Pop wants the ball to move, but the best passer on the team is Draymond: who is severely flawed at other aspects of the game.

No great pass first guards, no bullies, and a bunch of iso scorers who rely on drawing fouls and going to the line with their stupid little slight of hand moves that would get laughed off the court if you tried to call a foul on it anywhere else but an NBA court......it’s not great.

Also, given all those flaws..... Durant and Dame need to let their nuts hang and get this done. If this was 08 or 12 and LeBron and Kobe were leading this so far shitshow, they’d be getting roasted so much harder.

I bet these refs are looking at these moved like “nah son…he aint even touch you”

maybe he'd actually get the respect he deserves from these FIBA refs.

I can't imagine they called Javale McGee before Zion Williamson. And if they did, fire everybody.

I’m operating under hypotheticals and theoreticals about whose games would be useful for this team.

But I can’t imagine going to Tokyo under present conditions would appeal to too many right now....especially to someone like Zion who is likely to have more chances to play in the Olympics, hopefully under far better circumstances.

….Popp looks out of his element

honest his style hasn't fit with the NBA the last few of years

>….Popp looks out of his element
>

I think Pop lost his swag when Kwahi was like “nah, I’m good”

I think before that he was able to get people to buy in because he had Duncan, Parker, etc.

Pop is still one of the greats, working with a squad that includes COVID and Javelle McGee. Coach K still had the top tier players without a shortened NBA off-season and a raging pandemic.

passes before you can shoot bs.

Pop has long professed his hate for the 3 point shot and that's what these guys do best.

>Pop is still one of the greats, working with a squad that
>includes COVID and Javelle McGee. Coach K still had the top
>tier players without a shortened NBA off-season and a raging
>pandemic.

covid is an excuse his 2019 FIBA team struggled too

That 2019 team roster was worse than the one he is working with now. Coach K skated by with All-NBA players. He just had to sit there and let them do their thing. Trying to compare him and Pop is not even remotely fair.

http://www.fiba.basketball/olympics/men/2020/game/0308/Spain-USA#tab=boxscore

this boxscore can't be right, did they guard everybody else and let Rubio shoot?

>http://www.fiba.basketball/olympics/men/2020/game/0308/Spain-USA#tab=boxscore
>
>this boxscore can't be right, did they guard everybody else
>and let Rubio shoot?

Oddly enough they sat Rubio after a hot start, then he cooled down until later in the game, but at that point the US had gotten in a rhythm. US has had really slow starts this whole tournament so I think the key to beating them is pouring it on early while they’re still in a funk and hope it’s too big of a hole for them to get out of.

I was doing other stuff while watching, don’t even remember their names being called. I had assumed Marc didn’t even play till I just looked at the box score.

I recognized the names but they didn't have much of an impact on the game.

If you play pure drop coverage against USA, there are too many shooters who are willing to pull the trigger. So you have to be able to move laterally, and neither of those guys have that left in the tank.

9:15 PST?


C'mon. People will watch. Even on the east coast.

I hate to use the cliche "fundamental basketball" about a team with so many slow unathletic white dudes on the team, but shit, they actually rotate, they actually cut, they actually look for the cutter actively, they actually help on defense. It's really pretty to watch.

USA deserves to lose. Unless Durant goes nuclear.

3. Australia is playing good fundamental ball but they are also hitting their 3s

It all comes back to the fact that Durant is the best player in the Olympics by a lot.

Game's still going to be very, very close. And I'm still not convinced USA deserves to win based on that pretty embarrassing first half. But they're making everything right now.

Both to get that run going and since. So many second and third chances.

Um, did they not watch the Finals? lol

but for 2 straight games...basically when he decides to clamp down on your nba level guard...its pretty much a wrap for you.

my man is out there playing great defense and enjoying his spot up corner 3's.

he's about to be an all around player with the pieces he now has around him. heading towards top-15 territory.

heres the link:
https://stream.nbcolympics.com/basketball-mens-semifinal-2

>heres the link:
>https://stream.nbcolympics.com/basketball-mens-semifinal-2

came down to the last possession.

luka and these injuries mayne.

france is 2-0 in the last two against the u.s. (including this olympics).

Another 0-8 or 0-10 start. Missing wide open threes.

>Another 0-8 or 0-10 start. Missing wide open threes.

I think it's just a symptom of an all-star team that was assembled very recently. The teams that have been together longer can get USA into a funk early, but by the 2nd quarter they always seem to find their rhythm.

what a pro.

Refs dumb enough to fall for it. Pace ground to a halt, and FT’s keeping them in this. We should be up 10+ after that half by KD.

Rets need to do their job in the second half.

Watching him when he's humming confuses my brain. To be that big and make it look that effortless...is exhilarating to watch this guy man

instead of just taking the space/separation.

its like he wants dudes to know they cant do shit.

Same highly efficient bag now, skill mastery.

You let a team hang around long enough, and anything can happen. Especially with these weird ass calls.

It’s been annoying that it hasn’t happened

But yeah, it always felt in control pretty much. You can see when this team is playing confidently. Even if they miss a few shots in a row it’s not nerve-wracking. I’m kinda pleasantly surprised at how much this team gelled.

next time hope its zion, ja, trae, lamelo on the team

and let the players play.

you cant keep wearing down and resort to jacking up 3s.

i think it contributes to him being knicked up all the time too.

and if hes like this at 22…you know its gonna get worse as he ages and the metabolism slows down.

>and if hes like this at 22…you know its gonna get worse as
>he ages and the metabolism slows down.

>and if hes like this at 22…you know its gonna get worse as
>he ages and the metabolism slows down.

as they age to help with recovery. If he gets the right nutritionist he’ll be all set.

>
>>and if hes like this at 22…you know its gonna get worse as
>>he ages and the metabolism slows down.
>
>as they age to help with recovery. If he gets the right
>nutritionist he’ll be all set.

True but for most players it seems like they come to this stage around 30, if it’s a struggle stay in shape at 22 it’s not a good sign, I say the same thing about Zion

We know why

We've been sold this "cerebral" story

He obviously knows the game, but dude is pretty
And-1 with it

No one gonna say that, though

----------------------------



O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

would’ve been benched trying some of the same shit

the point is that Sacramento in the 90s wasnt in position to be picky

and once J Will had them actually winning, why would anyone have had a problem with the way he played?

Dude is really And 1 with his play and ball dominant. Doesn't lend itself to winning against better teams with all around talent. "Oh my god Luka scored 45+ in the Olympics".....and came home with zero medals.

https://twitter.com/RPSalao/status/1423996528721498112?s=20

You love to see it.