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[NBA] there’s certainly some basketball being played
team usa needs new coaching, and if they’re going to win they need to actually send their proper team to international competition throughout the years and not just when the olympics roll around.
last year's FIBA team was an absolute joke...way too many actual role players.
Lebron and Steph - Up. Led the team, had big moments, the most consistent effort and focus. Steph had a rough tourney until the last 2 games, but goddamn what a couple of games.
KD - Down. He showed his cheat code nature, but we know he can do. I was shocked at how little he could sustain max effort and focus.
Booker - Up. Such great play in that role. Held down the starting spot whole tourney. Was fucking locked in, during the gold medal game.
Embiid - down. Just had a hard time fitting in and being a consistent positive without being the center of the offense. I liked his attitude though, and the booing from the french was bullshit, but he handled it great. What makes him great isnt that complementary to a team like this, though.
Ant - Big Down. Does not know how to play with other good offensive players. Is so good when he locks in on D, but only does it for a few mins at a time. Just frustrating as hell, and doesnt "get it", in a Team USA setting. I just dont see his "up next" potential.
AD - Up. Perfect big for this team. Strong effort and focus throughout. Nailed his role. So many times his rebounding and defense were the difference.
Bam, Jrue, White - Did what we know they can do. Filled a role, and filled it well.
Tatum, Halli - Down. Their weaknesses are strong enough they couldn't get run. I thought Tatum was "fine" when he was in, but not impactful. Halli was great on O, bad on D, and this shows what happens to one way players at the upper echelon of competition.
Giannis, Wemby, Franz - Even. They did what they do. Had some ups and downs, but didnt change my opinion of them.
Shae - Down. Couldnt get his team out of the quarters, ouch. Less impactful than in NBA, to my eyes.
Jokic - Up. That was a helluva scare he put on. None of what he did was a revelation, but he was the best overall player in the tourney, probably.
Gobert - Big Down. Im a bit of a Gobert defender, but his team was so much better without him. Any time he was passed the ball in the gold medal game i breathed a sigh of relief. He was supposed to be a monster in this setting.
Kerr - Down. The team won, but was sloppy and had consistent effort issues. He seemed to handle the egos well, which was probaly the most important part, but it didnt need to be so hard.
Not sure why Haliburton is "Down", we knew he was barely gonna play for this team. He should be considered neutral, imo. Tatum you could say down because he got DNP'd twice (but against the same team) and when he was out there, he wasn't that great. Canada losing so early was very surprising, but Shai, Murray, and a bunch of the other guys are still pretty young. Shai's stock is only going up after last season, I personally wouldn't hold this Olympics much against him. Kerr, well, as a Warriors fan, we've been seeing his rotation madness for years, so not really a "Down" but same ol', same ol'.
It's actually interesting to think about who will be on the next team. Here's the roster that just won:
Bam Adebayo, Center, 27 years old (Miami Heat)
Devin Booker, Guard, 27 (Phoenix Suns)
Stephen Curry, Guard, 36 (Golden State Warriors)
Anthony Davis, Forward/Center, 31 (Los Angeles Lakers)
Kevin Durant, Forward, 35 (Phoenix Suns)
Anthony Edwards, Guard, 22 (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Joel Embiid, Center, 30 (Philadelphia 76ers)
Tyrese Haliburton, Guard, 24 (Indiana Pacers)
Jrue Holiday, Guard, 34 (Boston Celtics)
LeBron James, Forward, 39 (Los Angeles Lakers)
Jayson Tatum, Forward, 26 (Boston Celtics)
Derrick White, Guard, 30 (Boston Celtics)
How many will be on the 2028 team? I think Curry, Lebron, and KD highest probability of NOT being there, for sure. Jrue and Derrick White most likely gone too. Most likely holdovers I think will be Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, and Haliburton.
Not sure why Haliburton is "Down", we knew he was barely gonna play for this team. He should be considered neutral, imo. Tatum you could say down because he got DNP'd twice (but against the same team) and when he was out there, he wasn't that great. Canada losing so early was very surprising, but Shai, Murray, and a bunch of the other guys are still pretty young. Shai's stock is only going up after last season, I personally wouldn't hold this Olympics much against him. Kerr, well, as a Warriors fan, we've been seeing his rotation madness for years, so not really a "Down" but same ol', same ol'.
Halli is down mainly because it showed how his type of skillset is problematic in this setting. Like, if hes not "the guy", he has less value than people like Jrue and D White, players ostensibly much lower than him in the NBA player rankings. It wasnt a surprise, but was a very clear display of that.
embiid was horribly sick during pool play, and kerr didn’t exactly put him in a position to succeed.
i think he didn’t have a great olympics but they don’t get to that game without him.
honestly booker was my biggest change. he had a great olympics and i have been eternally down on him forever.
I think I can agree with that. I believe Booker was also the US's leading scorer in the first half of the gold medal game. He was just solid and came through with some big shots. I think he probably is on the 2028 team too.
i mean kerr basically said booker was the only one on the team willing to completely adapt his style of play to the team and I think that's going to be increasingly important and required to win internationally moving forward. It's part of why some of these international teams have been so successful. You put two or three solid guys on them and the rest of the guys are basically career role players so they don't have to change their game so much to play together. USA's star power is kinda detrimental in that way. Everyone is the first option on their home team and has no idea how to play complementary basketball and we'll definitely have to learn moving forward or have guys willing to do that. Just brute forcing our way to gold is no longer going to work I don't think
dlinfiniti on
AAAAA!!! PLAAAYGUUU!!!!
+2
Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
Booker looked good for the same reasons that Carmelo looked amazing in the Olympics - on such a stacked team he doesn't have to be "the man" and can just focus on playing within his own game.
I'm still down on him ever leading a team deep into the playoffs but he's always been a great 1B/2 player.
Booker looked good for the same reasons that Carmelo looked amazing in the Olympics - on such a stacked team he doesn't have to be "the man" and can just focus on playing within his own game.
I'm still down on him ever leading a team deep into the playoffs but he's always been a great 1B/2 player.
he's got Bradley Beal and KD on this team right now.
Not sure why Haliburton is "Down", we knew he was barely gonna play for this team. He should be considered neutral, imo. Tatum you could say down because he got DNP'd twice (but against the same team) and when he was out there, he wasn't that great. Canada losing so early was very surprising, but Shai, Murray, and a bunch of the other guys are still pretty young. Shai's stock is only going up after last season, I personally wouldn't hold this Olympics much against him. Kerr, well, as a Warriors fan, we've been seeing his rotation madness for years, so not really a "Down" but same ol', same ol'.
Halli is down mainly because it showed how his type of skillset is problematic in this setting. Like, if hes not "the guy", he has less value than people like Jrue and D White, players ostensibly much lower than him in the NBA player rankings. It wasnt a surprise, but was a very clear display of that.
at least he has insight into this
AAAAA!!! PLAAAYGUUU!!!!
+11
Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
Even Bill Simmons is on record now as saying that Tatum wasn't good enough to play given the roster.
You have one guy who is arguably the GOAT, another guy who is literally the best pure scorer the game has ever seen, and another guy who is literally the best shooter the game has ever seen already taking up three spots already (with two of them playing nominally the same position as Tatum). He's not gonna play center anytime soon, and he's not a good fit in a small ball lineup because he has been cold for months (not to mention his direct competition in that lineup would be Bam, who is just an overall much better fit on both sides of the floor).
Hali knows that a bunch of them aren't going to play in the next Olympics and that he has a few more chances to win with more playing time. Plus, it's not like the other guys on the roster don't help - they play quite a bit in practice, which is incredibly valuable in international competition. He was chosen over literally dozens of other players who would've loved to join the team, so it's not like he doesn't have a place.
Basketball is no longer a sport where the USA can just throw any random assortment of players out there and expect to win a gold. There was a very real possibility that we could've not won a medal at all, given how close some of those games were.
Even Bill Simmons is on record now as saying that Tatum wasn't good enough to play given the roster.
You have one guy who is arguably the GOAT, another guy who is literally the best pure scorer the game has ever seen, and another guy who is literally the best shooter the game has ever seen already taking up three spots already (with two of them playing nominally the same position as Tatum). He's not gonna play center anytime soon, and he's not a good fit in a small ball lineup because he has been cold for months (not to mention his direct competition in that lineup would be Bam, who is just an overall much better fit on both sides of the floor).
Hali knows that a bunch of them aren't going to play in the next Olympics and that he has a few more chances to win with more playing time. Plus, it's not like the other guys on the roster don't help - they play quite a bit in practice, which is incredibly valuable in international competition. He was chosen over literally dozens of other players who would've loved to join the team, so it's not like he doesn't have a place.
Basketball is no longer a sport where the USA can just throw any random assortment of players out there and expect to win a gold. There was a very real possibility that we could've not won a medal at all, given how close some of those games were.
I'm really curious to see how this run may reinvigorate players wanting to play for USA basketball now, especially with the competition constantly getting tougher. Paul George on his podcast was talking about how after the Serbia game, he was saying to himself that he wishes he was there and he shoulda showed more interest. Also with KD, Curry, and Lebron likely being on their last Olympic team, maybe guys take into account like hey, this is a extremely rare opportunity to get to play with a bunch of the best players in the world on the same team, maybe I should take that opportunity while I can get it...
after watching the level of play and physicality during these games, sending kawhi home was the right move, he would've been broken in half before we even reached the medal rounds
if zion could ever stay healthy he'd be a nasty forward in '28
but uh
i don't think you'll have to worry about that. PF isn't a huge issue anyway, there's a decent amount of good PFs and there are a lot of stretch 5s that can move to 4 without too much issue especially in the olympics. There is a desperate lack of talent at the 3 though.
For me, this medal felt more prestigiois and meaningful too. It really makes a difference to have to work for it, and not just because the team sucks/ isnt playing hard or well. A bit of 2008 vibes, honestly. Losing was a more realistic possibility here though.
Im still worried about the women's game though, because ending the 60 game streak in the last competition of the Paris games would be pure sports movie shit for France.
i still can't believe this shit though lol
with as fast as lebron's brain works on the court you know he was already thinking about how he was going to rake steph over the coals if this missed, he's just sitting there with his hands up wondering why steph is taking that shot with two dudes on him and not giving it to him when he's a mile open
and KD knows what steph is about so he's not even concerned or ready to receive the ball back at all
and book is over with his hands out there thinking that might get a chance to be a hero
That shot was actually a pseudo-grenade from KD. Steph had to shoot it because KD dumped it to him with like 3-4 seconds left, tightly covered with near help while Lebron was wide ass open. I was kinda shocked to see KD look Lebron off like that.
+2
Inquisitor772 x Penny Arcade Fight Club ChampionA fixed point in space and timeRegistered Userregular
KD has played with Steph. He knows that once Steph goes nuclear, the sky is fucked.
Lol, you could see the exact moment that french player realizes BG is in front of her. Starts as a hard drive towards the rim and then ends ends up as an awkward looping motion towards the corner
damn, wanted to watch the women's game too, but just way too early for Pacific. Figured it'd be another beatdown, but it came down to the wire! Women's team has a lot of stars in waiting, so they'll only get stronger.
I know the women’s team wanted DT there for the record 6th games, but she was a complete non-factor the entire time. She’s going home with a gold, but contributed almost nothing to achieving it.
Havent read comments as im just watching the replay now. . . But one thing ive never gotten used to with the Olympic coverage is how Eagle pronounces Breanna's name as "Stort"
everytime there is an olympics, it spawns all sorts of collusion and tampering in the aftermath with dudes wanting to all play with each other, maybe this time everyone will realize how much fun it is to play with steph and will force out of their teams to come to the dubs
Posts
last year's FIBA team was an absolute joke...way too many actual role players.
Lebron and Steph - Up. Led the team, had big moments, the most consistent effort and focus. Steph had a rough tourney until the last 2 games, but goddamn what a couple of games.
KD - Down. He showed his cheat code nature, but we know he can do. I was shocked at how little he could sustain max effort and focus.
Booker - Up. Such great play in that role. Held down the starting spot whole tourney. Was fucking locked in, during the gold medal game.
Embiid - down. Just had a hard time fitting in and being a consistent positive without being the center of the offense. I liked his attitude though, and the booing from the french was bullshit, but he handled it great. What makes him great isnt that complementary to a team like this, though.
Ant - Big Down. Does not know how to play with other good offensive players. Is so good when he locks in on D, but only does it for a few mins at a time. Just frustrating as hell, and doesnt "get it", in a Team USA setting. I just dont see his "up next" potential.
AD - Up. Perfect big for this team. Strong effort and focus throughout. Nailed his role. So many times his rebounding and defense were the difference.
Bam, Jrue, White - Did what we know they can do. Filled a role, and filled it well.
Tatum, Halli - Down. Their weaknesses are strong enough they couldn't get run. I thought Tatum was "fine" when he was in, but not impactful. Halli was great on O, bad on D, and this shows what happens to one way players at the upper echelon of competition.
Giannis, Wemby, Franz - Even. They did what they do. Had some ups and downs, but didnt change my opinion of them.
Shae - Down. Couldnt get his team out of the quarters, ouch. Less impactful than in NBA, to my eyes.
Jokic - Up. That was a helluva scare he put on. None of what he did was a revelation, but he was the best overall player in the tourney, probably.
Gobert - Big Down. Im a bit of a Gobert defender, but his team was so much better without him. Any time he was passed the ball in the gold medal game i breathed a sigh of relief. He was supposed to be a monster in this setting.
Kerr - Down. The team won, but was sloppy and had consistent effort issues. He seemed to handle the egos well, which was probaly the most important part, but it didnt need to be so hard.
Whatcha all think?
Bam Adebayo, Center, 27 years old (Miami Heat)
Devin Booker, Guard, 27 (Phoenix Suns)
Stephen Curry, Guard, 36 (Golden State Warriors)
Anthony Davis, Forward/Center, 31 (Los Angeles Lakers)
Kevin Durant, Forward, 35 (Phoenix Suns)
Anthony Edwards, Guard, 22 (Minnesota Timberwolves)
Joel Embiid, Center, 30 (Philadelphia 76ers)
Tyrese Haliburton, Guard, 24 (Indiana Pacers)
Jrue Holiday, Guard, 34 (Boston Celtics)
LeBron James, Forward, 39 (Los Angeles Lakers)
Jayson Tatum, Forward, 26 (Boston Celtics)
Derrick White, Guard, 30 (Boston Celtics)
How many will be on the 2028 team? I think Curry, Lebron, and KD highest probability of NOT being there, for sure. Jrue and Derrick White most likely gone too. Most likely holdovers I think will be Anthony Edwards, Jayson Tatum, and Haliburton.
Halli is down mainly because it showed how his type of skillset is problematic in this setting. Like, if hes not "the guy", he has less value than people like Jrue and D White, players ostensibly much lower than him in the NBA player rankings. It wasnt a surprise, but was a very clear display of that.
you know
just to stick it to the french
i think he didn’t have a great olympics but they don’t get to that game without him.
honestly booker was my biggest change. he had a great olympics and i have been eternally down on him forever.
I think I can agree with that. I believe Booker was also the US's leading scorer in the first half of the gold medal game. He was just solid and came through with some big shots. I think he probably is on the 2028 team too.
I'm still down on him ever leading a team deep into the playoffs but he's always been a great 1B/2 player.
Them still booing Embiid was hilarious
he's got Bradley Beal and KD on this team right now.
kd yes but beal is so mid, and always hurt on top of that
at least he has insight into this
You have one guy who is arguably the GOAT, another guy who is literally the best pure scorer the game has ever seen, and another guy who is literally the best shooter the game has ever seen already taking up three spots already (with two of them playing nominally the same position as Tatum). He's not gonna play center anytime soon, and he's not a good fit in a small ball lineup because he has been cold for months (not to mention his direct competition in that lineup would be Bam, who is just an overall much better fit on both sides of the floor).
Hali knows that a bunch of them aren't going to play in the next Olympics and that he has a few more chances to win with more playing time. Plus, it's not like the other guys on the roster don't help - they play quite a bit in practice, which is incredibly valuable in international competition. He was chosen over literally dozens of other players who would've loved to join the team, so it's not like he doesn't have a place.
Basketball is no longer a sport where the USA can just throw any random assortment of players out there and expect to win a gold. There was a very real possibility that we could've not won a medal at all, given how close some of those games were.
I'm really curious to see how this run may reinvigorate players wanting to play for USA basketball now, especially with the competition constantly getting tougher. Paul George on his podcast was talking about how after the Serbia game, he was saying to himself that he wishes he was there and he shoulda showed more interest. Also with KD, Curry, and Lebron likely being on their last Olympic team, maybe guys take into account like hey, this is a extremely rare opportunity to get to play with a bunch of the best players in the world on the same team, maybe I should take that opportunity while I can get it...
honestly kinda impressive.
Forward is dicey, Tatum, Brown, Banchero, Ingram, Flagg (yeah I had to pull that one out that quick, it’s pretty bleak for the US here)
Center Embiid, AD, Bam, Chet, Mobley/Allen, Jackson, Naz Reid
c'est diablo de curry
The French announcers bring it. Reminds me of the Vince Carter dunk:
but uh
i don't think you'll have to worry about that. PF isn't a huge issue anyway, there's a decent amount of good PFs and there are a lot of stretch 5s that can move to 4 without too much issue especially in the olympics. There is a desperate lack of talent at the 3 though.
Im still worried about the women's game though, because ending the 60 game streak in the last competition of the Paris games would be pure sports movie shit for France.
with as fast as lebron's brain works on the court you know he was already thinking about how he was going to rake steph over the coals if this missed, he's just sitting there with his hands up wondering why steph is taking that shot with two dudes on him and not giving it to him when he's a mile open
and KD knows what steph is about so he's not even concerned or ready to receive the ball back at all
and book is over with his hands out there thinking that might get a chance to be a hero
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I’d love for this tourney to kickstart some more competition and focus on international tournaments,