EuroBasket 2013

rottenzombie · Post #21 » by **rottenzombie** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 1:43 pm

Nuntius wrote:
rottenzombie wrote:and Italy over Russia.

That wasn't a big surprise. Russia is missing some very important players (Kirilenko, Khryapa, Mozgov, Kaun) and they are not considered a favorite anymore. No one blinked an eye when they lost to Italy who is stronger this year without Bargnani.

Italy is also without Galinari though, and I actually think Bargnani was good with the national team last Eurobasket, when he played for Italy he actually hustled and played defense.

Post #22 » by **Nuntius** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 2:01 pm

rottenzombie wrote:
Nuntius wrote:
rottenzombie wrote:and Italy over Russia.

That wasn't a big surprise. Russia is missing some very important players (Kirilenko, Khryapa, Mozgov, Kaun) and they are not considered a favorite anymore. No one blinked an eye when they lost to Italy who is stronger this year without Bargnani.

Italy is also without Galinari though, and I actually think Bargnani was good with the national team last Eurobasket, when he played for Italy he actually hustled and played defense.

Gallinari's absence is indeed a hit for Italy but simply put Russia is missing more players that are as important as Gallo. Bargnani had some good games with Italy's NT but the team itself wasn't good.

Datome played very well last night.

UcanUwill · Post #23 » by **UcanUwill** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 5:21 pm

I dont know I would call Italy's win over Russia an upset. Russian team is terrible this year. Them however beating Turkey the moment I am writing this, is in fact a surprise. Turkey digging a deep hole here.

Lithuanian coaches successfully killed Jonas Valanciunas confidence and ''coached'' him back to garbage man. They spent entire summer whining how they got a good post player on their hands... Would be kinda funny if Latvia finishes ahead of Lithuania in group B, Latvia keep surprising and remains undefeated.

Euro77 · Post #24 » by **Euro77** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 5:34 pm

F*ckin thriller Germany - Belgium. Beginning of overtime

JV4MVP · Post #25 » by **JV4MVP** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 5:43 pm

Euro77 wrote:F*ckin thriller Germany - Belgium. Beginning of overtime

A lot of regional rivalries today:

- Serbia vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Finland vs. Sweden
- Germany vs. Belgium
- Poland vs. Czech Rep
- Great Britain vs. France

Pretty crazy that Turkey is 0-2 after losing to Italy. They might not advance to the next round considering they still have Greece to play and would have to beat either Russia or Sweden.

Post #26 » by **Nuntius** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 6:15 pm

UcanUwill wrote:I dont know I would call Italy's win over Russia an upset. Russian team is terrible this year. Them however beating Turkey the moment I am writing this, is in fact a surprise. Turkey digging a deep hole here.

That was not a surprise either. Turkey seems worse than Russia this year. Hedo is really playing like he doesn't care.

UcanUwill · Post #27 » by **UcanUwill** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 6:23 pm

Nuntius wrote:That was not a surprise either. Turkey seems worse than Russia this year. Hedo is really playing like he doesn't care.

Well, they are really good on paper. Better than Italy by a margin. Thats what usually happens with Turkey, they have talent, but just cant win. Not saying I am personally surprised, but it is a public upset.

Post #28 » by **Nuntius** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 6:49 pm

UcanUwill wrote:
Nuntius wrote:That was not a surprise either. Turkey seems worse than Russia this year. Hedo is really playing like he doesn't care.

Well, they are really good on paper. Better than Italy by a margin. Thats what usually happens with Turkey, they have talent, but just cant win. Not saying I am personally surprised, but it is a public upset.

Honestly, Turkey is not even that good on paper. Ilyasova was always inconsistent, Hedo plays well only when and if he wants it and they lack guard depth. Their only strength is their bigs and they cannot even use them well.

It could be a public upset if it was the first game but everyone already saw how Turkey played against Finland and thus no one should be really surprised.

As far as Italy is concerned it's simple. They are a better team without Bargnani.

UcanUwill · Post #29 » by **UcanUwill** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 7:31 pm

Nuntius wrote:
Honestly, Turkey is not even that good on paper. Ilyasova was always inconsistent, Hedo plays well only when and if he wants it and they lack guard depth.

I think they are among best looking teams on paper. Ilyasova used to be consistent post player in FIBA tournaments. Nonetheless, he is good.
Their bigmen depth and talent is undeniable. And their perimeter is not bad either. Preldzic is a damn good player, and Arslan, Guler are both very adequate at least. There aren't many teams with better depth (Spain, Greece, maybe Lithuania).

Post #30 » by **Nuntius** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 7:55 pm

UcanUwill wrote:
Nuntius wrote:
Honestly, Turkey is not even that good on paper. Ilyasova was always inconsistent, Hedo plays well only when and if he wants it and they lack guard depth.

I think they are among best looking teams on paper. Ilyasova used to be consistent post player in FIBA tournaments. Nonetheless, he is good.
Their bigmen depth and talent is undeniable. And their perimeter is not bad either. Preldzic is a damn good player, and Arslan, Guler are both very adequate at least. There aren't many teams with better depth (Spain, Greece, maybe Lithuania).

Ilyasova is indeed good but he is inconsistent. He was dreadful against Finland and mediocre against Italy.

It's true that their bigman depth and talent is undeniable. Asik, Erden and Gonlum are very good and even Savas could have a spot in the NBA as a 3rd big.

But their guard situation is not good and therefore they are not able to take advantage of their bigs. Arslan is adequate but Guler isn't. Preldzic is indeed good but he is inconsistent. Cetin and Balbay are below par and Batuk does not even get playing time.

Regardless, I think that their biggest problem is Turkoglu. He should be the one leading this team but instead he is dragging them down.

In any case, I can see your point about Turkey being good on paper. I don't really agree with it and I consider that Italy on paper has an equal amount of talent but I can see what you mean.

JV4MVP · Post #31 » by **JV4MVP** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 9:03 pm

Slovenia beat Spain, impressive.

Dragic 18 pts, 6 rbs, 7 asts, 0 TOs 8-)

Latvia @ the end:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuU2lmP-5Gs[/youtube]

Similar end with Poland vs Czech Rep:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr1wmHxlaqU[/youtube]

And Again:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPWgPWVyYDY[/youtube]

Rasho Brezec · Post #32 » by **Rasho Brezec** » Thu Sep 5, 2013 9:14 pm

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcw26Bpb6Y8[/youtube]

JV4MVP · Post #33 » by **JV4MVP** » Fri Sep 6, 2013 1:24 am

ESPN's EuroBasket Preview: http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/96275 ... et-preview

The talk in the months leading up to the 2013 edition of EuroBasket has been more about those who are absent rather than those who will grace Slovenia with their presence over the next three weeks. Over 20 NBA players, all among their country's finest, have chosen to remain spectators. At least as many from among the Euroleague's elite have elected to follow suit.

No Pau Gasol for Spain. No Dirk Nowitzki for Germany. No Luol Deng for Great Britain. No Joakim Noah for France. And so on. The list of those missing in action is long and distinguished...

Their list of contenders:

Kind of a fail to include Turkey

UcanUwill · Post #34 » by **UcanUwill** » Fri Sep 6, 2013 2:22 am

JV4MVP wrote:Their list of contenders:

Kind of a fail to include Turkey

Yeah, if you remember, those 5 were my original contenders as well. And this is why they play games... It starts with 0-0 every time, and everyone has a chance.

BlackFalconGSW · Post #35 » by **BlackFalconGSW** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 6:22 pm

lol Jan Vesely dominating this eurobasket... I'm really hoping that he's having a breakout year this season.

Sir Psycho Sexy · Post #36 » by **Sir Psycho Sexy** » Sun Sep 8, 2013 9:10 pm

BlackFalconGSW wrote:lol Jan Vesely dominating this eurobasket... I'm really hoping that he's having a breakout year this season.

He is just the best player in bad team. He is doing what he always did. Run the floor and dunk everything he can.

Obad · Post #37 » by **Obad** » Mon Sep 9, 2013 8:00 pm

Team Finland has been amazing. Internationaly they are ranked something like 50!?!?!? But beated allready Turkey, Russia, Sweden and Greece. They have zero superstars but they are just getting it done every night (ok they lost to Italy).

They are small but their team defense is just amazing to watch

JV4MVP · Post #38 » by **JV4MVP** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 3:57 am

Obad wrote:Team Finland has been amazing. Internationaly they are ranked something like 50!?!?!? But beated allready Turkey, Russia, Sweden and Greece. They have zero superstars but they are just getting it done every night (ok they lost to Italy).

They are small but their team defense is just amazing to watch

It was very impressive that they beat Greece but they still have to prove whether they can play with the big boys. Beating a weak Russian and crumpling Turkish squads doesn't confirm much yet. And they got steamrolled by Italy.

Will they be able to beat either Slovenia or Croatia to have a chance to advance to the quarters? I'm not so sure. They def will have a tough time against Spain.

Obad · Post #39 » by **Obad** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 7:55 am

That is true! Against Spain it can be very hard to watch

they can collapse hard! but they can suprise also as we have seen, not win, but compete good.

Anyway they are already big winners in their home country and everything for now on is just +

Against Kroatia and Slovenia it is a whole different story! There have been lots of suprises this year and hopefully that continues... Small things matter and if they have good shooting day and Koponen playing like against Greece everythng is possible

Succes of Finland shows to the world that basketball is a TEAM sport. Sometimes that is not recognized so clearly

BlackFalconGSW · Post #40 » by **BlackFalconGSW** » Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:37 am

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUvSddyufs0[/youtube]

Who will win EuroBasket 2013?