Team Canada Basketball Thread V3.0

Kenter16 · Post #221 » by **Kenter16** » Tue May 18, 2021 2:56 pm

Kenter16 wrote:Let's not for get O'shae Brissett shot 40% from three as well. If Olynyk shows up or Kyle Wiltjer and maybe even Andrew Nicholson, we will not have a shortage of 3 point shooters. We will need our guards, for the most part, to drive and kick.

I wouldn't worry about Pangos being bad defensively. He won't be guarding Larkin or Satoransky. That will be Lu's job. IMO, Lu should be playing the 2 guard for us. He played 41% at the 2 and 11% at the 1. That is total on the season. Since SGA went down, he has played almost exclusively at the 2 and a little bit as the lead guard. You give up a lot of size when you play him at the 3. Now, that doesn't matter as much anymore, but it is still a factor. I think it would be way more beneficial to have Brooks, Barrett, O'shae or Wiggins at the 3.
I would be very comfortable with starting combinations of Pangos/Lu and Cojo/Lu or possible even Scrubb/Lu. NAW should be used in rotation with these guys. That's not a knock either. It would be incredible to have him coming off the bench. No other team in the tourney will have someone as skilled as him coming off the bench.

Forgot about Chris Boucher too. He shot 38.3%. We should have plenty of guys who can shoot. Should create match up nightmares for opposing teams.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #222 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Tue May 18, 2021 3:06 pm

I still want to see O'Shae shoot that well for a full season before I fully trust his shot, but I agree that he does seem to be much improved.

Same with Barrett. I know he's done a lot of work on his shot, and the results are encouraging, but I want to see how it holds up in pressure situations before I'll say he's a reliable distance shooter. Often times guys who have tweaked their form or recently reached a new level in their shooting will regress a bit when the pressure is on until they get enough reps that the improved form and touch really sticks in the muscle memory. I'd say Dort is in the same boat for me.

Brooks' bad shooting nights probably have more to do with bad shot selection than actual shooting touch. So hopefully Nurse can keep him grounded and playing within a system.

Wiggins might actually be the guy whose shot I trust most out of those guys at this point, which seems like a strange thing to say.

Overall, mojo and Kenter, you're probably right that we won't have a shortage of 3-point shooters, and it probably won't be a problem, I just would like to have one guy you can absolutely rely on to be a high gravity shooter other than Pangos. Murray obviously would have been that guy, and in past years players like Heslip and Wiltjer played that role. Heslip is now retired, and I'm not sure Wiltjer's overall game will be enough to land him a spot on the team.

But I'm probably over-thinking things. Offensive creation shouldn't be a problem with the team this summer.

mojo13 · Post #223 » by **mojo13** » Tue May 18, 2021 3:11 pm

Turkey, likely Canada's main rival at the FIBA Victoria Qualifier, announced it 29 man player pool today. Osman, Korkmaz, Larkin, Ilyasova, Sengun, Yurtseven highlight the list. No major omissions.

https://www.eurohoops.net/en/olympic-games/1207399/turkey-announces-29-man-olympic-qualifiers-preliminary-squad/

Ege Arar Aliağa Petkim Spor
Sertaç Şanlı Anadolu Efes
A.Buğrahan Tuncer Anadolu Efes
Tolga Geçim Anadolu Efes
Deshane Davis Larkin Anadolu Efes
Erkan Yılmaz Bahçeşehir Koleji
Şehmus Hazer Beşiktaş JK Icrypex
Furkan Haltalı Beşiktaş JK Icrypex
Alperen Şengün Beşiktaş JK Icrypex
Sadık Emir Kabaca Beşiktaş JK Icrypex
Berk Demir Darüşşafaka Tekfen
Doğuş Özdemiroğlu Darüşşafaka Tekfen
Melih Mahmutoğlu Fenerbahçe Beko
Ömer Can İlyasoğlu Frutti Extra Bursaspor
Hüseyin Göksenin Köksal Galatasaray
Ayberk Olmaz Galatasaray
Yiğit Arslan Galatasaray
Akif Egemen Güven HDI Sigorta Afyon Belediyesi
J.Metecan Birsen Pınar Karşıyaka
Onuralp Bitim Pınar Karşıyaka
Muhsin Yaşar Tofaş
Berkan Durmaz Tofaş
Berk İbrahim Uğurlu Tofaş
Samet Geyik Türk Telekom
Cedi Osman Cleveland Cavaliers / ABD
Ömer Faruk Yurtseven Miami Heat / ABD
Kartal Özmızrak Obradoiro CAB / İspanya
Furkan Korkmaz Philadelphia 76ers / ABD
Ersan İlyasova Utah Jazz/ ABD

Ilyasova is a FA - but I dont think that matters at his age. Last chance for the Olympics. He is more a 15-20 min a game guy at this point too but the Jazz could go far. They seem to have a big hole at PF after Ilyasova too.

Korkmaz is a threat to go far with the Sixers.

Larkin is more a scorer than a pure passing PG, and they don't have good PGs behind him. His speed can be contained by CoJo, Dort, Brooks etc, but likley not Pangos.

Historically weak at center they have Sengun who is only 18 but was the MVP of the BSL this season and should be a lottery pick in this draft. He was great in the EuroCup Qualifiers too. I don't think the draft process will get in the way of his participation.

Yurtseven another 7fter just signed with the Heat. But I think he is fairly limited (but does give them center depth).
Yurtseven is neither a quality NBA or EL player. He's a prospect at this point, so is Sengun, but he's elite prospect.

Overall a team that will be heavily reliant on their NBA players plus Larkin with not a whole load of depth after that. They will be very good offensively but have serious defensive questions. Still I think they are the bigger threat than Greece (w/o Giannis)

Mirotic12 · Post #224 » by **Mirotic12** » Tue May 18, 2021 4:49 pm

That's certainly a very good Turkish team. Nonetheless, I am sure that you are overrating their quality.

Actually, Sertac Sanli is one of their key players. They are not weak at the center position, because he's one of the best centers in the EuroLeague.

Larkin is a very good offensive player volume scoring wise, I mean offensively, he's a better version of Patty Mills. So it's odd that he can't get a decent role in an NBA team. But with that being said, he's quite overrated. In US and Canada fandom and sports media he's constantly said to be the best player in EuroLeague. But no way in hell is that right. He's not the best guard on his own team (Micic), so he sure isn't the best player in EuroLeague.

He's an enormous ball hogger and chucker. He really does nothing skill wise except dribble and shoot, and all he really does on offense is just use his speed and quickness and tons of screens to just launch 3 after 3 after 3. And he's a very streak shooter. So while he's a very dangerous player, if he starts hitting a bunch of those 3s, all around on offense he's hugely overrated. On defense, he's absolutely atrocious, probably the second worst defender at point guard in EuroLeague (Sloukas). So yeah, if he goes off and hits like 8 threes, you have a problem, but if he is on a cold shooting night, he's not going to do anything but maybe even hurt his team.

Sengun is amazing for his age, but let's be serious here. He's an 18 year old center that was putting up numbers on a POS team in a mediocre league. He also had numbers at the Euro qualifiers, but those teams are B or even C selections from some countries. Remember, there are no NBA, EuroLeague, or EuroCup players there.

Really, he would probably be playing like 10 minutes a game on a Turkish EuroLeague team like Fener or Efes. Now, since the NBA mocks have him going as a lotto pick, and he put up some numbers on a POS team, suddenly he's the best player in Europe or whatever other nonsense.

Osman and Korkmaz.....yeah they are decent players, but neither one of them is anything close to being a real leader of a big national team. Osman is mostly an energy role player and Korkmaz is like a homeless man's version of Navarro. Mahmatoglou is a really good shooter, but he does nothing else, and he needs screens run for him, but so do Larkin and Korkmaz, so none of them fit that well.

Yurtseven....he's been an OK G-League player up to this point. I'm not sure that he adds much, other than being a big body and having 5 fouls. Koksal is a decent all around role player, but he's not going to do much scoring wise. Birsen is a an OK role player also I guess, although he was always a scrub in EuroLeague.

I'm not sure what Ilyasova has left in the tank, but I'm sure he can help for 20 minutes. It's definitely a very good team and capable of winning the tournament, but also surely overrated, just because it has several players that are individually overrated.

mojo13 · Post #225 » by **mojo13** » Tue May 18, 2021 4:50 pm

More indications that Giannis may not play.

Rick Pitino landing in Greece on Friday, counting on Spanoulis
https://www.eurohoops.net/en/olympic...ng-tournament/

"Greek national team head coach Rick Pitino is expected back in Greece on Friday and prep his side for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament scheduled to be held from 29 June to 4 July in Victoria, Canada.

The preliminary list of players will be released within the next few days upon his arrival. Vassilis Spanoulis will be among the players called up.

Spanoulis, 38, had not ruled out his return to the national team for the first time since the 2015 edition of EuroBasket. He was indeed projected as the team leader by Pitino, also the Iona boss.

He last played helping Olympiacos defeat Khimki Moscow Region in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season finale. Since completing his campaign at the club level, the well-experienced captain of the Reds has been training daily aiming to remain in optimal shape. The Greek NT staff is confident in him strengthening the Olympic Games bid.

On another note, Giannis Antetokounmpo is unlikely to make his way to the preliminary list with the Milwaukee Bucks looking for an extended run in the 2021 NBA Playoffs."

Kenter16 · Post #226 » by **Kenter16** » Tue May 18, 2021 5:28 pm

For what it is worth, here is my list of who I think will be there.

Guards - Pangos, Dort, CoJo, NAW
Wings - Brooks, Wiggins, Barrett, Brissett
Forwards/Center - Birch, Clarke, Powell, Tristan Thompson, Boucher

Bold names are guys who have publicly supported going or have said they are in. Haven't seen anything from Pangos, but I put him in that category.

Others - If Olynyk is in, it likely means no Clarke or Brissett. Andrew Nicholson will be in if one of TT or Powell don't come. Wiltjer and Phil Scrubb should be the 14th and 15th men.

Some explanations of my choices:
Cojo started the last game for Detroit, so he is healthy. I think they pick up his option. Who else are the going to spend money on? Would they get a better option in FA for less money? Probably not. Detroit has to spend a minimum amount on salary for next season. I think he will show up.
Powell is playing better and Dallas is up against it with the Clippers in the first round. Powell may take the summer off because of the achilles, but what if this is his only chance at the Olympics? He will be older in 2024 and maybe gets passed by some of the young guys, Shittu/Kabengele... This may realistically be his only shot. Same argument for Olynyk. If Olympics are big to you, this may be it.
Celtics are in the plan in games and don't have Brown. Big uphill climb for them to get past the first round. TT has been a willing participant in the past.
Barrettt could go deep in the playoffs. But he will be able to join the team as long as the knicks don't get to the third round. That means they have to beat ATL then the sixers. Very low probability.
I think the change in coaching staff may persuade Wiggins to return. He would be the a huge asset and would start. IMO, he will be there.
Boucher was a bit banged up. Injuries may keep him out. Also contract is guaranteed.

Let's say you only start the guys who are in for sure.
PG - Pangos
SG - Dort
SF - Brooks
PF - Clarke
C - Birch

That may be a good enough starting 5 to win. At least be very competitive and give us a real chance. Then from there you only add. IMO, this will be the best team Canada has ever put together. We don't have a superstar like Nash, but we are deep. If by some miracle SGA shows...
We have a ton of guys in Europe and Asia that are doing great things and deserve credit, but I can't find a spot for more than 2.

frumble · Post #227 » by **frumble** » Tue May 18, 2021 7:31 pm

Kenter16 wrote:For what it is worth, here is my list of who I think will be there.

Guards - Pangos, Dort, CoJo, NAW
Wings - Brooks, Wiggins, Barrett, Brissett
Forwards/Center - Birch, Clarke, Powell, Tristan Thompson, Boucher

Bold names are guys who have publicly supported going or have said they are in. Haven't seen anything from Pangos, but I put him in that category.

Others - If Olynyk is in, it likely means no Clarke or Brissett. Andrew Nicholson will be in if one of TT or Powell don't come. Wiltjer and Phil Scrubb should be the 14th and 15th men.

I would be ecstatic if we got that level of participation.

Hair Canada · Post #228 » by **Hair Canada** » Wed May 19, 2021 1:25 am

What a revelation Brissett has been! Signed as a 10-day filler just two months ago, he suddenly became a starter with all the Pacers injuries and totally seized the oppotrunity. He's started in the last 16 games of the season, putting up 13.5 points, 6 rebounds, a steal and a block a game, and shooting 42% from 3 and a 64% true shooting (after 45% TS in his Raptors days). Also plays very good defense and looks like a completely different player.

And after putting up a career-high 31-points in the last game of the season, he again led the Pacers today in scoring with 23 on excellent shooting in the play-in blowout against the Hornets. Who would have thought?

The shooting numbers are bound to eventually decline and when Turner is back next season, Brissett will go back to coming off the bench. But I think at the very least he's all but guaranteed his 3-year contract now and suddenly seems like a leaguer for years. Joins the likes of Dort and Boucher as Canadian underdogs who might not be the most talented but have carved a place for them in the league with a lot of hard work and uncompromising play. Really fun to follow.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #229 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Wed May 19, 2021 2:20 am

Really happy for Brissett. His problem was always the "putting the ball in the hoop" part of basketball, with low efficiency on 3-pointers and shots in the paint throughout his career. But it really seems like he's discovered his touch. I agree that his percentages are bound to come back to earth a little bit, and I won't be ready to declare him a great shooter until I see this for at least a year, but the early signs are very encouraging.

He was always a hard worker, and seems like a decent guy, so it's great to see him turning into another success story. He's basically turning into what my wildest hopes for Dyshawn Pierre once were.

Maybe the real takeaway is that it's next to impossible to project Syracuse players, and it takes a while to see what they'll really become. They play in such a rigid, stagnant, offensive system that it's hard to tell what they're capable of on that end. And the 2-3 zone on defence makes evaluating individual defensive skills tough as well.

mojo13 · Post #230 » by **mojo13** » Wed May 19, 2021 7:35 pm

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aminiaturebuddha · Post #231 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Thu May 20, 2021 1:38 am

If Dort and Brooks are both on the team, that could be a scary defensive combo, capable of shutting down almost any wing players the other teams might be able to throw out there.

The one possible downside is that they're both very physical defenders, and we all know how FIBA refs can be at times. I can see Dort and Brooks stifling opposing teams, but I could also see FIBA refs going crazy and putting Team Canada in the team foul bonus 3 minutes into the game.

Still, I can't wait to see what Nick Nurse might be able to do with a team full of tough defenders like Dort, Brooks, CoJo, Birch, etc.

Kenter16 · Post #232 » by **Kenter16** » Thu May 20, 2021 4:44 am

It's Wiggins/Mulder vs Brooks/Clarke for the final playoff spot! Good news for us as two of these guys will be available and the others will likely lose in the first round against Utah.

Sent from my SM-G973W using RealGM mobile app

Mirotic12 · Post #233 » by **Mirotic12** » Thu May 20, 2021 1:05 pm

aminiaturebuddha wrote:If Dort and Brooks are both on the team, that could be a scary defensive combo, capable of shutting down almost any wing players the other teams might be able to throw out there.

The one possible downside is that they're both very physical defenders, and we all know how FIBA refs can be at times. I can see Dort and Brooks stifling opposing teams, but I could also see FIBA refs going crazy and putting Team Canada in the team foul bonus 3 minutes into the game.

Still, I can't wait to see what Nick Nurse might be able to do with a team full of tough defenders like Dort, Brooks, CoJo, Birch, etc.

FIBA refs generally allow about 10 times more physicality and contact than NBA refs do. FIBA is way, way more physical than the NBA. I mean it's not even remotely debatable that FIBA refs allow a ton of more physicality and contact than NBA refs do.

If the FIBA refs are being ticky tacky, they are usually the ones from North America (NBA). Or your opponent is the USA or Spain, which always seem to get preferential treatment from the FIBA refs, with USA getting it in every single game, and Spain getting it in every game, except when they play against the USA.

Teams like China, Greece, Turkey sure the hell don't get any preferential treatment from FIBA refs. Greece has lost numerous games against Spain, due to calls the refs later admitted were wrong. There is no USA or Spain in this tournament. So no worries unless it is North American (NBA) refs. And in that case, they will most certainly be in favor of and biased for Canada, because the NBA refs always favor NBA players. You can clearly see that is the case in every major FIBA tournament. For example, there were games at several EuroBasket tournaments over the years, when NBA refs wouldn't even let the opposing teams defend Pau Gasol, the opposing players couldn't even get near him, with those NBA refs.

If it's typical FIBA style refs, then the players can get away with tons of contact. The NBA's level of physical play is extremely soft by comparison.

Kenter16 · Post #234 » by **Kenter16** » Thu May 20, 2021 1:28 pm

aminiaturebuddha wrote:If Dort and Brooks are both on the team, that could be a scary defensive combo, capable of shutting down almost any wing players the other teams might be able to throw out there.

The one possible downside is that they're both very physical defenders, and we all know how FIBA refs can be at times. I can see Dort and Brooks stifling opposing teams, but I could also see FIBA refs going crazy and putting Team Canada in the team foul bonus 3 minutes into the game.

Still, I can't wait to see what Nick Nurse might be able to do with a team full of tough defenders like Dort, Brooks, CoJo, Birch, etc.

Add Andrew Wiggins to that list. He has made some real strides defensively this year. Really hoping he comes back into the fold for the National team this summer.

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aminiaturebuddha · Post #235 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Thu May 20, 2021 2:38 pm

Mirotic12 wrote:
aminiaturebuddha wrote:If Dort and Brooks are both on the team, that could be a scary defensive combo, capable of shutting down almost any wing players the other teams might be able to throw out there.

The one possible downside is that they're both very physical defenders, and we all know how FIBA refs can be at times. I can see Dort and Brooks stifling opposing teams, but I could also see FIBA refs going crazy and putting Team Canada in the team foul bonus 3 minutes into the game.

Still, I can't wait to see what Nick Nurse might be able to do with a team full of tough defenders like Dort, Brooks, CoJo, Birch, etc.

FIBA refs generally allow about 10 times more physicality and contact than NBA refs do. FIBA is way, way more physical than the NBA. I mean it's not even remotely debatable that FIBA refs allow a ton of more physicality and contact than NBA refs do.

If the FIBA refs are being ticky tacky, they are usually the ones from North America (NBA). Or your opponent is the USA or Spain, which always seem to get preferential treatment from the FIBA refs, with USA getting it in every single game, and Spain getting it in every game, except when they play against the USA.

Teams like China, Greece, Turkey sure the hell don't get any preferential treatment from FIBA refs. Greece has lost numerous games against Spain, due to calls the refs later admitted were wrong. There is no USA or Spain in this tournament. So no worries unless it is North American (NBA) refs. And in that case, they will most certainly be in favor of and biased for Canada, because the NBA refs always favor NBA players. You can clearly see that is the case in every major FIBA tournament. For example, there were games at several EuroBasket tournaments over the years, when NBA refs wouldn't even let the opposing teams defend Pau Gasol, the opposing players couldn't even get near him, with those NBA refs.

If it's typical FIBA style refs, then the players can get away with tons of contact. The NBA's level of physical play is extremely soft by comparison.

Well, I guess we'll have to disagree on this one. And maybe it's the difference between Europe and the Americas. Because I have seen lots of questionable calls against Canada in the past in regional events. Admittedly this was mostly with refs from Latin American countries, but there have certainly been games in the past where Canadian players couldn't breathe on a player from Venezuela, for instance, or Puerto Rico.

I wonder what the contingent of refs will look like for this qualifying tournament, as it brings together teams from various different regions.

Either way, if you're right and they allow players to play physical defence, that should really benefit guys like Dort, Brooks, and Tristan Thompson. On the other hand, someone like Chris Boucher might have a lot of trouble with that.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #236 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Thu May 20, 2021 2:43 pm

Kenter16 wrote:
aminiaturebuddha wrote:If Dort and Brooks are both on the team, that could be a scary defensive combo, capable of shutting down almost any wing players the other teams might be able to throw out there.

The one possible downside is that they're both very physical defenders, and we all know how FIBA refs can be at times. I can see Dort and Brooks stifling opposing teams, but I could also see FIBA refs going crazy and putting Team Canada in the team foul bonus 3 minutes into the game.

Still, I can't wait to see what Nick Nurse might be able to do with a team full of tough defenders like Dort, Brooks, CoJo, Birch, etc.

Add Andrew Wiggins to that list. He has made some real strides defensively this year. Really hoping he comes back into the fold for the National team this summer.

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Agreed, Wiggins has improved his defence and shot selection quite a bit this year. It would be interesting to see how Nick Nurse would use him. One of Wiggins' strengths is his post game, where he has good footwork and the ability to get a good look from mid-range on turnarounds and little spin moves. But Nurse doesn't really like that style of mid-range game, so it would be interesting to see how he tries to maximize Wiggins' strengths without just parking him behind the 3-point line.

Mirotic12 · Post #237 » by **Mirotic12** » Thu May 20, 2021 2:44 pm

aminiaturebuddha wrote:Well, I guess we'll have to disagree on this one. And maybe it's the difference between Europe and the Americas. Because I have seen lots of questionable calls against Canada in the past in regional events. Admittedly this was mostly with refs from Latin American countries, but there have certainly been games in the past where Canadian players couldn't breathe on a player from Venezuela, for instance, or Puerto Rico.

I wonder what the contingent of refs will look like for this qualifying tournament, as it brings together teams from various different regions.

Either way, if you're right and they allow players to play physical defence, that should really benefit guys like Dort, Brooks, and Tristan Thompson. On the other hand, someone like Chris Boucher might have a lot of trouble with that.

You can make a poll on the general board about the level of physical play allowed in FIBA versus the NBA if you want. It's true that European refs allow the most physicality, but it's still far and away more physical in FIBA Americas than the NBA is. You can talk about a few calls here and there for every single game ever played in every sport. But in general, FIBA play is several order of magnitudes more physical than the NBA playoffs are.

Many NBA players have said that it's a real shock to them when they first start playing FIBA, because it's so much more physical than the NBA is.

aminiaturebuddha · Post #238 » by **aminiaturebuddha** » Thu May 20, 2021 2:49 pm

Mirotic12 wrote:
aminiaturebuddha wrote:Well, I guess we'll have to disagree on this one. And maybe it's the difference between Europe and the Americas. Because I have seen lots of questionable calls against Canada in the past in regional events. Admittedly this was mostly with refs from Latin American countries, but there have certainly been games in the past where Canadian players couldn't breathe on a player from Venezuela, for instance, or Puerto Rico.

I wonder what the contingent of refs will look like for this qualifying tournament, as it brings together teams from various different regions.

Either way, if you're right and they allow players to play physical defence, that should really benefit guys like Dort, Brooks, and Tristan Thompson. On the other hand, someone like Chris Boucher might have a lot of trouble with that.

You can make a poll on the general board about the level of physical play allowed in FIBA versus the NBA if you want. It's true that European refs allow the most physicality, but it's still far and away more physical in FIBA Americas than the NBA is. You can talk about a few calls here and there for every single game ever played in every sport. But in general, FIBA play is several order of magnitudes more physical than the NBA playoffs are.

Many NBA players have said that it's a real shock to them when they first start playing FIBA, because it's so much more physical than the NBA is.

I'm not sure a poll on this subject is really going to give you any sort of conclusive proof of anything.

But in any case, that wasn't the point I was making when I said "we all know how FIBA refs can be" in my original post. I was mostly referring the the inconsistency in reffing across various tournaments and international games. In that vein, I could still definitely see a game where one or two refs decide that they don't like how Dort and Brooks play and really put Canada at a disadvantage.

I wasn't trying to make a broader point about which style is more physical.

Hair Canada · Post #239 » by **Hair Canada** » Thu May 20, 2021 8:47 pm

Oregon and Dana Altman have had at least one Canadian (and usually multiple) on the roster since 2013. And just when it seemed like the streak is about to be broken with the graduation of Duarte and Omoruyi, we have a new commitment -- Qunicy Guerrier, who transferred from Syracuse. Hope he's getting the Ducks bump next year.

Mirotic12 · Post #240 » by **Mirotic12** » Thu May 20, 2021 10:47 pm

aminiaturebuddha wrote:I'm not sure a poll on this subject is really going to give you any sort of conclusive proof of anything.

But in any case, that wasn't the point I was making when I said "we all know how FIBA refs can be" in my original post. I was mostly referring the the inconsistency in reffing across various tournaments and international games. In that vein, I could still definitely see a game where one or two refs decide that they don't like how Dort and Brooks play and really put Canada at a disadvantage.

I wasn't trying to make a broader point about which style is more physical.

Well yeah, FIBA definitely has some terrible refs. But it's no different than the NBA in that aspect, as plenty of NBA refs are horrible also. If you get stuck with bad refs in a game, then the players and coaches just have to try to adjust to it and deal with it.

I am sure those players have plenty of experience dealing with awful refs in the NBA. It sucks to have to deal with bad reffing, but unfortunately both FIBA and the NBA have had that problem for decades.