Team Canada Basketball Thread V2.0

[aminiaturebuddha]

Simi's freshman running mate at Vanderbilt, Darius Garland, is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Hard to say how this might affect Simi's draft stock. It'll almost certainly hurt Vanderbilt, making it harder for them to make the NCAA tournament and give Simi more exposure. He'll likely get more offensive touches (Garland was their leading scorer), but will also likely face more defensive scrutiny.

Still very early, but if Vanderbilt underperforms, and it doesn't look like Simi will be in the lottery, I could see him returning for his sophomore year to give it another shot.

[Pooh_Jeter]

Simi's freshman running mate at Vanderbilt, Darius Garland, is out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Hard to say how this might affect Simi's draft stock. It'll almost certainly hurt Vanderbilt, making it harder for them to make the NCAA tournament and give Simi more exposure. He'll likely get more offensive touches (Garland was their leading scorer), but will also likely face more defensive scrutiny.

Still very early, but if Vanderbilt underperforms, and it doesn't look like Simi will be in the lottery, I could see him returning for his sophomore year to give it another shot.

Definitely have to wait and see, but I think it really hurts Simi. Vandy seemed like an interesting tourney team and having that inside/out game with him and Garland was going to be a nice showcase for both. It's so tough as a college big to do anything of note when you don't have guard play to help you out. Simi has shown flashes as a ballhandler and playmaker so if he can put up big numbers with decent efficiency maybe his draft stock will end up just fine.

[Mirotic12]

Mirotic, you make some good points. Specifically, I sympathize with the critique on the terrible FIBA qualifying system and with the point about US players not necessarily being the best in the Euroleague. But then, as you often do, you go on and over-sell your point.

The fact that the best players in the Euroleague are not all American (I think some are), does not mean that there are no very good Americans there. This is not a case of either "a superstar" or "complete trash. Off the top of my head, I can think of a list of very good American Euroleague players, who could certainly help an American team: Mike James, Shane Larkin, Nate Wolters, Jordan Mickey, Nigel Williams-Goss, Cory Higgins, Brandon Davies, will Klyburn, and there are others.

These, together with some good players from the G-league, would make a pretty decent team. Would this team be good enough to beat the likes of Panama, Uruguay, and Argentina, the three teams that the US still has to face in these qualifying games? You can't say for sure, but I would think it would at the very least be a heavy favorite against the first two (I'm not aware of any Euroleague stars from these countries). I would also put my money on them against Argentina. In short, there's no way a US team would not qualify whether Euroleague players are allowed to play or not.

Now, would such a team also be in the running for a medal in the WC? I would think not (although it's not unthinkable), but this has become a hypothetical question ever since the US has decided to send NBA players to these competitions.

Every single one of those guys, except Mike James is a role player. You can't have good overall results against a decent FIBA opponent (better Americas teams with EuroLeague players is at least decent) with just a bunch of role players.

Mike James is the only player that isn't a role player, and he's an enormous ball hog and chucker, and he's incredibly inefficient. And he has to have the ball in his hands, and with him on the court, it's mostly a one man show of silly hero ball. That, as a team leader, combined with all role players......that group of players is basically a poor man's version of the 2004 USA Olympic team.

That team would be better than the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Panama, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay - all those scrub teams.

It would be clearly worse than Canada, Argentina, and Brazil.

It would be no better than teams like Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Uruguay.

Uruguay for example - that hypothetical US team would in no way be a favorite over them, say on a road game, if they had some of their better players. With EuroLeague players allowed, they could have something like,

Estaban Batista (former NBA EuroLeague / Spain / Greece / Italy / Turkey player)
Jayson Granger (EuroLeague)
Bruno Fitipaldo (former EuroLeague / Italy / Turkey, current Spain player)
Panchi Barrera (former EuroLeague / Spain player)
Mauricio Aguiar (former Italy player)
Luciano Parodi (former Italy player)
Mathias Calfani
Marcos Cabot
Nicolas Borsellino
Demian Alvarez

EuroLeague level players like Batista, Fitipaldo, Granger, and a bunch of FIBA Americas League (which is still better than G-League) players like:

Barrera
Aguiar
Calfani
Cabot
Borsellino
Parodi
Alvarez

I'm not sure if these guys retired or not, but also guys like,

Nicolas Mazzarino (former EuroLeague / Italy player)
Leandro Garcia Morales (former Italy player)
Martin Osimani


Several guys that can be lead players at that level, and also guys that would be a lot more efficient than James, who would be the leader on that hypothetical US team.

Plus they have a really good coach

It's at least as good as such a US team, if not better, if some of those guys are not retired.

[mojo13]

So what are you guys hoping to see on Friday?

I think the Venezuela game is winnable, but not too confident about Brazil who has pretty much the same team plus Noguiera.
I think we bring better players and individual skill level to the floor compared to Venezuela but obviously they have chemistry, experience and home court advantage.

I believe we see a starting line up of:
XRM
Phil Scrubb
Tommy Scrubb
Kyle Wiltjer
Joel Anthony

Its possible Aaron Best gets the start over Tommy Scrubb depending on match-ups.

I think we need to see a few things for a win:
I really think Wiltjer will be a key to opening things up on offense. His has very extended range and can really open it up for XRM and Phil to penetrate. Hopefully VEN doesn't have anyone who can really exploit him 1 on 1. If he can give more than he gives up on D and he can be a game changer. Wiltjer could be really deadly versus Brazil who have more size than us inside. I think Tommy (or Best), XRM, Phil and Anthony can provide enough defense around Wiltjer.
We need a competent game from XRM with solid decision making and limited TOs. Hopefully XRM is not hurt (had an injured right shoulder a couple weeks ago and I didnt think he would be named to the team (XRMs not the most highly efficient scorer to begin with). Luckily we have Phil, who he can lean on when on the floor together. An Keane is a competent if unremarkable back-up (he is having a great season in Europe, but I am skeptical of the competition level he is playing at).
We really need an in-shape Joel Anthony - if he can be anywhere near what he was against Chile it will help so much (he was so awful in the previous windows). I am worried about our size/depth up front, especially with Landry - who is not a game changer to begin with and he is currently a FA and could be quite rusty and/or out of shape. But I have like an in-shape Landry way better than Klassen or an out of shape Anthony in past windows. Maybe Conor Morgan is the real deal and better than Landry?
Heslip is always a wild card - but hopefully his is in a somewhat limited role off the bench. It would be great if his shot is falling when he does play. Like Wiltjer, he needs to generate more than he gives up when on the floor as he will be exploited on D. I'd rather he wasn't even needed and instead see Best hit open shots while playing really hard nosed D.

I think there is enough offense talent on this roster with Wiltjer, Phil, XRM, Heslip along with some really good defensive players in Tommy, Best, Anthony, Notice for Rana to find a combination that works.

[Hair Canada]

Mirotic, are you for real?

I start to suspect that others here are right and you are just trolling for fun, but since you bothered to write a long response, here is my short one:

Role players? I gave here a short list from memory, but looking at their stats now, almost everyone on this list is among the leading 20 scorers this year in the Euroleague. Cory Higgins, who is the leading scorer for CSKA (arguably the best Euroleague team) and the third-best scorer in the Euroleague is a role player? And how about his teammate, Will Clyburn, who is their third-best scorer? Wolters and Davies are role players in Zalgiris?

And even if they were role players, they would be d*mn good ones in d*mn good teams. Not to mention that the only one you are willing to admit is not a role player, Mike James (second in the Euroleague in points, while dishing 7.5 a game), is a "ball hog". And by the way, I saw James play a couple of times this year, and he looked great. A bit trigger happy, but clearly the best player on the court.

So American players can be either ball hogs or role players. None of them can be a decent Euroleague player.

And then you bring a list of Uruguayan players, of which only one plays is good enough to even play in the Euroleague (Granger, who as far as I can tell is Italian and has 8 points and 3 assists a game so far) and the rest were either washed out from the Euroleague or were never good enough to get to it and you say they should be favorites against the American players, supported by some very good G-League players (yes, there is such a thing for those who only focus on European basketball).

I can't even see why a team like Canada, sans its NBA players, with about 2 decent to good Euroleague-level players, would be able to make a case that it can match such an American team.

In short, if you want to be taken seriously, you need to make serious arguments. If not, I wouldn't mind having some of what you're smoking.

[WellYouKnow]

Read up on Venezuela a bit and apparently only one of their players has even gone through a training camp this year as the Venezuelan league hasn't begun their season yet and all but one of their players play in that league

Could be realky helpful that everyone but Landry is already a month or 2 into their season going against guys in preseason shape

Hopefully it gives us an advantage

[aminiaturebuddha]

So what are you guys hoping to see on Friday?


We really need an in-shape Joel Anthony - if he can be anywhere near what he was against Chile it will help so much (he was so awful in the previous windows). I am worried about our size/depth up front, especially with Landry - who is not a game changer to begin with and he is currently a FA and could be quite rusty and/or out of shape.

I really think we'll need Joel Anthony to play well, at least defensively and on the boards, to have a good chance against Venezuela. Venezuela might not be bursting with talent, but guys like Colmenares and Echenique always play tough inside, and if we don't have anyone to match that toughness, it could be a long night for Canada. I think that task will largely fall to Anthony, especially to set the tone early if he starts.

[bozothepope]

Iggy Brazdeikis with another great game, this time leading Michigan with 24 points over UNC. If he keeps this up, he'll be one-and-done. Oh, and Dickie V was calling him the Canadian Comet.

[BilboBanginz]

Bummer:

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[TrueNorth31]

Bad news - no XRM as he's hurt.

Bringing in Kadre Gray as a last minute replacement.

https://twitter.com/CanBball?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

[mojo13]

Bad news - no XRM as he's hurt.

Bringing in Kadre Gray as a last minute replacement.

https://twitter.com/CanBball?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Dang! And weird as we knew he had a bum shoulder. Why wait last minute and bring in some unknown. Perhaps there were other choices other there they could have had - Kenny Chery maybe?

Anyways - it seems Jermaine Anderson would have been the logical choice here too. He was added to the coaching staff as a "player development" coach and I frankly thought he was there as an insurance policy for XRM. This hurts.... we are now going to see more Phil Scrubb at PG, which he is not great at. Does Keane start along with Scrubb and then Scrubb getting some of back-up PG minutes as well?

[frumble]

Too bad re XRM. Along with Wiltjer, he was the most pleasant surprise on the initial roster.

So with Morgan, Grey, and Wiltjer being new for this window, I believe we will be up to 35 different players through five windows.

[Hair Canada]

Too bad about XRM, but I have to say I really like giving a chance to Grey. For the last two years, he's been the best player in Usport, putting up some remarkable stats. He doesn't have much international experience, but maybe that's a good place to start.

[Hair Canada]

Regardless, how I would love to get Chris Boucher for these games. This two-way contract is such a waste at this time, as he doesn't get a chance with the Raptors but also can't play with the national team.

I know there's a whole thread about him here, but it's mostly focused on his fit with the Raptors.

His dominance in the G-league this year has been something else. He currently sits at nearly 30 points a game (in 33 minutes), shooting well from all ranges (50%, 35%, and 85%), adding to that 12 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 steals, and 4.1 blocks. How very impressive! And he is also showing such great versatility, being able to grab the rebound and lead the break or put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. I know G-league defenses are not the best, but these kind of numbers are phenomenal at any level. He leads the league in scoring and in blocks (by a margin) and is 5th in rebounds.

Playing like this he should be an NBA player. But even if not, he should find a spot in the summer on the roster for the WC. Right now, for me he's still behind TT, Powell, Olynyk and Lyles in terms of our bigs. But that's it (he's better than Birch), and I can even see an argument why he would be better than the first two for the international game.

In terms of his career, he's almost 26, I think he should give the NBA a chance this year and maybe see if he can get a contract in the summer, but if not, he should cash in on his fantastic showings and find a nice contract in Europe with some big money. He already had one major injury and careers don't last forever. I'd like to see him lead a team and get compensated well for it.


And by the way, right now both the best shot blocker in the G-league and the best shot blocker in D1 colleges are Canadian. Respect!

[TrueNorth31]

I don't buy the Scrubb can't play point narrative. He's done perfectly fine at this position multiple times at multiple levels. He backed up Joseph in 2015 at the Olympic qualifications and during the summer windows and was solid. In fact just 4 days ago he had an 8 assist - no turnover game for his club team. I get he's not everybody's flavor of the month - if you like blazing quickness he's not your guy. I however prefer results and that's what he delivers.

For me with no XRM, Notice is going to have to play well. I was pleasantly surprised by his efforts in Chile. He's built like a fire hydrant and matches up well against the muscular guards of Venezuela. I do agree with Mojo about Wiltjer though, if he can play some reasonable defence he's built for FIBA ball with his splendid shooting.

The Venezuelan game will come down to toughness. It's a failed nation state and a hard locale to play in, their team is very physical, cohesive and play with great passion. It'll be a difficult game.

[Hair Canada]

The US drop their game in Argentina 63:80 and are now 7:2 in the qualifiers. They are still not supposed to have any problems qualifying eventually. But I wonder how they would do with their Euroleague "role players" as Mirotic calls them. By the way, two of these "role players", Higgins (23 points) and Clyburn (18 points) led today the number 1 team in Europe, CSKA to a win against the number 2 team, Real Madrid, in Madrid...

[No-Man]

Iggy Brazdeikis with another great game, this time leading Michigan with 24 points over UNC. If he keeps this up, he'll be one-and-done. Oh, and Dickie V was calling him the Canadian Comet.

Iggy is probably a 1st round pick, he is old for a frosh and physically developed, so not sure about his upside, also just an average athlete with not much shot diversity, but the guy is a coach's dream, plays his ass off, is physical, annoying, strong, goes for every ball, he is probably a back-up PF type at best, but still, ready to play in terms of been physically matured so that helps too

[PoundTown]

Iggy Brazdeikis with another great game, this time leading Michigan with 24 points over UNC. If he keeps this up, he'll be one-and-done. Oh, and Dickie V was calling him the Canadian Comet.

Iggy is probably a 1st round pick, he is old for a frosh and physically developed, so not sure about his upside, also just an average athlete with not much shot diversity, but the guy is a coach's dream, plays his ass off, is physical, annoying, strong, goes for every ball, he is probably a back-up PF type at best, but still, ready to play in terms of been physically matured so that helps too

I think he is a productive bench scorer that can play the three or four. While some guys will be hard for him to stay in front, he has been surprisingly solid on defense and plays with great effort on both ends. This Michigan team has two leaders, Simpson and Matthews that don't let you take a play off defensively, and they have the best defense in the NCAA, so that helps. The shooting looks solid and he is still stretching it out. Has great percentages from the line and a soft touch. That will come. His mix of footwork, strenght, aggressiveness and fact he is practically ambidextrous really make him hard to stop on the drive. Honestly, one area other than shooting, which, as I mentioned is coming along quite well, is just his passing. Very much looking to score at most points and could look for his teammates a bit more, but given that he is scoring so efficiently, this isn't a big issue. I think he comes out and becomes a late 1st round pick this year.

[TrueNorth31]

Canada hits the floor in 10 minutes against Venezuela.

Go to Dazn -sign up for free for 1 month and watch.

https://watch.dazn.com/en-CA/sports/

Brazil up by over 20 on D.R. - 2019 World Cup China here we come.

[Turnpikebandit]

Canada hits the floor in 10 minutes against Venezuela.

Go to Dazn -sign up for free for 1 month and watch.

https://watch.dazn.com/en-CA/sports/

Brazil up by over 20 on D.R. - 2019 World Cup China here we come.

Tonight's game vs. Venezuela also live on twitter:

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