FIBA World Cup 2023 (FIRST thread)

[Johnny Tomala]

Shame that KP is injured. With him Latvia would have good chance of winning tomorrow and knocking France out to 17-32 place games.

[Mirotic12]

Funny how nba players look human when they can’t take unlimited steps.

Multiple travels called in the first few minutes.

It's amazing how hard it is for some NBA players to just grasp the extremely simple concept that FIBA doesn't allow blatant travels. I forget which travel it was, but they showed USA's coaches shaking their heads that it wasn't a travel. Well, actually it is under FIBA rules.

I mean, the FIBA refs are actually incredibly lax with Team USA on the travel calls, and always have been. They are always way more lenient on USA than on any other team with it. But still, it's FIBA rules, you can't just catch the ball and then take 3 steps without a dribble. Yeah, it's not the NBA........

[itsxtray]

Team Usa has never had a problem with traveling in Fiba competitions, They'll have games where they get called for a few more than usual and other games with none. Out of all the games they've played this was the first game where it was noticable and even then only in the 1st half. And Fiba rules have certainly never made them look "human" poor roster construction has done that.

Anthony Edwards looking completely human because he doesn't have unlimited steps. What ever will he do? :

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[G R E Y]

Just one game. They will be fine, and especially fine in Paris olympics when Wemby and Embiid (and Ntilikina) will be added to the roster.

I agree about Gobert though, so limited. But it's not like the Twolves didn't know what they were getting.

Wemby and Embiid are monster additions. But they'll also have Dieng, Sidy, and Bilal. That's a strong extra five/six along with Frank. France will be formidable.

EDIT: I forgot about Rupert, too.

All those players are unproven. Actually since Gobert none of those french high draft picks have made any impact in the league. It seems that they are dominating junior competitions due to their athleticism and physicality but on the professional level, they don't move the needle. Wasn't Embiid considering playing for USA team as well????

'Since Gobert' is an arbitrary cut off point. Prior to Gobert, Tony - the first French player inducted into the Hall of Fame, Boris Diaw, Evan Fournier all came through INSEP which continues to churn out talent.

Unproven in what way? Each of Wemby, Ousmane, Sidy, Bilal, and Frank have represented France with the national team be it the under 16 or 18 or the big club. Most have trained at INSEP. And I think all have played at a pro level internationally, be it Europe or Australia.

So while they've yet to play an NBA game, they're ahead of many North American counterparts because of the organized programs they've grown through.

International competition, representing their countries, more physical play versus grown men earlier are all advantages. Plus some will have had an NBA season under their belts by the time of the next Olympics. Keep in mind they're going to be added to an already strong French national team. Potentially adding Embiid to all that should keep other international programs up at night.

[xb3at band1tx]

BI looks like a ghost out there

[Phreak50]

Team Usa has never had a problem with traveling in Fiba competitions,
t]

You clearly haven't watched USA internationally or are too young to have. Pretty obvious actually. Lots of players in that first game just tried to steam roll and got lost without their extra steps.

And I still have the dream 2 games on VHS and can tell you since way back about 30 years ago now, they have been called for travels. Most of them shaking their heads in confusion.

No one is questioning the elite athleticism. It's the joke NBA rules that make these guys look better than they are.

[itsxtray]

Team Usa has never had a problem with traveling in Fiba competitions,
t]

You clearly haven't watched USA internationally or are too young to have. Pretty obvious actually. Lots of players in that first game just tried to steam roll and got lost without their extra steps.

And I still have the dream 2 games on VHS and can tell you since way back about 30 years ago now, they have been called for travels. Most of them shaking their heads in confusion.

No one is questioning the elite athleticism. It's the joke NBA rules that make these guys look better than they are.

Again, getting called for travels happens a couple times a game and has never seriously affected the effectiveness of any players to the point that they "look human." They may disagree with the calls but they still dominate, in fact, they look better in fiba a lot of the time.

I mean in 2007 we have pre-prime Carmelo shooting over 61% from the field and 58% from 3, absolutely bonkers with Lebron over 76% from the field and 62% from 3 in what world is that "human"

Like watch this and tell me these players have been effected to such a degree that they look better in the nba than they do in fiba. I mean in 2008 Deyane Wade shot 67% from the field and 47% from 3 something he could never hope to do in the nba:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/MeIp-HGXb0U?si=yLxF8DpKM8csK4ia[/youtube]

[G R E Y]

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[Liam_Gallagher]

Am I the only one who thinks Reaves is going to help the Lakers get better?

[axeman23]

Great photo...


.

The point of a no look pass is you are looking at someone the defense thinks you are passing to.

Not your own backcourt.

The point of the no look is to direct the defense’s attention away from the player you intend to pass to. Don’t overthink it.

So if a winger in rugby fakes a pass to the outside, do you expect the defense to bite? Who's he gonna pass to? The crowd? The defender is thinking: "Go ahead, throw it!" Will you get someone to bite one day? Sure, everyone has a brain explosion every now and then. But it's a LOT more convincing with a viable option there to pass to, that's just common sense. A no-look pass where there's no one even in the direction you're looking just seems like needless showboating, but each to their own...

[knicksfan974]

US just out of rhythm and will still win by 30 pts. They should peak at the right time so all these struggles are fine.

They will be out of the competition before the finals.

Ready to bet on that? I still got the USA as a big favorite.

[Mickey8]

Wemby and Embiid are monster additions. But they'll also have Dieng, Sidy, and Bilal. That's a strong extra five/six along with Frank. France will be formidable.

EDIT: I forgot about Rupert, too.

All those players are unproven. Actually since Gobert none of those french high draft picks have made any impact in the league. It seems that they are dominating junior competitions due to their athleticism and physicality but on the professional level, they don't move the needle. Wasn't Embiid considering playing for USA team as well????

'Since Gobert' is an arbitrary cut off point. Prior to Gobert, Tony - the first French player inducted into the Hall of Fame, Boris Diaw, Evan Fournier all came through INSEP which continues to churn out talent.

Unproven in what way? Each of Wemby, Ousmane, Sidy, Bilal, and Frank have represented France with the national team be it the under 16 or 18 or the big club. Most have trained at INSEP. And I think all have played at a pro level internationally, be it Europe or Australia.

So while they've yet to play an NBA game, they're ahead of many North American counterparts because of the organized programs they've grown through.

International competition, representing their countries, more physical play versus grown men earlier are all advantages. Plus some will have had an NBA season under their belts by the time of the next Olympics. Keep in mind they're going to be added to an already strong French national team. Potentially adding Embiid to all that should keep other international programs up at night.

Lots of french players have been drafted since Gobert , excluding last year draft class, none of them have made any deep imprint in the league and thats the fact. Many of them were drafted in the first round, which means they got the chance to prove themselves yet they keep failing. They can't translate their athletic and physical domination in the youth competition to the high pro level. And I didn't talk about players before Gobert, french basketball was producing fundamentally sound and skilled players back then, and thats why they had long successful career, the new generations not so much. There is a reason why your NT is still stuck with the veterans instead of introducing the players such us Maledon,Hayes, Doumbouya etc.

[GSWFan1994]

Funny how nba players look human when they can’t take unlimited steps.

Multiple travels called in the first few minutes.

It's amazing how hard it is for some NBA players to just grasp the extremely simple concept that FIBA doesn't allow blatant travels. I forget which travel it was, but they showed USA's coaches shaking their heads that it wasn't a travel. Well, actually it is under FIBA rules.

I mean, the FIBA refs are actually incredibly lax with Team USA on the travel calls, and always have been. They are always way more lenient on USA than on any other team with it. But still, it's FIBA rules, you can't just catch the ball and then take 3 steps without a dribble. Yeah, it's not the NBA........

Watch on YouTube

I watched this video this afternoon and was just (even more) flabbergasted by the amount of travelling allowed in the NBA.

The funny thing is, in a few years people like me and you are gonna be labeled "purists" by the enlightened few.

[durden_tyler]

I know Kerr wants great spacing on the court, but did he at least try a JJJ and Paolo front court during the exhibition games?

The game was against New Zealand. A Tier 4 team without a star/legit big man. The US could have put Ingram at center with four "smalls" and could have gotten away with it. And for a stretch there, Kerr did (with Paolo at the 5) and just speed and shooting around him-- it worked.

This is FIBA ball, which obviously is a perfect Kerr death lineup ball (Green at the 5 spot with shooters).

US has that kind of versatility obviously, so again, don't overreact guys, against the bigger teams (Greece, Spain, France), Kessler would have more burn along with the suggest more traditional PF-C combos.

[RSP83]

Have you guys seen Rondae Hollis Jefferson clips with Jordan National Team?

After not hearing about him for a long time, he shows up in the World Cup eerily looking like Kobe's lefty doppleganger.

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[durden_tyler]

Game 2 for these teams and some winners today will be guaranteed to advance to the next round.

Italy -5.5 vs Dominican Republic
Australia -2.5 vs Germany
Montenegro -19.5 vs Egypt
Canada -39.5 vs Lebanon
Philippines -7.5 vs Angola
Finland -10.5 vs Japan
Lithuana -15.5 vs Mexico
France -12.5 vs Latvia

The first two games will be the most interesting, as both of those games can go the either way. Not sure if i’ll be betting on those but picking the underdogs theres is not a bad pick.

I think the hosts, especially Japan, perform better today and will have close games. My team should handle Angola, assuming Clarkson does not have another 8 turnover outing.

Expecting big blowouts from Canada and France.

I like to sprinkle some $ ATS bets on: PHI, CAN and FRA and have to decide quickly on the first two games. Thoughts?

[tleikheen]

What are the keys and predictions for Australia vs Germany tonight.
Patty Mills is a legend in Australia BUT relying on him game after game where he is showing (Ingles incl) his age is gaining on them .One thing that cant happen for either team is they cant fall behind by dbl digits.
I think the 2nd unit guys determine this game .

[UcanUwill]

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?cxt=HHwWgoC24eK3ku4tAAAA

Groups were drawn.

I was critical than Colangelo couldn't get even 1 superstar for 2019 FIBA World Cup roster. That was terrible roster construction job, the team US sent was F team. Not even 1 top 5 USA player at any position then. Let's see what Grant Hill works out for this year's World Cup.

and

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Nice roster so far. Four players from my top 5 of each position. Better roster than in 2019. USA will win gold this time.

[Domejandro]

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