FIBA WORLD CUP 2019 | SPAIN are new WORLD CHAMPIONS

[KHRICH]

Team USA should have kept Kuzma. They needed some more size and a dynamic scoring option.

They didnt get rid of him he was injured.

[sixers4real]

I’ve said it number of times, WC and Olympics are a tournament of characters. Every single non USA player wants to win USA as a member of home country since the day of touching basketball.

USA are afraid to lose any game because of the blame.

Non USA players get used for this kind of tournaments. USA NBA players don’t.

As the history has shown us, only dream team USA kind of teams can win such tournaments.

[zimpy27]

Team USA should have kept Kuzma. They needed some more size and a dynamic scoring option.

They didnt get rid of him he was injured.

Oh I thought that was made up to save face.

[Crives]

The top four players in this tournament are Ricky Rubio, Patty Mills, Rudy Gobert and Facundo Campazzo.

Your missing the best player

Read on Twitter

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[CalOrl11]

Team USA should have kept Kuzma. They needed some more size and a dynamic scoring option.

They didnt get rid of him he was injured.

They really should have called up Aaron Gordon

[G R E Y]

So the whole key to beating France was to slow down Fournier. They should have put Smart or Brown on him all game. Instead they put Joe Harris on him at the start and just let Gobert set screens for him much of the game. The defensive game plan was soft.

Well they switched, but gave up too much space on the shooters in the first half. But they adjusted in the 3rd Q so credit to them for that. It's a big learning experience and though it stings, I think not enough credit is being given to what challenges this team was facing coming into this tournament. I don't think any other team was facing as many, and if we remove 'Team USA' the expectations would have been different.

[Showdown]

Well the signs were all there. I think at the top of the list, you have to admit that a LOT of talent more suitable for the FIBA game backed out. Plan A guys were already out, but the Plan B cancellations really hurt from a “skills needed” pov: shooters and playmakers (Harden, Lillard, Gordon and McCollum).

Besides a more talented high IQ distributor (Curry, Lillard, Kyrie), I think they needed another bail-out shooter. Kemba was kind of that guy, but he crumbled today and it was over.

Middleton, Lopez, are the types who brick when the going gets tough. Mitchell is a crafty scorer but not a consistent sharp-shooter.

Tight spacing and zone defense, you really need confident marksmen. The big men were mediocre, but you need your guards to open up the game, especially against tight and aggressive zone defense.

Also didn’t help that this wasn’t the tightest group of guys in the same age range. Bit of a mish mash beyond the Celtics core (which hasn’t played an NBA game with Kemba yet).

The centers and lack of any real power forward were the biggest issues, I think the guards & wings were fine but the frontcourt was just bad and full of flaws. If you play Turner or Lopez you run the risk of getting killed on the glass, if you play Plumlee he kills your spacing.

Going small against a team with Gobert on it was just stupid, I don't like the shift in USA basketballs obsession with going small even when they don't have the personnel to do it, there were times Joe Harris was on Gobert. You need a very specific type of player to pull off going small like that (Tucker, Draymond etc) and they didn't have it yet still tried anyway despite the fact Gobert was killing them.

It is the new ortodoxy in the NBA just like iso ball and ppg was in 2000's when USA team lost in international competitions.

[reignfire]

Pop is too smart for his own good in international play.

INT play is not about crazy schemes and finding winning match ups.

It's about having a standard lineup and EACH player playing a role.

Team USA needs coach K back.

[MrSparkle]

Well the signs were all there. I think at the top of the list, you have to admit that a LOT of talent more suitable for the FIBA game backed out. Plan A guys were already out, but the Plan B cancellations really hurt from a “skills needed” pov: shooters and playmakers (Harden, Lillard, Gordon and McCollum).

Besides a more talented high IQ distributor (Curry, Lillard, Kyrie), I think they needed another bail-out shooter. Kemba was kind of that guy, but he crumbled today and it was over.

Middleton, Lopez, are the types who brick when the going gets tough. Mitchell is a crafty scorer but not a consistent sharp-shooter.

Tight spacing and zone defense, you really need confident marksmen. The big men were mediocre, but you need your guards to open up the game, especially against tight and aggressive zone defense.

Also didn’t help that this wasn’t the tightest group of guys in the same age range. Bit of a mish mash beyond the Celtics core (which hasn’t played an NBA game with Kemba yet).

The centers and lack of any real power forward were the biggest issues, I think the guards & wings were fine but the frontcourt was just bad and full of flaws. If you play Turner or Lopez you run the risk of getting killed on the glass, if you play Plumlee he kills your spacing.

Going small against a team with Gobert on it was just stupid, I don't like the shift in USA basketballs obsession with going small even when they don't have the personnel to do it, there were times Joe Harris was on Gobert. You need a very specific type of player to pull off going small like that (Tucker, Draymond etc) and they didn't have it yet still tried anyway despite the fact Gobert was killing them.

I guarantee that if you flip Kemba and Mitchell for Lillard and Harden, this same team (otherwise) coasts to the finals.

Swap Drummond, KAT or even Davis in the for the scrub centers, and I’m not sure the result is any different. Dray would be a big upgrade over Barnes, but still... The top big men in the NBA are mostly foreign NT (Jokic, Embiid, Horford, Gasol, etc.). And frankly, I still think they’d clank shots and suffer defending.

The reason the 06-16 teams dominated was because they ran and shot teams out the gym.

[KqWIN]

So the whole key to beating France was to slow down Fournier. They should have put Smart or Brown on him all game. Instead they put Joe Harris on him at the start and just let Gobert set screens for him much of the game. The defensive game plan was soft.

I don't think it mattered who was guarding him. Gobert was cleaning everyone with his screens. Small ball doesn't work against Gobert because he's too good at sealing and getting position after he sets the pick. What USA really needed was a big man that could do anything...but Turner got wrecked

[The Rodzilla]

mills is playing alright

[Pachinko_]

Satoransky deserves a standing ovation, he played his heart out

[G R E Y]

Pop is too smart for his own good in international play.

INT play is not about crazy schemes and finding winning match ups.

It's about having a standard lineup and EACH player playing a role.

Team USA needs coach K back.

You're ignoring a whole new team except for Barnes filled with guys who had to quickly adjust to a new style of play where many who were main options on their respective teams had to change is respective role in six weeks. It's not easy to just put players together and it'll magically work. Guys bought in, but it really needed a better balanced roster affected by guys who dropped out and more seasoning together.

[TheNG]

Overachievers so far: Poland, Argentina, Czech Republic
Underachievers so far: Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Greece
Maybe underachievers/maybe not: Lithuania, Brazil

Overachievers so far: Poland, Argentina, Czech Republic, Australia, France
As expected: Spain
Underachievers so far: Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Greece, USA
Maybe underachievers/maybe not: Lithuania, Brazil

[Catchall]

USA was up by 7 with 7 minutes left, and their offense just shut down. Gobert all but shut down their action going to the rim, but USA's offensive execution wasn't good. USA outscored 26-13 in the 4th quarter.

[zimpy27]

Australia vs Spain
Argentina vs France

[brutalitops]

mills is playing alright

Steph curry is the Patty Mills of the NBA.

He just becomes a monster at FIBA level.

[GotDaSauce]

Just want to remind everyone:

Kemba Walker 4 years $140 million

It’s the World Cup champ. Relax, we have 82 games to go to war about.

These were the biggest games Kemba ever played in, and he didn't impress to put it lightly. He is built for a team like Charlotte, not a leader.

He had 1 bad game and saved them from losing to Lithuania a few games ago. People love to **** on these USA players but they at least gave up their time to play the games unlike most of your favorite players.

[rale93lfc]

Mills is more useful player than Simmons at FIBA rules.

[zimpy27]

USA tried to bring small ball to FIBA. Size still matters in the international game.