The Lack of Talent on this US Squad is Overstated

[Jabroni Lames]

So it looks the "talent" that Team USA was missing was an old AF, crafty big man.... like Gasol or Scola. US has too much skill and athleticism for FIBA. lol.

Time to bring Duncan back to rescue Pop's legacy.

[OrangeBlueSkies]

But if you put this team in the current NBA (a.k.a. roided up version of the current Celtics), it is currently one of the best teams in the NBA, right? It has to be.

You need superstars to win in the nba

But again, this team is like the better version of the Celtics and everyone (including myself) thinks the current Celtics would win around 50 games.

OP, you have some valid points. That being said, your idea that it was a "roided up Celtics team", is true on paper. But you project and others project them to be atleast top 8 in the East. Well guess what bud, that is just a projection. I do agree with you

Kemba Harris Tatum Mitchell Turner Barnes with a bench of White, Smart, Lopez, Brown could easily one of the best teams in the NBA today, it would take them a full training camp, and also a few months into the season to really hit their stride.

Had this USA roster had 3 months together as a unit, there is no doubt they would have won the Gold. Most of these international teams have been playing together for years.

[OrangeBlueSkies]

So it looks the "talent" that Team USA was missing was an old AF, crafty big man.... like Gasol or Scola. US has too much skill and athleticism for FIBA. lol.

Time to bring Duncan back to rescue Pop's legacy.

Team USA could of really benefited from Jaren Jackson JR. and probably Andre Drummond.

[chudak]

It is difficult to make indirect comparisons, but I think people are underrating the level of talent on this squad. Let's put it this way. The team has 4 core members of the Celtics team. And this is a Celtics team that is rated to finish #3 in the East and is seen as one of the top 8-10 teams in the league. Imagine swapping the Celtics rookies, Kanter, Hayward for D. Mitchell, Middleton, Turner, Barnes, etc. That would be the roided up Celtics team and the deepest team in the league. Most people would put that team as one of the 3 best teams in the NBA.

And that team is getting beaten by the likes of France, Serbia, Australia, and almost losing to Turkey. Maybe it is not that the talent is overrated but NBA teams are just overrated? That is, the sum is just not as good as the individual parts for a typical NBA team?

They had good talent.

The problem is that NBA guys on team USA need to have a huge talent gap between themselves and other teams in order to compensate for different rules, chemistry, team play...

They had equal or better individual talent. Jokic, Giannis, Bogdanovic are the only ones that are superior in talent to most of team USA. Jokic and Giannis than anyone.

That is a good point. But now I am wondering even if you send a mid tier playoff NBA team that has good chemistry, they might still struggle against these teams. I don't know.

They probably would.

Someone mentioned I forgot about Rudy Gobert who was the best player on the floor in FRA vs USA and that is true.

The US still has a lot more talent than any other NT though.

Dont forget the rules too.

Serbia took a 32 - 7 lead against US because they tried to ISO and plan 1v1 in the first quarter and came out flat footed after a loss.

That just does not work against good teams when driving lanes get closed and there is no 3 sec rule and a wider court.

[Harry Garris]

The lack of continuity on this team was really understated. All of the non US teams have guys that have consistently been playing international ball for years together. Team USA was a revolving cast of characters all throughout training camp and the exhibition games and other than the Celtics players most of these guys had barely ever played together. That and the US players just don't take it as seriously as other countries.

[I_Like_Dirt]

And I highly doubt Harden would be allowed to do the same **** in FIBA that he does in the NBA.

Uhhh.... check it out:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/international/teams/united-states/2014.html

Harden averaged 14/3/3 in 22 minutes on ridiculous %s like 52.6% from the field, 41.4% from 3 and he got to the line 4.7 times in those same 22 minutes. The US coasted with an average margin of victory of more than 30 points including destroying Lithuania (by 28) and Serbia (by 37) in the semi-final and final respectively. Basically, Harden played a few minutes and the game was over and then it was garbage time for the rest of the game. Turns out he's a pretty good basketball player that is one of the most savvy players to ever play who figures out how to excel regardless of the circumstances.

[JimmerAllStar]

NBA is pretty much a superstar going 1-on-1 while the 4 other guys stand around the 3 point line.

Do you see what this does? One guy has all the offensive talents while the 4 other guys' only offensive ability is to catch and shoot. So the 4 other guys never develop the ability to drive, the ability to dribble and shoot, the ability to post up, the ability to pass, the ability to work the screen, etc.

So what happens when the all guys who have all the offensive talent drop out of Team USA? You have a team full of guys who can only catch and shoot, who are now trying to be playmakers. That is not a winning team.

[Mauro Pedrosa]

NBA is pretty much a superstar going 1-on-1 while the 4 other guys stand around the 3 point line.

Do you see what this does? One guy has all the offensive talents while the 4 other guys' only offensive ability is to catch and shoot. So the 4 other guys never develop the ability to drive, the ability to dribble and shoot, the ability to post up, the ability to pass, the ability to work the screen, etc.

So what happens when the all guys who have all the offensive talent drop out of Team USA? You have a team full of guys who can only catch and shoot, who are now trying to be playmakers. That is not a winning team.

Great points. Even Giannis struggled a lot without the same spacing

[Jabroni Lames]

So it looks the "talent" that Team USA was missing was an old AF, crafty big man.... like Gasol or Scola. US has too much skill and athleticism for FIBA. lol.

Time to bring Duncan back to rescue Pop's legacy.

Team USA could of really benefited from Jaren Jackson JR. and probably Andre Drummond.

Nah, they need a big, crafty vet with old man strength and really high BBIQ (i.e. sneaky). Most of those type of guys in the NBA are Euros. Drummond is the opposite of high BBIQ.

[I_Like_Dirt]

So what happens when the all guys who have all the offensive talent drop out of Team USA? You have a team full of guys who can only catch and shoot, who are now trying to be playmakers. That is not a winning team.

Well, the defense was solid enough but struggled a bit with the lack of a focal point center to hang their hat on. It seemed like they were hoping Myles Turner would be that guy and he just wasn't quite up to the task. It was finishing in particular that hurt Team USA, though. But really, they lost a single close game to an opposing team that had the best player on the floor and a reasonably comparable top 7. That's not really the mark of a team that didn't perform well. They outscored France substantially whenever Gobert sat. They just had no answers for Gobert and none of Turner, Lopez or Plumlee were in the same stratosphere.

[I_Like_Dirt]

So it looks the "talent" that Team USA was missing was an old AF, crafty big man.... like Gasol or Scola. US has too much skill and athleticism for FIBA.

Crafty is absolutely indicative of a certain skill level. And yes, crafty players tend to succeed where international ball is concerned, and it's not just bigs. Harden, for example, is known as a crafty player and absolutely killed it in 2014 when he decided to try his hand at leading a team; he barely had to play 2nd halves. Find players that are known for being crafty or sneaky or whatever and you'll find players that are probably going to succeed internationally. Joe Harris seemed like a solid fit there. Harrison Barnes actually looked pretty good, too. Marcus Smart is known for being crafty on defense but not on offense. There really weren't a lot of crafty players on the team in general, though, and there were a lot of guys who's strategy tends to be more about trying to force things until they finally work. Their defense was pretty good. Their offense struggled to get going against better competition. It was definitely up and down, though, with a few players who weren't able to play roles if they weren't handling a high volume of the shots and taking turns at it.

[Bornstellar]

I disagree. This team wouldn't even be a top 3 team in the NBA with the roster they had available to them

[mudsak]

I think the media and everyone has blasted team USA without warrant. Their roster was obviously pretty sub-par for what it could be. In the past Team USA has basically been an All-Star team. What did they have?... one All-Star from the East, who wouldn't make All-Star in the West? So there's that.

But... I don't think ANYONE (media included) has given the international competition nearly enough credit in this situation. All these teams have been playing solid ball. France whooped USA straight up. Credit where it's due.

[Curmudgeon]

(1) Tatum was injured and so was Smart (even though he played). The U.S. team was shorthanded.
(2) The U.S. needed a big who could shoot consistently well from outside. John Collins anyone?
(3) When you go small against bigger teams, you have to make shots. They lost against France because they couldn't. They were up six and should have been able to hang on. But they played badly in Q4. It happens.
(4) Gobert had a monster game against the U.S. Too bad he had a minnow game against Argentina.

[Boneman2]

If this particular US team would have had at least 2 years of experiencing each other’s various tendencies and learning each individual’s personal nuances then we’d be talking about a completely different outcome.

In saying that, the World is catching up fast. At least at a 10 to 1 pace when compared to US Men’s Soccer/football/ futbol catching the world. This will never happen. Brazil run ish in the Americas

[brutalitops]

It is difficult to make indirect comparisons, but I think people are underrating the level of talent on this squad. Let's put it this way. The team has 4 core members of the Celtics team. And this is a Celtics team that is rated to finish #3 in the East and is seen as one of the top 8-10 teams in the league. Imagine swapping the Celtics rookies, Kanter, Hayward for D. Mitchell, Middleton, Turner, Barnes, etc. That would be the roided up Celtics team and the deepest team in the league. Most people would put that team as one of the 3 best teams in the NBA.

And that team is getting beaten by the likes of France, Serbia, Australia, and almost losing to Turkey. Maybe it is not that the talent is overrated but NBA teams are just overrated? That is, the sum is just not as good as the individual parts for a typical NBA team?

They had good talent.

The problem is that NBA guys on team USA need to have a huge talent gap between themselves and other teams in order to compensate for different rules, chemistry, team play...

They had equal or better individual talent. Jokic, Giannis, Bogdanovic are the only ones that are superior in talent to most of team USA. Jokic and Giannis than anyone.

Never have I seen someone troll NBA champion Delly harder in my life.

[Curmudgeon]

Individual talent is secondary. The days of the dream team are over, and have been over since 2002. It's a team game. What's amazing is how the U.S. has been able to reel off so many victories after that loss to Greece in 2009 (or thereabouts).

[DCRYsing89]

It's not the Celtics fault that your favorite player(s) didn't care to play. I know it's fun to crap on Boston, but they have nothing to do with FIBA.

I know it's going to be difficult for a few of you to understand it, but do your best.

Maybe I don’t wanna stop

As an Aussie fan,
I just gotta say though team USA was hella strong, and yes had obvious holes but were definetly the strongest team on Paper...

But as we have seen this tournament,
Wether it’s FIBA kissing dicks or not,
It’s been a tournament of Upsets,

Argentina vs Serbia
France vs USA
Argentina vs France
Australia vs Spain (not a talent disparity but Aus were the favourites from what I was hearing)

Team USA weren’t great, but honestly Brown was pretty solid, Smarts game ain’t built for FIBA, Kemba was strong in most games but horrible in others, Tatum is still early in his development, it wasn’t only their fault, it was the whole team + players who pulled out + Coaches and most of all + The French team

And personally between the talent difference of NBA v Euroleague ain’t that big, like when Real Madrid, (bets player Llull who is a top 5 player for Spain this WC) it’s not a entire blowout,
The rest of the world catching up, and USA should not be acting so arrogant...

[e83pw2oa9hl5f]

Time for the Rugby World Cup. Talk about putting a team out with no chance. Those guys got heart and know they are going to get pummeled and still show up. And very few people even know that the the American Eagles are a team and compete in that world cup. True lack of talent there. But they love their sport and they represent. That is heart. Support your national teams win or loose. Even if college players and not all stars. Those are your guys. So many small nations have no chance at all but go out and represent knowing no chance at all.

[Curmudgeon]

Time for the Rugby World Cup. Talk about putting a team out with no chance. Those guys got heart and know they are going to get pummeled and still show up. And very few people even know that the the American Eagles are a team and compete in that world cup. True lack of talent there. But they love their sport and they represent. That is heart. Support your national teams win or loose. Even if college players and not all stars. Those are your guys. So many small nations have no chance at all but go out and represent knowing no chance at all.

How did they qualify?

The U.S. should always put up a competitive team in 7's. It's a scatback's game. 15's is another story.