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So, I was listening to a podcast yesterday about the USA loss to Lithuania and they were asking the question, 'What can the US do about their lack of size?'

They went on to bemoan not being able to add other players. They talked about everyone just rebounding better as a team.

But, it's like having Kessler on the team never occurred to them as an option.

Why? Why wouldn't they just play Kessler if they needed more rebounding? Is Kerr duty bound to not give him minutes or something?

Did the US lose on purpose against Lithuania? Now they have to face Germany or Latvia for the final.

IMO think is two edge sword. FIBA ball is pick and roll and stretch bigs on offense. So playing small helps defends that but you give up a lot of rebounding . JJJ is an underwhelming rebounder for his profile. Somebody like Myles Turner would had been great for this team.

kobe_vs_jordan wrote:IMO think is two edge sword. FIBA ball is pick and roll and stretch bigs on offense. So playing small helps defends that but you give up a lot of rebounding . JJJ is an underwhelming rebounder for his profile. Somebody like Myles Turner would had been great for this team.

Didn't Turner suck on that 2019 team?

Kerr did play Kessler against Lithuania.
He put him in as a desperation move after Jonas Valanciunas obliterated JJJ and Paolo in the first quarter. Lithuania subbed in Donatas Motiejunas and just kept on rolling.

USA got the Kessler vs. Val matchup in the second quarter, and Val simply murdered him. Gave him 2 quick fouls, one of them an an 1, and Kessler did not turn off Lithuania's offensive rebounding either. Kerr didn't play him again in the second half.

I was watching the game and saying what you're saying now: put Kessler in! What do you have him for if not this matchup. But then Kerr did and it didn't work. USA went back to just trying to outscore Lithuania in the second half and they had better results.

I do still wonder if USA would be better playing him more minutes against bigger teams. It's unfair to judge a guy off 5 minutes! But the Lithuania game is the wrong example here, since Kess did play and played ineffectively.

Redick went on to say that Team USA needs a rim runner and a pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton, both of which Kessler can do at a pretty high level. I just think that Steve Kerr wants to build an identity around his top 8 - 10 guys, and he loves playing JJJ and Banchero at the 5.

A good solution for bigger teams is to play Kessler and JJJ together in the frontcourt, but I don't think I've seen that combination. If nothing else, Kessler would slow down the other team's drives and change their angles so that USA's perimeter players to recover defensively.

cupcakesnake wrote:Kerr did play Kessler against Lithuania.
He put him in as a desperation move after Jonas Valanciunas obliterated JJJ and Paolo in the first quarter. Lithuania subbed in Donatas Motiejunas and just kept on rolling.

USA got the Kessler vs. Val matchup in the second quarter, and Val simply murdered him. Gave him 2 quick fouls, one of them an an 1, and Kessler did not turn off Lithuania's offensive rebounding either. Kerr didn't play him again in the second half.

I was watching the game and saying what you're saying now: put Kessler in! What do you have him for if not this matchup. But then Kerr did and it didn't work. USA went back to just trying to outscore Lithuania in the second half and they had better results.

I do still wonder if USA would be better playing him more minutes against bigger teams. It's unfair to judge a guy off 5 minutes! But the Lithuania game is the wrong example here, since Kess did play and played ineffectively.

Valanciunas is a beast if he gets deep position. I saw he cooked Kessler on a couple plays.

kobe_vs_jordan wrote:IMO think is two edge sword. FIBA ball is pick and roll and stretch bigs on offense. So playing small helps defends that but you give up a lot of rebounding . JJJ is an underwhelming rebounder for his profile. Somebody like Myles Turner would had been great for this team.

Turner is also a pretty underwhelming rebounder. Career average of 6.8., career high of 7.5. Sure he's better than JJJ but Turner's still thin and his super high center of gravity makes it easy to push him around. Turner is one of the worst rebounding centers in the NBA.

If the USA wants a rebounder on the roster they might think about Mitchell Robinson or Kevon Looney. Amongst young guys, Jalen Duren and Paul Reed are pretty aggressive rebounders.

cupcakesnake wrote:Kerr did play Kessler against Lithuania.
He put him in as a desperation move after Jonas Valanciunas obliterated JJJ and Paolo in the first quarter. Lithuania subbed in Donatas Motiejunas and just kept on rolling.

USA got the Kessler vs. Val matchup in the second quarter, and Val simply murdered him. Gave him 2 quick fouls, one of them an an 1, and Kessler did not turn off Lithuania's offensive rebounding either. Kerr didn't play him again in the second half.

I was watching the game and saying what you're saying now: put Kessler in! What do you have him for if not this matchup. But then Kerr did and it didn't work. USA went back to just trying to outscore Lithuania in the second half and they had better results.

I do still wonder if USA would be better playing him more minutes against bigger teams. It's unfair to judge a guy off 5 minutes! But the Lithuania game is the wrong example here, since Kess did play and played ineffectively.

Thanks for the context. I didn't see the game so this explains a lot.

I know in the NBA that val had some success vs. Kessler. But also the Jazz scored well when Val was on the floor. Otoh I thought Kessler murdered Sabonis in the NBA. Sabonis was unable to bash his way through Kesslers length and strength and the officials at least in the match I remember let the two battle without making any calls.

Kessler got burned a couple of times during 2nd stretch in the game vs Lithuania but if the same evaluation basis was applied against everyone on the team, the entire starting unit should have been benched the rest of the game. Its Kerr that's the issue, he has his style and the selection of the players should be based on that. I don't understand the point of choosing certain players when the coach won't use them properly.

Why can't it be that Big Valley is simply a much better player than he's been allowed to show in the NBA as he's always been relegated to 4th or 5th option everywhere from TOR MEM and NO?

jazzfan1971 wrote:

cupcakesnake wrote:....

Thanks for the context. I didn't see the game so this explains a lot.

I know in the NBA that val had some success vs. Kessler. But also the Jazz scored well when Val was on the floor. Otoh I thought Kessler murdered Sabonis in the NBA. Sabonis was unable to bash his way through Kesslers length and strength and the officials at least in the match I remember let the two battle without making any calls.

I mean looking at the boxscore would help before wondering about those strategies. How good Kessler looked against Sabonis barely matters when Sabonis is not playing for Lithuania this summer.

He's not built to battle these brutes.

Catchall wrote:Redick went on to say that Team USA needs a rim runner and a pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton, both of which Kessler can do at a pretty high level. I just think that Steve Kerr wants to build an identity around his top 8 - 10 guys, and he loves playing JJJ and Banchero at the 5.

A good solution for bigger teams is to play Kessler and JJJ together in the frontcourt, but I don't think I've seen that combination. If nothing else, Kessler would slow down the other team's drives and change their angles so that USA's perimeter players to recover defensively.

I believe Mobley is the correct answer. But as a Cavs fan I'm glad he's working on skills instead of playing FIBA.

When it comes to the bigs on the team you can also see a discrepancy between JJJ and Bam when it comes to rebounding. I think Kerr and the coaching staff thought they could just plug JJJ into Bam's old spot on the team. They are similar players in some ways but Bam by far is the better rebounder. Kessler is obviously a talented young player himself but his archetype of being an under the basket non shooting big has never had much success in FIBA play.

Haven't really paid much attention to the tournament this year but there were a few curious choices when you look up and down the US roster.

jeeph wrote:

Catchall wrote:Redick went on to say that Team USA needs a rim runner and a pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton, both of which Kessler can do at a pretty high level. I just think that Steve Kerr wants to build an identity around his top 8 - 10 guys, and he loves playing JJJ and Banchero at the 5.

A good solution for bigger teams is to play Kessler and JJJ together in the frontcourt, but I don't think I've seen that combination. If nothing else, Kessler would slow down the other team's drives and change their angles so that USA's perimeter players to recover defensively.

I believe Mobley is the correct answer. But as a Cavs fan I'm glad he's working on skills instead of playing FIBA.

Anthony Davis is the correct answer.

jeeph wrote:

Catchall wrote:Redick went on to say that Team USA needs a rim runner and a pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton, both of which Kessler can do at a pretty high level. I just think that Steve Kerr wants to build an identity around his top 8 - 10 guys, and he loves playing JJJ and Banchero at the 5.

A good solution for bigger teams is to play Kessler and JJJ together in the frontcourt, but I don't think I've seen that combination. If nothing else, Kessler would slow down the other team's drives and change their angles so that USA's perimeter players to recover defensively.

I believe Mobley is the correct answer. But as a Cavs fan I'm glad he's working on skills instead of playing FIBA.

I can see it after he puts on a little more weight and works a bit more on his offensive skills. His rebounding numbers don't really stick out either but he's also playing next to Allen who might grab some of those away.

Residual-Heat wrote:

jeeph wrote:

Catchall wrote:Redick went on to say that Team USA needs a rim runner and a pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton, both of which Kessler can do at a pretty high level. I just think that Steve Kerr wants to build an identity around his top 8 - 10 guys, and he loves playing JJJ and Banchero at the 5.

A good solution for bigger teams is to play Kessler and JJJ together in the frontcourt, but I don't think I've seen that combination. If nothing else, Kessler would slow down the other team's drives and change their angles so that USA's perimeter players to recover defensively.

I believe Mobley is the correct answer. But as a Cavs fan I'm glad he's working on skills instead of playing FIBA.

Anthony Davis is the correct answer.

AD was the prototype but unfortunately due to age/injuries his international playing days are behind him.

jazzfan1971 wrote:

cupcakesnake wrote:Kerr did play Kessler against Lithuania.
He put him in as a desperation move after Jonas Valanciunas obliterated JJJ and Paolo in the first quarter. Lithuania subbed in Donatas Motiejunas and just kept on rolling.

USA got the Kessler vs. Val matchup in the second quarter, and Val simply murdered him. Gave him 2 quick fouls, one of them an an 1, and Kessler did not turn off Lithuania's offensive rebounding either. Kerr didn't play him again in the second half.

I was watching the game and saying what you're saying now: put Kessler in! What do you have him for if not this matchup. But then Kerr did and it didn't work. USA went back to just trying to outscore Lithuania in the second half and they had better results.

I do still wonder if USA would be better playing him more minutes against bigger teams. It's unfair to judge a guy off 5 minutes! But the Lithuania game is the wrong example here, since Kess did play and played ineffectively.

Thanks for the context. I didn't see the game so this explains a lot.

I know in the NBA that val had some success vs. Kessler. But also the Jazz scored well when Val was on the floor. Otoh I thought Kessler murdered Sabonis in the NBA. Sabonis was unable to bash his way through Kesslers length and strength and the officials at least in the match I remember let the two battle without making any calls.

Jonas Valanciunas is so so so much bigger than Sabonis. Kessler is taller than either, but Jonas is stronger and longer.

I think you can't always look at how things went in the NBA and assume it should translate. In the NBA, you can target Valanciunas in the pick & roll. The Pelilcans keep him in drop, but he has to avoid defensive 3 seconds and Jonas struggles to react and recover. In FIBA, he can hang out in the paint and it'd easier to pack that paint around a huge body that can stay by the rim. So I can picture the Jazz with Kessler's pick & roll finishing winning those minutes against Val. But in FIBA, Val can simply wait in the paint and use his size.

Sabonis also is not playing in this tournament.

Residual-Heat wrote:

jeeph wrote:

Catchall wrote:Redick went on to say that Team USA needs a rim runner and a pick-and-roll partner for Tyrese Haliburton, both of which Kessler can do at a pretty high level. I just think that Steve Kerr wants to build an identity around his top 8 - 10 guys, and he loves playing JJJ and Banchero at the 5.

A good solution for bigger teams is to play Kessler and JJJ together in the frontcourt, but I don't think I've seen that combination. If nothing else, Kessler would slow down the other team's drives and change their angles so that USA's perimeter players to recover defensively.

I believe Mobley is the correct answer. But as a Cavs fan I'm glad he's working on skills instead of playing FIBA.

Anthony Davis is the correct answer.

They arent going to have any 30 year olds play in the world cup for team usa..plus AD was already on a world cup roster when he was younger.

Perhaps there is no clear answer for the US except to try create a culture where vets want to play in the WC..otherwise, they will get into situations where their inexperience hurts them, especially with the bigs because other teams are rolling out 30 year old veteran centers and young bigs just arent as developed physically.