Team Canada Basketball Thread V3.0

[mojo13]

Is "withdrawn" and "will not join team" the nice way of saying Cory and Kassius were cut, or should we be looking deeper into it, especially with CoJo?

Hell no. No one is ever cutting those two befroe TBH, Phil, Tommy etc.

[mojo13]

Read on Twitter

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More info. Basically what was said above.

[ItsDanger]

Team has a weakness at the 4 spot. I'd strongly consider taking Omax Prosper to the Olympics next year if they make it. Nembhard needs to be on this roster right now. Got to slide Brooks to the 4 on this current roster.

[WuTang_CMB]

Darko connection

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[frumble]

Different wording:

Read on Twitter

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Still sounds like Brissett is not quite "out". But not sure.

I sort of understand some of these.
Cory got married a few weeks ago. Some rumor of a injury (could be BS). Just changed teams.
Kash just signed with Valencia and will be enterng the EuroLeague for the first time. This is a big step for him. I get it.


neither of these guys are core pieces and possibly not even rotation players.

If Murray still plays, all is good. I'd like to have Brissett there too. We can't expect much of anything from Tommy Scrubb or Melvin Ejim. At best my hope for them is to not get worked over if they are on the floor.

Who is the other player who didn't make the trip to Germany?

18 on initial list - Joseph, Brissett, Kash, and Murray = 14.
But Grange's tweet says only 13 made the trip.

[mojo13]

Pangos dropped out earlier in the week. Citing Health, contract concerns etc.


Also Grange confirmed Brissett is out for good.

[bozothepope]

Different wording:

Read on Twitter

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Still sounds like Brissett is not quite "out". But not sure.

In another tweet, Grange said he's out.

[TheFutureMM]

Read on Twitter

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More info. Basically what was said above.

As we've said a million times, just goes to show why depth beyond your Top 12 players is so important. Contract issues and injuries are always going to be a thing for national programs.

While I don't love losing Joseph, Pangos, and Brissett (as, if they were healthy, I think they would have made the cut) it is silly to think that we were going to get everybody to come play. I'm happy that the Scrubbs + TBH are around and we don't have to dig even deeper into the cupboard to find someone that could suit up.

I'm a little worried about our PG spot now, dunno why but I figured Cojo would be good to go. Makes me REALLY hope Murray plays now otherwise TBH will be soaking minutes.

[frumble]

Pangos dropped out earlier in the week. Citing Health, contract concerns etc.


Also Grange confirmed Brissett is out for good.

Thanks - I hadn't seen the Pangos news.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Out of all of these the one I'm surprisingly most concerned about is Robertson. It's even more imperative now that Murray plays, because without Pangos, Robertson would have been a guy to bring the important shooting element to the team.

A few of the guys who remain are decent shooters, but I wouldn't categorize any of them as "shooters". Robertson definitely is, and it would have been nice to have that skill as an option off the bench for moments when the shots aren't falling.

[frumble]

If Murray is out, roster is set other than Ejim vs. T. Scrubb for one spot?

And if Murray is able to join, also a battle for 5th guard between TBH and P Scrubb?

[TheFutureMM]

If Murray is out, roster is set other than Ejim vs. T. Scrubb for one spot?

And if Murray is able to join, also a battle for 5th guard between TBH and P Scrubb?

I think if Murray is out, we're going to keep Ejim over T. Scrubb. I actually really like what Thomas brings to the table but he was always going to have the toughest time making this team. We have a glut of wings at this stage (Dort, Brooks, Barrett, NAW, arguably SGA in certain line-ups) who just bring more to the table from a lot of different dimensions. Brissett getting injured greatly increased Ejim's chance as we are very light at the 4 at this stage.

If Murray plays, it is a battle between TBH and P. Scrubb. Bare in mind, I don't watch these guys in their respective pro leagues but my assessment of the two of them (based on national team play) is that TBH is more of a traditional PG while P. Scrubb is more a combo guard. While Phil in a vacuum probably adds greater utility to a team, he isn't really what we're lacking at this stage.

[TheFutureMM]

Read on Twitter

Old news but haven't seen it posted yet. Ricky Rubio out for Spain is massive for us if we end up getting past the French/Latvian roadblock in Round 1.

Hope Ricky gets what he needs out of this time-off - always loved watching him play.

[mojo13]

Not the scale of Rubio but Mathias Lessort pulled out for France.
He's an All-EuroLeague PF/C and likley one of the first big off the bench for France. this helps mute their size advantage over Canada. this could mean they need to run more of Batum at the 4 allowing us to counter with Brooks/Barrett at the 4 for stretches.

The Rubio news is huge. 2019 World Cup MVP and heart and sole of Spain.

[Hair Canada]

Out of all of these the one I'm surprisingly most concerned about is Robertson. It's even more imperative now that Murray plays, because without Pangos, Robertson would have been a guy to bring the important shooting element to the team.

A few of the guys who remain are decent shooters, but I wouldn't categorize any of them as "shooters". Robertson definitely is, and it would have been nice to have that skill as an option off the bench for moments when the shots aren't falling.

Given Robertson's current shooting form, I'm not too concerned about it. He's been quite bad in CEBL this season, with 10ppg and weak shooting. I'd rather have Phil Scrubb, who brings more experience in high-level FIBA competitions and I think is a better defender. Not that it should matter that much. Even if Robertson was able to make the team, he was unlikely to see much playing time and I'm not sure Phil would see many minutes as well.

[Kenter16]

We're not expected Murray to suit up, right? Based on the reports it looks like Denver will have a say due to health concerns. That will most certainly result in Denver saying no.
They did just lose Cancar for the season. If Murray has a hangnail, they will put their full weight into preventing him to play.

I think we will still be ok without him. Shai running the offense and overall defensive talent of this roster will make us competitive. Nobody can stop Shai from getting to the basket, especially when you have one of the best screen setters in the world in Powell. This will open up a lot of open shots. We don't have great shooters, but they can knock down open shots (as a collective).

Without Brisset, I think we see more of Edey. Powell will have to play some 4. I don't know if those two are the best front court pairing in terms of skill set match, but you might not have a choice.

Without Murray I start
1 - Shai
2 - NAW
3 - Brooks
4 - KO
5 - Powell

Edey, Dort, Barrett and Alexander in the rotation.
P. Scrubb, Ejim and TBH on the bench.

[DoctaJ]

Team Canada release says:

Basketball fans can watch Team Canada in action starting Friday, August 25, exclusively on Sportsnet and stream live via SN NOW. Full broadcast details to be announced at a later date.

I'm assuming the exhibition aren't going to be televised then. Anyone heard otherwise?

[mojo13]

Team Canada release says:

Basketball fans can watch Team Canada in action starting Friday, August 25, exclusively on Sportsnet and stream live via SN NOW. Full broadcast details to be announced at a later date.

I'm assuming the exhibition aren't going to be televised then. Anyone heard otherwise?

We've been looking hard to find a broadcast Canada's three FIBA friendlies in Germany this week. This is something
Sportsnet should be carrying in Canada as they have the rights to the World Cup, but for some reason arn't as of yet (pls give them a piece of your mind).

Best I can find so far is that the German rights holder is broadcasting the friendlies here:
https://www.magentasport.de/laenderspiele

You'll likely need to subscribe at 12 euros per month (then cancel) and it will likely be a German language broadcast. Will keep looking around, but Courtside 1891 doesn't show these games yet.

[And1Skip]

On the 9th pic, is that David Blatt in the crutches? I read that he was diagnosed with PPMS in 2019. Pretty cool that he’s helping out.

[WaltFrazier]

Why aren't any of Mathurin, Nembhard and/or Sharpe on the roster? All have played for Canada U21 or U18.