FIBA World Cup 2023 (FIRST thread)

[homecourtloss]

Ingram is such a bad fit in FIBA.

I was so so so wrong about him, I was seeing an Odom for international competition...he'd fit right in these dreadful 2002 and 2004 US teams.

Odom was one of the game’s better defenders at his best, an excellent rebounder, and an excellent passer, and possessed an excellent bball IQ. Ingram doesn’t play defense, not much of a willing passer…not sure how this comparison came to be.

[Chanel Bomber]

Ingram plays off-beat.

Talented player but it always seems he's playing a different game than the rest of his teammates.

NO should sell while he's still young and the value is still high.

[hoosierdaddy34]

Ingram is such a bad fit in FIBA.

He said it…he’s not used to never having the ball in his hands. Kerr rightfully wants him to cut and play off the ball, find spaces to attack when he gets it, find open spaces in the defense to catch and shoot. But that is a skill that is learned and developed over years, not weeks. He’s kind of a fish out of water right now.

with the talent Ingram has he should already know how to do these things.

hes going into his 8th season and about to turn 26 years old next month.

You act like he’s the first dude that has struggled moving on ball to off ball. Most players struggle making that transition.

[Duke4life831]

Ingram showing the world that he's a 2nd tier star. That's probably the worst place to be in the NBA. A star, but not a superstar and not great at any particular area to be an excellent role player.

I mean is anyone expecting Ingram to be a franchise player? I feel like most people expect Ingram to peak out as being a very good #2 on a team. I agree if your plan is Ingram to play off ball as your 4th or 5th ball handling option, ya he isnt good in that role.

But there is a big middle ground between being a super star and being a role player. Ingram has shown on big stages he can be a very good #2 option. His one time in the playoffs he averaged 27/6/6 on 47/41/83 shooting as a #2 option. I mean he did end the season (final 26 games) averaging 28/5/6 on 51/38/88 shooting.

I agree Ingram isnt ever going to be a franchise player. But I also dont think we can draw too big of a conclusion from him playing a role he will never play in the NBA.

[bb22]

They prob thought BI would be something between a team USA version of KD/Derozan/Melo. He will prob make an impact in one or two of these upcoming games. Wouldn’t say he’s a bad fit just yet.

[dockingsched]

Ingram is a bad fit with Edwards cause they’re both ball stoppers. Those two need to stagger minutes, probably Ingram off the bench.

[Residual-Heat]

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?

[Jasen777]

Could have been bad.

Watch on YouTube

[BAMAFREAK]

How did JJJ look?

[mpoo_sin]

That ankle sprain of F. Wagner looked awful. By far Germanys best player.

[Sedale Threatt]

Had his moments but fouled out in 16 minutes. So pretty much the usual Jaren Jackson Jr. experience. We're lucky Banchero stepped up for us or that would have been 10x harder than it needed to be.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Trey Murphy would have been a better choice than Ingram, or just play him with the bench and start Bridges or Haliburton.

[levon]

Why are we starting our worst players?

Glad Paolo bounced back. I've been low on him but in the back of my head I was like, watch him totally show out in the real tournament. He seems like everything Kerr wishes Kuminga could be.

Like everyone's said, Haliburton and Reaves are the only two guys on this team that can both score and playmake at the guard. There are too many straight-line drive players looking to get their own. It's a mess in the halfcourt.

When Ant doesn't have it going, the lack of conscience looks really ugly.

JJJ has never met a foul he doesn't like. I had Memphis fans trying to convince me he wasn't totally foul-prone before their first round series last year. Refs really swallowed their whistles to prevent foul outs these playoffs, but FIBA refs don't seem to care about team branding. He's clearly capable of totally dominating a team with his rim protection if he just doesnt own-goal himself out of the game.

[Liam_Gallagher]

Ingram is such a bad fit in FIBA.

I was so so so wrong about him, I was seeing an Odom for international competition...he'd fit right in these dreadful 2002 and 2004 US teams.

Odom was one of the game’s better defenders at his best, an excellent rebounder, and an excellent passer, and possessed an excellent bball IQ. Ingram doesn’t play defense, not much of a willing passer…not sure how this comparison came to be.

Odom was also on the dreadful 04 team lol.

[Up-And-Coming]

I don't know how many minutes the trio of Haliburton, Reaves, and Banchero played together before this game, but I really like it.

Yup. Hali and Reaves are Team USA’s best passers and 3 point shooters and also love to pick up the pace and use the pick and roll. Banchero is the teams best rolling big man and also good in transition. They’re skill sets align.

[Buckets22]

I was so so so wrong about him, I was seeing an Odom for international competition...he'd fit right in these dreadful 2002 and 2004 US teams.

Odom was one of the game’s better defenders at his best, an excellent rebounder, and an excellent passer, and possessed an excellent bball IQ. Ingram doesn’t play defense, not much of a willing passer…not sure how this comparison came to be.

Odom was also on the dreadful 04 team lol.

One of the few bright spots there alongside Steph Marbury lighting up Spain in that one game and Carlos Boozer.

[Mickey8]

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.

[Mickey8]

France looks old and slow. They need to reset and start a youth movement. Gobert is overrated asf…feel bad for TWolves for all the assets they gave up for him

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????

[Mirotic12]

I kinda hate the Olympics, it's a small tournament made to fit around other events, bunch of token teams instead of actual good teams that never make it. To me this is the world cup, period.

This tournament is 10 times better than the Olympics. The fact that we even have to debate which tournament is better here is ludicrous.

[Mirotic12]

France supposed to had huge frontcourt advantage, but their guards were shut down so bad, they created nothing. Outside NBA guys, Lessort at C, Yebuselles at PF are some of the best there is at their position outside NBA league.

You are always talking about how Lessort is one of the best centers in Europe....I just don't see it myself. He's super efficient as a finisher, he's a dunk machine, good rebounder. But all he does on offense is dunk. His whole offense is someone spoon feeds him the ball for a dunk.

That doesn't really make him one of the best centers in Europe. He's one of the best finishers and players around the rim certainly. But overall, his skill and offense is basically dunks.