Moderator: THE J0KER
the_other_guy wrote:durden_tyler wrote:Euro posters, who among these teams tend to play better even if it’s no bearing games? Pride and all?
Looking to win some more before tomorrow’s big game.
Italy vs Slovenia +3.0
177.0
Latvia vs Lithuania -7.0
173.5
Wait? Latvia is -7 points favourites? That's mad.
Sgt Major wrote:I'll never get used to people saying that a coach is good at managing NBA stars' egos. In Europe, the coach is the star and you're just a player and if you wanna act smart, than you're not gonna be a part of the team. Team USA needs real coaches, not baby-sitters.
levon wrote:Nuntius wrote:levon wrote:Well if you apply every caveat and handicap in the book as we've just done, this FIBA team starts looking like something close to the best team the US can build in terms of American talent. But it's not, which was the crux of my original reply to that poster.
Unless the other countries somehow have the same caveats applied to them and aren't going out of their way to naturalize guys. And yes, I'm aware that the NBA affects their eligibility as well with Jokic, Embiid, and Giannis. Giannis imo should have played, but whatever.
Maybe the takeaway here is the US needs to relax its ageism a bit as baseline longevity is improving, or somehow motivate these NBA megastars to play internationally. But they're just straight up billionaires that don't care. It doesn't make business sense.
The 35+ caveat does apply to most countries. Players like Rudy Fernandez, Luis Scola and Hamed Haddadi who play until their 40s are a rarity.
Finland's Peterri Koponen, for example, retired from the national team after last year's EuroBasket, a few months after he turned 34.
And if I was to look at my own country's national team, Greece, this is what I'd see:
Calathes and Sloukas played in 2022 but didn't play this year. They were 33 and 32 respectively at the time of their last appearance.
Bourousis and Printezis last played in 2019. Bourousis was 36 and Printezis was 34.
Spanoulis and Zisis last played in 2015. Spanoulis was 33 and Zisis was 32.
You see the pattern here, don't you? The majority of players does tend to limit stop playing after they hit the wrong side of 30 and they definitely stop when they go past 35. The ones who play to their very late 30s/early 40s are the exception, not the rule. And it does apply to every country.
I'll defer to you because you're more knowledgeable about euro basketball. If it's really the case that other countries are navigating the same selection criteria as the US and that's also preventing their elite talent from joining the team, then that's sobering for the future of US basketball.
jezzerinho wrote:I dunno guys.
I see a lot of hand-wringing on here from US fans. But I though Hill brought a pretty decent roster from the point of view of team-play, unselfishness and meshable talent. This was not some kind of Frankenstein squad of ill-fitting egomaniacs.
They just underestimated the importance of a dominant big in the FIBA game and couldn't adapt a decent workaround.
A very good team of NBA-level talent beat another very good team. By 2 points.
jezzerinho wrote:They often say "The World Cupnis a 32-team football tournament, disputed every 4 years and won by Germany". They just get tournament play.
-Luke- wrote:Slovenia gets the 7th place. 89-85 over Italy.
Luka playing 37:43 minutes.
the_other_guy wrote:durden_tyler wrote:Euro posters, who among these teams tend to play better even if it’s no bearing games? Pride and all?
Looking to win some more before tomorrow’s big game.
Italy vs Slovenia +3.0
177.0
Latvia vs Lithuania -7.0
173.5
Wait? Latvia is -7 points favourites? That's mad.
durden_tyler wrote:Where can i order a Latvian Zagars jersey?
Also, for international fans (Philippines) is there an NBA League Pass counter part for all Euroleagues and respective Euro country local leagues where i can watch all games? (Am tired of illegal streaming, best to just pay for it if it’s all in one place)
UcanUwill wrote:NOT SURE IF
OR
Crunch 99 wrote:I suspect during this upcoming NBA season, as Kessler has some success at center, the question will come up more than once how it came to be that Kessler was deemed not good enough to get off the bench in World Cup Play from day one, while the combination of JJJ and Banchero playing out of position at center managed to pull down a pathetic, combined 6.3 rebs/game, 1.9 orebs/game, and give up easy points at the rim and second chance points.
durden_tyler wrote:Crunch 99 wrote:I suspect during this upcoming NBA season, as Kessler has some success at center, the question will come up more than once how it came to be that Kessler was deemed not good enough to get off the bench in World Cup Play from day one, while the combination of JJJ and Banchero playing out of position at center managed to pull down a pathetic, combined 6.3 rebs/game, 1.9 orebs/game, and give up easy points at the rim and second chance points.
Beating a dead horse i see. Kessler wasn’t that too effective in the very few minutes i saw him on the floor, he would have been abused too methinks. We’ll never know i guess, i don’t see him being invited back, or if he does, not the main team.
durden_tyler wrote:UcanUwill wrote:NOT SURE IF
OR
It’s #55 so it’s Jason Williams for me. Add a few more wild turnovers and he’s on par with J-Dub as my #1 point guard of all time.
3 pts, 10 assists at the half for Zagars. Hopefully, Latvia (+7 ATS) continues being aggressive so they can win this game and finish what i assume is their best performance in a World Cup.
Return to International Basketball
