2024 Olympic BASKETBALL Thread (pt.4.2: Quarterfinals are set!)

[Johnny Tomala]

Germany, Serbia, Canada, USA.

[SamBridges]

Surprised Canada is so favoured against France. I agree they have the better team but given the match up I'd have it closer to even.

Out of those four matchups I also got CAN-FRA as the closest, probably more like a coin-flip. This team France has been very unpredictable so far, not playing too great but the potential is still there.

have you guys not been watching France, they're awful, 1-5 in warmup games and 1-2 in group play and should have been winless if it wasn't for the refs, canada easily beat them 2.5 weeks ago and size was not an issue

[xb3at band1tx]

Interesting that we have same/similar odds across all QF games (except for the US of course):
Greece +7.5 vs Germany
Australia +7.5 vs Serbia
France +7.5 vs Canada
Brazil +26.5 vs USA

That's describes entire Olympics for Mens basketball in a nutshell. The US is the outlier and the rest of the next tier of teams are roughly on the same level.

Someone recently said that USA is kinda bad for basketball, and I always thought kind off the same thing. It would be more interesting if USA wasn't such head and shoulders favorite, it would be more like Football, I think FIFA is always more interesting, not just because sport is far bigger, but also there never such overwhelming favorite, you never know who will win. Not like USA will win for sure here, but it would be shocking if they fumble this.

.

Nah.

In order to be the best you gotta beat the best.

International has already made major strides over the decades. Cutting out the US just stalls everyone else and devalues the gold win. It's what makes Ginobli's run so special in 2004.

[California Gold]

Serbia would probably beat Canada and Germany

Serbia matches very well with these teams, especially Canada, I think. Maple leafs would have no answer for Jokic, but Serbians have somewhat an answer for Canadas perimeter power, Avramovic, who is Shais boogieman himself.

That said, these 3 teams are similar in terms of ability, it would go either way, I do not think we could spot a favorite in these match ups.

I am still amazed how Germany has this team, Basketball is so niche there, its not popular, but somehow they have so many good players seemingly out of nowhere. Germans are among tallest Europeans on average, also they are very multicultural and have athletes for any field, but still, damn, they just became powerhouse overnight it seems,

We have a glaring hole in the center position. USA, Serbia and even France can easily exploit it. In regards to France and Seribia my hope is that our guard/forward play can overpower them. IMO Canada is very beatable, especially for a team like USA or even Serbia.

Tier 1
USA
Germany

Tier 2
Canada
Serbia
France

But who knows.

I don't see how Germany is on the same tier as the US.

[California Gold]

Interesting that we have same/similar odds across all QF games (except for the US of course):
Greece +7.5 vs Germany
Australia +7.5 vs Serbia
France +7.5 vs Canada
Brazil +26.5 vs USA

That's describes entire Olympics for Mens basketball in a nutshell. The US is the outlier and the rest of the next tier of teams are roughly on the same level.

Fun fact: The US are 3-0 but just 1-2 against the spread-- owing to them not really "on" for the entire game against South Sudan and Puerto Rico (curiously, the weaker teams). The only game they concinvicingly covered was against elite team Serbia...

That may be so but I'm not really talking about it from the standpoint of covering spreads. The fact that they are consistently going to get large spreads (regardless of if they cover them or not) is a testament to how much better they are than the field. I mean the futures odds are pretty lopsided as well, so that's yet another way to put it. Whether they win a game by 2 or 20, it really doesn't matter.

[Pachinko_]

Serbia matches very well with these teams, especially Canada, I think. Maple leafs would have no answer for Jokic, but Serbians have somewhat an answer for Canadas perimeter power, Avramovic, who is Shais boogieman himself.

That said, these 3 teams are similar in terms of ability, it would go either way, I do not think we could spot a favorite in these match ups.

I am still amazed how Germany has this team, Basketball is so niche there, its not popular, but somehow they have so many good players seemingly out of nowhere. Germans are among tallest Europeans on average, also they are very multicultural and have athletes for any field, but still, damn, they just became powerhouse overnight it seems,

We have a glaring hole in the center position. USA, Serbia and even France can easily exploit it. In regards to France and Seribia my hope is that our guard/forward play can overpower them. IMO Canada is very beatable, especially for a team like USA or even Serbia.

Tier 1
USA
Germany

Tier 2
Canada
Serbia
France

But who knows.

I don't see how Germany is on the same tier as the US.

Clear advantage to the US in terms of talent, clear advantage to Germany in terms of consistency and chemistry as a team.
Germany has no roster changes, they have FIBA role players that fit perfectly and complement their stars, a very smart coach who's had years to finetune every single action and strategy etc. They're basically a well-oiled machine that doesnt make many mistakes on the floor.

Does that cover the talent gap from the US? Nah. But it goes some way to cover it, enough to maybe get a competitive game against Team USA. Serbia and Canada should be able to do the same but they have some roster weaknesses, Canada in the bigs and Serbia is missing those high scoring long wings of the past, the Bodiroga/Stojakovic/Paspalj/Danilovic types that used to do most of the damage for them. And they're missing a true leader at PG, like a Djordjevic in the past, which is a shame because they do actually have the frgging NBA MVP at his peak. But this is still a team sport.

Germany doesn't really have any holes, it's not the most talented roster we've ever seen but it's a very balanced and well functioning one. In FIBA Schroder transforms to an actual star and Wagner doesn't lose any of his potency compared to the NBA, and sometimes two leaders is all you need if everybody else play their roles well. And they do.
A very dangerous team.

[Rainwater]

Serbia matches very well with these teams, especially Canada, I think. Maple leafs would have no answer for Jokic, but Serbians have somewhat an answer for Canadas perimeter power, Avramovic, who is Shais boogieman himself.

That said, these 3 teams are similar in terms of ability, it would go either way, I do not think we could spot a favorite in these match ups.

I am still amazed how Germany has this team, Basketball is so niche there, its not popular, but somehow they have so many good players seemingly out of nowhere. Germans are among tallest Europeans on average, also they are very multicultural and have athletes for any field, but still, damn, they just became powerhouse overnight it seems,

We have a glaring hole in the center position. USA, Serbia and even France can easily exploit it. In regards to France and Seribia my hope is that our guard/forward play can overpower them. IMO Canada is very beatable, especially for a team like USA or even Serbia.

Tier 1
USA
Germany

Tier 2
Canada
Serbia
France

But who knows.

I don't see how Germany is on the same tier as the US.

Yeah, lol at Germany and US being on the same tier. They have already beat the German team and that was without Durant.

How is the center position weak when team USA has 3 of the 5 best centers. Other than Wemby and Joker, who is better than Embiid, Anthony, and Bam?

[Rainwater]

We have a glaring hole in the center position. USA, Serbia and even France can easily exploit it. In regards to France and Seribia my hope is that our guard/forward play can overpower them. IMO Canada is very beatable, especially for a team like USA or even Serbia.

Tier 1
USA
Germany

Tier 2
Canada
Serbia
France

But who knows.

I don't see how Germany is on the same tier as the US.

Clear advantage to the US in terms of talent, clear advantage to Germany in terms of consistency and chemistry as a team.
Germany has no roster changes, they have FIBA role players that fit perfectly and complement their stars, a very smart coach who's had years to finetune every single action and strategy etc. They're basically a well-oiled machine that doesnt make many mistakes on the floor.

Does that cover the talent gap from the US? Nah. But it goes some way to cover it, enough to maybe get a competitive game against Team USA. Serbia and Canada should be able to do the same but they have some roster weaknesses, Canada in the bigs and Serbia is missing those high scoring long wings of the past, the Bodiroga/Stojakovic/Paspalj/Danilovic types that used to do most of the damage for them. And they're missing a true leader at PG, like a Djordjevic in the past, which is a shame because they do actually have the frgging NBA MVP at his peak. But this is still a team sport.

Germany doesn't really have any holes, it's not the most talented roster we've ever seen but it's a very balanced and well functioning one. In FIBA Schroder transforms to an actual star and Wagner doesn't lose any of his potency compared to the NBA, and sometimes two leaders is all you need if everybody else play their roles well. And they do.
A very dangerous team.

The balance of Germany is nice but US should breeze through Germany. I expect a 15 point margin of victory for the rest of the Olympics

[Pachinko_]

The balance of Germany is nice but US should breeze through Germany. I expect a 15 point margin of victory for the rest of the Olympics

Sounds about right TBH
I didn't expect Lebron to be so committed to this team at his age, and everybody else equally present and serious.
Hats off to them, they've earned it.

[Rainwater]

Per Sir Charles

Listen if they lose we can't let them back in the country, we can't, I told them they can't come back. I mean because with the team we got I mean it's no excuse for us to lose the gold medal. All they got to do is go out there and play hard, play unselfish because that's really the key

And I agree there is no reason they should lose.

[FollowTheSound]

Serbia would probably beat Canada and Germany

Serbia matches very well with these teams, especially Canada, I think. Maple leafs would have no answer for Jokic, but Serbians have somewhat an answer for Canadas perimeter power, Avramovic, who is Shais boogieman himself.

That said, these 3 teams are similar in terms of ability, it would go either way, I do not think we could spot a favorite in these match ups.

I am still amazed how Germany has this team, Basketball is so niche there, its not popular, but somehow they have so many good players seemingly out of nowhere. Germans are among tallest Europeans on average, also they are very multicultural and have athletes for any field, but still, damn, they just became powerhouse overnight it seems,

We have a glaring hole in the center position. USA, Serbia and even France can easily exploit it. In regards to France and Seribia my hope is that our guard/forward play can overpower them. IMO Canada is very beatable, especially for a team like USA or even Serbia.

Tier 1
USA
Germany

Tier 2
Canada
Serbia
France

But who knows.

France sucks lmao they're like tier 4, Japan literally beat them until refs rigged the game

[Mean_Streets]

Who are the starters for tomorrow?

[durden_tyler]

Quarterfinal bets locked in!

Germany -7.5 vs Greece
GER-GRE Under 160.5

As impressive as the Greeks’ win were in their last outing (Australia), i can’t ignore the fact that this is Giannis’ team and they will struggle big time if the Bucks star is stopped/contained. i think the Germans has shown enough defensively to do this and force Greece to a grind it out affair (thus, the Under bet) and should cover the spread.

Serbia -7.5 vs -Australia
SER-AUS Over 173.5

Expect this to be a high-paced game with Australia in it before Serbia pulls away big in the fourth. Key here is which Giddey shows up and i think the Serbians will game plan for that accordingly. Offensively, i think Serbia will have their way and we’ll get major contributions from non-Jokic and non-Bogdanovic players.

France +7.5 vs Canada
FRA-CAN Under 163.5

France should be overwhelmed by Canada’s guard play but refs and being at home will make thus close.

USA -26.5 vs Brazil
USA-BRA Over 185.5

No messing around for the Americans now; doubts were cast in mini struggles vs South Sudan and Puerto Rico but this is the game where everyone contributes (including Embiid, Tatum) as they win all four quarters convincingly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ReginaldDwight]

Well I aint working tmw. Good slate of games tmw.

[rockmanslim]

First time ever hearing Taurasi speak, if she wanted to she should have her choice of broadcasting gigs, clear booming voice. She should replace Mark Jones.

[ReginaldDwight]

First time ever hearing Taurasi speak, if she wanted to she should have her choice of broadcasting gigs, clear booming voice. She should replace Mark Jones.

She can tell us how great UCONN was more then.

[Pachinko_]

4 hours for Greece
Realistically we probably lose by 10 to 15, same as last time we played in the Eurobasket.
You need a very active D against Dennis and Franz, and Greece has a couple of athletes but there's also a few guys on the wrong side of 30 and the bench is thin. Also the difference in shooting accuracy is huge.
I hope at least we make it competitive against the world champs and bow out with grace.

Lets gooooooo

[UcanUwill]

That's describes entire Olympics for Mens basketball in a nutshell. The US is the outlier and the rest of the next tier of teams are roughly on the same level.

Someone recently said that USA is kinda bad for basketball, and I always thought kind off the same thing. It would be more interesting if USA wasn't such head and shoulders favorite, it would be more like Football, I think FIFA is always more interesting, not just because sport is far bigger, but also there never such overwhelming favorite, you never know who will win. Not like USA will win for sure here, but it would be shocking if they fumble this.

.

Nah.

In order to be the best you gotta beat the best.

International has already made major strides over the decades. Cutting out the US just stalls everyone else and devalues the gold win. It's what makes Ginobli's run so special in 2004.

I am not saying US should be excluded, just saying that US, the way they are, a bit sucks that they do exist like this, where when they send best team, the odds of them winning is -900. In a competition, always sucks when one team is such overwhelming favorite, I am not saying US shouldn't play, I am just saying in more perfect world, talent could be spread out more like it in is in Soccer for example. We now have FIBA tournaments where USA loses, but when you look at whole picture, at all levels, Americans still produces the most talent by far, all international league have American stars etc. I said this before, but even if NBA players where banned from FIBA, USA would still put up a team that would be favorite to win gold every time.

[DWadeno3]

We have a glaring hole in the center position. USA, Serbia and even France can easily exploit it. In regards to France and Seribia my hope is that our guard/forward play can overpower them. IMO Canada is very beatable, especially for a team like USA or even Serbia.

Tier 1
USA
Germany

Tier 2
Canada
Serbia
France

But who knows.

I don't see how Germany is on the same tier as the US.

Yeah, lol at Germany and US being on the same tier. They have already beat the German team and that was without Durant.

How is the center position weak when team USA has 3 of the 5 best centers. Other than Wemby and Joker, who is better than Embiid, Anthony, and Bam?

We barely beat them and needed LeBron's heroics to pull it off. The game could've easily gone either way. Talent wise, we're clearly ahead of them but we also were at the World Cup as well (despite a clearly worse and less balanced team). As we all know, that's hardly everything. Germany has familiarity, cohesiveness and very good coaching (ironically by a Canadian) going for them. Right now, they are in the same tier as we are until we prove otherwise.

[Edrees]

I don't see how Germany is on the same tier as the US.

Yeah, lol at Germany and US being on the same tier. They have already beat the German team and that was without Durant.

How is the center position weak when team USA has 3 of the 5 best centers. Other than Wemby and Joker, who is better than Embiid, Anthony, and Bam?

We barely beat them and needed LeBron's heroics to pull it off. The game could've easily gone either way. Talent wise, we're clearly ahead of them but we also were at the World Cup as well (despite a clearly worse and less balanced team). As we all know, that's hardly everything. Germany has familiarity, cohesiveness and very good coaching (ironically by a Canadian) going for them. Right now, they are in the same tier as we are until we prove otherwise.

Saying we were more talented than germany now and the world cup is like saying both Michael Jordan and Bronny James are better at basketball than me. Technically that is true, but think about how meaningless that statement is when the chasm is so big.

Instead of Kessler, Cam Johnson, Bobby Portis and Austin reaves, you have Tatum, Holiday and Embiid or maybe even Curry as the worst players on the olympic team. The German difference isn't even close to that with them now vs their world cup team.