2024 Olympic BASKETBALL Thread (pt.5: Men's Semifinals Thursday August 8)

[stoo]

also, why there are two posts on previous page talking about usa best 5 and having embiid there over davis or bam

[knicksfan974]

Lot of people seem to be ready to write off France vs. Germany, but when I watch Germany play and look at their roster, I just don't see how they would be so unbeatable for this French team. Picking France to advance to the Final.

[Doranku]

Will the French coach have the balls to bench Rudy again? They can win if he does, otherwise it's looking like a USA/Germany gold medal match.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

In all seriousness is Gobert the biggest fraud we’ve seen? Hes got like what, 4 DPOYs now? With those accolades you could argue as the best defensive player ever when in reality he is benched in the playoffs because of bad defense and not being able to keep up on that end and now getting benched in the Olympics. He’s a sure thing for the Hall of fame at this point too, it’s an absolute travesty guys like Smart, Jaren Jackson and Gobert (4 times) have DPOYs and Bam doesnt

[Mavrelous]

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[SamBridges]

Lot of people seem to be ready to write off France vs. Germany, but when I watch Germany play and look at their roster, I just don't see how they would be so unbeatable for this French team. Picking France to advance to the Final.

didn't they beat France by 20+ just a few days ago? yes I know this is the knockout stages and it will be closer this time around especially with the refs

[Whateva]

Germany will play better but because of the refs I expect a french win.

[FollowTheSound]

In all seriousness is Gobert the biggest fraud we’ve seen? Hes got like what, 4 DPOYs now? With those accolades you could argue as the best defensive player ever when in reality he is benched in the playoffs because of bad defense and not being able to keep up on that end and now getting benched in the Olympics. He’s a sure thing for the Hall of fame at this point too, it’s an absolute travesty guys like Smart, Jaren Jackson and Gobert (4 times) have DPOYs and Bam doesnt

And you guys (maybe not you idk, but most people here) tried to say Wemby wasn't a better defender...

[FollowTheSound]

Putting NBA and Euroleague players on the same floor and making comparisons has been very eye-opening
Dudes like Micic, Calathes, Papagiannis, Voigtmann etc all made a name for themselves in the Euroleague but they looked like old men compared to NBA athletes. And those could move well like Petrusev couldn't really do anything else.

Euroleague needs to boost their budget and bring better players urgently. But to find the money they need more tickets, to get more tickets they need better players, and to get better players they need more money. It's a vicious circle.

NBA wins. **** rules, **** refs, but the talent level is just monumental.

Micic was super solid after getting traded to the hornets, dude is a legit great backup PG in the NBA

[FollowTheSound]

Putting NBA and Euroleague players on the same floor and making comparisons has been very eye-opening
Dudes like Micic, Calathes, Papagiannis, Voigtmann etc all made a name for themselves in the Euroleague but they looked like old men compared to NBA athletes. And those could move well like Petrusev couldn't really do anything else.

Euroleague needs to boost their budget and bring better players urgently. But to find the money they need more tickets, to get more tickets they need better players, and to get better players they need more money. It's a vicious circle.

NBA wins. **** rules, **** refs, but the talent level is just monumental.

its never gonna happen.

i agree with your observation of course. the level between top euroleague guys and nba players is major. but in europe there is not much money going into basketball. european players get a good solid foundation in europe. and some of the exceptional players move over to the nba to earn the big bucks.

there is still a very big difference between the NBA and the rest of the world. sports is first and foremost still seen as competition and the NBA more and more moves towards entertainment. Soccer is so dominant over here all the big companys and rich people support soccer. people here dont buy jerseys or spend huge ticket prices for basketball, companies dont really prioritize advertising in basketball. the TV coverage is terrible, i bet the leagues dont really get much TV money. Basketball will never be a big thing over here. its soccer and only soccer, and then there is many other sports before basketball like tennis, hockey, regular athletics.

i think overall basketball climbed the rankings the last 20 years for sure. but its still not nearly as popular as many other sports.
even after winning gold at the world cup, it did not do that much for germany. germans here still dont wanna watch the basketball games for the olympics for example let alone regular seasonal team ball.
and then we didnt even talk about how different the NBA is economically. its a completely different set up. no franchising, no salary caps, etc.

it would take like a jokic, luka giannis all going back as big names to europe to get some more eyes. but they are not gonna leave 300-500 million contracts behind to play for peanuts in europe. besides every players' dream is to go to the nba, so all the players that have a chance will do it.

i wish i could be saying something different, but unfortunately i dont see it happening.

Basketball is 2nd or 3rd biggest sport depending on what list you see. Either basketball or cricket. Just cause it ain't popular in germany doesn't mean people in China or the philippines aren't fanatics of the sport. It's the biggest sport in those 2 countries.

[3ammy3uck3ts]

In all seriousness is Gobert the biggest fraud we’ve seen? Hes got like what, 4 DPOYs now? With those accolades you could argue as the best defensive player ever when in reality he is benched in the playoffs because of bad defense and not being able to keep up on that end and now getting benched in the Olympics. He’s a sure thing for the Hall of fame at this point too, it’s an absolute travesty guys like Smart, Jaren Jackson and Gobert (4 times) have DPOYs and Bam doesnt

And you guys (maybe not you idk, but most people here) tried to say Wemby wasn't a better defender...

Wemby is definitely better, that being said, I also don’t think you should be able to win DPOY if your team is a bottom 10 defensive team in the league. When they start winning at a high level he’ll win plenty of DPOYs I’m sure

[ReddoverKobe]

KD is the best Olympian in basketball. he deserves a start for the rest of the Olympics.

Sure, but where is Lebron, the best player on the team and in the olympics?

KD is the best player on the team and in the Olympics.

No egos should be on this roster and Lebron shouldn't feel entitled to start every game. Neither should Steph.

Its been Lebron, its not close. This is so strange.

[Wigginstime]

Serbia is good, I think it will be a close game initially but their problem is at some point in the game - the US sending waves of talent over whelms them and they gas out. If I’m their coach, Jokic goes all 40.

I feel like Serbia was to do this.

Serbia played US even when Jokic was on the court during the group round, but the US was +26 when Jokic sat. Even if Jokic is playing terrible, his presence alone completely changes how the US team approaches the game.

[durden_tyler]

France just +4.5 dogs vs Germany. A very curious line— would have thought it’s going to be higher and maybe Vegas seeing through the FIBA refs factor now too. LOL

Mad mad value for Germany, but equally scary too. That’s almost a pick ‘em in the moneyline too. Initially had Germany, but having my doubts now seeing this line.


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[TheNG]

Sure, but where is Lebron, the best player on the team and in the olympics?

KD is the best player on the team and in the Olympics.

No egos should be on this roster and Lebron shouldn't feel entitled to start every game. Neither should Steph.

Its been Lebron, its not close. This is so strange.

No.
The best player in the Olympics is Jokic.
The best player for USA is KD.

[durden_tyler]

Also, US are 17.5 favorites vs Serbia— no surprise here, similar line to their friendly and first matchup odds.


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[azcatz11]

Draymond green comments on gobert situation “gobert-gate”

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[Sedale Threatt]

Putting NBA and Euroleague players on the same floor and making comparisons has been very eye-opening
Dudes like Micic, Calathes, Papagiannis, Voigtmann etc all made a name for themselves in the Euroleague but they looked like old men compared to NBA athletes. And those could move well like Petrusev couldn't really do anything else.

Euroleague needs to boost their budget and bring better players urgently. But to find the money they need more tickets, to get more tickets they need better players, and to get better players they need more money. It's a vicious circle.

NBA wins. **** rules, **** refs, but the talent level is just monumental.

It's just hard to compare given that the NBA effectively strip mines Europe and the rest of the world for talent. Taking leagues out of it, and looking at pure ability, the fact that the NBA has gone from virtually zero foreign participation to now approaching a full third (I think that's what Silver said recently) in 30-plus years, with some of the very top players, is a massive achievement.

But as you note, there will never be any way to dent the enormous advantage the NBA has in terms of finance and prestige. NBA salaries are already insane, and they're about to get even crazier with the new TV deals. (We're going to see perfectly average role players making $10-20 million per year.) And TV money is ultimately what league wealth in any sport comes down to.

I remember a few of the usual suspects crowing about some Greek shipping magnates who were about to start poaching players when Josh Childress headed over. But that was always a pipe dream. Nothing's ever, ever going to beat TV money. And that's before you get into pure competition, where 9 out of 10 players are always going to want to test themselves against the best.

[UcanUwill]

NBA players been taken out of rotation many times. Most are not as accomplished as Gobert tho, but if happens all the time. France has Victor and Euroleague first team center on same team, stuff like that can happen, hatters just lining to pile on Gobert for a minor thing. Lessort played better, that is it, the whole story....

[Mavrelous]

I'm crying

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