Official Eurobasket 2013 Thread

[MilesTeg]

Ajinça is so much better than he was a few years ago, what a beast. If he gets another chance in the NBA, he's going to make his team very happy!

[HB2]

Great game between France and Latvia (102:91) although Latvia had no chance of winning it. On top of brutal advantage inside, France suddenly decided to become all-star shooters and also go 19/21 from charity stripe, any and all hopes were extinguished by refs who in addition to brutal physical advantage also allowed to go over the back and push off.... seems that Latvian pf got his shoulder dislocated at on of such no-call rebound battles.

but still, who knows how would have it ended had refs not decided to swallow their whistle on a fast break where Latvians could have come back from -22 to -7 (all withing third quarter) and instead decided to award a phantom technical on Latvian bench after the no call :/ ... even then Skele could have carried the momentum and made it -6 with 7:30 to go had he not slipped and injured himself ;( ... crap with him and the starting pf out, they will have a tough time with Belgium tomorrow, even if Lithuania wins Ukraine

[Ganji]

Ajinça is so much better than he was a few years ago, what a beast. If he gets another chance in the NBA, he's going to make his team very happy!

that said, Latvian bigs can't defend, but I agree he looks great in this tournament. Was fun game to watch, some sick dunks and plays for both teams....

[JV4MVP]

Ajinça is so much better than he was a few years ago, what a beast. If he gets another chance in the NBA, he's going to make his team very happy!

I don't think Ajinca will have another NBA chance because is good only when a play is set up for him. And at the ISO level he still isn't good enough.

Ajinca would be better off if he was a hustle player, put back scorer, rebounder, etc. but he is not. He plays well in a set offense that targets him but no NBA team will do that for him when they have better alternatives. I'm sure he can sneak into the league at the minimum, for his size, but only as an 9+ man. I'm not going to consider that an accomplishment. The guy's game developed too late in his career for his size. He fiddled away with his gimmick close jumper in Dallas and Toronto. To wait for a C to be 24/25 to finally finish strong around the basket is too late.

[MilesTeg]

He wasn't just good in the last game. He's been great all tournament.

I think the biggest thing stopping him now, is that people remember how bad he was a few years ago. But it's not the same player. He's actually playing to his potential now, and as a 2m20 freak with long arms, good athleticism and great hands, his potential sure is something.

Ajinça is so much better than he was a few years ago, what a beast. If he gets another chance in the NBA, he's going to make his team very happy!

I don't think Ajinca will have another NBA chance because is good only when a play is set up for him. And at the ISO level he still isn't good enough.

Ajinca would be better off if he was a hustle player, put back scorer, rebounder, etc. but he is not. He plays well in a set offense that targets him but no NBA team will do that for him when they have better alternatives. I'm sure he can sneak into the league at the minimum, for his size, but only as an 9+ man. I'm not going to consider that an accomplishment. The guy's game developed too late in his career for his size. He fiddled away with his gimmick close jumper in Dallas and Toronto. To wait for a C to be 24/25 to finally finish strong around the basket is too late.

I think you're mistaken. They're not playing pick and pops with him anymore. He's not shooting outside, except for the occasional 3m jumper when the defense is helping on someone, which he never seems to miss.

What he's doing is exactly what you want him to do, take rebounds, score on putbacks, catch the ball inside and finish strongly. He's also done a couple isos, with success.

[sca]

Capture this

[Ganji]

latvia france highlights, some nice dunks here....
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tvxPuBVCHU[/youtube]

[Nuntius]

This is what happens when you think you can win with Marc Gasol being the only big on the roster.

Xavier Rey is really, really bad.

Well, Xavi Rey is a serviceable big in domestic league, but not a top big man. He's not that bad, but if he has to play more than 10-12 minutes, it shows up. Gasol's foul trouble was key, and you could tell from the start it was going to happen. Sisibilio is spot on, Pablo Aguilar is on his first appearance with NT, and he should've got more playing time against Greece, but Orenga doesn't trust him yet.

Well, Xavi Rey may be serviceable in the ACB but in no way, shape or form is he serviceable in the Eurobasket level. Offensively, he failed to catch the ball multiple times and defensively he seemed more keen trying to kick the ball away than to strip it with his hands.

Aguilar should play more and it's not only him. You have some very good young bigs. You have Daniel Diez, Sebastian Saiz waiting in the wings and in the future Juan Hernangomez will join the fray as well. You have quality in your U20 and U18 rosters. You should use it a bit more.

[Nuntius]

Yeah, that makes sense.

Why not? You don't have to score the FT if you don't want to, and you get possession.

Hey, I never said that it didn't make sense. I said that it did.

[Nuntius]

Gentile is really good and the future for their national team. Not sure who to even compare him to. He's a very unique player.

Maybe Bodiroga?

[LuDux1]

Reigndmo
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77JxaLEiDc[/youtube]

[Apollo64]

I think teams that are left with only one legit center in the roster (Greece, Italy, Spain for example) are in big trouble for the rest of the tournament.

[JV4MVP]

Reigndmo

Spoiler:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c77JxaLEiDc[/youtube]

☑ Defensive Awareness
☑ Steal
☑ Ball Handling
☑ Dunk Finish
☑ Dramatizing the fall

[Beorn]

I think teams that are left with only one legit center in the roster (Greece, Italy, Spain for example) are in big trouble for the rest of the tournament.

At least one of them won't make it to the Quarterfinals IMO

[Toxicity]

Greece in big troubles against Slovenia... Dragic and Lakovic are doing some damage at PG position...

[CoachKobe]

Greece in big troubles against Slovenia... Dragic and Lakovic are doing some damage at PG position...

Dragic killing Greece, damn.

[Rasho Brezec]

Joksimovic drank Spanoulis' milkshake. Then Lakovic started guarding him.

[Beorn]

We almost stole the match at the end, but a missed 3pt and a couple of timely turnovers sealed the game.
In order to advance, we need to win Croatia and a win of Italy vs Spain, a highly unlikely combination.

Props to Slovenia, they outhustled and outrun us for 3 quarters.

[Rasho Brezec]

I think Italy has a good chance of winning against Spain if they get hot again. Both teams are small.

[Toxicity]

I think Italy has a good chance of winning against Spain if they get hot again. Both teams are small.

It's sad to say this but for Italy it's better than also Spain advances to the QF because there will be more chances to qualify for the next year World Championships (Top 6 Teams will qualify for WC but if Spain is in the QF it's Top 7, so one more spot available)... so it's possible italian coach will rest some key players and Spain will have a much more easier job... and arriving 3rd or 4th in the F group is not that different (you can face Serbia, France or Lithuania but you can't know since Serbia-France will be played later than Italy-Spain)...