State of the Union. Team Canada Basketball. (FIBA Americas Aug.31-Sep.15)

Son Goku 25 · Post #2481 » by **Son Goku 25** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 3:12 pm

Not impressed

Left Side Drive · Post #2482 » by **Left Side Drive** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 3:29 pm

CUBA vs CANADA is a must win game, they don't seem to be on our level but we still need to prove it on the court.

Also, really want to see Cory Joseph do well as the Raptor fan inside of me is still wondering if he is even a second string caliber PG in the NBA. I get that he played for the Spurs and had a good run playing when Parker was out but still that isn't much to go off of.

Mikistan · Post #2483 » by **Mikistan** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 3:35 pm

Left Side Drive wrote:CUBA vs CANADA is a must win game, they don't seem to be on our level but we still need to prove it on the court.

Also, really want to see Cory Joseph do well as the Raptor fan inside of me is still wondering if he is even a second string caliber PG in the NBA. I get that he played for the Spurs and had a good run playing when Parker was out but still that isn't much to go off of.

He had a very pretty reverse layup last game but apart from that I'm getting a bit of that feeling at times. Even his defensive stance, he seems like his legs are up too straight while his back is hunched over a lot.
Still need to watch more tho.

Post #2484 » by **Undefeated** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 3:41 pm

CoJo's on-the-ball defense has been good especially he never melting on them.

Darknemo2000 · Post #2485 » by **Darknemo2000** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:07 pm

Well you should beat Cuba as they are not on the same level. But Argentina is aging team. If you cant beat them then beating higher tier Europe teams during WC would be out of the question as well.

nahom1319 · Post #2486 » by **nahom1319** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:12 pm

Undefeated wrote:CoJo's on-the-ball defense has been good especially he never melting on them.

never melting? is that a new term?

Post #2487 » by **Undefeated** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:14 pm

nahom1319 wrote:
Undefeated wrote:CoJo's on-the-ball defense has been good especially he never melting on them.

never melting? is that a new term?

It's a term I learned from Shaka Smart and Kevin Eastman from their clinic. It just means not dying on the pick.

Crazy-Canuck · Post #2488 » by **Crazy-Canuck** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:16 pm

Triano will find a way to keep Cuba close. The Cubans have faith in him.

mojo13 · Post #2489 » by **mojo13** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:35 pm

Darknemo2000 wrote:Well you should beat Cuba as they are not on the same level. But Argentina is aging team. If you cant beat them then beating higher tier Europe teams during WC would be out of the question as well.

Keep in mind this is supposedly a quickly improving team as our players mature. Last year we handled the likes of Ukraine, Georgia, Bosnia, Turkey and Angola fairly well and hung tight with Serbia and Italy all while we were without a full roster. We lost badly to Spain and Croatia.

I agree we can't hang right now with the top tier of Spain, France, Greece, Lithuania, but a year or two from now - who knows? Even now I think we can certainly hang with second and third tier European teams.

People sure have their confidence shattered by a 7 point loss to the 3rd rank team in World. I'll wait until we have a few more losses to get rattled.

By the way - not sure if anyone watched Mexico vs DR. I am telling you right now we don't want to catch them in the Semi's. The refs thought they were officiating a soccer match at Azteca.

Post #2490 » by **Patman** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:39 pm

Darknemo2000 wrote:Well you should beat Cuba as they are not on the same level. But Argentina is aging team. If you cant beat them then beating higher tier Europe teams during WC would be out of the question as well.

Well, there are about 15 to 20 countries that can all beat each other on a given day. Just because you lose to one does not mean you can't beat another.

Mr.Raptorsingh · Post #2491 » by **Mr.Raptorsingh** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:42 pm

Does Cuba have a Shaq on their team like Argentina did?

slothrop8 · Post #2492 » by **slothrop8** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 4:47 pm

I do not understand why we played all 12 guys when we could have tightened the rotation to win yesterday and rested guys in what will likely be a blowout against Cuba today.

I do not understand why Powell and Nicholson - two of the 5 best players on the team - both played limited minutes.

I do not understand why Sacre came in at crunch time and ended two critical possessions when the game was in doubt with an 18 foot jumper and an iso post-up.

I'm not panicking though - right the ship today against Cuba and then see where we're at vs Venezuela Wednesday. If they lose to Venezuela then I'll panic.

frumble · Post #2493 » by **frumble** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 5:31 pm

slothrop8 wrote:I do not understand why we played all 12 guys when we could have tightened the rotation to win yesterday and rested guys in what will likely be a blowout against Cuba today.

I do not understand why Powell and Nicholson - two of the 5 best players on the team - both played limited minutes.

I do not understand why Sacre came in at crunch time and ended two critical possessions when the game was in doubt with an 18 foot jumper and an iso post-up.

I'm not panicking though - right the ship today against Cuba and then see where we're at vs Venezuela Wednesday. If they lose to Venezuela then I'll panic.

I think they brought in Sacre in the 2nd half because they had no answer for Scola and thought they would try Sacre.
And, as painful as it was to see him taking those shots, we outscored Arg 16-12 during his limited time on the floor.

I think we will see roughly that distribution of big man minutes going forward. Olynyk and Bennett are going to be getting about 20-25 each, leaving only about 8-10 each for Ejim, Powell, Nicholson, and Sacre. Maybe a few more for the other three if Sacre doesn't play. I don't think the staff sees any clear separation among the other three yet.

I hope Wiggins and Joseph get a lot of rest today. Provided we win, the result will not carry through to 2nd round, and margin of victory will not matter.

dTox · Post #2494 » by **dTox** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 6:09 pm

The Co-Jo signing was questionable when it happened, but after watching him play for team Canada makes his contract look atrocious.

Darknemo2000 · Post #2495 » by **Darknemo2000** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 6:15 pm

I dont think its possible for Canada to loose tonight but its true that Co-Jo was a little bit disappointing. On the other hand Olynyk looked just atrocious specially his D.

maddskizzle · Post #2496 » by **maddskizzle** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 6:19 pm

Is there an online stream for the game vs Cuba today?

UcanUwill · Post #2497 » by **UcanUwill** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 6:19 pm

CoJo never looked good in FIBA play. We will see is he really better suited for NBA player, or he is just a product of Spurs system.

IMAN5 · Post #2498 » by **IMAN5** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 6:30 pm

anj wrote:
IMAN5 wrote:I didn't watch the game but seeing the stat line Scola put up makes me really mad that Thompson let his country down. He would've been someone who could've guarded and banged with Scola.

How did he let us down? He hasn't signed a contract yet. I wouldn't be playing without a contract.

He already got a more than fair offer many times and his agent keeps pushing for even more. Tristan Thompson should get JV money (which has been offered and then some) not Max dollars. If he accepted the more than fair offer, he would be a very rich kid, have financial security, and be playing for team Canada.

C_Money · Post #2499 » by **C_Money** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 6:39 pm

Mikistan wrote:
Left Side Drive wrote:CUBA vs CANADA is a must win game, they don't seem to be on our level but we still need to prove it on the court.

Also, really want to see Cory Joseph do well as the Raptor fan inside of me is still wondering if he is even a second string caliber PG in the NBA. I get that he played for the Spurs and had a good run playing when Parker was out but still that isn't much to go off of.

He had a very pretty reverse layup last game but apart from that I'm getting a bit of that feeling at times. Even his defensive stance, he seems like his legs are up too straight while his back is hunched over a lot.
Still need to watch more tho.

I've never been very high on Cory Joseph. He's a good defender but very limited offensively. This board massively overrated him thinking he was going to take over Lowry's spot.

mojo13 · Post #2500 » by **mojo13** » Wed Sep 2, 2015 6:46 pm

UcanUwill wrote:CoJo never looked good in FIBA play. We will see is he really better suited for NBA player, or he is just a product of Spurs system.

Have you ever watched him play FIBA prior to these past 5 games? That comment leads me to believe you haven't. He was our best player in the 2013 FIBA Americas.

I don't really read the other threads here, but the posts on this thread sure make Raptors fans look to be haunted by self loathing and a serious inferiority complex. So much self-hate for both the Raptors and Team Canada. Maybe it's just the angry goons that burst out after a set-back. Anyone know if a good Team Canada thread hosted somewhere else?