FIBA World Cup

[Slartibartfast]

I like Team USAs bigs. Lopez and Turner with devastating length/shooting combos. Plumlee can rebound and pass. Exactly the kind of bigs you want for the wing-heavy line-ups they are running.

The big weakness is the lack of a floor general with Lowry gone and Walker/Mitchell the reigning big names. Very dependent on those guards not getting tunnel vision and making good set-up decisions out of PNR. Middleton will be very important in support with his all-around game because of the playmaking limitations of the rest of the wing core.

[Slartibartfast]

Tatum with 2 assists in the last 2 minutes. The first one was a great pass. The 2nd one was a good past with great court awareness and decision making.

Those are good signs from Tatum.

He followed those up with some pretty bad ones on the drive and dish. He's quite good when his head is up and he's balanced. He just tends to put his head down on drives and loses a lot of vision.

[Parliament10]

I like Team USAs bigs. Lopez and Turner with devastating length/shooting combos. Plumlee can rebound and pass. Exactly the kind of bigs you want for the wing-heavy line-ups they are running.

The big weakness is the lack of a floor general with Lowry gone and Walker/Mitchell the reigning big names. Very dependent on those guards not getting tunnel vision and making good set-up decisions out of PNR. Middleton will be very important in support with his all-around game because of the playmaking limitations of the rest of the wing core.

Yeah, the loss of Lowry does hurt. You notice the difference, in leadership.

[return2glory]

Walker going hard and playing strong defense on Gasol with the game in hand. That’s one of the main differences Celtic fans will see between Kemba and the player that got outplayed by George Hill in the playoffs and gave up on the team.

[Parliament10]

That was a bit of tough game. Spain is #2 in the World.
We can't let nobody get close to us.

[return2glory]

That was a bit of tough game. Spain is #2 in the World.
We can't let nobody get close to us.

That was. They played though defense and forced a lot of TOs. They kept coming the whole game.

[return2glory]

To me, Kemba and Mitchell were the best players tonight for team USA.

Brown had a really good game. Much needed. He should have gotten more minutes.

Tatum didn’t shoot well but still had a good all around game.

[return2glory]

Box score

https://www.usab.com/usavesp2019

[zoyathedestroya]

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In totally related World Cuppy news, Dancing Bear heading back to China.

[cloverleaf]

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In totally related World Cuppy news, Dancing Bear heading back to China.

Kemba filled the boxscore while he was in there, but was also a -4 to Fox's +10, though Fox was only in there for 6 minutes. (Didn't see the game, was that in part because JB when off for 9 points in his 9 minutes?) Looks like Gasol really hurt them.

[SmartWentCrazy]

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In totally related World Cuppy news, Dancing Bear heading back to China.

Kemba filled the boxscore while he was in there, but was also a -4 to Fox's +10, though Fox was only in there for 6 minutes. (Didn't see the game, was that in part because JB when off for 9 points in his 9 minutes?) Looks like Gasol really hurt them.

+/- wasnt a true indicator of performance for either.

Fox had a bad game that was masked by his teammates playing well. He forced a some bad looks and seemed to be pressing.

Kemba had an awesome game and was victimized by playing with some guys who did not have good games. My only criticism for him would be for him to be more assertive but its not his fault that Joe Harris and Harrison Barnes tried to do too much and ended up really playing poorly.

[SmartWentCrazy]

Here are my thoughts from the game, if anyone cares:

- Kemba was the best player on the court last night. He was totally in control and seemed to let his teammates pick their spots. I’d like for him to be a bit more assertive, but fully understand why he wasn't.

- Mitchell looked really good. My only criticism of him is that he still plays like he’s on the Jazz sometimes and forces some pretty bad looks— he needs to understand his teammates are a hell of a lot more competent than what he’s used to which would really help his game grow.

- Middleton looked fantastic tonight. Seems like he finally played himself into shape and was in mid-season form. He made some poor decisions with his playmaking but he shot the ball well and played good defense.

- Barnes sucked. Rarely noticed him out there and when I did it was usually for something he did wrong.

- Plumlee was active and flying around out there. Played some solid defense. Problem is that he just isnt as talented as you’d like. His effort could make up for it vs most of the competition, but he struggles when he tries to do more than the basics.

- Kuzma has a terrible BBIQ. Dude is selfish and a straight chucker and just makes some totally bonehead plays. He definitely has talent, but really needs to up his awareness.

- Turner didnt have his best game. He was set up on some easy dunks which masked his stats but he had some rough TO’s. Expected more from him.

- Tatum didnt have his best game. He took it strong to the hoops, but was reckless on a few occasions. Had some great passes but then would follow it up by trying to do a little too much. Stroked the hell out of the three ball. The game seemed to be falling away from team USA before he re-entered at the end and calmed things down.

- Harris had a real bad game. Is a major defensive liability. Was hesitant to shoot the three. Tried to be a creator and failed miserably.

- Fox was okay. He forced some bad looks and tried to do a little too much. Seems like he may have bought his own hype a little bit and that Pop is trying to snuff that out of him. Still expecting big things from him once the games start.

- Brown was fantastic. Played very controlled and didnt try to do too much. If he plays like this next season our team will be very good. Was one of the last wings in the rotation and may be on the bubble right now. Had a big game to hopefully save his spot.

- Lopez played well. His shot should help in the tournament. He has not played heavy minutes in either of the televised scrimmages which makes me wonder about his role with the team going forward— may be a low key guy on the bubble.

- White played terribly. He’s just not talented enough for a role on this stage yet. Still bullish on him long-term and think this experience will be great for his development. Did not play in the first half and its fair to reason he will be cut if Smart is healthy.

[Gant]

Tatum appears to have improved his passing. He looked very good in that department.

Brown got the biggest bang of anyone per minutes and shots.

Kemba led both teams in rebounding and assists.

[Ben-N1ce]

Tatum air balled mid range two scrimmage in a row. At least he's shooting threes. Half his mid range last year should have been threes instead.

[3D Chess]

I'm all good with Tatum throwing TOs in an environment like this if they come when he's trying to make plays. Gotta learn it in a real game environment if he's to take that next step, might as well be in games that don't matter!

[GoCeltics123]

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[SmartWentCrazy]

Fox just pulled a Rondo

[klemen4]

So 13 players left for 12 spots.

The last cut? One of wings for sure.

Harris? Barnes? Kuzma?

[SuperDeluxe]

So 13 players left for 12 spots.

The last cut? One of wings for sure.

Harris? Barnes? Kuzma?

At this pace, there may not be any cuts. The question is, who's the next to withdraw?

On an unrelated note, here's Larry and Paul with some other guy.

[Parliament10]

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Wow. Plot thickens.
Only 1 more drop left, to get down to 12.

Now, here's a question.:
What if they drop below 12, while in competition?
Do they get to Add an Alternate(s)?