FIBA World Cup

[SmartWentCrazy]

Just watched the game, here are my observations:

- I miss Aron Baynes, but man does he just lack touch on offense.

- Kemba was the best player on the court. His ability to switch speeds this game really stood out to me. His shooting stats were a bit misleading [he had 1 end of clock heave, Turner tipped in two shots that were going to go in, taking advantage of the lax offensive goaltending rules in international play]

- Donovan Mitchell does not have good creation instincts. He’s unbelievable at scoring the ball, but when he was the sole guard on the court he just didnt look to create for others. He played good defense.

- Joe Harris played okay. Struggles when trying to do too much but gives good effort and is a solid role player for the team.

- Jaylen played much better than I thought he would've by looking at the stats before watching. Played solid defense and made smart plays. He seems to have added some muscle this offseason, which has helped as Pop has played him at the 4 a lot. He rebounded the hell out of the ball and was very strong in transition.

- Myles Turner was the second best player today. His game is perfect for international ball and it showed. Very impressive on the glass as well.

- Kyle Kuzma has some terrible BBIQ. He made at least 3 bonehead, unforced TO’s and forced multiple shots instead of passing to the wide open man. He stroked the hell out of the ball today.

- Tatum has flashed fantastic playmaking potential. He was clearly the better creation option when Mitchell was the sole guard on the floor. He didnt force shots and really stroked it well.

- Plumlee isnt talented but is super athletic and played hard. Would love to add him to our team if at all positive.

- Middleton played like ****. Unimpressed by him this summer. Think he let up after getting paid.

-Barnes was wholly unimpressive.

-Lopez was too.

[Fencer reregistered]

..and he’s Nigerian. Same as Aminu.

I imagine he'd be welcome to play for his ancestral country, just like a lot of other guys are. Chris Kaman, for example, got dual German citizenship so he could play for their team even though his most recent German ancestors were great grandparents. But especially in this politically fraught era, I wouldn't call an African-American "African" or "Nigerian" until I knew he'd used the term first (if then), and I certainly wouldn't call Nigeria "his country".

As a first gen African American, the overwhelming majority are very proud of their roots. Obviously, we don't like when the words "African (particular annoying because it doesn't acknowledge a specific country)" or "Nigerian" are used to make us seem other/foreign (or perpetuate African stereotypes). And we also don't like (as you pointed out) when we're made to feel like this country somehow isn't wholly ours.

But for your future reference, we love talking about our heritage and where our family is from! And we also appreciate your empathy!

Exactly the distinctions I was drawing! And one reason for my mildness is that there are some ethnic groups in which it IS at least somewhat common to identify without the "-American" suffix, e.g. Irish or Italian. But I'm not aware of it being common among any ethnic group that still feels it's being discriminated against, except in cases where one clearly can be both an unhyphenated group member and an American without any possibility of conflict, e.g. "Puerto Rican" or certain religions.

[return2glory]

Multiple Celtic fan posters: I don't think Smart should be named captain of the Celtics, he's not mature or good enough.

Greg Popovich: Names Smart one of the 3 captains for team USA, despite not yet playing.

That's about right.

This is FIBA. Let’s not get carried away. And Smart has shown signs of not being able to keep his emotions in check.

If the NBA teams were allowed to have 3 captains, most Celtic fans would have no issues with Smart as one of the team captains.

But we have Kemba and Kemba is a leader on and off the court, not to mention a great player.

[Parliament10]

Multiple Celtic fan posters: I don't think Smart should be named captain of the Celtics, he's not mature or good enough.

Greg Popovich: Names Smart one of the 3 captains for team USA, despite not yet playing.

That's about right.

This is FIBA. Let’s not get carried away. And Smart has shown signs of not being able to keep his emotions in check.

If the NBA teams were allowed to have 3 captains, most Celtic fans would have no issues with Smart as one of the team captains.

But we have Kemba and Kemba is a leader on and off the court, not to mention a great player.

Smart has been a bonehead, in the past. But, that was the past. He was younger then.
Smart is much more mature. And he is the oldest tenured Celtic.

Granted, that Kemba is a good leader, and a great player. But, he has yet to play for the Celtics.
It's just not time for Kemba, yet.

[ParticleMan]

i'd vote for smart as captain. but being a co-captain with kemba like on team USA would also be fine.

smart has done some not-smart things in the past. but beign a team captain works both ways. when you have that title, people look up to you, especially a team with a lot of young guys. often that encourages the captain to be more mature, knowing that guys are looking up to you. smart is definitely a lot more mature than he was a couple years ago.

[Fencer reregistered]

i'd vote for smart as captain. but being a co-captain with kemba like on team USA would also be fine.

smart has done some not-smart things in the past. but beign a team captain works both ways. when you have that title, people look up to you, especially a team with a lot of young guys. often that encourages the captain to be more mature, knowing that guys are looking up to you. smart is definitely a lot more mature than he was a couple years ago.

That theory worked for Pierce.

[Fencer reregistered]

You know who those two-handed side-arm passes Tatum throws make me think of? Or that high post/elbow fidgeting before a (probably) shot or (possibly) pass? ... Kobe.

[cloverleaf]

6 C's in the fiba world cup, that will make them ready for training camp. Could have been 8 if Kanter was allowed, and Semi played for his country.

Tacko Fall chose to focus on making the C's roster in camp otherwise make that 9.

Or perhaps if Hayward had let it be known that he was interested?

Hayward actually let it be known earlier this offseason that he wasnt interested.

RIght. That was my point. In talent he could well have qualified.

[ballup]

I wouldn't put much stock on who starts in the exhibition games. Pop is more likely tinkering with different lineups for future use.

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[31to6]

I wouldn't put much stock on who starts in the exhibition games. Pop is more likely tinkering with different lineups for future use.

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He’s balancing his scorers. Hopefully his young padwan Brad is taking notes.

[Parliament10]

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[threrf23]

I wouldn't put much stock on who starts in the exhibition games. Pop is more likely tinkering with different lineups for future use.

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He’s balancing his scorers. Hopefully his young padwan Brad is taking notes.

When a guy like IT proudly proclaims that he won't come off anyone's bench, I always wonder what Manu Ginobili thinks of it.

[return2glory]

i'd vote for smart as captain. but being a co-captain with kemba like on team USA would also be fine.

smart has done some not-smart things in the past. but beign a team captain works both ways. when you have that title, people look up to you, especially a team with a lot of young guys. often that encourages the captain to be more mature, knowing that guys are looking up to you. smart is definitely a lot more mature than he was a couple years ago.

Come to think of it, it doesn’t really matter since Brad has had a team captain only his first year in Boston. It doesn’t believe in having team captains.

I’m just glad this is going to be a fun team to watch this year.

[Parliament10]

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[Shak_Celts]

i'd vote for smart as captain. but being a co-captain with kemba like on team USA would also be fine.

smart has done some not-smart things in the past. but beign a team captain works both ways. when you have that title, people look up to you, especially a team with a lot of young guys. often that encourages the captain to be more mature, knowing that guys are looking up to you. smart is definitely a lot more mature than he was a couple years ago.

Come to think of it, it doesn’t really matter since Brad has had a team captain only his first year in Boston. It doesn’t believe in having team captains.

I’m just glad this is going to be a fun team to watch this year.

he didn't want it that season either but rondo forced it IIRC.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

How mad are Jazz fans going to be when Kemba, Marcus, Jaylen and Tatum recruit Donovan Mitchell to the Celtics? Lol

[Fencer reregistered]

How mad are Jazz fans going to be when Kemba, Marcus, Jaylen and Tatum recruit Donovan Mitchell to the Celtics? Lol

Not realistic ... but the closest thing to a realistic version of the scenario involves Hayward being sent back in trade.

Turner, on the other hand ...

[Parliament10]

Box Score: USA vs. Australia - 8/24/19 - 12 a.m. EDT
https://www.usab.com/news-events/live-stats/2019/mnt/box-score-mnt-vs-aus-2.aspx

[Parliament10]

Looks like Marcus Smart is Starting tonight/today.

[zoyathedestroya]

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