Team Canada Basketball Thread V2.0

[Darknemo2000]

No way we can hold back JV

They have Sabonis at the 4 too right? loll could be a rough one

Sabonis at the 4 is working more against them than for them. He and JV keep getting in each others way. Besides lithuanian guards are really bad so I think that game is doable.

[username1]

Lithuania can easily finish 3rd in the group with their inconsistent and unimpressive play they displayed so far. I'm really sceptical about this team so far.
Canada hasn't played a bad match today. Its just that aussies were better. With some tactical preparation, Canada winning against Lithuania is definitely doable.

[young11a]

Of course that scrubb delladova has the game of his life against us

[UcanUwill]

Lithuania's problem is that they play pretty dumb and straightforward basketball. Just throw the ball to Jonas or Domantas inside and dominate the paint. They barely run any real plays for their guards, and they do have guards who can hit a shot. Their main PG Mantas Kalnietis has such a lose and terrible handle, its funny that he can protect the ball and beat pressure quite well, but he has zero ISO ability ir ability to blow by, if possession goes south and they dont make a good pass inside or big fails to set a good screen, Kalnietis has zero ability to create a shot for the team.

I really like 3 of their perimeter players - 5'10 point guard Lukas Lekavicius, 6'6 SG Marius Grigonis and 6'7 swingman Arnas Butkevicius. I think these 3 guys are the only perimeter players who play with a lot of confidence,
Lekavicius is super quick small pointguard who adds energy and unpredictability, not the best shooter or playmaker, but can exploit missmatches and is has great first step.
Grigonis overall is third best player on the team. He is great shooter and good defender. Perfect 3 and D guy who creates a bit too.
Butkevicius I wish played more, he is listed as Lithuanias 12th man, his key weakness is poor shooting ability, but he is athletic, versatile on both ends and is not afraid of anymore.

[And1Skip]

Read on Twitter

And what are the excuses for the NBA role players for not playing for Canada???

Congrats Melvin!

[RaptorHusky]

No way we can hold back JV

There's a chance - JV with Sabonis together on court. It makes Lithuania's offense play 4 on 5 'cause these two play like one. On the offence, attack JV with Pangos+Birch PnR and give a pressure on Lithuanian guards when defending. Simple like that!

[trending]

is paying wiggins to play still an option ?

[trending]

who needs jamal murray, wiggins, barrett when you got the scrubbs. honestly though what a difference powell, tt, shai would've made.

[Mattd97]

That was very frustrating. I think the major issues were the awful officiating, streaky hope and pray offense, help defence, and depth.

I think birch picking up his 3rd on an illegal screen wiping away a scrubb 3 and adding a nurse T free throw was the perfect summary of the officiating. Their bigs would set an illegal screen, an elbow to a face, and then 4 or 5 awkward steps to the basket. But birch picks up a huge foul on an illegal screen. FIBA basketball is sometimes the worst.

Birch cant shoot from outside a couple feet, but that energy around the rim really helped when we got some motion. Cause otherwise it's just hoping our 3s fall. And we need that to happen one of these two games. Instead it happened for 1 quarter. And we didnt even use the king of the pray he gets hot from 3 player weve got

One of the timeouts you heard nurse say stop helping and man I wish theyd listened. We continously gave up free looks from the 2 most efficient spots in basketball. Endless dunks/alley oops and open 3s. And we weren't helping on lebron, we were helping on slow lumbering big men. It was brutal to watch, and I couldnt stop yelling at my TV. Its one thing when bogut is backing down wiltjer in the paint (with 4 steps), it's another when ingles is driving from the arc. It killed us.

And lastly, I'm all in cheering for the guys there and we cant take away from them. But the fact that I had to watch klassen and Keane get absolutely murdered for the minutes they were out there and really really hurt our momentum.... well it sucked. They shouldn't be anywhere near this team.

[frumble]

And the lack of depth at the 5 is gonna haunt us next game too. I’m really disappointed that Powell chose not to participate. He and Birch would have been a perfect 5 situation. Klassen is unplayable.

Imagine if we just had Jamal, Olynyk and Boucher and we’d be in great shape.

who needs jamal murray, wiggins, barrett when you got the scrubbs. honestly though what a difference powell, tt, shai would've made.

Even setting aside the NBA guys, what if Bennett or Nicholson had played? One of them starting or being the first big off the bench, sliding Wiltjer down a spot and removing the need to play Klassen, could have made a big difference.

And what if XRM or Long had played? One of them getting the minutes that went to Nembhard and Kajami-Keane could also have been the difference.

We (and the media) have lamented the lack of NBA participation, but what about the fact that many of our top non-NBA guys, many of whom have been fairly dependable in the past, weren't on the invitation lists and haven't even been discussed?

Were they asked and turned the invitation down? Or were they not even asked b/c Basketball Canada was under the delusion that most of the NBA guys would play?

[And1Skip]

Damn I don’t think Lithuania’s 54 point win over Senegal helps with Canada’s chances if there’s a tie.

[Jstock12]

Damn I don’t think Lithuania’s 54 point win over Senegal helps with Canada’s chances if there’s a tie.

Canada just needs to beat Lithuania, take care of business with Senegal and wait for Lithuania's loss against Australia. It's a very realistic scenario.

[lexxus]

So Canada needs to be top 2 in this group to advance? Damn ****

[PoundTown]

Damn I don’t think Lithuania’s 54 point win over Senegal helps with Canada’s chances if there’s a tie.

Canada just needs to beat Lithuania, take care of business with Senegal and wait for Lithuania's loss against Australia. It's a very realistic scenario.

Yup, Australia matches up really well with Lithuania. Just have to beat Lithuania.

[Jstock12]

Damn I don’t think Lithuania’s 54 point win over Senegal helps with Canada’s chances if there’s a tie.

Canada just needs to beat Lithuania, take care of business with Senegal and wait for Lithuania's loss against Australia. It's a very realistic scenario.

Yup, Australia matches up really well with Lithuania. Just have to beat Lithuania.

Lithuania got decimated by Australia in the Rio Olympics 64-90. This current Lithuanian roster still has 8 players from that 2016 team, the new 4 guys are mostly bench players. The Lithuania-Canada game will decide the #2 place in the group. I think it's gonna be a nail-biter.

[TrueNorth31]

At the end of the day talent matters ( especially fully committed talent ). We kept it close until the final quarter - perhaps with the help of some junk defence ( box and 1 on Mills ? ). The 5 Aussie NBA guys were just too much for us to handle . Not only that, but the top Aussie players have been together now for 2 Olympic Quadrennial cycles and played with tight defensive rotations and crisp offensive sets when it really mattered late. It certainly shows that they've practiced hard as a team for 7-8 years.

I thought Birch and Joseph were good for us, especially Joseph who just got off a plane. Pangos, Ejim and the Scrubbs all competed hard but it shows why they are in Europe and not in the League. Somehow we need to close the talent gap, counting 2 way guys we may have 20 guys that will make an appearance in the NBA next year. We desperately need 4/5 more of them to commit to the program.

Earlier I had mocked Delly about his new shot mechanics - good on him for sticking with it he showed he's improved from 3. The Lithuanian game is huge for us as others have wisely pointed out.

[720]

So Canada needs to be top 2 in this group to advance? Damn ****

The odds of this team advancing and eventually qualifying for the olympics was low the moment our star players decided they’d rather chill at home for the summer.

[PoundTown]

At the end of the day talent matters ( especially fully committed talent ). We kept it close until the final quarter - perhaps with the help of some junk defence ( box and 1 on Mills ? ). The 5 Aussie NBA guys were just too much for us to handle . Not only that, but the top Aussie players have been together now for 2 Olympic Quadrennial cycles and played with tight defensive rotations and crisp offensive sets. It certainly shows that they've practiced hard as a team for 7-8 years.

I thought Birch and Joseph were good for us, especially Joseph who just got off a plane. Pangos, Ejim and the Scrubbs all competed hard but it shows why they are in Europe and not in the League. Somehow we need to close the talent gap, counting 2 way guys we may have 20 guys that will be in the NBA next year. We desperately need 4/5 more of them to commit to the program.

Earlier I had mocked Delly about his new shot mechanics - good on him for sticking with it he showed he's improved from 3. The Lithuanian game is huge for us as others have wisely pointed out.

I know, the opportunity is there for canada to get a an Olympic medal if there is half participation (including a core piece or two like Murray being involved) for one of the next couple of olympics. Agents and nba teams management seem to be making this increasingly difficult to imagine happening.

[TrueNorth31]

Grange's take on the game.

https://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/canada-no-margin-error-opening-fiba-world-cup-loss/

I agree the point differential could be really important and that Birch has been a bit of a revelation.

[Mirotic12]

Even setting aside the NBA guys, what if Bennett or Nicholson had played? One of them starting or being the first big off the bench, sliding Wiltjer down a spot and removing the need to play Klassen, could have made a big difference.

And what if XRM or Long had played? One of them getting the minutes that went to Nembhard and Kajami-Keane could also have been the difference.

We (and the media) have lamented the lack of NBA participation, but what about the fact that many of our top non-NBA guys, many of whom have been fairly dependable in the past, weren't on the invitation lists and haven't even been discussed?

Were they asked and turned the invitation down? Or were they not even asked b/c Basketball Canada was under the delusion that most of the NBA guys would play?

As I said here before, Klassen is a terrible scrub. Canada selecting him is ridiculous.

As for XRM...he's also a scrub. The most useless Canadian players I have seen in Europe are Klassen, XRM, and Hanlan. Canada should not want any part of those three on their national team.

As far as Long goes, Greek media reported he joined the Greek program over the summer. He simply wasn't selected for the national team this summer, but apparently has joined Greece's program. I don't know if it's true or not, obviously though, since he supposedly then was not picked by the federation.

But if it's true, then Canada can't select Long.