GT: USA v. Greece @ 7:30am Sat morning (Bros v. Brook and Khris)

[Touchpass]

I havent seen enough people talk about it but Middleton was terrible.Like worst USA player on the court terrible.I hope he brings it with the Bucks when the season starts.

Don’t know if it was mentioned weeks back, but Windhorst was on the Simmons podcast. He spent a few days at USA camp and said a bunch of players didn’t like the FIBA ball. Made specific mention of Middleton and Harris who weren’t hitting anything during his time there.
Haven’t watched any of these games to judge how Middleton has looked. Not surprised though that he’s the highest paid NBA player on the roster and just a role player on this B list roster.

[TD75]

A thought. Maybe it is better for the Greek NT to lose the next game and be out of the tournament, than extending the tournament with a badly constructed roster.

A few notes:
- The Greek NT depends too much in spurts of scoring. That is a very bad sign.
- I hope Giannis benefits from this experience. His individual play is lacking, which is something I expected in FIBA basketball. He needs to operate much better in closed spaces. He desperately needs to shoot more (with the understanding that he may be less successful initially). He needs to make faster decisions too.
- The coaching staff in Greece needs to be restructured. If they believe they need to play "their type of basketball" without adapting to Giannis' playstyle (and most importantly Giannis' drawbacks) they might as well not call him. If they wish to build a team around him, they need to at least have people that understand Giannis' play.
- Several players in the Greek NT team are not able to play international basketball any more. They are too slow.

The US NT has a lot of problems on its own. They should be concerned moving forward. Not all teams will be as badly constructed as the Greek NT or lack talent like other teams they have faced so far.

[DavidDunn21]

I havent seen enough people talk about it but Middleton was terrible.Like worst USA player on the court terrible.I hope he brings it with the Bucks when the season starts.

Don’t know if it was mentioned weeks back, but Windhorst was on the Simmons podcast. He spent a few days at USA camp and said a bunch of players didn’t like the FIBA ball. Made specific mention of Middleton and Harris who weren’t hitting anything during his time there.
Haven’t watched any of these games to judge how Middleton has looked. Not surprised though that he’s the highest paid NBA player on the roster and just a role player on this B list roster.

There's always an excuse for Khris Middleton. 1/8. Wonder why I couldn't find this anywhere on Twitter.

Waking up to him pushing Giannis being called peace making. Okay.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using RealGM mobile app

[Coach Carter]

The Czech side and not us deserves to progress. For giannis, this has been one big waste of his time. Only positive is that he can get the media + some fans off his back for not rocking up in the past.

[Chad34]

A thought. Maybe it is better for the Greek NT to lose the next game and be out of the tournament, than extending the tournament with a badly constructed roster.

A few notes:
- The Greek NT depends too much in spurts of scoring. That is a very bad sign.
- I hope Giannis benefits from this experience. His individual play is lacking, which is something I expected in FIBA basketball. He needs to operate much better in closed spaces. He desperately needs to shoot more (with the understanding that he may be less successful initially). He needs to make faster decisions too.
- The coaching staff in Greece needs to be restructured. If they believe they need to play "their type of basketball" without adapting to Giannis' playstyle (and most importantly Giannis' drawbacks) they might as well not call him. If they wish to build a team around him, they need to at least have people that understand Giannis' play.
- Several players in the Greek NT team are not able to play international basketball any more. They are too slow.

The US NT has a lot of problems on its own. They should be concerned moving forward. Not all teams will be as badly constructed as the Greek NT or lack talent like other teams they have faced so far.

i haven't watched all the games, just today. it seemed though that giannis shot the ball pretty well and confidently, in fact he looked like greece's best shooter ( his misses looked good), but i don't think they wanted him taking more shots. Giannis is too humble in this setting to make demands. greece bricked wide open three after three nothing giannis can do there

[truly]

The Czech side and not us deserves to progress. For giannis, this has been one big waste of his time. Only positive is that he can get the media + some fans off his back for not rocking up in the past.

Terrible post.What does deserve even mean?If we beat the czechs by 12 point why wouldnt we "deserve" to advance?

As for Giannis i didnt know if you arent winning a medal you are wasting your time.Is that what you think about Dirk playing all those years with Germany too?By that logic if you arent the favorite dont bother showing up at all.

[truly]

I havent seen enough people talk about it but Middleton was terrible.Like worst USA player on the court terrible.I hope he brings it with the Bucks when the season starts.

Don’t know if it was mentioned weeks back, but Windhorst was on the Simmons podcast. He spent a few days at USA camp and said a bunch of players didn’t like the FIBA ball. Made specific mention of Middleton and Harris who weren’t hitting anything during his time there.
Haven’t watched any of these games to judge how Middleton has looked. Not surprised though that he’s the highest paid NBA player on the roster and just a role player on this B list roster.

I can see Harris struggling because he is a 3-point specialist in the NBA and the different range can bother him,but Middleton?

He loves taking midrange jumpers and his game should be perfect for FIBA.There is a great example of a mid range jumpshooter in Melo thriving in multiple FIBA tournaments.Popovic is also a coach whose style fits with Middletons game.

Maybe the added physicality bothers him?I cant think of anything else

[Coach Carter]

The Czech side and not us deserves to progress. For giannis, this has been one big waste of his time. Only positive is that he can get the media + some fans off his back for not rocking up in the past.

Terrible post.What does deserve even mean?If we beat the czechs by 12 point why wouldnt we "deserve" to advance?

As for Giannis i didnt know if you arent winning a medal you are wasting your time.Is that what you think about Dirk playing all those years with Germany too?By that logic if you arent the favorite dont bother showing up at all.

Have you seen the czechs play? We've been a complete **** show.

Who said anything about medals? I'm talking about this team's make up and gameplan. Can't you see the disconnect b/n what the star player is use to, to how the coaches want to play?

[DavidDunn21]

I havent seen enough people talk about it but Middleton was terrible.Like worst USA player on the court terrible.I hope he brings it with the Bucks when the season starts.

Don’t know if it was mentioned weeks back, but Windhorst was on the Simmons podcast. He spent a few days at USA camp and said a bunch of players didn’t like the FIBA ball. Made specific mention of Middleton and Harris who weren’t hitting anything during his time there.
Haven’t watched any of these games to judge how Middleton has looked. Not surprised though that he’s the highest paid NBA player on the roster and just a role player on this B list roster.

I can see Harris struggling because he is a 3-point specialist in the NBA and the different range can bother him,but Middleton?

He loves taking midrange jumpers and his game should be perfect for FIBA.There is a great example of a mid range jumpshooter in Melo thriving in multiple FIBA tournaments.Popovic is also a coach whose style fits with Middletons game.

Maybe the added physicality bothers him?I cant think of anything else

Maybe he's been promoted to the level of his own incompetence

Sent from my moto g(7) power using RealGM mobile app

[TD75]

A thought. Maybe it is better for the Greek NT to lose the next game and be out of the tournament, than extending the tournament with a badly constructed roster.

A few notes:
- The Greek NT depends too much in spurts of scoring. That is a very bad sign.
- I hope Giannis benefits from this experience. His individual play is lacking, which is something I expected in FIBA basketball. He needs to operate much better in closed spaces. He desperately needs to shoot more (with the understanding that he may be less successful initially). He needs to make faster decisions too.
- The coaching staff in Greece needs to be restructured. If they believe they need to play "their type of basketball" without adapting to Giannis' playstyle (and most importantly Giannis' drawbacks) they might as well not call him. If they wish to build a team around him, they need to at least have people that understand Giannis' play.
- Several players in the Greek NT team are not able to play international basketball any more. They are too slow.

The US NT has a lot of problems on its own. They should be concerned moving forward. Not all teams will be as badly constructed as the Greek NT or lack talent like other teams they have faced so far.

i haven't watched all the games, just today. it seemed though that giannis shot the ball pretty well and confidently, in fact he looked like greece's best shooter ( his misses looked good), but i don't think they wanted him taking more shots. Giannis is too humble in this setting to make demands. greece bricked wide open three after three nothing giannis can do there

- Giannis is not Greece's best shooter, not by a long shot.
- Today's game was an exception in terms of the frequency he shot.
- Being humble has little to do with not taking a wide open shot. Being not confident has a lot to do with it. I doubt Giannis is not shooting because a coach in the Greek NT told him to (let's not project Kidd's situation in this case without proof). If that is the case, Giannis should be wise/mature enough to disregard him.
- I agree that Giannis can't do something when everyone around him bricks shots. Maybe people need to remember that when that happens in the NBA too, right (ECF anyone)? That does not absolve him from making individual mistakes though.

[Chad34]

A thought. Maybe it is better for the Greek NT to lose the next game and be out of the tournament, than extending the tournament with a badly constructed roster.

A few notes:
- The Greek NT depends too much in spurts of scoring. That is a very bad sign.
- I hope Giannis benefits from this experience. His individual play is lacking, which is something I expected in FIBA basketball. He needs to operate much better in closed spaces. He desperately needs to shoot more (with the understanding that he may be less successful initially). He needs to make faster decisions too.
- The coaching staff in Greece needs to be restructured. If they believe they need to play "their type of basketball" without adapting to Giannis' playstyle (and most importantly Giannis' drawbacks) they might as well not call him. If they wish to build a team around him, they need to at least have people that understand Giannis' play.
- Several players in the Greek NT team are not able to play international basketball any more. They are too slow.

The US NT has a lot of problems on its own. They should be concerned moving forward. Not all teams will be as badly constructed as the Greek NT or lack talent like other teams they have faced so far.

i haven't watched all the games, just today. it seemed though that giannis shot the ball pretty well and confidently, in fact he looked like greece's best shooter ( his misses looked good), but i don't think they wanted him taking more shots. Giannis is too humble in this setting to make demands. greece bricked wide open three after three nothing giannis can do there

- Giannis is not Greece's best shooter, not by a long shot.
- Today's game was an exception in terms of the frequency he shot.
- Being humble has little to do with not taking a wide open shot. Being not confident has a lot to do with it. I doubt Giannis is not shooting because a coach in the Greek NT told him to (let's not project Kidd's situation in this case without proof). If that is the case, Giannis should be wise/mature enough to disregard him.
- I agree that Giannis can't do something when everyone around him bricks shots. Maybe people need to remember that when that happens in the NBA too, right (ECF anyone)? That does not absolve him from making individual mistakes though.

all i'll say is you could put steph curry or james harden on greece and they wouldn't have any better results. just double and triple team, because no one else is a threat.

[BroncoBuck]

Middleton was team USA’s leading scorer against Turkey…the best team the US has faced in the tournament thus far. He ended the game with two game winning free throws lol.

I wouldn’t read anything into it either way. Pop and company have been all over the place with rotations and none of the players have really seemed to get it going. Christ, Faried looked like an MVP candidate in international play a few years back and that didn’t translate to his NBA career at all.

[vital_signs]

I didn't watch, but I was expecting a lot worse of a foul on Thanasis than what it actually was. Did he need to contest the dunk? No. But leave it to J Brown and Smart to make a big deal out of everything. Can't wait to watch us play them scrubs in a couple months.

[DavidDunn21]

Middleton was team USA’s leading scorer against Turkey…the best team the US has faced in the tournament thus far. He ended the game with two game winning free throws lol.

I wouldn’t read anything into it either way. Pop and company have been all over the place with rotations and none of the players have really seemed to get it going. Christ, Faried looked like an MVP candidate in international play a few years back and that didn’t translate to his NBA career at all.

He's got an 0/8 and a 1/8 under his belt, if I'm not mistaken he got the game winning call in regulation and missed it, the turnovers are still a thing....he's been standard Khris.

On a team of borderline All Stars/level below All stars/rotation players and Middleton still can't distinguish himself either as a alpha or a wily veteran leader. Tell me that doesn't mean anything.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using RealGM mobile app

[BroncoBuck]

Middleton was team USA’s leading scorer against Turkey…the best team the US has faced in the tournament thus far. He ended the game with two game winning free throws lol.

I wouldn’t read anything into it either way. Pop and company have been all over the place with rotations and none of the players have really seemed to get it going. Christ, Faried looked like an MVP candidate in international play a few years back and that didn’t translate to his NBA career at all.

He's got an 0/8 and a 1/8 under his belt, if I'm not mistaken he got the game winning call in regulation and missed it, the turnovers are still a thing....he's been standard Khris.

On a team of borderline All Stars/level below All stars/rotation players and Middleton still can't distinguish himself either as a alpha or a wily veteran leader. Tell me that doesn't mean anything.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using RealGM mobile app

He was the most efficient scorer against Turkey as well…Giannis didn’t really do **** for two games either. I’m not reading anything into these games. Lopez doesn’t even play.

[BUCKnation]

I didn't watch, but I was expecting a lot worse of a foul on Thanasis than what it actually was. Did he need to contest the dunk? No. But leave it to J Brown and Smart to make a big deal out of everything. Can't wait to watch us play them scrubs in a couple months.

Agreed. Nothing more than trying a chase down block on a dunk, which Giannis does on the reg. It was an ordinary foul.

[Pachinko_]

I haven't really watched Thanasis since he joined Panathinaikos, but I watched all of Greece's games this summer and I like what I see from him. Small sample but he actually made some shots, he is more careful with the ball and generally plays smarter and makes better decisions than his younger self, but without sacrificing anything at all from his intensity and energy. Yes he will smack somebody out of the court in a meaningless play but he's not dirty, is just who he is, we'll have to live with it and use it to our advantage.

Happy he's on the NT but on the other hand it's a shame he didn't spend the summer in MKE, because just like every other Buck not named Giannis he needs to face the fact that he must shoot threes, and must make some of them. Sooner he starts the better. Delly changed his shot at 28 years old, Thanasis can too.

[stellation]

Lithuania seem to take losses gracefully.

[Pachinko_]

It feels to me like Team USA is holding something back for the last couple of games that will determine the medals. They are easily the most athletic team in the tournament, all they have to do is use it to their advantage and play faster and harder at both ends. I don't think anybody can keep up if Team USA decides to pretend it's an NBA game 7.

[truly]

It feels to me like Team USA is holding something back for the last couple of games that will determine the medals. They are easily the most athletic team in the tournament, all they have to do is use it to their advantage and play faster and harder at both ends. I don't think anybody can keep up if Team USA decides to pretend it's an NBA game 7.

I think they have trouble against zone defenses and i would easily bet on Serbia winning in a match between them.Maybe they can improve before they face each other though