FIBA WORLD CUP 2019 | SPAIN are new WORLD CHAMPIONS

[pootbrah]

That 9 point lead btw after Frances run. Refs started encorcing a new rule where you have to maintain 3 feet of space on Fournier. What a joke. My dog ran up stairs (hes not allowed) and was trembling the rest of the night cause i was yelling so much. Lel

[GimmeDat]

This Australian basketball team is an absolute basketball purists dream. Makes me so proud to watch them play.

Obviously FIBA ball is different and we see guys play super well in it and great NBA guys struggle, but Patty Mills is so consistently amazing for the Boomers that I can't help but wonder how he'd look with a more expanded NBA role. Dude is consistently a top 3 scorer in international events, super efficient, plays within the offense.

He's not a on-ball initiator that many NBA teams look for necessarily, handle can be a bit shaky when playing a more primary ball-handler role and he's more a 'makes the right play' type guy than a 'playmaker', but we're in an age of multiple ball-handlers and a lot of teams run offense through wings or even bigs these days. I wonder how he'd look playing a Shamet-like role off a Simmons/Doncic/Jokic/whoever else type.

When Simmons plays for Australia it'll be an awesome fit for him I feel.

[pootbrah]

France will give US all kinds of problems too. This tournament is awesome. Agree with Lithuania coach though, one game rugby or even one possession, next no contact allowed

[KqWIN]

+/- is very noisy at this point...but I don't think it's an accident that Mitchell is the +/- king for USA. There's a lot of players looking for their own shots and plays, but ironically Mitchell has not been one of them. Almost all of his shots have been spot up 3's or end of clock must shoot situations. He's become the glue guy on this team because of his tremendous defense and ability to make quick decisions on the perimeter. Not a surprise coming out of Quin Snyder's system.

[a-French-Fan]

That 9 point lead btw after Frances run. Refs started encorcing a new rule where you have to maintain 3 feet of space on Fournier. What a joke. My dog ran up stairs (hes not allowed) and was trembling the rest of the night cause i was yelling so much. Lel

??? Did we see the same game?

[KqWIN]

I'm sure it's been discussed at some point, but I really wish Booker was on this team. They need that young guy who can go nuclear and I think he would have been great next to Mitchell.

Yeah, This was a perfect opportunity for him

Definitely a missed opportunity for Booker, this team could really use him. USA isn't without guys looking for their own shot...but they're all kind of mediocre. Brown, Barnes, Middleton, Tatum etc. are all looking for their own shots, and while they haven't been bad, none of them are the flamethrower that Booker could have been. Mitchell has morphed into a necessary glue guy so Kemba is the only high level scorer on the team.

[Zombiesonics]

I don’t think devin Booker would be good on this team, he is not a good defender. Guy would get cooked badly by fiba physical pnrs. The identity of this USA team is like a gritty elite defensive team from the early 00s with an egalitarian offense; no room for primadonna gunners who value scoring over winning.

[contestedlayups]

I'm sure it's been discussed at some point, but I really wish Booker was on this team. They need that young guy who can go nuclear and I think he would have been great next to Mitchell.

Yeah, This was a perfect opportunity for him

Definitely a missed opportunity for Booker, this team could really use him. USA isn't without guys looking for their own shot...but they're all kind of mediocre. Brown, Barnes, Middleton, Tatum etc. are all looking for their own shots, and while they haven't been bad, none of them are the flamethrower that Booker could have been. Mitchell has morphed into a necessary glue guy so Kemba is the only high level scorer on the team.

Mitchell was great today, playing passing lanes and not forcing much, if at all. Having that experience as a glue guy should benefit him in Utah this year, as Conley and Bogdanovic can fill it up also, and Mitchell doesn't have to force shots, which hopefully translates into more efficient play from him.

[draftnightsuit]

Everybody in here is complaining about the refs just like they do during NBA games lol

No matter what, people will always blame the refs.

[contestedlayups]

I don’t think devin Booker would be good on this team, he is not a good defender. Guy would get cooked badly by fiba physical pnrs. The identity of this USA team is like a gritty elite defensive team from the early 00s with an egalitarian offense; no room for primadonna gunners who value scoring over winning.

I disagree. I think Booker has shown a tendency to be a physical defender when necessary, but his help side defense and his off the ball demeanor defensively have been passive, at best. This tournament would force him to be alert at all times, and him playing with better players would elevate his game going into the regular season.

While I agree that he's valued scoring over winning, so did Carmelo, but when the Olympics came to, he was by far the best player on the floor due to him playing with other great players and I think the same thing would have happened for Booker.

[contestedlayups]

Jaylen Brown looks amazing in this tournament, and it's not a surprise by any stretch. I think Brown playing with Kemba will be awesome this NBA season, and the Celtics could be a force to be reckon with in the East, possibly challenging for a 1 seed. Brown could sneak in to the all-star game if he continues to play like he is in this tournament.

[KqWIN]

Yeah, This was a perfect opportunity for him

Definitely a missed opportunity for Booker, this team could really use him. USA isn't without guys looking for their own shot...but they're all kind of mediocre. Brown, Barnes, Middleton, Tatum etc. are all looking for their own shots, and while they haven't been bad, none of them are the flamethrower that Booker could have been. Mitchell has morphed into a necessary glue guy so Kemba is the only high level scorer on the team.

Mitchell was great today, playing passing lanes and not forcing much, if at all. Having that experience as a glue guy should benefit him in Utah this year, as Conley and Bogdanovic can fill it up also, and Mitchell doesn't have to force shots, which hopefully translates into more efficient play from him.

I think he's always had this ability. This is the player his draft profile was...but it just wasn't feasible given the offensive load he had to carry. Hopefully he can carry this energy with him to the season with the extra firepower on roster.

[Zombiesonics]

I disagree. I think Booker has shown a tendency to be a physical defender when necessary, but his help side defense and his off the ball demeanor defensively have been passive, at best. This tournament would force him to be alert at all times, and him playing with better players would elevate his game going into the regular season.

While I agree that he's valued scoring over winning, so did Carmelo, but when the Olympics came to, he was by far the best player on the floor due to him playing with other great players and I think the same thing would have happened for Booker.

Thats fair. I just think these Fiba teams need to value defensive IQ as much as volume scoring; i've been a little upset with some of the USA players defense ( mainly because of my expectations). Middleton is a guy who constantly loses his man and has poor lateral quickness, joe harris is the same. Mitchell is an explosive playmaking defender but also will shoot gaps and make dumb errors. Booker could take harris' role, but you know he would not be happy with that.

My main gripe is a guy like plumlee or even lopez rotting on the bench instead of bringing maybe an aaron gordan, or was justice winslow available? Popovich brought three centers and has been relying on small ball. makes zero sense.

[dakomish23]

I'm sure it's been discussed at some point, but I really wish Booker was on this team. They need that young guy who can go nuclear and I think he would have been great next to Mitchell.

Yeah, This was a perfect opportunity for him

Definitely a missed opportunity for Booker, this team could really use him. USA isn't without guys looking for their own shot...but they're all kind of mediocre. Brown, Barnes, Middleton, Tatum etc. are all looking for their own shots, and while they haven't been bad, none of them are the flamethrower that Booker could have been. Mitchell has morphed into a necessary glue guy so Kemba is the only high level scorer on the team.

Flamethrower is an apt description.

[SmartWentCrazy]

+/- is very noisy at this point...but I don't think it's an accident that Mitchell is the +/- king for USA. There's a lot of players looking for their own shots and plays, but ironically Mitchell has not been one of them. Almost all of his shots have been spot up 3's or end of clock must shoot situations. He's become the glue guy on this team because of his tremendous defense and ability to make quick decisions on the perimeter. Not a surprise coming out of Quin Snyder's system.

He’s taking the second most shots on the team. He is absolutely looking for his own shot.

[GusT15]

This Australian basketball team is an absolute basketball purists dream. Makes me so proud to watch them play.

Obviously FIBA ball is different and we see guys play super well in it and great NBA guys struggle, but Patty Mills is so consistently amazing for the Boomers that I can't help but wonder how he'd look with a more expanded NBA role. Dude is consistently a top 3 scorer in international events, super efficient, plays within the offense.

He's not a on-ball initiator that many NBA teams look for necessarily, handle can be a bit shaky when playing a more primary ball-handler role and he's more a 'makes the right play' type guy than a 'playmaker', but we're in an age of multiple ball-handlers and a lot of teams run offense through wings or even bigs these days. I wonder how he'd look playing a Shamet-like role off a Simmons/Doncic/Jokic/whoever else type.

When Simmons plays for Australia it'll be an awesome fit for him I feel.

I mean...Patty Mills won an NBA championship with Diaw and Ginobili being the guys that were running the offense on the Spurs bench (best bench in the League during those years),and him executing.How much better would you want him to be?

If you are thinking about Patty playing more than his 20MPG and scoring more than his 10PPG and spending time with the starting line up...we tried that,it didn't go so well...
Too much of a defensive liability (cause of size) in the NBA,becomes a non-issue offensively without a playmaker and a motion offense setting him up from his spots.

If he was Curry/Dame level in shooting and playmaking in the NBA as he is in FIBA ball,he would already be the starting point guard and he would get paid 25Mil per instead of his 13Mil per.Pop loves him.His limitations are the problem,neither his team,nor his Coach's confidence in him.

The fact of the matter is-for the NBA-Mills is an undersized Shooting Guard.

[KqWIN]

+/- is very noisy at this point...but I don't think it's an accident that Mitchell is the +/- king for USA. There's a lot of players looking for their own shots and plays, but ironically Mitchell has not been one of them. Almost all of his shots have been spot up 3's or end of clock must shoot situations. He's become the glue guy on this team because of his tremendous defense and ability to make quick decisions on the perimeter. Not a surprise coming out of Quin Snyder's system.

He’s taking the second most shots on the team. He is absolutely looking for his own shot.

Take a look at the shots he's taking. Like I said, the majority of his shots are spot up 3's or shots near the end of the clock. He's not calling his own number too often.

[G R E Y]

I disagree. I think Booker has shown a tendency to be a physical defender when necessary, but his help side defense and his off the ball demeanor defensively have been passive, at best. This tournament would force him to be alert at all times, and him playing with better players would elevate his game going into the regular season.

While I agree that he's valued scoring over winning, so did Carmelo, but when the Olympics came to, he was by far the best player on the floor due to him playing with other great players and I think the same thing would have happened for Booker.

Thats fair. I just think these Fiba teams need to value defensive IQ as much as volume scoring; i've been a little upset with some of the USA players defense ( mainly because of my expectations). Middleton is a guy who constantly loses his man and has poor lateral quickness, joe harris is the same. Mitchell is an explosive playmaking defender but also will shoot gaps and make dumb errors. Booker could take harris' role, but you know he would not be happy with that.

My main gripe is a guy like plumlee or even lopez rotting on the bench instead of bringing maybe an aaron gordan, or was justice winslow available? Popovich brought three centers and has been relying on small ball. makes zero sense.

Consider, though, that this is the team filled with guys who we know committed whereas you're talking about guys you'd like to have seen on the team. We don't in fact know who else we could have had. We DO know that from all the invited players, many dropped out, and these were the ones who committed. Plumlee has the fewest minutes, true, and he fills in when there's a big lead. Lopez plays steady minutes if not many, but we do need 3 Cs anyway. If fans don't like who the C choices are, best to look to the list we know dropped out.

[contestedlayups]

I disagree. I think Booker has shown a tendency to be a physical defender when necessary, but his help side defense and his off the ball demeanor defensively have been passive, at best. This tournament would force him to be alert at all times, and him playing with better players would elevate his game going into the regular season.

While I agree that he's valued scoring over winning, so did Carmelo, but when the Olympics came to, he was by far the best player on the floor due to him playing with other great players and I think the same thing would have happened for Booker.

Thats fair. I just think these Fiba teams need to value defensive IQ as much as volume scoring; i've been a little upset with some of the USA players defense ( mainly because of my expectations). Middleton is a guy who constantly loses his man and has poor lateral quickness, joe harris is the same. Mitchell is an explosive playmaking defender but also will shoot gaps and make dumb errors. Booker could take harris' role, but you know he would not be happy with that.

My main gripe is a guy like plumlee or even lopez rotting on the bench instead of bringing maybe an aaron gordan, or was justice winslow available? [b]Popovich brought three centers and has been relying on small ball. makes zero sense.[/b]

Thus far he has been relying on small ball, but when the U.S. plays Spain or Serbia, and the bigs that they're going to throw at the U.S., that's where Lopez and Plumlee will come into play. He was thinking the long-game in regards to those two on the roster. With the unlikely scenario that Turner plays out of his mind and dominates Jokic and Marc Gasol, Lopez and Plumlee will be used frequently in those games later in the tournament.

As for the defense of certain players, it's more of a system wide approach with the U.S., and Middleton and Harris are valued shooters who aren't atrocious defenders. The style of defense that the U.S. is playing is a "no middle" approach, where they force players to the sidelines, and can result in blow bys when a player is out of position/late in a rotation. That's fine, as long as Harris and Middleton are physical defensively a majority of the time, which they are. There's a reason why Kyle Korver has never been on an international team, and that's because he can't stay in front of anyone, even though he can shoot the crap out of the ball.

[zimpy27]

This Australian basketball team is an absolute basketball purists dream. Makes me so proud to watch them play.

Obviously FIBA ball is different and we see guys play super well in it and great NBA guys struggle, but Patty Mills is so consistently amazing for the Boomers that I can't help but wonder how he'd look with a more expanded NBA role. Dude is consistently a top 3 scorer in international events, super efficient, plays within the offense.

He's not a on-ball initiator that many NBA teams look for necessarily, handle can be a bit shaky when playing a more primary ball-handler role and he's more a 'makes the right play' type guy than a 'playmaker', but we're in an age of multiple ball-handlers and a lot of teams run offense through wings or even bigs these days. I wonder how he'd look playing a Shamet-like role off a Simmons/Doncic/Jokic/whoever else type.

When Simmons plays for Australia it'll be an awesome fit for him I feel.

I always wondered this. Pops system doesn't really favour Mills, he needs a specific type of team with a strong defensive core (like he had with Duncan) to favour his defensive style, a playmaking wing and the green light to get shots up. He would be ideal on the jazz next season if Conley leaves. He'd also be ideal on the 76ers, Nuggets, Bucks or even the Lakers.