Utah Jazz Players in the FIBA World Cup(in China)

Crunch 99 · Post #141 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Sep 6, 2019 2:38 pm

Gobert could get tested by Lithuania's frontcourt of Valanciunas and Sabonis tomorrow. Valanciunas has played well against Gobert over the years. Just last February, Valanciunas put up 27 and 9 versus Gobert's 9 and 7 in a Memphis win. Lifetime, Valanciunas is 10-2 versus Gobert. A good question, however, is whether the Lithuanian coach will give Valanciunas plenty of minutes and possessions. JV has only been averaging 20.8 mpg and 6 shot attempts.

I hope France wins. Go Gobert!

Gobert versus Valanciunas in head to head matchups:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id1_hint=Jonas+Valan%C4%8Di%C5%ABnas&player_id1_select=Jonas+Valan%C4%8Di%C5%ABnas&player_id1=valanjo01&idx=players&player_id2_hint=Rudy+Gobert&player_id2_select=Rudy+Gobert&player_id2=goberru01&idx=players

Crunch 99 · Post #142 » by **Crunch 99** » Fri Sep 6, 2019 6:02 pm

Here are some World Cup power rankings at the end of First Round, and prior to Second Round, which is already underway. Click on the link for comments about each team. The author notes Ingles is leading the tournament for APG. Author calls Gobert a strong, early MVP candidate because of high efficiency and defense.

http://www.fiba.basketball/basketballworldcup/2019/news/fiba-basketball-world-cup-power-rankings-volume-4

1. Serbia

2. Australia

3. USA

4. France

5. Spain

KqWIN · Post #143 » by **KqWIN** » Fri Sep 6, 2019 6:16 pm

The FIBA tournament format is weird, confusing, and unfair in some ways. This is what a quarterfinal should look like should there be no upsets. (Seeds are just there to show who would play who next)

(1) Argentina
(8) Spain

(4) USA
(5) AUS

(3) Serbia
(6) Poland

(2) France
(7) Brazil/Greece

mudsak · Post #144 » by **mudsak** » Fri Sep 6, 2019 8:21 pm

KqWIN wrote:
mudsak wrote:
KqWIN wrote:First game started up. Mitchell still deeply in love with mid range. He's hunting it. It's the only shot he wants.

If no one tells him that it's the worst shot in the game, he will never improve and only get worse.

I'm fine with him developing that aspect of his game tbh. I know the analytics say mid-range is bad, and truthfully Synder's system will dictate that few mid-range shots are taken.

However... The NBA has been evolving towards the analytics. It is becoming much more integrated into schemes/systems. Teams are building offenses, and designing defensive schemes specifically to be as efficient analytically as possible.

Midrange game has become a stepchild of the NBA as a result. 2 of the best players in the league are insanely proficient at mid-range game, and it is one of the reasons why they are so dangerous. KD, and Kawhi. Those two players can literally score from any place on the floor. They take a lot of mid-range shots because defenses leave space. CP3 is another great example. I'd be willing to put money on the fact that Pop has San Antonio shooting more Mid-Range shots than anyone else in the league simply to exploit the fact that every one else is prepping for the opposite. Pop is no fool.

In the end of the day I think Donovan is a natural scorer, and I'd like to see him develop his strengths from any place on the court. Becoming deadly from mid-range will only add layers of effectiveness to his bag.

The mid range shot is situational. But it's not a good thing to excessively hunt for a mid range jump shot. For awhile there it looked like the only shot he wanted. Even now, he's completely uninterested in attacking the basket. While he played well today, he didn't aggressively attack the basket to score one time. You can probably count the number of times he's done that in all USA games with your hands. I think he's shot zero free throws in the world cup and 8 FT's including all the friendlies. That is really bad.

It's the worst part of his game, and while improving is good, making it the centerpiece of his game would be terrible for his development. He won't become an effective player if he completely axes drives to the basket in favor of mid range pullups.

I do not believe it is a system thing either. When a player comes off a pick and roll, the choice to drive to the basket or shoot a pull up is not the system. That's a choice made by the player. Mitchell is making the choice to shoot a mid ranger every time, and it looks like he's tunneling on it even before the action starts.

Admittedly, I haven't watched any of these FIBA games, just random highlights. That being said I can't really comment to much more beyond those initial thoughts. If you've been watching it I'd say you probably see better what's going on.

Do you think there's a chance he's favoring the mid-range vs driving to the basket because scoring in the paint is more difficult in FIBA? Defense is allowed to be much more aggressive in FIBA, and bigs can park themselves in the paint.

KqWIN · Post #145 » by **KqWIN** » Fri Sep 6, 2019 8:30 pm

mudsak wrote:
Admittedly, I haven't watched any of these FIBA games, just random highlights. That being said I can't really comment to much more beyond those initial thoughts. If you've been watching it I'd say you probably see better what's going on.

Do you think there's a chance he's favoring the mid-range vs driving to the basket because scoring in the paint is more difficult in FIBA? Defense is allowed to be much more aggressive in FIBA, and bigs can park themselves in the paint.

The defense is part of this...but you can tell he's looking for the mid range shot first. A lot of his moves look predetermined and he's making the decision before the play happens rather than making a read. He's also had several mid range jumpers in transition where the defense wasn't set. It's just the shot he wants.

The last game he was taking pull up 3's instead, which is a better shot that he should be working on, but still zero shot attempts or free throws as the result of a drive.

KqWIN · Post #146 » by **KqWIN** » Sun Sep 8, 2019 4:00 pm

Spain beat Serbia...wow. This means that Serbia will have to play the loser of AUS/FRA before playing USA in the semis. Their road just got very tough.

EDIT - They will play Argentina before USA.

Catchall · Post #147 » by **Catchall** » Mon Sep 9, 2019 5:06 am

The U.S. will play the loser of the Aussie/France game in the quarter-finals. Then possibly Serbia in the semis.

KqWIN · Post #148 » by **KqWIN** » Mon Sep 9, 2019 2:25 pm

AUS beats FRA in a thriller. Ingles was fantastic with 23 points, Gobert a weird game with 8 points and 6 assists. Baynes hit 5/6 threes on him. That wasn't the reason his defense was bad...but he made some mistakes picking up fouls late.

Mitchell had a very quiet game, he's just no involved in the offense much. His defense, passing, and work on the boards was terrific. He is the +/- king on team USA. Ironically, it's because he's the only one who seems to know how to play team basketball. He's making quick passes, defending like crazy, and usually only taking shots in must shoot situations.

Post #149 » by **Diop** » Mon Sep 9, 2019 2:35 pm

KqWIN wrote:AUS beats FRA in a thriller. Ingles was fantastic with 23 points, Gobert a weird game with 8 points and 6 assists. Baynes hit 5/6 threes on him. That wasn't the reason his defense was bad...but he made some mistakes picking up fouls late.

Mitchell had a very quiet game, he's just no involved in the offense much. His defense, passing, and work on the boards was terrific. He is the +/- king on team USA. Ironically, it's because he's the only one who seems to know how to play team basketball. He's making quick passes, defending like crazy, and usually only taking shots in must shoot situations.

Ingles staring down Gobert after scoring on him was fantastic

KqWIN · Post #150 » by **KqWIN** » Mon Sep 9, 2019 2:39 pm

Diop wrote:
KqWIN wrote:AUS beats FRA in a thriller. Ingles was fantastic with 23 points, Gobert a weird game with 8 points and 6 assists. Baynes hit 5/6 threes on him. That wasn't the reason his defense was bad...but he made some mistakes picking up fouls late.

Mitchell had a very quiet game, he's just no involved in the offense much. His defense, passing, and work on the boards was terrific. He is the +/- king on team USA. Ironically, it's because he's the only one who seems to know how to play team basketball. He's making quick passes, defending like crazy, and usually only taking shots in must shoot situations.

Ingles staring down Gobert after scoring on him was fantastic

It definitely was not Gobert's night :lol:

Ingles is a pain to play against. All the Aussies are really.

TheBallsDeeper · Post #151 » by **TheBallsDeeper** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 3:06 am

Diop wrote:
KqWIN wrote:AUS beats FRA in a thriller. Ingles was fantastic with 23 points, Gobert a weird game with 8 points and 6 assists. Baynes hit 5/6 threes on him. That wasn't the reason his defense was bad...but he made some mistakes picking up fouls late.

Mitchell had a very quiet game, he's just no involved in the offense much. His defense, passing, and work on the boards was terrific. He is the +/- king on team USA. Ironically, it's because he's the only one who seems to know how to play team basketball. He's making quick passes, defending like crazy, and usually only taking shots in must shoot situations.

Ingles staring down Gobert after scoring on him was fantastic

Two of my favorite players, great to see the competitive spirit.

https://www.facebook.com/FIBA/videos/360358248239839/

Wolverine · Post #152 » by **Wolverine** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:05 pm

Rudy put the beat down on the US. Donovan only one who showed any resistance

stitches · Post #153 » by **stitches** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 1:38 pm

Read on Twitter

KqWIN · Post #154 » by **KqWIN** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:04 pm

It was a great game, I'm glad Gobert got his moment. It's unfortunate that Kemba robbed Mitchell of his chance.

Catchall · Post #155 » by **Catchall** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:55 pm

France outrebounded USA 44-28. Rudy Gobert had 16 rebs, while the entire USA starting lineup had 14 rebs. That's the game right there. There's no way to win with that kind of rebound disadvantage. And yet, somehow USA's bigs were unplayable?

Catchall · Post #156 » by **Catchall** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:07 pm

Watch on YouTube

stitches · Post #157 » by **stitches** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:29 pm

Read on Twitter

Good job Myles Turner... good job...

KqWIN · Post #158 » by **KqWIN** » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:34 pm

I try to stay away from "everyone hates us" comments...but could you imagine if Gobert got chopped up in the PnR like Turner or Mitchell took a red hot Kemba out of the game? They would never hear the end of it.

stitches · Post #159 » by **stitches** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 11:22 am

This is just embarrassing performance by team USA.

Post #160 » by **Inigo Montoya** » Thu Sep 12, 2019 4:28 pm

Team USA was still the favorite in this tournament but with all the players who skipped it this time around and with the eventual roster that was assembled, it isn't that surprising they got eliminated. I suppose once every decade or so the NBA needs a reminder that they can't completely ignore Team USA and expect it to win the gold. The amount of players who skipped it this time was ridiculous.