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Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:16 pm
by UcanUwill
durden_tyler wrote:Latvia dominating Georgia despite an ugly 3Q they finish this with a big 20+ blowout win. Thought Georgia would be better but i guess even without KP this Latvian team is among the tier 1 teams this OQT.
Guaranteed 2-0 this group play, i think it’s easy pickings for them to rule that semis matchup too.
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When will Latvia stop being this good? Annoying as LTU fan

Screw this world if they qualify and we don't

Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:19 pm
by ROballer
_jin wrote:Having the best players is important in basketball, and Bahamas had the 3 best players on the floor. Doesnt matter if Finland had the next 10 best, Edgecombe, Hield and Ayton won this game for Bahamas. Gordon was pretty good in the 2nd half. Ayton was a traffic cone on defense but he dominated on offense. I just dont see how that Bahamas team can beat a better balanced team like Spain. They're basically 4 man deep, Lourawls Nairn, their 6-man, has never played pro ball and stopped playing after college 6 years ago and has been an assistant coach in college since then, but here he is playing 15 mins for his national team.
Good game from the 2 french league finnish players Jantunen and Maxhuni with 20pts each.
And that's why you don't overreact after two meaningless friendlies, one in which the main guys didn't even play.
All the scrubs got a ton of minutes and as you said, there's a big gap talent wise between top to bottom on the Bahamas roster.
But when the games matter, the top play the bulk of the minutes, not the bottom.
Should have carried AJ Storr with the roster as well, he's better than most of the other pro's taken in place of him.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:22 pm
by durden_tyler
Luka might be load managed in the 2nd half if this Croatian team can build a 20 pt lead by halftime. Pathetic showing by Slovenia so far.
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Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:26 pm
by _jin
ROballer wrote:_jin wrote:Having the best players is important in basketball, and Bahamas had the 3 best players on the floor. Doesnt matter if Finland had the next 10 best, Edgecombe, Hield and Ayton won this game for Bahamas. Gordon was pretty good in the 2nd half. Ayton was a traffic cone on defense but he dominated on offense. I just dont see how that Bahamas team can beat a better balanced team like Spain. They're basically 4 man deep, Lourawls Nairn, their 6-man, has never played pro ball and stopped playing after college 6 years ago and has been an assistant coach in college since then, but here he is playing 15 mins for his national team.
Good game from the 2 french league finnish players Jantunen and Maxhuni with 20pts each.
And that's why you don't overreact after two meaningless friendlies, one in which the main guys didn't even play.
All the scrubs got a ton of minutes and as you said, there's a big gap talent wise between top to bottom on the Bahamas roster.
But when the games matter, the top play the bulk of the minutes, not the bottom.
Should have carried AJ Storr with the roster as well, he's better than most of the other pro's taken in place of him.
Overreact? This game litteraly confirms everything that's been said about that Bahamas team. They have great talent at the top but have only 3 pro players and a world class prospect. They played a weak opponent and had to shoot 42% from 3 to win a tight game. The scrubs didnt get a lot of playing time actually, Ayton had to play 38 mins and Hield and Gordon 33 each, the rest basically shared the 5th man minutes. This game makes me less optimistic about Bahamas chances against Spain.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:29 pm
by SpreeS
Doncic is awful, why is he playing at all?
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:30 pm
by _jin
Luka having a bad day, taking too many contested 3s and trying to draw fouls like he's in the NBA. And he's probably going to play the full 40 mins. Jaleen Smith and Filipovic are doing a great job defending him. Croatia are playing really great team ball
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:31 pm
by durden_tyler
SpreeS wrote:Doncic is awful, why is he playing at all?
They’ll face Greece likely in the semis if this continues. Pathetic showing indeed, but glad to see him play as he’s one of the players who always shows up playing for the flag.
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Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:35 pm
by ROballer
_jin wrote:ROballer wrote:_jin wrote:Having the best players is important in basketball, and Bahamas had the 3 best players on the floor. Doesnt matter if Finland had the next 10 best, Edgecombe, Hield and Ayton won this game for Bahamas. Gordon was pretty good in the 2nd half. Ayton was a traffic cone on defense but he dominated on offense. I just dont see how that Bahamas team can beat a better balanced team like Spain. They're basically 4 man deep, Lourawls Nairn, their 6-man, has never played pro ball and stopped playing after college 6 years ago and has been an assistant coach in college since then, but here he is playing 15 mins for his national team.
Good game from the 2 french league finnish players Jantunen and Maxhuni with 20pts each.
And that's why you don't overreact after two meaningless friendlies, one in which the main guys didn't even play.
All the scrubs got a ton of minutes and as you said, there's a big gap talent wise between top to bottom on the Bahamas roster.
But when the games matter, the top play the bulk of the minutes, not the bottom.
Should have carried AJ Storr with the roster as well, he's better than most of the other pro's taken in place of him.
Overreact? This game litteraly confirms everything that's been said about that Bahamas team. They have great talent at the top but have only 3 pro players and a world class prospect. They played a weak opponent and had to shoot 42% from 3 to win a tight game. The scrubs didnt get a lot of playing time actually, Ayton had to play 38 mins and Hield and Gordon 33 each, the rest basically shared the 5th man minutes. This game makes me less optimistic about Bahamas chances against Spain.
I was talking about the friendlies. There was another thread for that and many were overreacting because the scrubs were getting blown out. Including you.
And who cares how many minutes the top guys had to play? They'll play 40 minutes if they have to.
Spain is on the way down. Anything can happen in one game, winner takes it all. Especially if one team has the better players.
Depth only matters when injuries occur or players are in foul trouble at this level. Give me top end talent over depth all day, every day in FIBA.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:36 pm
by SpreeS
durden_tyler wrote:SpreeS wrote:Doncic is awful, why is he playing at all?
They’ll face Greece likely in the semis if this continues. Pathetic showing indeed, but glad to see him play as he’s one of the players who always shows up playing for the flag.
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He was like mummy in warmups before Finals games and after 10 days playing for NT. what’s the point? This level of Luka doesn’t help anyone, especially his health.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:40 pm
by _jin
Luka's not playing well but he's got their whole backcourt in foul trouble. Their 5 guards/wings have 2 or 3 fouls each and Zubac also has 3. It's maybe not over yet.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:48 pm
by OkcSinceSGA
Clippers may be smart to run more offense through Zu this year. 3-4 more shots and he's probably around 13-15 ppg.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:50 pm
by durden_tyler
13 pt lead by Croatia over Slovenia at the half.
Defense has been non-existent for Slovenia, who were 2-16 from three.
Luka has 16 but is 0-6 from 3.
They need to get hot fast from behind the arc in the 3rd quarter or this one is over early in the 2nd half.
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Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:51 pm
by _jin
Slovenia can't defend Zubac 14/7/4 and Saric 13/9/3. Nebo is decent but he's outmatched. They have no size, their shooters are horrible (how many wide open airballs in the 1st half? 3?), they are unathletic. It's Doncic and Nebo vs Croatia.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:51 pm
by durden_tyler
SpreeS wrote:durden_tyler wrote:SpreeS wrote:Doncic is awful, why is he playing at all?
They’ll face Greece likely in the semis if this continues. Pathetic showing indeed, but glad to see him play as he’s one of the players who always shows up playing for the flag.
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He was like mummy in warmups before Finals games and after 10 days playing for NT. what’s the point? This level of Luka doesn’t help anyone, especially his health.
Eh, some players just sees playing for the flag as special— risking injuries and all.
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Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:55 pm
by SpreeS
durden_tyler wrote:SpreeS wrote:durden_tyler wrote:They’ll face Greece likely in the semis if this continues. Pathetic showing indeed, but glad to see him play as he’s one of the players who always shows up playing for the flag.
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He was like mummy in warmups before Finals games and after 10 days playing for NT. what’s the point? This level of Luka doesn’t help anyone, especially his health.
Eh, some players just sees playing for the flag as special— risking injuries and all.
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Marciulionis ended his NBA career after playing with injured knee in Atlanta OG 1996 for NT. yes i exactly know what you mean.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:57 pm
by durden_tyler
SpreeS wrote:durden_tyler wrote:SpreeS wrote:
He was like mummy in warmups before Finals games and after 10 days playing for NT. what’s the point? This level of Luka doesn’t help anyone, especially his health.
Eh, some players just sees playing for the flag as special— risking injuries and all.
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Marciulionis ended his NBA career after playing with injured knee in Atlanta OG 1996 for NT. yes i exactly know what are you mean.
Probably time to send a clip to Luka so he realizes what’s at risk here. LOL.
On a serious note, if Slovenia cuts this down to an 6-8 pt lead by mid 3rd, i can see them stealing this game.
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Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 6:58 pm
by _jin
SpreeS wrote:durden_tyler wrote:SpreeS wrote:
He was like mummy in warmups before Finals games and after 10 days playing for NT. what’s the point? This level of Luka doesn’t help anyone, especially his health.
Eh, some players just sees playing for the flag as special— risking injuries and all.
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Marciulionis ended his NBA career after playing with injured knee in Atlanta OG 1996 for NT. yes i exactly know what you mean.
It's fine, Luka got a full 28 seconds rest in the 1st half, he's good to do.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 7:16 pm
by Archx
durden_tyler wrote:SpreeS wrote:durden_tyler wrote:Eh, some players just sees playing for the flag as special— risking injuries and all.
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Marciulionis ended his NBA career after playing with injured knee in Atlanta OG 1996 for NT. yes i exactly know what are you mean.
Probably time to send a clip to Luka so he realizes what’s at risk here. LOL.
On a serious note, if Slovenia cuts this down to an 6-8 pt lead by mid 3rd, i can see them stealing this game.
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He shouldn't be playing. He looks like he's been awake for 72h straight. And entire Slovenian team is just playing pathetic.
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 7:41 pm
by zshawn10
props to luka for playing but he's clearly not right
Re: Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (July 2-7) - 4 Paris Slots Up for Grabs
Posted: Tue Jul 2, 2024 7:53 pm
by MrGoat
Luka needs an actual offseason, please put Slovenia out of their misery already