Team Canada Basketball Thread

[TooBad]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone on the board!

Haha Lyles putting up a Saskatchewan roughriders poster

[TooBad]

Another Good Night from the Canadians
Murray 22 pts 8 reb 2 asts 9/15 fg
Lyles 16 pts 8 reb 7/11 fg
Olynyk 15 pt 12 reb 2 ast 3 stl 2 Blk 7/14 fg
Joseph 9 pt 1 reb 2 asts 4/7 fg
Powell 6pt 7 reb 2/7 fg
Brooks 6pt 1 reb 1 ast 3/10 fg
Naz Long 3 pts 1/1 fg - I know a lot of you're probably wondering is he better than Wiggins? He only played 1 min but i'd say yes
Stauskas 2pts 2 reb 0/2 fg

Total Pts 79
Total Reb 39

Watch on YouTube

The Murray-Lyles chemistry on the Nuggets is a Canadian Basketball fans dream. Lyles also won the Lyles vs Mitchell match up tonight. Furthermore, Naz Long got his first pts but unfortunately Lyles and him collided and he was forced to leave.

And


Jay Triano executed the greatest play in basketball history for his 100th win

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[aminiaturebuddha]

Naz Long 3 pts 1/1 fg - I know a lot of you're probably wondering is he better than Wiggins? He only played 1 min but i'd say yes

Ok, I get it, you're just trolling now. Well played.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Another Good Night from the Canadians
Murray 22 pts 8 reb 2 asts 9/15 fg
Lyles 16 pts 8 reb 7/11 fg

I'm wondering if this was also the first time the two top scorers for a winning team (or either team for that matter) were Canadians. Or did Murray and Lyles already do this at some point in the past couple of weeks? They've been on a great roll. I'm very happy for Lyles. He finally seems to be making good on all the talent that I've always seen in him.

[Hair Canada]

Another Good Night from the Canadians
Murray 22 pts 8 reb 2 asts 9/15 fg
Lyles 16 pts 8 reb 7/11 fg
Olynyk 15 pt 12 reb 2 ast 3 stl 2 Blk 7/14 fg
Joseph 9 pt 1 reb 2 asts 4/7 fg
Powell 6pt 7 reb 2/7 fg
Brooks 6pt 1 reb 1 ast 3/10 fg
Naz Long 3 pts 1/1 fg - I know a lot of you're probably wondering is he better than Wiggins? He only played 1 min but i'd say yes
Stauskas 2pts 2 reb 0/2 fg

Total Pts 79
Total Reb 39


The Murray-Lyles chemistry on the Nuggets is a Canadian Basketball fans dream. Lyles also won the Lyles vs Mitchell match up tonight. Furthermore, Naz Long got his first pts but unfortunately Lyles and him collided and he was forced to leave.

And

Jay Triano executed the greatest play in basketball history for his 100th win

Nice summary TooBad. Lyles has looked very impressive all of December. Don't know what happened to him lately, but this is the player we've been dreaming about. for me, what's especially encouraging is that he got his confidence and the minutes by knocking down some threes. But last three games these haven's been falling (3/12), and he still managed to score and be effective by staying in attack mode and going hard to the basket. This last game is a good example. Some aggressive drives and powerful finishes. If he can do that plus continue to knock down the threes with some consistency, he's a starting PF in this league, with potential to be even more, because physically he's got the full package. If that's the case, the Nuggets might not have been robbed in the last draft after all.

As for team Canada, a frontcourt of Olynyk and Lyles (both look like great FIBA players), with TT and Powell from the bench would be one of the best that any team can put up. Here's hoping.

[TooBad]

Another Good Night from the Canadians
Murray 22 pts 8 reb 2 asts 9/15 fg
Lyles 16 pts 8 reb 7/11 fg

I'm wondering if this was also the first time the two top scorers for a winning team (or either team for that matter) were Canadians. Or did Murray and Lyles already do this at some point in the past couple of weeks? They've been on a great roll. I'm very happy for Lyles. He finally seems to be making good on all the talent that I've always seen in him.

Lyles and Murray did this vs detroit (Murray 28, Lyles 20) and vs LA (Murray 28, Lyles 18)

[TooBad]

Another Good Night from the Canadians
Murray 22 pts 8 reb 2 asts 9/15 fg
Lyles 16 pts 8 reb 7/11 fg
Olynyk 15 pt 12 reb 2 ast 3 stl 2 Blk 7/14 fg
Joseph 9 pt 1 reb 2 asts 4/7 fg
Powell 6pt 7 reb 2/7 fg
Brooks 6pt 1 reb 1 ast 3/10 fg
Naz Long 3 pts 1/1 fg - I know a lot of you're probably wondering is he better than Wiggins? He only played 1 min but i'd say yes
Stauskas 2pts 2 reb 0/2 fg

Total Pts 79
Total Reb 39


The Murray-Lyles chemistry on the Nuggets is a Canadian Basketball fans dream. Lyles also won the Lyles vs Mitchell match up tonight. Furthermore, Naz Long got his first pts but unfortunately Lyles and him collided and he was forced to leave.

And

Jay Triano executed the greatest play in basketball history for his 100th win

Nice summary TooBad. Lyles has looked very impressive all of December. Don't know what happened to him lately, but this is the player we've been dreaming about. for me, what's especially encouraging is that he got his confidence and the minutes by knocking down some threes. But last three games these haven's been falling (3/12), and he still managed to score and be effective by staying in attack mode and going hard to the basket. This last game is a good example. Some aggressive drives and powerful finishes. If he can do that plus continue to knock down the threes with some consistency, he's a starting PF in this league, with potential to be even more, because physically he's got the full package. If that's the case, the Nuggets might not have been robbed in the last draft after all.

As for team Canada, a frontcourt of Olynyk and Lyles (both look like great FIBA players), with TT and Powell from the bench would be one of the best that any team can put up. Here's hoping.

He is a very good defender too from what i've seen.

[Kid Canada]

I really hope the majority of our nbaers show up for the next olympics.

Cojo, Murray, Wiggins, Lyles, TT

Olynyk, Brooks, Long, Stauskas, Ennis

would be tremendous! RJ Barrett and other up and comers could be ready to help out by then too.

[TooBad]

Another Record day for Canadian Basketball
Lyles 23 pts 10 reb on 8/13 fg
Murray 21 pts 8 Ast 7 Reb 8/20 Fg
Wiggins 21 pts 3 reb 7/13 fg (finally a respectable game)
Stauskas 21 pts 7/12 fg (7/10 from 3 in garbage time!!!!!!!) - Nash did 8
Powell 12 pt 3 reb 4/6 fg
Joseph 10pts 6 Asts 5/9 fg
Brooks 5pt 2/5 fg
Thompson 2 pts 1/2 fg

Point Total:115 (If only Olynyk had played)

Records/Potential Records/Personal Bests
3 Canadians score more than 20pts in a single game (Murray/Lyles/Wiggins)
4 Canadians score more than 20 pts in a single night (Murray/Lyles/Wiggins/Stauskas)
2 4pt plays by different Canadians in a single game (Lyles/Wiggins)
Career high for Stauskas in pts and 3's

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[CharlieTO]

So close to the 116 pts we had the other night! Just one more bucket and we would have beat that record. Tristan Thompson's minutes have really been reduced. I don't know if this is because he's still not in game shape coming back from injury or because he doesn't fit the scheme. Probably a combination of the two. Ennis had a quiet night as well and couldn't contribute to the total.

Stauskas' career high is actually 24 but he, nonetheless had a great night. 7/7 from beyond was amazing to watch. That scenario of urgency with the Nets being down by such a large margin really seemed to get his game going. Much less pressure when you are down so much and trying to make threes as opposed to being in a tight game. It would be nice to see his progression translate this performance in different scenarios.

I was disappointed that Naz Long didn't get any minutes. Maybe that injury he suffered yesterday with those fresh stitches hasn't healed and he couldn't play? I really thought he'd get some garbage minutes after the Warriors opened up such a commanding lead in the 3rd. Quin Snyder really confuses me sometimes regarding how he handles his rotation because he pretty much didn't seem to give garbage minutes to anyone.

Interesting note on Dwight Powell. The Mavs are 20 points better per 100 possessions with Powell on the court than without him.
The Mavs have outscored teams by nine points per 100 possessions with Powell on the floor, and had been outscored by 11.5 when he sits. Only two players have been better in this statistic. These stats really speak volumes about the influence he has on games and how his contribution really goes under the radar. He and Brooks are similar in this regard because their stats don't jump off the page but their defensive work and energy really make a difference on their squads.

There's a clear collective progression with all these guys and I'm excited to see where this is going. Aside, Khem Birch got a couple garbage minutes last night so at least he's physically getting on the floor and will hopefully be given a chance soon.

[frumble]

Lyles' PER for 2017-18 is now 19.4.
That is the highest ever for a Canadian (I checked back to 2000) other than Nash.

Powell is at 17.2 for the season. Olynyk and Murray 16.1 and Stauskas a respectable and rapidly-rising 15.6.

Even with the disappointing seasons for Wiggins and Thompson, it has been a very good season for our NBA players.

[aminiaturebuddha]

We really have to find a way to qualify for the basketball World Cup. There's not much that Basketball Canada can do about the games coming up in February. We'll have to try to win those games with essentially the same team as we had in November. But the program really needs to get some of our NBA and Euroleague players onboard for the summer games next year to ensure that we win both and get as many points as possible.

I know that Hair Canada, in particular, doesn't see the 2019/2020 window as our best option for challenging for a medal. And it may be true that our real strength may come in later years. However, I still think that these guys could make a decent run in this next window if we can qualify. It may not end up being our best National Team edition when all is said and done, and anything can happen in tournaments where one bad game can eliminate you (see: 2015 Americas tournament), but a team consisting of the following would definitely be amongst the top 6-8 most talented, even if it would still lack a little in experience and cohesiveness - another thing that getting NBA players on board for next summer would help rectify.

C - Olynyk
F - Lyles
F - Wiggins
G - Murray
G - Joseph
C/F - Thompson
F - Powell
F - Brooks
G - Stauskas
G - Pangos
C - Birch
G - Ennis / Barrett

[UcanUwill]

Apparently, Barcelona offered $250 000 AND Tyrese Ryce for Kevin Pangos, but Zalgiris declined. This would have been basically an NBA-esque trade, very interesting.

[Hair Canada]

Apparently, Barcelona offered $250 000 AND Tyrese Ryce for Kevin Pangos, but Zalgiris declined. This would have been basically an NBA-esque trade, very interesting.

Yes, really interesting. Two years ago that would have been an incredible steal for Zalgiris. Rice was the led an underdog Maccabi Tel Aviv team to the Euroleague title in 2014, elected final four MVP (with coach David Blatt before he moved on to the Cavaliers). He then led Khimki to the EuroCup title in 2015 and was elected EuroCup MVP. And last year in Barcelona he still had 13 points and 5 assists a game in Euroleague games. How the wheel turns...

[Hair Canada]

We really have to find a way to qualify for the basketball World Cup. There's not much that Basketball Canada can do about the games coming up in February. We'll have to try to win those games with essentially the same team as we had in November. But the program really needs to get some of our NBA and Euroleague players onboard for the summer games next year to ensure that we win both and get as many points as possible.

I know that Hair Canada, in particular, doesn't see the 2019/2020 window as our best option for challenging for a medal. And it may be true that our real strength may come in later years. However, I still think that these guys could make a decent run in this next window if we can qualify. It may not end up being our best National Team edition when all is said and done, and anything can happen in tournaments where one bad game can eliminate you (see: 2015 Americas tournament), but a team consisting of the following would definitely be amongst the top 6-8 most talented, even if it would still lack a little in experience and cohesiveness - another thing that getting NBA players on board for next summer would help rectify.

C - Olynyk
F - Lyles
F - Wiggins
G - Murray
G - Joseph
C/F - Thompson
F - Powell
F - Brooks
G - Stauskas
G - Pangos
C - Birch
G - Ennis / Barrett

I agree that this could be a fantastic team and great fun to watch even if not everyone ends up showing. It might not win a medal (although who knows), but should give other top national teams some real competition. And for tradition, experience, and cohesiveness to build up, you have to start somewhere. 2019-20 could be a great beginning. So yes, hopefully, Basketball Canada does not blow this opportunity (with 32 teams in the 2019 WC, it would be a crime if Canada doesn't make it).

[CharlieTO]

Just announced. Justin Jackson's season is over for Maryland as he is going to undergo surgery for a torn labrum. I guess that explains his dip in form this season. I would think that he probably won't enter the 2018 NBA draft and will likely play his junior year. That may leave no Canadians in this upcoming draft depending how well the second half of the season goes for some of these guys.

[TooBad]

Blockbuster Trade!

Read on Twitter

This is the Celtics G-league team

[mojo13]

Apparently, Barcelona offered $250 000 AND Tyrese Ryce for Kevin Pangos, but Zalgiris declined. This would have been basically an NBA-esque trade, very interesting.

Yes, really interesting. Two years ago that would have been an incredible steal for Zalgiris. Rice was the led an underdog Maccabi Tel Aviv team to the Euroleague title in 2014, elected final four MVP (with coach David Blatt before he moved on to the Cavaliers). He then led Khimki to the EuroCup title in 2015 and was elected EuroCup MVP. And last year in Barcelona he still had 13 points and 5 assists a game in Euroleague games. How the wheel turns...

Another big upset win by Zalgiris over Olympiacos in front of a 15k sellout home crowd. Pangos with 14/7 leading the way once again.
Wiltjer didn’t do much for Oly. The duo of Jasikevicius' coaching and Pangos' leadership is on fire right now.

Experts Round Table: Round 15

3. Which player has surprised you most in the first half of the season?

Manuel Moreno

It's not easy to stand out in a competition the level of the EuroLeague, both at the team and individual levels. Only the well-known and established ones can achieve that, and we all know who they are. Among surprises I would point at Zalgiris Kaunas as a team - currently fifth with nine wins - and its player Kevin Pangos as the product of the philosophy imposed by Saras Jasikevicius. Pangos grew up at Gonzaga University and played in the Spanish League with Gran Canaria, but he didn't shine properly until this season, at 24 years old. His 11.9 points (with a 46.7% on two-point shots and 50% on threes) and his 5.5 assists made him an unexpected Zalgiris leader and a nightmare for opposing defenses. And he's also a surprise in this season's EuroLeague. A player to follow.

Matjaz Smodis

For me the surprise is Kevin Pangos, who is playing great under Sarunas Jaskevicius. I didn’t expect Zalgiris to be playing so well, though I imagine that only a few did. Pangos is definitely the main reason why. He is not the only player on the team enjoying a breakout season, however, Pangos is on the floor more than any Zalgiris player and is getting it done as a passer, penetrator and shooter. Fourteen games is no small number, but the real test will be to see if Pangos can continue at this level when he faces teams a second time. If he can, it will be a special season for him and Zalgiris.

Massimo Oriani

Kevin Pangos is not a name that is mentioned often enough. He definitely benefits from playing in a fantastic system like the one that Saras Jasikevicius has created in Kaunas, but one does what he is asked to do and Kevin is doing exactly that. He’s the maestro that directs the orchestra with the musical score provided by Saras. Now he will have some help with the arrival of Beno Udrih at his side, giving Zalgiris the chance to elevate even more its already stunning (maybe not so much, we must give credit to Jasikevicius and his players rather than be shocked by the fact that they are ahead of teams with much bigger budgets) results. Pangos is not a flashy player, but he fits the role perfectly.

[UcanUwill]

Apparently, Barcelona offered $250 000 AND Tyrese Ryce for Kevin Pangos, but Zalgiris declined. This would have been basically an NBA-esque trade, very interesting.

Yes, really interesting. Two years ago that would have been an incredible steal for Zalgiris. Rice was the led an underdog Maccabi Tel Aviv team to the Euroleague title in 2014, elected final four MVP (with coach David Blatt before he moved on to the Cavaliers). He then led Khimki to the EuroCup title in 2015 and was elected EuroCup MVP. And last year in Barcelona he still had 13 points and 5 assists a game in Euroleague games. How the wheel turns...

Another big upset win by Zalgiris over Olympiacos in front of a 15k sellout home crowd. Pangos with 14/7 leading the way once again.
Wiltjer didn’t do much for Oly. The duo of Jasikevicius' coaching and Pangos' leadership is on fire right now.

Experts Round Table: Round 15

3. Which player has surprised you most in the first half of the season?

Manuel Moreno

It's not easy to stand out in a competition the level of the EuroLeague, both at the team and individual levels. Only the well-known and established ones can achieve that, and we all know who they are. Among surprises I would point at Zalgiris Kaunas as a team - currently fifth with nine wins - and its player Kevin Pangos as the product of the philosophy imposed by Saras Jasikevicius. Pangos grew up at Gonzaga University and played in the Spanish League with Gran Canaria, but he didn't shine properly until this season, at 24 years old. His 11.9 points (with a 46.7% on two-point shots and 50% on threes) and his 5.5 assists made him an unexpected Zalgiris leader and a nightmare for opposing defenses. And he's also a surprise in this season's EuroLeague. A player to follow.

Matjaz Smodis

For me the surprise is Kevin Pangos, who is playing great under Sarunas Jaskevicius. I didn’t expect Zalgiris to be playing so well, though I imagine that only a few did. Pangos is definitely the main reason why. He is not the only player on the team enjoying a breakout season, however, Pangos is on the floor more than any Zalgiris player and is getting it done as a passer, penetrator and shooter. Fourteen games is no small number, but the real test will be to see if Pangos can continue at this level when he faces teams a second time. If he can, it will be a special season for him and Zalgiris.

Massimo Oriani

Kevin Pangos is not a name that is mentioned often enough. He definitely benefits from playing in a fantastic system like the one that Saras Jasikevicius has created in Kaunas, but one does what he is asked to do and Kevin is doing exactly that. He’s the maestro that directs the orchestra with the musical score provided by Saras. Now he will have some help with the arrival of Beno Udrih at his side, giving Zalgiris the chance to elevate even more its already stunning (maybe not so much, we must give credit to Jasikevicius and his players rather than be shocked by the fact that they are ahead of teams with much bigger budgets) results. Pangos is not a flashy player, but he fits the role perfectly.

Zalgiris looks legit, haven't looked this good in this century so far, best season since 99. I wouldn't even call it a big upset anymore, since betting agencies were favoring Zalgiris and OLY was missing some key players.

[Hair Canada]

Biggest game of college career so far for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and on a very big stage, in Kentucky's blowout of Louisville.

24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and game MVP.

Not very quick, strong, or athletic, but very shifty and long (6'6 with 7'0 wingspan) and plays with both passion and poise, making him a very good and pesky defender and allowing him to find cracks in the defense and finish with skill. Nice to see his development.