Team USA - World Championships

[DarthFed]

Anyone tuning into the basketball world championships? I saw a good chunk of the USA-Turkey game yesterday. Turkey was leading for much of it until USA started pulling away in the 4th.

Given the roster USA has I'd say it's a good chance for Spain or other countries to beat them. After Durant left it is mostly the B and C team of NBA stars with the exception of Anthony Davis and maybe Rose who was a top player but is coming off 2 years of injuries.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Anyone tuning into the basketball world championships? I saw a good chunk of the USA-Turkey game yesterday. Turkey was leading for much of it until USA started pulling away in the 4th.

Given the roster USA has I'd say it's a good chance for Spain or other countries to beat them. After Durant left it is mostly the B and C team of NBA stars with the exception of Anthony Davis and maybe Rose who was a top player but is coming off 2 years of injuries.

I just will be glad when its all over. I dont like Drose playing in this tournament.. its not a good decision. Sorry but i have to go off this thread: There has got to be a way for the Bulls to get Rudy Gay.. he would be the missing piece. I am sick of LBJ winning the East:devil

 

[kskate2]

Sorry. Between concerts, summer tennis and work, I've had no time to watch any of their games.

 

[DarthFed]

Anyone tuning into the basketball world championships? I saw a good chunk of the USA-Turkey game yesterday. Turkey was leading for much of it until USA started pulling away in the 4th.

Given the roster USA has I'd say it's a good chance for Spain or other countries to beat them. After Durant left it is mostly the B and C team of NBA stars with the exception of Anthony Davis and maybe Rose who was a top player but is coming off 2 years of injuries.

I just will be glad when its all over. I dont like Drose playing in this tournament.. its not a good decision. Sorry but i have to go off this thread: There has got to be a way for the Bulls to get Rudy Gay.. he would be the missing piece. I am sick of LBJ winning the East:devil

I think they need more than Rudy Gay. Gasol will prove to be a good pickup but Melo would have made the East very interesting if he moved to Chicago.

I too will be glad when it's over. With George's big injury and Durant leaving due to fatigue I think it is set up for the NBA to look into whether or not they should still be sending their stars to these events. They won't win with college all stars or a team of average-below average NBA players but I'm OK with that.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Anyone tuning into the basketball world championships? I saw a good chunk of the USA-Turkey game yesterday. Turkey was leading for much of it until USA started pulling away in the 4th.

Given the roster USA has I'd say it's a good chance for Spain or other countries to beat them. After Durant left it is mostly the B and C team of NBA stars with the exception of Anthony Davis and maybe Rose who was a top player but is coming off 2 years of injuries.

I just will be glad when its all over. I dont like Drose playing in this tournament.. its not a good decision. Sorry but i have to go off this thread: There has got to be a way for the Bulls to get Rudy Gay.. he would be the missing piece. I am sick of LBJ winning the East:devil

I think they need more than Rudy Gay. Gasol will prove to be a good pickup but Melo would have made the East very interesting if he moved to Chicago.

I too will be glad when it's over. With George's big injury and Durant leaving due to fatigue I think it is set up for the NBA to look into whether or not they should still be sending their stars to these events. They won't win with college all stars or a team of average-below average NBA players but I'm OK with that.

The Bulls are very close.. the Bulls issues are on offense.. Coach Tibs is a defense 1st and only coach.. the Bulls doesnt have a consistent threat on offense outside of Drose.. If they get Rudy Gay or even Ray Allen.. they can get pass LBJ and the Cavs.. Lbj is gonna find life very difficult without Dwade

 

[DarthFed]

^ We will see but I completely disagree that he will find life difficult without Wade. Having a good big man in Love will make them very tough to beat. Wade has been a shadow of himself the past 3 years now. Bulls have next to no prayer with their current roster as I doubt D Rose will ever get back to what he was.

 

[DarthFed]

Sorry. Between concerts, summer tennis and work, I've had no time to watch any of their games.

They all seem to be on during the early afternoon. I saw the Turkey game by chance. Still think Spain might beat them in the finals but don't really care. These are the C-leaguers + Anthony Davis and maybe Harden and Curry (if you want to put them as B-leaguers).

 

[kskate2]

ESPN3 replays the games, but again I haven't the time to catch any. I could see a loss to Spain. Are the brothers Gasol playing?

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I watched the Turkey - USA game only because, well, I am from Turkey and they did good to slow the game down for 3 quarters and play their way but eventually US picked up the tempo and that was all she wrote.

I am all for US pros sitting these events out and college guys taking over. It would be a great experience for them . I do not believe these championships are adding anything to the pros.

 

[DarthFed]

I watched the Turkey - USA game only because, well, I am from Turkey and they did good to slow the game down for 3 quarters and play their way but eventually US picked up the tempo and that was all she wrote.

I am all for US pros sitting these events out and college guys taking over. It would be a great experience for them . I do not believe these championships are adding anything to the pros.

Completely agree. These guys have nothing to gain by winning the world championships or the Gold Medal. They risk a lot such as injury, additional fatigue from all the extra games, and let's face it, it is a complete humiliation if they lose. 2004 was a black eye for bball fans from this country. We are still trying to forget it.

The real competition is in the NBA and the major goal for these stars is to win NBA titles. That's where the money, fame, glory lies! Let the college stars play it. They will win a fair share, won't beat Spain or probably a couple other teams but it would be a good experience as you say.

 

[the AntiPusher]

^ We will see but I completely disagree that he will find life difficult without Wade. Having a good big man in Love will make them very tough to beat. Wade has been a shadow of himself the past 3 years now. Bulls have next to no prayer with their current roster as I doubt D Rose will ever get back to what he was.

Who is gonna consistently take the "pressure shot" , LBJ everytime.. Hmmmnn. LBJ is still no Kobe or Dwade..IMO

 

[DarthFed]

^ He's a lot better than they ever were. I don't think Wade was taking that many pressure shots the past 2 years. Maybe the first year they were together when D-Wade was still going very strong. I think the Bulls' only hope of overtaking the Cavs is if Rose comes back 100% to what he was and even then they are still underdogs.

I will be interested to see how teams like the Wizards and Raps progress. They could surprise, especially the former. Other than that it's tough to see who is challenging the Cavs.

 

[DarthFed]

So it will be USA and Serbia in the final on Sunday. Haven't seen any of the action the past week but I'm a little surprised at just how easy the U.S. team was able to get to the final. Lithuania has often caused them trouble but not in the semis yesterday. This is the first time in awhile the U.S. has brought a lot of size and it seems to be working well. They felt the need to after the last couple Olympics vs. Spain where they had all sorts of trouble with the Gasol brothers. But still with who they are missing I figured the U.S. would have a tough time and possibly lose to Spain or possibly another decent team like Lithuania or Brazil.

Meanwhile Spain was victim of a huge upset the other day in losing to France who was without Tony Parker. Maybe Serbia will play them close for the 1st half but that's probably about it.

 

[Billie]

Regardless what happens in the final, I am so proud of my Cinderella team - Serbia. The team has such great chemistry and they were getting better and better as they played each game. The best decision that they made is to appoint Djordjevic as a national team coach. What a guy, he was a special player when he played and now he proved that he has coaching chops as well.

My only worry is that they won't be fresh enough for the Americans, who have never been even challenged so far, but we won't know until the game starts. Serbian team has a nice mix of youth/athleticism and experience, they play great defence and they have great shooters. If Dr Teo is on, anything is possible.

Let's go boys, for all the glory.

 

[DarthFed]

I'd normally be rooting for your boys Billie but I expect a good old fashioned beatdown when all is said and done and I'm hoping for it. This could end up being all 20+ point wins this tournament and that's impressive. It would bode well for the 2016 Olympics.

Serbia will have to shoot lights out to have a glimmer of hope. The best chance to beat USA is to have a beast or 2 down low like Spain.

 

[Billie]

Darth, needless to say, the USA is the favourite here. But it is still one game only and the Serbian team will have to play a game of their lives while the American players would need to play below their standards. NBA players against the team without even one that plays in that league, doesn't seem to be fair, does it? The coach will probably try to inspire his players with the clips of 2002 World Basketball championships to tell them that nothing is impossible. I will be happy with my team showing heart and passion for the game, whatever the result. That has been missing for a few years and it seems that the desire and motivation to show their skills are back again. If the younger Serbian players don't get too nervous or too intimidated by the NBA players, it has a potential to be a great game.

Congratulations to France, they won the bronze medal in less than 18 hours of the heartbreaking semi final loss. Diaw and Batum are studs! Their first medal in the World Championships, well done.:clap

 

[DarthFed]

I saw the first half yesterday and USA was just hitting all their 3's. There isn't much of a prayer for anyone when they are shooting like that. It was an impressive run and I look forward to seeing what the final team for the 2016 Olympics looks like. I'd imagine they will elect to go for more size again since it seemed to work really well for this team.

I'd be surprised if Lebron plays again, I also think Paul and Melo might not play and then Kobe will probably be retired/not playing Olympics at that time. So it should be a much different team than the last 2 Olympics. And I'd still rather they stop sending NBA players but that probably won't happen before the upcoming Olympics.

 

[the AntiPusher]

I saw the first half yesterday and USA was just hitting all their 3's. There isn't much of a prayer for anyone when they are shooting like that. It was an impressive run and I look forward to seeing what the final team for the 2016 Olympics looks like. I'd imagine they will elect to go for more size again since it seemed to work really well for this team.

I'd be surprised if Lebron plays again, I also think Paul and Melo might not play and then Kobe will probably be retired/not playing Olympics at that time. So it should be a much different team than the last 2 Olympics. And I'd still rather they stop sending NBA players but that probably won't happen before the upcoming Olympics.

All the US need is James Harden.. Step Curry, Clay Thompson, K Irving, A Davis and a few wide bodies for defense and rebounds. No body can beat this team.. Paul, Melo, LBJ, Drose and others have their rings.. Let other's have their day in the Sun.

 

[DarthFed]

^ I think you're right though if some of the older guard still wants to play they should be allowed to. But guys like Lebron and Melo have won 2 Golds and played in 3 Olympics already and they will be in their 30's by the next Olympics (I think Melo is already 30 or 31) and need to worry more about offseason recovery. Chris Paul also has had more injury problems so I don't think he will be there either or certainly I won't blame him if he doesn't want to play again.

 

[Billie]

Those 3s for the USA team in the first half were deflating (I think that Serbian players forgot that the 3 in international leagues is not the same as in NBA); the 2nd half was more like an exhibition match. The USA were the best team, hopefully this Serbian team can build on this exceptional result. The players had hoped for a quarter final spot, only the coach had believed they could go further. Good luck to them in future.