If Fox was really cut, I wonder whether there would be an impact on chemistry given White is still on the roster and a Spurs. Would the other players feel Pop is being fair, a la Rivers on the Clippers and Hayward on the Celtics.
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If Fox was really cut, I wonder whether there would be an impact on chemistry given White is still on the roster and a Spurs. Would the other players feel Pop is being fair, a la Rivers on the Clippers and Hayward on the Celtics.
Here's a couple of ESPN pieces on the team from the past few days:
"Team USA takeaways: Pop's plans, scrimmage woes and more talking points"
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...talking-points
"Popovich keen to spread the love within Team USA"
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...-love-team-usa
As far as Fox dropping out, the first piece talks a little bit about that...after not playing much in the game against Spain, did he want to avoid being the guy that has to fly to Australia only to fly back when he was cut...only to fly back to Asia again when the Kings play in India in a few weeks. I often wonder if these injuries and drop out are all very carefully executed strategies to avoid saying someone was cut, but I think that level of media organization by USA Basketball is likely far fetched. I know that these guys don't want to be cut, so I think they reject before they can be rejected.
It would be interesting for Smart to make it after essentially not participating at all. Just based on numbers, Mason has a real chance.
Remaining players by position:
Wings:
Harrison Barnes
Jaylen Brown
Joe Harris
Kyle Kuzma (could play a 'big' role)
Khris Middleton
Jayson Tatum
Bigs:
Brook Lopez
Mason Plumlee
Myles Turner
Guards:
Donovan Mitchell
Marcus Smart
Kemba Walker
Derrick White
When I look at this list, I don't see Smart as a lock because he's not a good shooter and he loves to take bad shots. Of course, he's also a bulldog and a defensive ace. If you shift Kuzma to being a big, I could see him replacing Mason, but Mason has clearly embraced the defense/screens/rebounding role and has zero ego, Pop has even commented on that. One has to assume that Smart would not have stuck around if he didn't think there was a good chance he'd make it. As of today, I'd put my money on Mason, Jaylen Brown or Derrick White being the final cut.
This week's exhibition games against Australia will tell us a lot.
My new favorite not-at-all-serious conspiracy theory here: Vlade Divac ordered Fox and Bagley to withdraw in order to secure victory for the Serbian National team. (Presumably Barnes is either a sleeper agent or someone Vlade can count on to fail in big moments, I guess?)Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonEvans
That is classic! FIBA tournaments are full of cloaking, misdirection and dumping games to get more favorable match-ups. This theory fits right in, I love it.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOldBattleship
https://www.tsn.ca/report-cory-josep...-cup-1.1353495
Joseph has been a great contributor to the Canadian national team in the past and would have been a nice leader on this team. It could be a big challenge to get a top 7 finish to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
Set your DVRs or alarm clocks...US vs Australia exhibition, 5:30AM EST, 50,000 screaming Crocodile Dundees wanting American blood to mix with their Fosters.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...hreat-team-usa
Interestingly enough, they don't drink Fosters in Australia anymore. For one, it got renamed a while ago. And two, it had a bigger international presence than a domestic one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy Dat
I figured I'd get burned by relying on tired tropes...DBR is a cruel mistress.Quote:
Originally Posted by flyingdutchdevil
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyingdutchdevil
I haven't had a Fosters in decades but found this educational:Quote:
Originally Posted by Billy Dat
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster%27s_Lager
Yep. Was in London in May. It was EVERYWHERE.Quote:
Originally Posted by devildeac
So the US boomed on the Boomers with very little difficulty. Had it not been for some lapses during the first and second quarters, we'd have blown them out worse then we did.
I was very impressed with...
-Myles Turner on both ends, he has a really nice feathery jumper
-Kyle Kuzma got the US off to a good start with hot shooting
-Kemba would not be denied on offense
-Aside from the aforementioned lapses, our defense was solid
Derrick White only played mop up minutes so I have to think, as of now, that he's the cut. They seem to have named Marcus Smart a captain so even thought he hasn't played one minute, I think he's in.
Our guys looked good. Tatum is playing well, and getting on-board with Pop's "move the ball" concepts. Mason had a bad start but is the most intuitive big at springing guys loose all over the court with screens.
The stadium was oddly retrofitted for hoops, kind of like the famous UCLA/Houston game in the Astrodome except the filled in the floor with chairs. The TV production was all Aussie and I was cracking up when one of the halftime interviews with with RJ Hunter and Lamelo Ball, two US youngsters playing pro overseas during their gap year instead of playing in college.
Here's the boxscore. Agreed that Tatum's passing stood out to me. He has looked more decisive this summer than he did much of last year; getting going right away off the catch rather than catching, holding, scanning, and then going. He's so skilled that when he can catch people even a bit off-balance by making his decisions quickly, he forces defenses to send extra guys. If he can keep tapping into his passing, that's could be a really big element in his game. Exciting to see.
https://www.tsn.ca/nick-nurse-cory-j...-cup-1.1353905Quote:
Originally Posted by NSDukeFan
Looks like I (and TSN) may have jumped the gun and Joseph appears to be playing in the World Cup joining Khem Birch as the only NBA players playing for Canadian. I think he makes a big difference for the team’s prospects.
Some have noted that the FIBA World Cup serves the dual purpose of being a somewhat significant tournament and also being qualifying for the 2020 Olympics. Some articles say the top 7 teams at the World Cup will be automatic Olympic qualifiers. That is actually not the case.
7 teams will qualify, but not necessarily the top 7 teams in the tourney. The 7 teams will be the top finisher in the standings from Asia, Africa, and Oceania as well as the top 2 teams from the Americas and Europe. So, in the case of Canada looking for an automatic berth (assuming Team USA takes one of the 2 Americas spots) they would need to finish ahead of Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Dom Rep, and Venezuela. Argentina is quite good and a medal contender. IF Canada brought their full roster, I'd be confident they would make it but with this ragtag group, I suspect they won't make it.
That would mean that if Canada wants to make the 2020 Olympics, they would need to qualify through a tournament that will be held July 6-12 of next summer leading right up to the July/Aug Olympics in Tokyo. There will be 24 total teams in that tournament, broken out into 4 groups of 6 teams each. The winner (and only the winner) of each group will qualify. I suspect, given the way FIBA likes to spread the Olympics around among teams from all over the world, not just one region, that there will be multiple Americas teams in one 6-team pod though they may just divide up the teams according to FIBA rankings seeing as the World Cup 7-team qualifying makes it so that every region will have at least one team in the Olympics.
-Jason "I am dying for Canada to field a full roster and give a full-strength Team USA a real challenge" Evans
Great thread on the stats of the Team USA squad through 3 games by John Schumann of NBA. He makes some interesting observations (though obviously this is all based on a really small sample), and all here really does show that Mason makes a significant impact when he's out there. The case for White being the guy most likely to be cut at this point seems pretty clear, too. Good experience for him to be out there with the team, though.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ECmEbkrX...jpg&name=smallQuote:
Originally Posted by TheOldBattleship
So, it is fairly clear that (small sample size!!!) Team USA plays its best basketball when Mason is on the floor. Anyone who thinks he is on the bubble to make the team is bonkers.
-Jason "surprised at Middleton's poor advanced stats as I feel like he is an ideal stretch 4 for Team USA" Evans
so 11 teams overall will go to Tokyo? 7 from this year’s FIBA and 4 from next year’s last minute qualifying? 11 sounds like an odd number, but maybe I’m missing something (as usual).Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonEvans
Yes, 11 is an odd number. ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Neals384
Glad I could clear that up.
Japan, as the host country for the Olympics, gets an auto bid. There will be 12 teams in the tournament. I am fairly sure they will be divided into 2 groups of 6 and will play a 5 game round-robin. After that, the top 4 in each group will advance to an elimination tournament.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neals384
-Jason "I have not researched the Olympic tournament format, but this is what makes the most sense to me based on past Olympic tournaments" Evans
Thanks!Quote:
Originally Posted by JasonEvans