2019 FIBA World Cup Thread

[DallasDevil]

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.

-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

Just a minor clarification; in 2020 there will be 3 groups of 4 in the Olympics and they will play a 3 game round-robin (so teams will play 2 less games than in prior Olympics). The top 2 teams from each group, plus 2 of the 3 third place finishers, will move on to the quarterfinals. More info here: http://www.fiba.basketball/news/comp...ll-tournaments

[UrinalCake]

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.

Next you’re going to tell me they don’t eat at Outback Steakhouse anymore 8-)

[phaedrus]

Next you’re going to tell me they don’t eat at Outback Steakhouse anymore 8-)

And what's the Australian word for "beer" now?

[devildeac]

And what's the Australian word for "beer" now?

"When you say budweiser..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster%27s_Group

"As a result, Foster's Group is now a direct subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV."

[subzero02]

Team USA had its 78 game winning streak broken by the Boomers. Patty Mills played the role of giant killer as he led the Aussies with 30 points. He made several key shots in the 4th quarter as Australia was able to overcome a 10 point halftime deficit. With less than a minute left, the US squad missed two 3 point attempts that would have tied the game at 97. A replay of the game will air on NBA TV at 8:00 pm. Team USA will have a chance to start a new winning streak on Monday against Canada. This might not be the only squad that the US falls to; according to odds shark, Australia only has the 6th best odds of winning the FIBA championship. USA -225, Serbia +350, Greece+1000, Spain+1600, France+2800 and Canada +3300 are all favored over Australia +4000.

https://www.espn.com/olympics/basket...78-game-streak

https://www.oddsshark.com/nba/fiba-w...p-betting-odds

[bundabergdevil]

Team USA had its 78 game winning streak broken by the Boomers. Patty Mills played the role of giant killer as he led the Aussies with 30 points. He made several key shots in the 4th quarter as Australia was able to overcome a 10 point halftime deficit. With less than a minute left, the US squad missed two 3 point attempts that would have tied the game at 97. A replay of the game will air on NBA TV at 8:00 pm. Team USA will have a chance to start a new winning streak on Monday against Canada. This might not be the only squad that the US falls to; according to odds shark, Australia only has the 6th best odds of winning the FIBA championship. USA -225, Serbia +350, Greece+1000, Spain+1600, France+2800 and Canada +3300 are all favored over Australia +4000.

https://www.espn.com/olympics/basket...78-game-streak

https://www.oddsshark.com/nba/fiba-w...p-betting-odds

Don't do it, don't do it...resist the urge...c'mon, man, keep it together...aaaahhhhhh...oh, screw it. CRIKEY!

[AGDukesky]

These games count?

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I think my definition of "shocked" might be different.

I am barely surprised.

[dukelifer]

These games count?

Part of basketball is the intimidation factor. The USA is vulnerable and the world knows it. It will take a lot for this team to win it all. But perhaps the loss of gold will inspire more stars to participate next time. If anything this game has shown that the tourney is wide open.

[Troublemaker]

The "Pop pulled a Chuck Daly" theory will have some grist, as judging from the box score and play by play, Pop started Harrison Barnes and Marcus Smart. If you swap in Jayson and Kemba, respectively, USA probably takes this game.

The accounting for that 78-game streak is weird, too. So the losses in real games during qualifying (under Jeff Van Gundy) don't count towards the streak, but this loss in an exhibition does?

Finally, as I've written before, if the USA and Boomers were to meet again during the actual competition, the USA's familiarity with the Aussies will make an upset less likely.

Trust me, I'm standing by ready to pull the "Pop isn't as good as Coach K* at coaching Team USA" card; it's in my back pocket with my hand on it. But this loss doesn't really move the needle that much at this point. Let's see a loss during the real competition where Harrison Barnes isn't so prominently involved.

* As I've written before, Coach K's ability to quickly get a new team to play well together is a skill that makes him the ideal USA coach.

[subzero02]

These games count?

This game was an exhibition and so is the game on Monday vs. Canada. Team USA will open Fiba tournament play vs. the Czech Republic in Shanghai on September 1st.



My first post has an error. Team USA didn't have a 10 point lead at the half; the lead was only 1 point; they did have a 10 point lead at one point in the second half though. A quick glance at the box score does raise a few concerns. Australia only shot 7 of 27 from 3 and Team USA only had 10 turnovers, considering the outcome, I would've expect both of these stats to be very different. The Boomer's efficiency on offense was likely the deciding factor; Australia had 22 assists to Team USA's 11.

[AGDukesky]

Part of basketball is the intimidation factor. The USA is vulnerable and the world knows it. It will take a lot for this team to win it all. But perhaps the loss of gold will inspire more stars to participate next time. If anything this game has shown that the tourney is wide open.

I don’t really think teams are that intimidated compared to, say, 1992. Sure USA is considered the best team, but other countries see playing the USA as an opportunity for a huge win. Look at the comments by Serbia.

Also, this game was just a higher profile scrimmage. If Duke won the national championship and then went on an exhibition tour before the next season, a loss wouldn’t end the win streak. It is very odd to count this as part of some streak.

[Billy Dat]

I watched the game. Our defense wasn’t good. We let Andrew Bogut carve us up in the first half with passes and deft buckets and, by letting the Boomers quickly erase that 10 point lead late, we set the stage for Patty Mills to go off, a scoring stream that included a banked 3 pointer.

No where on this thread does it mention that we beat this same team by 16 less than two days ago in the same stadium in front of 50,000 fans each game. It was a Final Four style atmosphere. Also, Australia starts 5 NBA players who know how to play together.

Pop is definitely still searching for combinations that work well together. This game was also a foul fest which made for a choppy, ugly flow which did not favor us. We also let the more physical FIBA style and unpredictable officiating get into our heads.

Just a note on Barnes, I don’t like him but he really played well today. I think this team has been working hard and playing hard. I don’t think they needed any kind of wake up call, but they certainly just got one.

[burnspbesq]

Australia started three players who played at St. Mary’s ... which puts Gonzaga’s long-standing dominance of the WCC in an interesting perspective.

[JasonEvans]

Final roster done. Mason makes the team (so does Tatum, of course)! Kuzma, who is hurt, was the final cut. This allows Pop to keep his boy White, though I suspect we won't see White play much in competitive games, of which there may be as many as 2 or 3.

The official 2019 USA World Cup Team includes 2016 Olympic gold medalist Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks);Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks); Donovan Mitchell (Utah Jazz); 2014 World Cup gold medalist Mason Plumlee (Denver Nuggets), Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics); Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics); Myles Turner (Indiana Pacers); Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics); and Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs).

[dukelifer]

Final roster done. Mason makes the team (so does Tatum, of course)! Kuzma, who is hurt, was the final cut. This allows Pop to keep his boy White, though I suspect we won't see White play much in competitive games, of which there may be as many as 2 or 3.

The loss of Kuzma is big. He is long and can shoot. I suspect if healthy- he would have stayed on the team.

[AGDukesky]

The loss of Kuzma is big. He is long and can shoot. I suspect if healthy- he would have stayed on the team.

Totally agree- that is a big loss

[robed deity]

I guess I don't understand how anyone can be shocked by this loss. This is not a GREAT roster, and ok, the first page mentions the Aussies don't have a few of their top guys (Simmons etc) but I could name like 10 or maybe 15 US players that would make a big difference. The Worlds just don't attract the big names. A huge get in 2010 was Kevin Durant. The US could have been vulnerable that year too, but noone could stop Durant and that was that.

This was a loss against a solid,experienced team with NBA vets on their home turf, 2 days after they beat them by 16. Not embarrassing at all considering who's playing. To me, nothing has changed. Send the A team-noone touches them. Send the B (or C) team (absent a dominant force like Durant or international Melo) and the US is vulnerable against a good team. Even with the 78 game streak, I didn't for a second think the USA was invincible and don't understand how someone could look at this roster and think they were.

[subzero02]

I guess I don't understand how anyone can be shocked by this loss. This is not a GREAT roster, and ok, the first page mentions the Aussies don't have a few of their top guys (Simmons etc) but I could name like 10 or maybe 15 US players that would make a big difference. The Worlds just don't attract the big names. A huge get in 2010 was Kevin Durant. The US could have been vulnerable that year too, but noone could stop Durant and that was that.

This was a loss against a solid,experienced team with NBA vets on their home turf, 2 days after they beat them by 16. Not embarrassing at all considering who's playing. To me, nothing has changed. Send the A team-noone touches them. Send the B (or C) team (absent a dominant force like Durant or international Melo) and the US is vulnerable against a good team. Even with the 78 game streak, I didn't for a second think the USA was invincible and don't understand how someone could look at this roster and think they were.

International Melo is one of my all time favorite basketball players. He was such a dominant and highly efficient force in the post.

[SouthernDukie]

International Melo is one of my all time favorite basketball players. He was such a dominant and highly efficient force in the post.

You mean as opposed to New York Melo? Or OKC Melo? Or Houston Melo?