Do we have a broadcast schedule for any of the games, either practice or FIBA?
Bovada has announced the odds on who will win the World Cup:
Let me tell you, Canada at 45-1 is very tempting. You can also get +190 (almost 2 to 1) on Canada to win group H. Group H is really tough with both Australia and Lithuania in it (Senegal is going to get slaughtered) but Canada is going to have a roster with nothing but NBA guys on it. I may need to find a way to put some money on this.USA -800
Serbia +900
Spain +1500
France +3300
Greece +3300
Australia +4000
Canada +4500
Lithuania +5000
Argentina +8000
Russia +9000
Italy +10000
Brazil +15000
Germany +15000
Turkey +15000
Poland +20000
Montenegro +25000
Puerto Rico +25000
New Zealand +30000
Czech Republic +40000
China +50000
Dominican Republic +50000
Nigeria +50000
Iran +75000
Angola +125000
Japan +125000
Jordan +125000
Philippines +125000
South Korea +125000
Tunisia +125000
Venezuela +125000
Ivory Coast +150000
Senegal +150000
-Jason "USA is -10,000 to win group E... meaning you bet $10,000 to win $100. Ha!!" Evans
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Do we have a broadcast schedule for any of the games, either practice or FIBA?
https://www.usab.com/mens/national-t...-schedule.aspx
The practices are August 5 through 9th with a scrimmage or two. I'll have to do some more googling to find the schedule for that...
"That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."
Harden withdraws:
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/r...up-per-report/
The US is still going to be the favorite, but we are most assuredly sending the B (or maybe C) team to the World Cup. I mean, it is pretty clear that the US won't have anyone better than Jokic at this point, right? When was the last time the US didn't have the best player on the floor in every game they played in a major tournament?
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Ok, this is getting ridiculous. In the past week the following players have withdrawn from consideration for Team USA: James Harden, Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, CJ McCollum, and Eric Gordon.
There are only 15 players left trying out for the team: Kemba Walker, Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, Kevin Love, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Myles Turner, Harrison Barnes, Tobias Harris, Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez, Paul Millsap, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and P.J. Tucker.
I get that our very best are not bothering to play in the World Cup, but only a few of these guys would even be considered the "B Team" when it comes to NBA stars. There's a good number of guys who I think are outside the top 30 players in the league.
-Jason "pretty clear that Pop does not have the respect that K did when it comes to getting players to commit to playing" Evans
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Part of it is the absence of Coach K, and part of it is just cyclical.
Coach K was brought in after the losses in 2004, when there was some hunger to put the USA back on top. They used that opportunity to make players commit for 3-years, saying they'd only consider folks for the 2008 Olympics if they committed to trying out for the 2006 FIBA World Championship and 2007 FIBA Americas tournament. Over time that stance softened, and many spots on the 2016 Olympic team went to guys who had never played FIBA ball before (and in some cases, had never committed to the national team before), like Harrison Barnes, Jimmy Butler, DeAndre Jordan, Draymond Green and Kyle Lowry.
We'd likely be seeing a different response if trying out for this team was required to be considered for the 2020 Olympic team. But I think that's cyclical, and whenever our next loss happens (or next Olympic loss, that's a stronger motivator) we'll see a renewed push to get top players to commit long term.
Coach K had to deal with "B teams" all the time for the FIBA events, but the difference was that those "B teams" consisted of pre-prime players, often guys in their early-to-mid 20s, who had incredible talent but would need time to develop into superstars. Here, we do seem to be lacking superstar talent -- current or eventual -- and that is slightly disconcerting. Still, no excuses, Pop. The USA losing a game for the first time since 2006 would be viewed as surprising, and not winning the gold medal would be viewed as shocking and a failure.
Incidentally, to answer Jason's question, I probably would give Lillard equal footing with or maybe a slight edge over Jokic, considering defense is generally more important for bigs than for guards. Still, the point is made. We might not have the best player in the event.
Yeah, and I would probably prefer for Team USA to be made up of Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner, Trae Young, John Collins, Jaren Jackson Jr, DeAndre Ayton, Jaylen Brown, De'Arron Fox, Zion, and one or two more guys. Make it an "best players under 25" team and I would really get behind that, even if it made our odds of winning a little bit lower. All these guys saying "I don't want to waste my time playing for team USA" just pisses me off.
Jokic was first team All-NBA while Lillard was 2nd... but part of that is positional (G is more competitive than C in the modern NBA). It is a close call between the two of them.
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@TheAthleticNBA is quoting Jerry Colangelo as saying Zion has withdrawn from the FIBA World Cup training.
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/st...71682326925312
I like the system used for men's soccer, where the focus is on the world-cup and the Olympics is a 23-and-under tournament. Here, the Olympics would be the main tournament, and the world cup would be more youth focused. And I agree I'd enjoy it even if the U.S. did so unilaterally.
But with one change to your list: Deandre Ayton is Bahamian.
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Add Tobias Harris to the list of players opting to stay home and not play for Team USA. Supposedly, Lillard and KLove are also wavering a bit. Hardly surprising as it sorta looks like all the established stars are leaving and if you stay you look like someone who is lesser than them.
The latest talk is that Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Thaddeus Young, De’Angelo Russell, and Aaron Gordon are going to be invited to the “select team” that will scrimmage against the main team (along with guys like Trae Young and John Collins) and of any of the select players play really well, they could easily make the main World Cup roster.
Jason “disgusted... I may be rooting for Canada or Serbia to win the Cup at this point” Evans
Last edited by JasonEvans; 07-23-2019 at 07:47 AM.
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People underestimate how good Coach K was at selling a vision and idea to superstar players. That was the key thing, building a culture in which everyone bought in and even guys like Durant and Kyrie would turn up for the World Cup.
Pop finding it hard to make that sell right now. Surprise surprise.
Almost equivalent to playing college players who were usually juniors and seniors. The big challenge is generating a team that plays well together. That requires some leadership on the floor. I suspect the US will not win the gold and the stars will come back for the next big tourney.
Welp, it's moot since Lillard pulled out today: https://sports.yahoo.com/lillard-der...155459938.html
Colangelo still publicly confident:
"History would indicate this is nothing new, this is part of our process," Colangelo told reporters. "We're blessed with a lot of talents, and we're very deep. We'll take the cards that we are dealt."