2024 Olympics - Men's Basketball - Gold!

[brevity]

Not anymore.

But there was, sadly, a bit of deja vu watching Alvarado light it up against a team I was rooting for.

Reminded of my dislike for him. Haven’t seen the air guitar yet.

Probably air accordion now, since he's in France.

 

[AGDukesky]

Tatum has 10 points and 10 rebounds but I have zero confidence when he shoots right now

 

[brevity]

Can't make a poll, but I want to ask: what's the best windmill you've seen in France?

The Champion (source)

The Contender (source)

 

[subzero02]

Can't make a poll, but I want to ask: what's the best windmill you've seen in France?

The Champion (source)

The Contender (source)

That dunk by Edwards was ridiculous... ruined my attempt to take a nap

 

[duke79]

Am I the only one who HATES the floor on which they have been playing the BB games? I hate it almost as much as I hate the U of Oregon floor (an abomination, if there ever was one, IMHO).

 

[brevity]

I hate it almost as much as I hate the U of Oregon floor (an abomination, if there ever was one, IMHO).

You might hate the Oregon floor a little less now. New conference, new look:

The I-5 Corridor talks to the people who designed the old and new court.

There was no questioning whose floor that was on TV. But it was also busy. And dark. And, especially when on broadcast, the oranges and browns making up the trees surrounding the floor muddied together.

“It got darker,” says Todd Van Horne, who designed the original Matthew Knight Arena logo that sat at center court. “In my view, being a little critical, some of the colors got too brown. The green got too dark and it was a little bit too contrasty on TV. So we wanted to be like, OK, let’s clean this up and make it a little bit more simple”...

The browns are gone. The oranges are gone. That logo Todd Van Horne designed more than a decade ago has been repositioned and replaced at center court by a massive, green, O. The floor has a golden hue, with a grained look the Van Hornes say is an attempt to replicate the feel of the hardwood at McArthur Court.

 

[Billy Dat]

Highlight reel assist from LeBron! Wow.

In this setting, Point Lebron is so fun to watch. There was a stretch in the Puerto Rico game when it was LBJ/Curry/Ant/KD/AD and it was truly sublime the way the ball was moving and Lebron was setting guys up.

 

[mkirsh]

I know this thread is about traditional 5x5 men’s basketball, but I don’t understand what the US is doing in 3x3. Wouldn’t this be an awesome format (half court, very short <10 minute games) for retired or near retirement NBA players? Who wouldn’t want to watch KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen compete? Or D Wade, Melo, and Vince Cater? Or tie it into marketing and do the boxy boys of Perk, Melo, and TJ Ford? I could go on and on with endless fun combinations (like the CP-LeBron-Wade banana boat team). It could be like the senior tour for team USA, driving a lot a fan interest and also putting out a more competitive team. Please someone call Grant and make this happen!

 

[bluedevilwildcats]

I know this thread is about traditional 5x5 men’s basketball, but I don’t understand what the US is doing in 3x3. Wouldn’t this be an awesome format (half court, very short <10 minute games) for retired or near retirement NBA players? Who wouldn’t want to watch KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen compete? Or D Wade, Melo, and Vince Cater? Or tie it into marketing and do the boxy boys of Perk, Melo, and TJ Ford? I could go on and on with endless fun combinations (like the CP-LeBron-Wade banana boat team). It could be like the senior tour for team USA, driving a lot a fan interest and also putting out a more competitive team. Please someone call Grant and make this happen!

I posted previously why this probably isn't feasible in 3x3. Those guys would need to play a ton of games together to even qualify for consideration. I think those rules were added to prevent the US from just dominating like they usually do in 5x5.

 

[Billy Dat]

I posted previously why this probably isn't feasible in 3x3. Those guys would need to play a ton of games together to even qualify for consideration. I think those rules were added to prevent the US from just dominating like they usually do in 5x5.

You are correct. CBS' Matt Norlander has an article up about this, and CBS has added some fun "what if" content that mentions Duke players:

2024 Paris Olympics: How Team USA can fix its 3x3 basketball problem in time for the Games on home soil

2024 Paris Olympics: How Team USA can fix its 3x3 basketball problem in time for the Games on home soil

The bizarrely bad showing from the men's team in France should lead to wholesale changes in 2028, when the Olympics will be in LA

www.cbssports.com

Team USA Basketball: Cooper Flagg leads college players who could help the 3x3 team at 2024 Paris Olympics

Team USA Basketball: Cooper Flagg leads college players who could help the 3x3 team at 2024 Paris Olympics

These NCAA stars -- old and new -- would be a fun combination

www.cbssports.com

Duke, Baylor among top college teams with players who could win an Olympic gold medal in 3x3 basketball

Duke, Baylor among top college teams with players who could win an Olympic gold medal in 3x3 basketball

With 3x3 basketball attracting attention in the 2024 Paris Olympics, our experts look at top trios in college basketball

www.cbssports.com

 

[brevity]

I know this thread is about traditional 5x5 men’s basketball, but I don’t understand what the US is doing in 3x3. Wouldn’t this be an awesome format (half court, very short <10 minute games) for retired or near retirement NBA players? Who wouldn’t want to watch KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen compete? Or D Wade, Melo, and Vince Cater? Or tie it into marketing and do the boxy boys of Perk, Melo, and TJ Ford? I could go on and on with endless fun combinations (like the CP-LeBron-Wade banana boat team). It could be like the senior tour for team USA, driving a lot a fan interest and also putting out a more competitive team. Please someone call Grant and make this happen!

I was actually looking at the USA Basketball leadership page a few days ago because of this very issue. From what I can tell, Grant Hill is the managing director of the men's 5x5 national team. He does not handle the women's side, men's 3x3, or any junior teams.

Jay Demings directs the 3x3 national teams, men and women. He chairs the 3-person committees that select both teams. He deserves some credit for past successes and some blame for current failures. I imagine he'll do a lot of soul-searching as we move forward.

Your idea of the NBA senior tour taking over 3x3 is an interesting option. This version of the sport, such as it is, could experience a lot of growth before Los Angeles 2028. Ice Cube's Big3 has been around since 2017, and there's a 3x3 women's league, Unrivaled, starting up soon. The latter is offering enough money to sway active WNBA players.

We (as a country) have yet to decide how dedicated we should be to what is essentially a different event, with different courts and rules and such. Maybe we should consider 3x3 as a full-time gig, and not just something that 5x5 players do when they're moonlighting. It's so new that you could see another country that's not historically good at 5x5 divert their resources into establishing themselves as a 3x3 power, and they'd probably make a dent rather quickly.

 

[sagegrouse]

I was actually looking at the USA Basketball leadership page a few days ago because of this very issue. From what I can tell, Grant Hill is the managing director of the men's 5x5 national team. He does not handle the women's side, men's 3x3, or any junior teams.

Jay Demings directs the 3x3 national teams, men and women. He chairs the 3-person committees that select both teams. He deserves some credit for past successes and some blame for current failures. I imagine he'll do a lot of soul-searching as we move forward.

Your idea of the NBA senior tour taking over 3x3 is an interesting option. This version of the sport, such as it is, could experience a lot of growth before Los Angeles 2028. Ice Cube's Big3 has been around since 2017, and there's a 3x3 women's league, Unrivaled, starting up soon. The latter is offering enough money to sway active WNBA players.

We (as a country) have yet to decide how dedicated we should be to what is essentially a different event, with different courts and rules and such. Maybe we should consider 3x3 as a full-time gig, and not just something that 5x5 players do when they're moonlighting. It's so new that you could see another country that's not historically good at 5x5 divert their resources into establishing themselves as a 3x3 power, and they'd probably make a dent rather quickly.

Also Duke alum, K pal and former Chmn of the JCS is the chairman of BOD of USA Basketball. A really good guy...

 

[brevity]

12 teams compete in men's basketball, grouped as follows:

Group A

Australia
Canada
Greece
Spain

Group B

Brazil
France
Germany
Japan

Group C

Puerto Rico
Serbia
South Sudan
United States

Those flags are some pretty sophisticated additions to the smilies feature on the new DBR board, by the way. Searchable and quite helpful.

We're done with round robin and have moved in single elimination quarterfinals, which start in a few hours.

Greece vs Germany, 5am ET (live on Peacock and E! Network)
Australia vs Serbia, 8:30am ET (live on Peacock and USA Network)
France vs Canada, 12pm ET (live on Peacock, 15 minute delay on E! Network)
Brazil vs United States, 3:15pm ET (live on Peacock and USA Network)

NBC says the start time for Brazil-USA is 3:15pm ET, but the Olympics, ESPN, and Team USA all say 3:30pm ET. Plan accordingly. There's a rebroadcast on the USA Network at 11:30pm.

USA Men's National Ready For Olympic Quarterfinal Bout with Hot Shooting Brazil - USA Basketball

Fans can tune in August 6, 2024, at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network to catch the USA Men's National Team in Paris.

www.usab.com

After opening Group B with two consecutive losses to France (78-66) and Germany (86-73), Brazil bounced back to secure a quarterfinal spot with a 102-84 victory over Japan. The Brazilians raced to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Brazil's hot 3-point shooting dominated this game as they finished with an astonishing 17-of-28 and 61% from behind the 3-point line.

Brazilian forward Bruno Caboclo was unstoppable in the victory over Japan. He shot 13-of-19 from the field, including a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, to tally an impressive 33 points and 17 rebounds, with nine of the boards coming on the offensive end. Adding to Brazil's firepower was Vitor Benite, who contributed 19 points and sank five 3s on seven attempts to help Brazil take the decisive win.

Here's the tale of the tape.

Category	Brazil	United States
W-L record in group play	1-2	3-0
Points per game	80.3	105.7
Rebounds per game	38.7	41.0
Assists per game	19.7	27.7
Steals per game	8.3	10.7
Blocks per game	2.3	5.3
Turnovers per game	17.3	14.3
Field goal percentage	44.8%	54.5%
3-point percentage	45.3%	42.6%
Opponent FG percentage	45.8%	41.2%
Opponent 3PT percentage	34.7%	29.1%

 

[roywhite]

Patty Mills -- still dangerous after all these years.

Can Serbia come back in 2nd half?

 

[budwom]

NBC provides an extra 15 minutes before the game for their blather...i'll just have to FF thru that...

 

[AGDukesky]

Brazil would probably be the team I most wanted to face in an elimination round, which makes sense it happened. This should be a pretty stress-free win, which means Lebron will likely need to hit a game-winner…

 

[Billy Dat]

What a stretch for the Joker in this OT...takes the Mills lay-up off the rim to prevent Serbia from going down 3, comes down and turns it over but then makes the make-up steal, hits the baby hook to go up 1, gets the big defensive rebound, hits the fadeaway to go up 3. Aussie TO.

And ballgame...I only watch the last 3 minutes of OT...didn't realize Serbia had been down 24. Tough beat for the Boomers.

 

[roywhite]

Germany and Serbia through to the semi-finals. Opponents to be determined this afternoon.

France vs Canada? -- delicious matchup

 

[budwom]

Germany and Serbia through to the semi-finals. Opponents to be determined this afternoon.

France vs Canada? -- delicious matchup

France vs Canada. Thoughts turn to Chuck de Gaulle and his thumb in Canada's eye in 1967 when he visited Montreal and declared "Vive le Quebec libre." No poutine for you, Chuck!

 

[Billy Dat]

Evan Fournier made all kinds of big offensive plays down the stretch and Canada could not match-up size-wise. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if they'd had Edey. Jamal Murray was a pretty big disappointment for Canada. RJ had a good tournament.

Is Chuck enjoying some post-win poutine in paradis?