Basketball - Day 5 Game Thread Aug. 10th

[lambchop]

So much better watching games without the endless rubbish timeouts. I know the NBA will alway prioritize the almighty dollar but wouldn't it be fantastic to watch uninterrupted play in our great game.

This! Watching the games is actually fun.

[Rotten Apple]

So much better watching games without the endless rubbish timeouts. I know the NBA will alway prioritize the almighty dollar but wouldn't it be fantastic to watch uninterrupted play in our great game.

This! Watching the games is actually fun.

NBA officials would have given Durant at least 10 free throws last night in the 4th. It was great to watch actual basketball.

[bakesale]

My God can you get anymore defensive Harden2Dwight?

Defensive? Just putting inaccurate posts where they belong. That's all. Does it bother you that much?

Every post of yours is so defensive, please stop taking everything so personally.

[bb22]

I'm not sure if Paul George meant it as a slight when he called the Boomers NBA players all "role players", but it is something I think the USA team is missing out when it comes to selections. The US should have focused more on role players when selecting the team. Team-first role players, who play their guts out, and sacrifice for the team. If I were selecting the USA team, I would focus less on selecting a team full of All-Stars, and instead go with more solid role players who fit the FIBA game. Keep a handful of the least egotistical superstars and fill the rest with FIBA-style role players. Then actually develop some chemistry with more preparation. That's when USA will be truly dominant.

That is true, but I wouldn't go as far as selecting a team of role players lol. I know that's not what you were implying. They are missing that energy guy like Faried in 2014. Cousins, DeAndre, Draymond, Jimmy could all fill that role...And I think Coach K was relying on one of them to do so. I think once the stage is set for elimination, we will see more aggression and teamwork. In the end, you can't blame Colangelo and Co. for selecting a bunch of all-star. It might not be the most desirable way to go in terms of building a real team, but it's always the safer option in case of injuries and come crunch time.

[bakesale]

Sure Australia had SOME to do with that. But again, some isn't all. The U.S. not competing on defense was more to do with a lack of effort than anything Australia did. You don't need to have great defenders at all positions. They have one of the best defensive lineups in the world on this team though. Defense is more about effort than talent.

Firstly the USA were competing/putting forth effort on defence ALL game. This is the Olympics and they have more to lose (especially when you consider their reputation on defence) than anyone else so it has been in their best interest to keep performing at a high level. Their elite defenders are that way because they are renowned for putting in effort on that end of the floor, even in exhibition games, ALL the time. Guys like George, Klay, Butler and Green are undeniably built that way. So saying they didn't play with effort or weren't competing on defence is WRONG!

Secondly Australia played a sophisticated style of offence which makes the most of Australia's less talented roster. The fact that a less talented team were able to so regularly poke holes in the elite American defence is a testament to just how great their tactics and offensive schemes were. I wouldn't just say that just some of it was due to Australia's offence, I would say it was a lot. Don't want to take my word for it? Heck even Doug Collins who is one of the most experienced coaches in NBA history gave a lot of credit to Australia's offensive schemes. A familiar phrase of "Takes one to know one" rings true in this case.

[bb22]

Sure Australia had SOME to do with that. But again, some isn't all. The U.S. not competing on defense was more to do with a lack of effort than anything Australia did. You don't need to have great defenders at all positions. They have one of the best defensive lineups in the world on this team though. Defense is more about effort than talent.

Firstly the USA were competing/putting forth effort on defence ALL game. This is the Olympics and they have more to lose (especially when you consider their reputation on defence) than anyone else so it has been in their best interest to keep performing at a high level. Their elite defenders are that way because they are renowned for putting in effort on that end of the floor, even in exhibition games, all the time. Guys like George, Klay Butler and Green are undeniably built that way. So saying they didn't play with effort or weren't competing on defence is WRONG!

Secondly Australia played a sophisticated style of offence which makes the most of Australia's less talented roster. The fact that a less talented team were able to so regularly poke holes in the elite American defence is a testament to just how great their tactics and offensive schemes were. I wouldn't just say that just some of it was due to Australia's offence, I would say it was a lot. Don't want to take my word for it? Heck even Doug Collins who is one of the most experienced coaches in NBA history gave a lot of credit to Australia's offensive schemes. A familiar phrase of "Takes one to know one" rings true in this case.

Australia's offense has been impeccable in all three games. I was in awe watching them pick apart France so easily. I wonder, has any team gone to a zone against them? Seemed like a viable option last night for the US, after they kept getting confused on the switching.

[Zombiesonics]

Delly is what, one of the five dirtiest players in the NBA? Pg is now whining because he stating facts ?

Team USA has enough "team oriented players", I just wish coach k would play draymond and jimmy more for defensive purposes. I'm also really not a fan of kds play frankly , is he doing anything on the court other than contested jumpers?

[bakesale]

Sure Australia had SOME to do with that. But again, some isn't all. The U.S. not competing on defense was more to do with a lack of effort than anything Australia did. You don't need to have great defenders at all positions. They have one of the best defensive lineups in the world on this team though. Defense is more about effort than talent.

Firstly the USA were competing/putting forth effort on defence ALL game. This is the Olympics and they have more to lose (especially when you consider their reputation on defence) than anyone else so it has been in their best interest to keep performing at a high level. Their elite defenders are that way because they are renowned for putting in effort on that end of the floor, even in exhibition games, all the time. Guys like George, Klay Butler and Green are undeniably built that way. So saying they didn't play with effort or weren't competing on defence is WRONG!

Secondly Australia played a sophisticated style of offence which makes the most of Australia's less talented roster. The fact that a less talented team were able to so regularly poke holes in the elite American defence is a testament to just how great their tactics and offensive schemes were. I wouldn't just say that just some of it was due to Australia's offence, I would say it was a lot. Don't want to take my word for it? Heck even Doug Collins who is one of the most experienced coaches in NBA history gave a lot of credit to Australia's offensive schemes. A familiar phrase of "Takes one to know one" rings true in this case.

Australia's offense has been impeccable in all three games. I was in awe watching them pick apart France so easily. I wonder, has any team gone to a zone against them? Seemed like a viable option last night for the US, after they kept getting confused on the switching.

If teams have played zone I don't think it has lasted long enough for me to notice. Would it be effective? Possibly. But I've never been so confident in their tactics and ability to adjust in game. And full credit goes to Coach Lemanis. Lemanis in my opinion has been brilliant. I'd trust him to be able to adjust to a zone in the case that it caused Australia issue.

[First Step]

I love Paul George. The man plays without fear.

I rescind my comment and lost all respect. The guy just called the Australia team 'dirty'. What a cry baby.

delly was up to his usual shenanigans, did you miss him clamp DJ when he went for a board? the "olynyk love" play? Also bogut had a number of fouls that could be classified as dirty, the main one when he body checked irving. lets not sit here and act like bogut and delly are choir boys

To be fair, Kevin Love is a GIANT pussy and shouldn't be benchmarked against.

[Hisa]

Complaining about the Aussies being dirty is just silly. The US Team gets away with so much shoving, slapping on hands etc. . Just look at all the push-offs they do while fighting for rebounds after misses and particularly free throws. Once Cousins threw Broekhoeff harshly to the ground and got the putback dunk afterwards. We were all shaking our heads in disbelief with how much of the obvious shoving De Andre Jordan, Cousins and Anthony got away. Australia also played hard for sure, but they didnt get favored by the refs at all. If they call the unsportsmanlike foul on Anthony, which he did on Broekhoeff after losing the ball while the score was 93-88, Australia gets two free throws and the ball with 00:40 left in the game, they technically could have tied the game there, if the refs would have seen it. The US team is just not used to an opponent which is matching their physicality, so I hope the other teams will also put up some resistance in physicality.

[Ancalagon]

I may be using the wrong popular term, but that's what our coaches called it when you had to do the sprints to the free throw line and back, then the half-court line and back, and then the other free throw line and back, and finally the other baseline and back.

Wash, rinse, repeat. Hated those things!

Yeah they're suicides.

There's no reason to term that a 'wind sprint' since they are done indoors on a basketball court.

And a 'wind sprint' done outside would just be a sprint. There's no need to add the word wind in there other than to try and sound fancy.

Must be a matter of where you're from. I've literally never heard of anyone calling them anything but suicides, but I always played/practiced in the US.

My high school coach called them "ladders." But the common term is definitely suicides.

[SunKing]

In France we call them suicide too lol, or another term which kinda mean suicide too.

[SlowPaced]

All this dirty talk...I know we're used to soft ass refereeing in the NBA, but this what normal basketball looks like.

I enjoyed the hell out of the game.

[SlowPaced]

This game pretty much disproved that 'where is the international talent' thread. Give them a shot in the big leagues and they show up. You got to wonder, is someone like Delly being underappreciated in the NBA?

I think the same for Patty Mills, actually. He should start next season ahead of Parker.

[jinxed]

Do Maker, Simmons, And Exum have that Aussie toughness to go along with the rest of the team? I haven't heard anything about Exum and Maker with regards to this, but wasn't the knock on Simmons that he kind of folded when the chips were down?

[lambchop]

This game pretty much disproved that 'where is the international talent' thread. Give them a shot in the big leagues and they show up. You got to wonder, is someone like Delly being underappreciated in the NBA?

I think the same for Patty Mills, actually. He should start next season ahead of Parker.

Imo it all depends on the situation. A guy like delly was playing for the 'best' team in the league or one of the top 3 teams at worst (not hating on the cavs or the east). He was playing behind one of the most talented players currently playing the pg position, although kyrie isn't a pure point guard. Playing delly alongside kyrie is tough for defensive reasons.
Two seasons after brons return, delly has been through 2 deep playoff runs and had to produce in tough situations. Thats why he's so comfortable out there.

A guy like mills has played really well, however, I don't think he's really underappreciated, since he has had quite a few seasons to prove himself at the nba level. But put him on a team like charlotte and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd be able to play similarly to the way jeremy lin played last season.

[Sedale Threatt]

Physical is fine. Great, even. But then don't send Cousins to the bench with a bunch of ticky-tack fouls. That's what George was complaining about, not the physicality.

Yes, this was my biggest issue. Seems like in FIBA you can get away with A LOT off the ball, but once someone has you in the post any slight contact is a whistle. The US can definitely use this to their advantage, if they wanted to. The calls on loose ball fouls looked completely random and need to be more consistent, IMO.

Australia is very fun to watch on both ends. Looking back, I still think the US wins this game 100/100 times because there is just no way for the boomers (or any human team) to keep that level of physicality and sharp shooting up for 40 min. They were shooting 68% at half (US was in the 30s) and only had a 5 point lead.

I bet Australia could win 10 times. Maybe a bit less. But, if everything breaks right, they could definitely beat us.

As for the rest, FIBA is just a different game. Which is fine. We have enough talent we should be able to overcome anything, even without the top tier roster.

But getting upset that somebody thinks you're "a little dirty" when you start Matthew Dellevedova...

I get that it takes away from what was otherwise a fantastic effort. But that's like going to a strip club and complaining about all the tits. It's pretty much a factual statement.

[Von Bismarck]

Croatia won over Brazil couple of hours ago. The game was controlled by the Croatians for most of the game, few minutes before the end Brazil came close but Croatia closed the game normally.

This is bad for Brazil cause they will most likely be the ones to go against team USA in quarter-finals.

[90sgoat]

Do Maker, Simmons, And Exum have that Aussie toughness to go along with the rest of the team? I haven't heard anything about Exum and Maker with regards to this, but wasn't the knock on Simmons that he kind of folded when the chips were down?

All I know about them is that they're players drafted on raw potential i.e. athleticism. None of them seem to have good fundamentals.

[bakesale]

Do Maker, Simmons, And Exum have that Aussie toughness to go along with the rest of the team? I haven't heard anything about Exum and Maker with regards to this, but wasn't the knock on Simmons that he kind of folded when the chips were down?

All I know about them is that they're players drafted on raw potential i.e. athleticism. None of them seem to have good fundamentals.

Simmons has elite vision and passing ability. He also has great handles for his size. It's not just "athleticism".