Looking for those that said the coach just had to role the ball out there with the Olympic team
- Thread starter Afamu
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Pau Gasol and Luis Scola are both playing in the Olympics at the age of 41. Crazy.
France has some really good players. They are a legitimate contender for the gold. But, we really shouldn't be losing to anybody. Way too much talent. The physicality of international play might be the biggest adjustment for NBA players.
France has some really good players. They are a legitimate contender for the gold. But, we really shouldn't be losing to anybody. Way too much talent. The physicality of international play might be the biggest adjustment for NBA players.
Probably a ton of factors, in no particular order...
Players don't care enough
Best players not on team
Tired legs from NBA seasons w/o typical time off
Poorly constructed roster - (i.e. - Javale McGee?????)
Result from chasing NBA dream and not getting coaching previous generations received at earlier stages of careers
NBA went global, increased popularity of sport worldwide, players from other countries have gotten better
Those are all contributing factors. Although, I wouldn't necessarily say this is a poorly constructed team. Yes, McGee doesn't belong on the team - or Keldon Johnson. But, I don't suspect they'll play very much, either. Bottom line, is this team is loaded with playmakers and shooters.
Lillard: 28.8 ppg
LaVine: 27.4 ppg
Durant: 26.9 ppg
Tatum: 26.4 ppg
Booker: 25.6 ppg
Grant: 22.3 ppg
Middleton: 20.4 ppg
Adebayo: 18.7 ppg
Holiday: 17.7 ppg
If you have 6 of the top 25 scorers in the NBA, there really isn't any valid excuse. No other team in the Olympics has even 2 of the top 50 scorers. I'd still maintain that physicality is a very big component into the struggles for Team USA. There's an element of rough and tumble in international play that you'd never see in the league. NBA is not built on grit, so much as it is with free and open play. If the international game was a relatively open game, like the NBA, I think the USA would win every game by double-digits. It's the same reason you saw a team full of NBA Canadians fail to make the Olympics (lost to Czech Republic in qualifying).
Also, I'm not sure the roles of the team are clearly defined. Having 8 guys get 20-25 minutes can be a struggle for some to find rhythm, especially if you're competing with 4 other guys to get a shot off. France is going to yield to Evan Fourner; Japan will look to Rui Hachimura; Slovenia will obviously rely on Luka Doncic. Who the US will look to for buckets in crucial moments is not so obvious - nor are the minutes and rotations easy to put together.
Yep I will go along with all this too.
PPG though, eh... yeah they can score, but so much ore is required. As mentioned, it's the combination of the players that might be a problem, how long they've played together, etc.
There's also a mental aspect that just can't really be quantified. How much do they care? I think once the ball is thrown up it's natural to be competitive, but some things just can't be turned on with a switch.
The tired players thing is legit. They have had two seasons basically back to back with no real break thanks to the bubble. That's a lot of miles on some of them. The roster construction too is yikes.
Nailed it, they were much too soft for France. Durant looked lost on defense, when he played it lol.
I am not sure I'd pick up JaVale McGee when I was picking my next up team at the local Y. Would probably depend on his mood, and how many 40 something dudes with headbands on were available.
The athletes that don’t speak/read English are going to be pissed for being excluded. jumpingsmile
It was pretty impressive what this group was able to do tbh. 8 players came over originally and then added a few more. All of them after a long season had very little time to play together where most of the other teams play together each summer to a degree. Plus, they had to deal with Holiday trying to score and won despite that.
Congrats to Pop. Not many people have coached a team to a NBA championship and an Olympic Gold
J
edit: Question is whether loser @ss Phil will give credit to Pop now that the gold has been retained. Guessing not.
What GREAT coaching performance from Pop, one of the BEST bball coaches ever. Took a less talented team than previous iterations to the gold medal stand against a field that is better than ever. Go USA!
edit: Question is whether loser @ss Phil will give credit to Pop now that the gold has been retained. Guessing not.
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