2014 FIBA World Cup - Page 2

stevew · 09-04-2014, 12:22 PM

Oh Jesus, if Irving even misses one regular season game I'm going to be pissed.

Groundhog · 09-04-2014, 05:20 PM

Dragic not happy with Australia's tank job vs Angola to avoid Team USA. I think they need to randomise the knockout round matchups if they want to cut that out. Lithuania beat Slovenia to give us the Turkey matchup.

BishopMVP · 09-05-2014, 09:57 PM

Just found this linked by Zach Lowe - Angry Birds maker basically bribed FIBA to put Finland in the Basketball World Cup - SBNation.com

At least they're more transparent in their corruption than FIFA!

whomario · 09-06-2014, 02:33 PM

Quote:

There's no situation in which you are reasonably assured of getting a better tournament by including Finland

Unless 10000 crazy fins show up and basically take over Bilbao for a week and create a whole wave of "wait, why the hell is the camera shaking" posts in the US game.

(i agree the selection was outrageous, just saying that Finland ended up adding quite a bit to the torunament off the court and put up a nice effort on it)

[another aside: I recently heard a report that the game makers are in deep financial trouble, so that decicion looks weird from their POV, even if 6 months are a lot in that business)

whomario · 09-06-2014, 02:43 PM

Slovenia "only" needed to win their own game, a fact i think too little is talked about. Sitting down starters when qualification is assured is done all the time and in every sport. I was totally weirded out that a ton of news articles described it as a "fix" rather than a "tank" which it really was.

The US has had a ton of luck with their draw, even more so after looking at the tournament so far. They actually struggle against the Pick and Roll and from big men scoring in general, no team they´ll face until the final posesses either of those qualities aside from Lithuania. And they lost their starting PG early in the tournament. Ayon just scored 25 on them (Ayon is pretty good in general, guy deserves a shot with a decent team)

I think Spain definitely has a shot, and it would not have shocked me if a team like Greece would have at least a prayer. Spain is playing very near to their best level, they´ve looked spectacular at times. Rubio is directing play masterfully and has absolutely learned to be a factor without shooting much (it helps that he is not asked to go stand in the corner every posession anymore), Fernandez/Navarro look really solid and Marc (awesome) and Pau (ridicolous) look really, really good. Ibaka embraces his role as well. Calderon and Llull have been ice cold from deep so far though.

The thing that frustrates me is that Team USA is like the physichally dominant HS center who never learns to use post moves. Only the difference is that those Space Jam Aliens ain´t coming down to challenge them, so as long as they still are able to beat everybody relying on pressure defense, fastbreaks and 1:1 isos, it won´t really change. (i realize that there were steps in the other direction on some of the past teams)

And i think it would be really good for the NBA if other continue to catch up, i desperately want to see more teams like the Spurs win titles. And the more Team USA is challenged, the easier it is to make that argument internally within teams.

whomario · 09-06-2014, 02:53 PM

Croatia looses to France despite another really good effort by Bojan Bogdanovic* who has 27 and 22 ppg for the tournament on 50% shooting (who´ll be on the Nets next year and could be one of the better SGs in the league in a year or two imo. Not saying much anymore with the lack of quality at the position, but still

)

*not to be confused with Phoenix draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic. Those guys on the same team would be fun for announcers

Slovenia just beat DomRep, both Dragices with good game. Zoran Dragic should be firmly on the radar of NBA teams.

Next up is Senegal (Gorgui !) against Spain.

whomario · 09-06-2014, 03:25 PM

Not that Spain does not run the break, mind you

Pau "Forrest" Gasol has 12 points and 10 of those coming on the break.

nol · 09-06-2014, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whomario

Unless 10000 crazy fins show up and basically take over Bilbao for a week and create a whole wave of "wait, why the hell is the camera shaking" posts in the US game.

(i agree the selection was outrageous, just saying that Finland ended up adding quite a bit to the torunament off the court and put up a nice effort on it)

People were mad that Canada didn't make it in over Finland, but Canada probably would have been underwhelming. Guys like Wiggins and Tristan Thompson wouldn't have suited up because of the trade uncertainty, and the team is too inexperienced to have been guaranteed to advance from the group stage.

BishopMVP · 09-06-2014, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nol

People were mad that Canada didn't make it in over Finland, but Canada probably would have been underwhelming. Guys like Wiggins and Tristan Thompson wouldn't have suited up because of the trade uncertainty, and the team is too inexperienced to have been guaranteed to advance from the group stage.

Canada could've been fun, but I was thinking #8 in the world rankings Russia.

Groundhog · 09-08-2014, 06:19 PM

Aussies lose to Turkey in heart-breaking fashion early yesterday AU time, up by 5 with just over a minute remaining... We did everything we could to throw that one away. Still, a good tourney for us, even with no Bogut/Mills. Future looks bright for Aussie basketball.

nol · 09-10-2014, 04:42 PM

This is why I thought America would still be heavy favorites to win. A matchup vs. Spain would've been close to a 50-50, but Spain had a tougher bracket and just lost to France in the quarterfinals.

korme · 09-10-2014, 05:53 PM

Whoa! Upset alert.. wish I would have watched.

Groundhog · 09-10-2014, 05:56 PM

Happy for France, but I was really hoping for Spain-USA.

Alf · 09-11-2014, 12:23 PM

:happy:

Still a bit in shock about France beating Spain. I have to find a way to watch a replay of that game

Alf · 09-11-2014, 02:31 PM

dola

all games replays can be viewed directly on Fiba World Cup web site (what a surprise)

Live | fibaworldcup.livebasketball.tv

whomario · 09-13-2014, 08:08 AM

absolutely bummed about the spanish loss, but they were off on that day and France took advantage and never wavered late. And yesterday they almost pulled off a comeback for the ages, scoring 39 and hitting a flurry of 3s in the 4th quarter to almost erase a huge deficit.

nol · 09-14-2014, 02:51 PM

USA is hitting its threes like it hasn't all tournament. Serbia started out ahead 15-7 and is now down 67-41 at halftime.

Groundhog · 09-14-2014, 06:15 PM

IMO Team USA are so dominant that they should go back to sending college players. Not to make it fair on the rest of the world, but because it's a waste of time for NBA players and too great an injury risk.

nol · 09-14-2014, 08:21 PM

that's way too big of a drop off. College kids (who'd have the same cohesiveness issues as the pros) wouldn't even make it out of the group stage. Without even putting patriotism into the equation, the competition is leaps and bounds ahead of what you'd find anywhere else in the world, and for plenty of players who aren't established superstars that opportunity will be always be worth the injury risk.

gstelmack · 09-14-2014, 08:44 PM

Heck, wouldn't like half this USA team have been college kids before the advent of drafting high schoolers?

The early drafting is what killed our pool of college kids for basketball. I bet if we fielded a team of players 4 years or less removed from high school graduation we'd do okay.

nol · 09-14-2014, 09:15 PM

I'd be fine with the training camp starting earlier and limiting the pool to players whose teams didn't make the playoffs. Having it be U-23 would be alright but I could see it pretty much requiring the Davis/Irving-caliber players to play every single summer.

JPhillips · 09-14-2014, 09:43 PM

Changing FIBA or the Olympics to a U23 would be fun.

Groundhog · 09-14-2014, 10:30 PM

I think Olympics, ala soccer, is a no-brainer.

09-04-2014, 05:20 PM	#52
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Dragic not happy with Australia's tank job vs Angola to avoid Team USA. I think they need to randomise the knockout round matchups if they want to cut that out. Lithuania beat Slovenia to give us the Turkey matchup. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

09-06-2014, 02:43 PM	#55
whomario Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2007	Slovenia "only" needed to win their own game, a fact i think too little is talked about. Sitting down starters when qualification is assured is done all the time and in every sport. I was totally weirded out that a ton of news articles described it as a "fix" rather than a "tank" which it really was. The US has had a ton of luck with their draw, even more so after looking at the tournament so far. They actually struggle against the Pick and Roll and from big men scoring in general, no team they´ll face until the final posesses either of those qualities aside from Lithuania. And they lost their starting PG early in the tournament. Ayon just scored 25 on them (Ayon is pretty good in general, guy deserves a shot with a decent team) I think Spain definitely has a shot, and it would not have shocked me if a team like Greece would have at least a prayer. Spain is playing very near to their best level, they´ve looked spectacular at times. Rubio is directing play masterfully and has absolutely learned to be a factor without shooting much (it helps that he is not asked to go stand in the corner every posession anymore), Fernandez/Navarro look really solid and Marc (awesome) and Pau (ridicolous) look really, really good. Ibaka embraces his role as well. Calderon and Llull have been ice cold from deep so far though. The thing that frustrates me is that Team USA is like the physichally dominant HS center who never learns to use post moves. Only the difference is that those Space Jam Aliens ain´t coming down to challenge them, so as long as they still are able to beat everybody relying on pressure defense, fastbreaks and 1:1 isos, it won´t really change. (i realize that there were steps in the other direction on some of the past teams) And i think it would be really good for the NBA if other continue to catch up, i desperately want to see more teams like the Spurs win titles. And the more Team USA is challenged, the easier it is to make that argument internally within teams. __________________ “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!” Last edited by whomario : 09-06-2014 at 03:29 PM.

09-06-2014, 02:53 PM	#56
whomario Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2007	Croatia looses to France despite another really good effort by Bojan Bogdanovic* who has 27 and 22 ppg for the tournament on 50% shooting (who´ll be on the Nets next year and could be one of the better SGs in the league in a year or two imo. Not saying much anymore with the lack of quality at the position, but still ) *not to be confused with Phoenix draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic. Those guys on the same team would be fun for announcers Slovenia just beat DomRep, both Dragices with good game. Zoran Dragic should be firmly on the radar of NBA teams. Next up is Senegal (Gorgui !) against Spain. __________________ “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”

09-06-2014, 03:25 PM	#57
whomario Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2007	Not that Spain does not run the break, mind you Pau "Forrest" Gasol has 12 points and 10 of those coming on the break. __________________ “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”

09-08-2014, 06:19 PM	#60
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Aussies lose to Turkey in heart-breaking fashion early yesterday AU time, up by 5 with just over a minute remaining... We did everything we could to throw that one away. Still, a good tourney for us, even with no Bogut/Mills. Future looks bright for Aussie basketball. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

09-05-2014, 09:57 PM	#53
BishopMVP Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Concord, MA/UMass	Just found this linked by Zach Lowe - Angry Birds maker basically bribed FIBA to put Finland in the Basketball World Cup - SBNation.com At least they're more transparent in their corruption than FIFA!

09-10-2014, 04:42 PM	#61
nol Banned Join Date: Oct 2003	This is why I thought America would still be heavy favorites to win. A matchup vs. Spain would've been close to a 50-50, but Spain had a tougher bracket and just lost to France in the quarterfinals.

09-10-2014, 05:53 PM	#62
korme Go Reds Join Date: May 2001 Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio	Whoa! Upset alert.. wish I would have watched.

09-10-2014, 05:56 PM	#63
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Happy for France, but I was really hoping for Spain-USA. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

09-11-2014, 12:23 PM	#64
Alf Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Rennes, France	:happy: Still a bit in shock about France beating Spain. I have to find a way to watch a replay of that game __________________ FOFL - GML - IHOF - FranceStats

09-11-2014, 02:31 PM	#65
Alf Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Rennes, France	dola all games replays can be viewed directly on Fiba World Cup web site (what a surprise) Live \| fibaworldcup.livebasketball.tv __________________ FOFL - GML - IHOF - FranceStats Last edited by Alf : 09-11-2014 at 03:45 PM.

09-13-2014, 08:08 AM	#66
whomario Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2007	absolutely bummed about the spanish loss, but they were off on that day and France took advantage and never wavered late. And yesterday they almost pulled off a comeback for the ages, scoring 39 and hitting a flurry of 3s in the 4th quarter to almost erase a huge deficit. __________________ “The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”

09-14-2014, 02:51 PM	#67
nol Banned Join Date: Oct 2003	USA is hitting its threes like it hasn't all tournament. Serbia started out ahead 15-7 and is now down 67-41 at halftime.

09-14-2014, 06:15 PM	#68
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	IMO Team USA are so dominant that they should go back to sending college players. Not to make it fair on the rest of the world, but because it's a waste of time for NBA players and too great an injury risk. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

09-14-2014, 08:21 PM	#69
nol Banned Join Date: Oct 2003	that's way too big of a drop off. College kids (who'd have the same cohesiveness issues as the pros) wouldn't even make it out of the group stage. Without even putting patriotism into the equation, the competition is leaps and bounds ahead of what you'd find anywhere else in the world, and for plenty of players who aren't established superstars that opportunity will be always be worth the injury risk.

09-14-2014, 08:44 PM	#70
gstelmack Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cary, NC	Heck, wouldn't like half this USA team have been college kids before the advent of drafting high schoolers? The early drafting is what killed our pool of college kids for basketball. I bet if we fielded a team of players 4 years or less removed from high school graduation we'd do okay. __________________ -- Greg -- Author of various FOF utilities

09-14-2014, 09:15 PM	#71
nol Banned Join Date: Oct 2003	I'd be fine with the training camp starting earlier and limiting the pool to players whose teams didn't make the playoffs. Having it be U-23 would be alright but I could see it pretty much requiring the Davis/Irving-caliber players to play every single summer. Last edited by nol : 09-15-2014 at 12:46 AM.

09-14-2014, 09:43 PM	#72
JPhillips Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Newburgh, NY	Changing FIBA or the Olympics to a U23 would be fun. __________________ To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.. - Mr. Rogers

09-14-2014, 10:30 PM	#73
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	I think Olympics, ala soccer, is a no-brainer. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

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