drjaws

August 7th, 2021 at 4:11 AM ^

Dude it’s 4am.

most of us have shit to do like sleep, drink, drink one more before bed, wonder why my buddy is sleeping in the shop on the couch instead of the spare bedroom, wonder how we drank that much Jack Daniels ….

Joined: 02/26/2014

MGoPoints: 47061

Ronswanson13

August 7th, 2021 at 4:20 AM ^

First game I watched. Durant was clearly the most talented player out there to no surprise. Outside of Tatum making some plays, offensively the team looked off whenever Durant wasn’t taking charge.

Also have the give credit to Jrue Holiday. He made some great plays defensively.

De Colo on France was giving me Manu Ginobili vibes with his constant whining and soccer like embellishments. Fortunately he’s not as good as Ginobili.

Joined: 02/11/2016

MGoPoints: 10264

PeacefulBuck

August 7th, 2021 at 5:02 AM ^

Fuckin Jrue Holiday man. Takes over the NBA Finals, parties, gets to Tokyo at 2am before the first game, takes over the Olympics and now gets to party his ass off even more. I know KD is the best player in the world but my man Holiday is the MVP of the world.

Joined: 05/18/2021

MGoPoints: 2286

Zoltanrules

August 7th, 2021 at 12:08 PM ^

The USA can no longer just throw together an NBA team and show up and expect to coast to a Gold. I'd never criticize an NBA player for representing his country but some were clearly not up to their normal standard of play. Durant saved the US hopes in several games and keeping him out of foul trouble and while playing tougher team defense was key. Kudos to France, except annoying De Colo,  for a great strategy and for taking advantage of FIBA rules.

Hope to see Curry, LeBron, and Harden play in three years.

 

Joined: 08/23/2009

MGoPoints: 21529

snarling wolverine

August 7th, 2021 at 1:08 PM ^

I’ll be surprised if those guys will be around in Paris - they’ll be pretty old by 2024.  LeBron will be pushing 40.  I don’t blame them for not wanting to come back and go through another Olympics during Covid.  Honestly, we needed to start transitioning away from that group anyway.  

Anthony Davis is one guy that could have been in Tokyo though.  We had trouble with Gobert inside.  Next time we’ll need more size.

We’ll have to be ready for 2024.  France will be playing at home.

Joined: 12/14/2011

MGoPoints: 98601

Michfan777

August 7th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^

I don’t see many of the 2021 team being there in 2024. Guys like Booker, Tatum, and Bam will probably be there - maybe even Lavine, but that’s about it. Judging by yesterday, I’m gonna assume Jay Wright is the head coach too, as Pop may very well be retired from all basketball in 3 years.

The 2024 team will probably be where you will see Trey Young, Donovan Mitchell, Ja Morant, Jaylen Brown, Zion, Brandon Ingram, Jaren Jackson, Michael Porter, John Collins, and a few other new faces drafted in the past few years emerge as the next leaders of USA basketball.

The future is still very bright for US basketball, they just need to hopefully get some more size in the paint in time. The 2021 team struggled greatly in this area, and guys like Gobert really showed their worth (unsurprisingly).

Joined: 10/10/2018

MGoPoints: 24580

Zoltanrules

August 7th, 2021 at 4:17 PM ^

Good points about younger guys.  We do need a team that practices together with a specific game plan with leaders on the court. It's also good to have a few vets that are matchup nightmares, can hit 3's consistently, and understand the nuances of the FIBA game (Green's plays off the bench was a good example). It's also 4 x 10 minute quarters and with a deep bench so you don't need tons of minutes from a then 35-year-old plus Durant, Harden,or Curry.

Pops will be retired and is one of the best ever, almost having his career ended before it started at Pomona.

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-03-25/gregg-popovich-pomona-caltech-losing-streak-spurs

 

Joined: 08/23/2009

MGoPoints: 21529

NotADuck

August 8th, 2021 at 1:32 AM ^

As far as size is concerned, maybe Evan Mobley will be ready in 3 years time?  Also I think Cade Cunningham could have made an immediate impact on this years team if he was eligible.  He would have provided a tall defensively sound guard with rebounding ability at minimum.

As for other Pistons who might be Olympic bound in 2024, Isaiah Stewart was brought in as a camp body for this years team and with some more seasoning he could be another big man in the paint.  It will also be interesting to see how far Killian Hayes can improve in the coming years.  Nando De Colo gave the US problems but Killian has the potential to be FAR better than him at the same position.  That would be scary.

Joined: 12/20/2013

MGoPoints: 18447

bronxblue

August 7th, 2021 at 5:58 PM ^

Glad I was wrong - I didn't think they'd win the gold after their early struggles.

I did go back and look at the 2016 tournament run and that team had a point differential of +180 and their biggest MoV was 57 (against China) and in 2012 their PD was +257 and largest MoV was 47 (against Tunisia).  This year's squad point differential was +120 and their biggest MoV was 54 against Iran.  So it definitely wasn't as dominant as previous vintages, but still impressive they were able to bounce back after a rough start.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171931

Eph97

August 7th, 2021 at 6:57 PM ^

Dame missing both free throws at the end made the game very interesting just when it seemed they pulled away. Glad Pop got the gold and the streak continues. Weird to think its no longer going to be a cake walk for Team USA and other countries have essentially caught up now with NBA players on their rosters.

Joined: 09/06/2017

MGoPoints: 954