OT: USA Men’s Team
- Thread starter megablue
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3rd time they played Serbia in a month. They were due for a close one.
I think they roll France like the Nazis did in May 1940.
I think they roll France like the Nazis did in May 1940.
It looked like he was trying to put the final nail in the coffin there but yeah I thought it was a bit silly.
It seems you could put Jokic with 4 guys off my high school team and they would compete. Guy gets it done.
This is dumb. This ain't an all star game where you can guarantee minutes to everyone on the roster. Instead, it's the frickin medal round of the Olympics, where tough decisions have to be made to get to your best rotation. At least a couple guys are gonna have to sit regardless of how talented you are ...because no team has ever played best by playing everyone.
And, fwiw, we've ALREADY seen Team USA give big minutes to Tatum and Halliburton in last year's World Cup. The result was an embarrassing 4th place finish. I like this way better.
Serbia is GOOD. The game was frustrating but that 4th Quarter was exciting. Steph was awesome. Lebron gets a lot of hate, but he was great too and had a Triple Double.
The Gold Medal Game should be fun too.
The Gold Medal Game should be fun too.
First off Haliburton has been outclassed this whole Olympics. I don't know if he's dealing with some type of injury, but he is just a body on the floor when he's in the game.
Second, Serbia is actually really good. They are at worst the 3rd best team in the world. I don't know wtf Canada was doing.
Last, I agree with you about coaching. US coaching is the reason Serbia had as big of leads as they did.
Haliburton is being asked to play a very different style than he plays in the NBA, he's a ball dominant point guard in the NBA and he's not going to get that sort of role on this team. He's honestly just not a great fit with this team, only thing that makes sense is he's there in case guys get sick/hurt and to develop him for future USA basketball teams.
It is all pretty simple, the players who struggle (Haliburton and a couple others) are used to playing THEIR system and with THEIR teammates. It takes some getting used to with going from being option 1 / 1A on your team, to option 7,8,9. It also takes adjusting to playing with different players / system. The reason Serbia was tough to beat is A. they have played together several years, and B. they are really talented as a UNIT, not just as a individual talent. FIBA basketball is DIFFERENT than the NBA.
Side note : If it was possible (it most of the time not because foreign players play on the team), but Have the NBA champion team compete in the Olympics. IF it was possible, I wonder how they would do, they would be used to playing with each other and the system. But with the big invasion of EURO players and other foreign players, we will never know. For example, take the 2017 Warriors, Curry, Durant, Draymond, Igoudala, Clay Thompson, and the role players, how would they do against Euro teams TODAY ?
Side note : If it was possible (it most of the time not because foreign players play on the team), but Have the NBA champion team compete in the Olympics. IF it was possible, I wonder how they would do, they would be used to playing with each other and the system. But with the big invasion of EURO players and other foreign players, we will never know. For example, take the 2017 Warriors, Curry, Durant, Draymond, Igoudala, Clay Thompson, and the role players, how would they do against Euro teams TODAY ?
Absolutely a great game. Serbs got great looks for 3 quarters and hit them. Moving Lebron to Joker in the 4th made a huge difference. Just wore him down. Curry’s line was insane. He kept the US within reach all game. I can’t stand Lebron, but my goodness he gets it done. Just a fun, fun game.
International basketball has no doubt gotten much better since 92. That said, anyone that thinks this collection is anything close to the Dream Team is just so far off base. That 92 team could’ve beaten an all star team of all the other Olympic teams combined that year. I can’t imagine anyone that has seen both teams play actually think this years team compares. Advancement of international ball or not, this team was down as much as 17 to a Serb team that has maybe three legitimate NBA players.
International basketball has no doubt gotten much better since 92. That said, anyone that thinks this collection is anything close to the Dream Team is just so far off base. That 92 team could’ve beaten an all star team of all the other Olympic teams combined that year. I can’t imagine anyone that has seen both teams play actually think this years team compares. Advancement of international ball or not, this team was down as much as 17 to a Serb team that has maybe three legitimate NBA players.
Not only that, but it's a rotation thing. When they run James at point forward so Curry and Booker can play, you can't really play Tatum. Then Durant came back and also plays the same role.
My anti-Lebron friends we're loving them losing yesterday, which while I don't really like Lebron either at this point.. I'm not gonna root against the US.
But anyways, they tried to say that "Jordan would never...".. so I asked them "Who were the best basketball players Jordan faced in the Olympics?".. And we all struggled to answer.
But anyways, they tried to say that "Jordan would never...".. so I asked them "Who were the best basketball players Jordan faced in the Olympics?".. And we all struggled to answer.
Well, of course they could beat a collection of the other teams that year… there were maybe 10 NBA players outside of the US and I doubt any were near all NBA caliber. There are ~70 nba players on non-USA teams this year. Not to mention a couple of MVPs + all stars.
Would the ‘92 team beat this team, maybe? But it’s not fair to make the assessment based on who each team played. This team is more talented (and more athletic) than the ‘92 team with the advancement in 3 pt shooting. It’s the evolution of sport, every generation is better than the last.
In 1992 the best international player was Toni Kukoc who was around the 75th best player in the world at that time.
In 2024 the 4 best players in the world are international: Jokic, Luka, Giannis, and SGA.
It’s not even close. The 2024 team is better than the dream team as they are navigating a FAR tougher tournament.
In 2024 the 4 best players in the world are international: Jokic, Luka, Giannis, and SGA.
It’s not even close. The 2024 team is better than the dream team as they are navigating a FAR tougher tournament.
It's always funny to me the group of people who complain about wanting sports without politics can't watch a single game without bringing politics into the conversation.
I know Embiid is playing for the US, but this graphic illustrates how different the competition is fairly well.
You are seriously comparing that roster to the Olympic one?
Sure Bobby Portis, Austin Reeves, Brunson, Banchero, Bridges, Josh Hart, Jaren Jackson, and Cam Johnson are so comparable to this roster….
It don’t matter honestly, Jordan wouldn’t struggle to beat any competition. For reference there were 22 international NBA pros in 1992 and 81 now. The game has grown. Jordan and them faced guys like Vlade Divac, Detlef Schrempf, Toni Kukoc, Hakeem, Mutombo, some great players just that their teams had little help outside the ones who made it. Another thing is the 1992 Dream Team inspired every nation they faced to want to play basketball.
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I mean, he struggled to beat a lot of competition when he didn't have Pippen.
Of course, I'm not saying MJ wasn't great, but the competition is SO much better now than back then, so it's silly for me to think the MJ would never, at any point, struggle to win some games in modern Olympics. One of the best players he faced was Kucoc.. compared to someone like Jokic lol.
Your saying Jordan on team with other NBA players would struggle in these Olympics? He’s not playing 1 on 12. He’s the best player ever, he would do fine in any era against any competition. Golf is much deeper and better than ever but Jack Nicklaus and Tiger would still win the majority of tournaments in their prime.
Exactly, he's just ONE player. So he still has to hope his team around him can deliver.
I also like the chemistry and makeup of those dream teams better than these teams now. Today's teams have a lot of talent. But not a whole lot of chemistry. Not a lot of real "alphas" and I think that shows. I don't think it's the best crafted teams.. but then again, they are actually playing against teams with a pulse lol.
So no, if you swap out lebron with Jordan, I don't think Jordan just turns this team into a 30pt win every-single-night against this type of competition.
I never said he would do that, I said he would win, which he would. I think guys like him make teams better, I doubt he would let them be down 17 in any game either. He demands greatness from everyone. That’s why he was great.
You said Jordan would never "struggle" to win. And I think he (and anyone honestly) would struggle, at times, in these modern day Olympics, just like we did today against Serbia. The US isn't just going to thump every single team by 30 or 40 anymore.. lebron AND Jordan could be on the same team in their prime, and they are still going to get tested by teams like Serbia, France, etc.
I don’t agree, I think it would be competitive but I think a team with Jordan and especially the 1992 team would still win comfortably. This current team is a great team no doubt, but with the level of talent they have they should still cruise to winning it. This isn’t our B or C team. We brought our best guys.
I do like how the 92 dream team was constructed as a whole. It was perfect.
But you lost me with today's team and "they should cruise to winning it". Why is that a given? Why should they win every game by 30, or not sometimes be losing at the half? Because of Devin Booker and Haliburton? Please.
The 92 dream team never saw close to this level of competition. Replacing Lebron with Jordan wasn't going to change that.
I don’t think replacing LeBron would help this team at all but I think Jordan would hold this team accountable and not let them get lazy and down when they shouldn’t be.
Yeah I do agree with that. Jordan would be tougher. But.. each of them are a product of their era. This era is softer. Jordan being "tough" on this team might not work at all. Just like Lebrons "let's all be friends and cheer each other on" probably doesn't fly back then.
If this team just sacked up, maybe they COULD win every game easily by 20. But that's sadly just not how US basketball is today.
Because the Serbs have, what, three legit NBA players? Granted Joker is the best in the world, but their talent level is nowhere close to the US. And they probably should’ve beaten them. This supposed team that is better than the Dream Team just struggled with a team that’s got theee freaking NBA players. Yes, I know more are “technically” in the NBA. But I’m talking guys that actually play.
I think Kerr is a huge part of the problem though. Not finding a way to get Taytum in the lineup is mind-boggling. And yesterday the US played SOFT until the 4th. Finally got physical on D and drove the ball to the rim on O. They’re just damned lucky Curry went into a special place.
Congrats and thank yous to our great Americans LeBron, Steph, Anthony, Book, Steve Kerr, and all others on Team USA.
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The best international player was Mutombo or Hakeem. I don’t think Congo had a team though and Hakeem became a US Citizen and played for us. We had great players back then. The internationals didn’t have the infrastructure as of now. The dream team inspired that.
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I know just saying, they didn’t have the chance. There were still 22 NBA players back then on international teams, they just didn’t have the amount of help the other do today. The gap has closed tremendously. Petrovic was very good and so was Sabonis. Their teams won Silver and Bronze.
