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Post by spacejammer on Sept 11, 2023 16:59:26 GMT
Yeah, I mean there are loads of elite players who didn't play on the team who could have. It seems the veterans aren't interested, its mainly younger guys. But imagine if they added the likes of LeBron, Durant, Zion, Steph, etc. you would then expect a USA gold quite easily. Whilst I'm sure the US players do take pride in playing for their country. Unlike the rest of world to me I sometimes feel that for the US playing the Olympics and World Cup etc... is a bit like Jury duty. I.e. I'll play once or twice then I'll let someone else have a turn. Plus for the other tournament they Fiba Americas or the qualifiers I swear they just send a team of G-League players now. One thing that suprised me for Serbia is the fact Nikola Jokic didn't play this time round because he wanted to rest. Understandable I get it but seeing his country make it all the way to the finals could have seen him win both the NBA championship and a potentially the world cup tittle as well. I know he couldn't have predicted this at time but now I look at it as a huge opportunity missed for him and for Serbia. I'm pretty sure he was once quoted saying something like the top stars shouldn't take rest if their fit to play. |
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Post by dexter on Sept 11, 2023 17:41:31 GMT
Yeah, I mean there are loads of elite players who didn't play on the team who could have. It seems the veterans aren't interested, its mainly younger guys. But imagine if they added the likes of LeBron, Durant, Zion, Steph, etc. you would then expect a USA gold quite easily. Whilst I'm sure the US players do take pride in playing for their country. Unlike the rest of world to me I sometimes feel that for the US playing the Olympics and World Cup etc... is a bit like Jury duty. I.e. I'll play once or twice then I'll let someone else have a turn. Plus for the other tournament they Fiba Americas or the qualifiers I swear they just send a team of G-League players now. One thing that suprised me for Serbia is the fact Nikola Jokic didn't play this time round because he wanted to rest. Understandable I get it but seeing his country make it all the way to the finals could have seen him win both the NBA championship and a potentially the world cup tittle as well. I know he couldn't have predicted this at time but now I look at it as a huge opportunity missed for him and for Serbia. I'm pretty sure he was once quoted saying something like the top stars shouldn't take rest if their fit to play. I do also think Americans care a lot more about the Olympic Games than they do about any world cup. I have been seeing a lot of talk today that KD, Steph and LeBron will be playing for USA in Paris 2024. |
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Post by LTfan on Sept 11, 2023 18:16:43 GMT
Whilst I'm sure the US players do take pride in playing for their country. Unlike the rest of world to me I sometimes feel that for the US playing the Olympics and World Cup etc... is a bit like Jury duty. I.e. I'll play once or twice then I'll let someone else have a turn. Plus for the other tournament they Fiba Americas or the qualifiers I swear they just send a team of G-League players now. One thing that suprised me for Serbia is the fact Nikola Jokic didn't play this time round because he wanted to rest. Understandable I get it but seeing his country make it all the way to the finals could have seen him win both the NBA championship and a potentially the world cup tittle as well. I know he couldn't have predicted this at time but now I look at it as a huge opportunity missed for him and for Serbia. I'm pretty sure he was once quoted saying something like the top stars shouldn't take rest if their fit to play. I do also think Americans care a lot more about the Olympic Games than they do about any world cup. I have been seeing a lot of talk today that KD, Steph and LeBron will be playing for USA in Paris 2024. I agree with that. I was lucky enough to watch Team USA at the London 2012 Olympics… LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, etc. They weren’t messing around! |
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Post by hayesboy on Sept 14, 2023 12:46:38 GMT
If the USA play their strongest team you would expect them to win. Interesting though that even so they feel the need to persuade Joel Embiid to be sure. You still need a big in FIBA rules. Personally I would suggest AD and Bam would be enough if played alongside the very best the USA can field.
Most of the top teams were missing stars. I watched a lot of the games. So much easier to consume than NBA. It was refreshing to see such top flight games using FIBA rules without the endless stoppages.
No Giannis, Joker, Embiid (for whoever!), Sabonis, Wemby........was a long list of star absences.
The performance by Lithuania against USA was exceptional. At no time did it appear to me the Yanks did not care or were not trying. They bought in. Just not big enough or at times good enough....at least with FIBA rules in place.
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