Hoops

World Cup: France knock out the USA

"Paul you dumb ass, the 2002 USA team was no where near it's best squad just like this 2019 squad. "

Yet it was full of NBA players, including nearly entirely, if not all, starters. Remember, your original argument is about NBA talent being so superior to local inferior leagues. That NBL players are trash. By the way, the 4th placed team that year -- placing above USA -- was full of NZ NBL players (with their only NBA player playing just 3 games).

How much did the injuries cripple the US chances? Kuzma and Tatum are very handy players

Is the US knackered or just disheartened. They probably just want to go home but are scared of what will be waiting for them when they do.

USA looking knackered, they don’t defend well either.

One thing's for sure, all those NBA players aren't going to disappoint 2 games in a row. There's too much athleticism and quality gap between them and whatever bunch of euros. I wouldn't want to be the next team playing them!

Dave's response: "none of those wins included any NBL players."

If France do win the World Cup they would be the first country to hold both the basketball and football world cups at the same time, quite an achievement if they get it done.

Koberulz no it wouldn't have. The NBA has a specific rule for the last two minutes making what they did legal.

Yeah NBA is all about entertainment and yes spacing but I don't enjoy seeing a pass to an open man who misses it and all his team mates run away. Crashing boards in the NBA seems like a lost art or atleast from American players (remember how they reacted to Delly for being 'too physical'.

I think the best result for basketball would be a mid point- USA brings a few of their absolute superstars, and then makes it to the semis at a minimum, but has competitive matches. I don’t think the results in 2014 or 2019 are great for the game globally.

In the 2014 world cup, USA was so dominant it was boring. And gives ammunition to people who say “International ball sucks. Whats the point, the USA is too good”

On the other hand, right now in 2019 the vibe is “Well USA only brought their C team” and the casual fans won’t pay as much attention now that the USA, Giannis and Serbia are all gone.

Yeah NBA is all about entertainment and yes spacing but I don't enjoy seeing a pass to an open man who misses it and all his team mates run away. Crashing boards in the NBA seems like a lost art or atleast from American players (remember how they reacted to Delly for being 'too physical'.

NBA is a sports entertainment product (almost like pro wrestling) where you have a couple of good seasons and all of a sudden you're a future hall of famer and it's all about an individuals legacy... what a load of shit.

I don't blame any of the players that came to this tournament but they do feel a bit precious and really needed a blue collar player or two that takes no backward step. (I can't believe I'm saying this but) they also missed Carmelo Anthony, he's been a great player for Team USA for a long time and he seems to adapt to FIBA rules better than Tatum for example.

I thought the story of this tournament would be how easy a draw China got and yet the didn't get out of the group stage but this is bigger and I really hope that this means that basketball around the world gets a lift as it doesn't feel like it's a sport dominated by a single team anymore (like rugby with the All Blacks).

PlaymakerMo
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Also I think people should realise how good Gobert is. He's DPOY & All NBA player last year. And was the best player on the court in that game.

There's only 4 ALL NBA players in the WC.

Giannis Jokic Gobert Walker.

Only one man standing now. France are going to be tough to beat again .

And yeah, obviously Campazzo has to play one on one D in FIBA too, but I mean, if he gets beaten off the dribble in FIBA, then there's more likely to be a big guy waiting to help under the hoop. And it's harder in FIBA ball to post him up and expose his lack of size that way.

From memory, other than rule interpretation differences and the 48 vs 40 min game thing, these are the only differences in the rules themselves:

- NBA is 94*50 foot, FIBA is 92*49. So the court is 2% bigger. 2 feet doesn't sound like much, but I reckon it makes a difference.

- Longer 3 point line. Creates more spacing.

- Illegal 3 second Defense rule in the NBA.

As far as I'm aware, that's it?


I don’t think one style is better than another- it’s about taste and preference. FIBA and NBA are two different games. Yes, it’s all basketball, but it’s not like soccer where the rules are identical the world over (as far as I’m aware?).

You have a guy like Campazzo who is a freak basketball player. A magician who has the ball on a string. But he’s 5’11 and only average speed, so he wouldn’t survive in the NBA where he’d have to play one on one D vs guys who are far quicker and taller. Then you have a guy like Giannis who dominates the NBA but is just a good player in FIBA ball, because the D can help much more effectively.

In FIBA ball, the gap between Giannis and Campazzo is much smaller – Giannis is still better but both are stars. Campazzo has won a couple of Euroleague titles.

In the NBA, Giannis is the MVP and Campazzo wouldn’t get a game.

I enjoy watching both styles. If I had to pick one, I’d probably go with FIBA ball- less restrictions feels less contrived. More freedom for the D to do what it wants, more variance, more complexity. On a philosophical level, I prefer teamwork more than individualism and I think the FIBA rules encourage that.

On the rule differences, I don’t have a preference for FIBA rules to NBA rules. More variances around what defences can do. It’s more complex, and means teams rely more on teamwork and fundamental basketball skills, and less on athleticism and one-on-one play.

Look at Giannis- MVP of the NBA. At the world cup just another good player. Didn’t dominate. It’s not hard to work out why- FIBA rules mean his primary advantages (Athleticism, size and one on one play) are less advantageous.

I understand why the NBA rules are such. They’re trying to make it as entertaining as possible, and create an environment where players can showcase their athleticism. More defensive restrictions, a bigger court and more spacing are designed to do that- create individual battles, let the athletes go to work.

In some ways, the NBL might even be better off adopting NBA rules. As mentioned above, it might help the pathways of a guy like Creek- who now has to spend a year in different rules in the NBL, when he wants to get back to the NBA.

But for me, I like seeing the extra teamwork, passing, and seeing teams try different defences in the international rules. Equally, the NBA is entertaining and I enjoy that too.

"And it wasn’t just a basketball thing- they crumbled under pressure. That’s between the ears."

Basically the whole team is young and have not really experienced success in the NBA so their mental strength you would presume to be not elite.

It looked like pop got the shits with Turner on his third foul which was a stupid foul and never got him back on. Coaches have been known to do that.

If France do win the World Cup they would be the first country to hold both the basketball and football world cups at the same time, quite an achievement if they get it done. Even a medal would be outstanding to be in the top echelon of teams in the two biggest World Cup tournaments.

USA crumbled so badly in the last minute or two, with missed free throws, getting blocked multiple times by Gobert, an ugly turnover or two. I think that speaks to an issue with the roster composition- a lack of experience and a lack of leaders. They didn’t have anyone to steady the ship when it was sinking. Mitchell was sublime, but even he went quiet late. And it wasn’t just a basketball thing- they crumbled under pressure. That’s between the ears.

I hope for Pop’s sake that Turner, Plumlee and Lopez were injured. I hope they come out and say it in the press- not as an excuse, but to save some face for Pop. Why persist with playing 6’7 small forwards at Centre, when one of the NBA’s best Centres is destroying you!?

Having said all that, I’m not surprised. France is a very good team and, if I put Boomers bias aside, deserve slight favouritism for the Gold medal. They have everything covered- Gobert controlling the air and the rim, De Colo and Fournier with scoring, Batum doing a bit of everything, and a bunch of honest role players around them. They have all the ingredients to win Gold. So do Spain and Australia, and to a lesser degree Argentina, but I think France’s performances have, if we’re to be honest, been slightly more consistently good so far over this World Cup. They will take some beating. Let’s hope the Boomers can do it again!

Also those bagging the NBA need to re consider.

The NBA wants a more uptempo game and that's what they get from their rule differentiations.

It's led to less bigs and opening up the court even more.

The fact the best C's in the game are Internationals is also quite interesting. Not sure why America hasn't been able to find their equivalents.

(Embiid Jokic Gobert Towns Gasol)

Davis being a PF obviously :-p

Question is should we (the NBL) be following FIBA rules or NBA rules.

By the sounds of things most our players want to get into the NBA and with so few FIBA competitions every 4 years, and if we stick to Oceania or even Asia the qualification route being quite easy. Might be better to be playing under NBA rules.

The interesting thing with Team USA is you can find ways to criticise the players that were there and lost this one game, but they were at least the guys that showed up when everyone else bailed.

How much is on Pop for not getting the team they had through this game? Were their centres injured?

Until the Chinese league and the NBA start pulling their rules back into line with FIBA, you would expect their countries to always have some disadvantages in FIBA competitions. At least the US has their experience, athleticism, height and skill to help them get deep into the competitions.

Sadly, I suspect FIBA will continue to evolve towards something like the NBA rather than vice-versa.
As long as FIBA stays away from illegal defence, the international game will stay 'pure' - to me that's the critical reason why NBA players struggle when they play FIBA comps.

Things aren't going to end well when you put Barnes at C against Gobert. Tatum and Kuzma both injured too. It's like if the Boomers went into the World Cup with a starting lineup of:

PG - Cadee
SG - Drmic
SF - McCarron
PF - Moller
C - Vague

Kemba said it best in the post interview, "we gave up our summer for this" (said in a positive way. The US media used to criticise their players for not playing for the country, it's just not as important for them any more.

And lol at comments that FIBA ball shits on NBA.

In fairness, I'm not sure if any team has their BEST side out there (from a pure talent perspective).

Would be interesting to see if USA basketball could get the top EuroLeague American players to commit to Team USA. There's a few guys that are on NBA type money that simply choose to play in Europe instead. They would be able to play for the US during the FIBA qualification windows and then compete for a spot on the final WC team and help that transition for the NBA players.

Agree with Gus3232 about the NBA today.

So glad the USA is out of contention. Maybe they will redeem themselves by actually respecting what the rest of the world are doing and put their best team on the floor next time.

Perhaps the US needs to follow our blended approach - a few unstoppable NBA stars and a few supporting Yanks who excel under FIBA rules in Euroleague or other world leagues.

It would've been a turnover in the NBA as well.

Simple really. The NBA is about entertaining the simpletons and FIBA ball is true basketball. You can't take as many steps as you want, you won't be whistled for breathing on a "superstar" and it goes on.

Gave up watching NBA a few years back. It's so far removed from the actual sport now it is ridiculous. FIBA ball craps all over it.

No bs illegal defence rule and a smaller court compared to the nba really change things up.

"Lack of chemistry, lack of role players, too much hero ball, lack of hunger. Just the usual."

Add lack of team balance and it's pretty much the *inverse* of all the main factors that led to Lemanis's controversial selections. It's surprising that o many people -- including apparently Team USA -- don't realize how important chemistry and running a system is in international tournaments. Sure, elite talent can take you far, but we're at a stage in world basketball that team cohesion at both ends of the floor is what gives you the ultimate edge.

USA played three centres a total of 16 minutes. They don’t have a PF in the team. Lost the boards 28-44.

Bit of heroball when they didn’t need it. Turnovers when they could least afford them.

Some of these other teams are battle hardened in intra-continental play, I imagine.

Until Tokyo 2020 when Team USA Redeem Team MK2 wipe the floor with all and sundry

Dave and Makur will answer this for us all, a team full of nba players out. We probably could have lent them Casper and Bryce from the nbl.

2002.