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  • I'm indifferent to a lot of people's opinions on this. I personally think the team lost or was not successful because of their inexperience in the International game. They don't have an identity yet, and regardless how talented this team is, and definitely will be with Olynyk, Bennett, and Wiggins coming in, they just didn't have a backbone, or some sort of shelter to rely on when things go bad.

    The defense more often than not was solid in my opinion, especially with a Jay Triano team. James Borbath from DNB and I were tweeting one another about how the players on Team Canada were hedging on screens and closing gaps better than the Triano-coached Raptors.

    Offense, they had A LOT of options to run to, especially with guys like Joseph, who was more often than not successful finding his way to the rim, whether it was his own shot-creation, or via pick-&-roll/pop with Thompson, Kendall, and Nicholson. Speaking of Nicholson, he was the guy on the team that could create something out of literally nothing - role will eventually be taken by Wiggins.

    They struggled in games, because of their inexperience to deal with teams they should be beating, or similar to the Raptors, no killer instinct whatsoever - losing leads, not keeping up with the attack, etc. They settled for jump-shots near the end of games - no discipline. They looked like they were trying to make a 14 point deficit, a 3 point game in 2 possessions. The team also lost their composure i.e. Andrew Nicholson getting tossed, Rautins losing his cool. Team is young, and team is still learning how to be professionals, even though they're already pros in the eyes of many.

    I'm happy though, even when I'm also disappointed they didn't qualify, because, let's be honest here, Canada wouldn't even win more than a game or 2 since maybe when Nash was still playing. The country's players in the recent past have been used to being ousted by 20, 30, even 40 points on occasions.

    This was the first time in a long time, Canada has looked, or even performed at a level that makes them relevant. This program is only going to grow, and grow to become bigger and better.
    Twitter: @ReubenJRD • NBA, Raptors writer for Daily Hive Vancouver, Toronto.

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    • All I'm saying, is Steve Nash walks on to that court, and Canada qualifies. Period. So why did he bother signing up if he had no intentions to field the best possible squad.

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      • Craig wrote: View Post
        All I'm saying, is Steve Nash walks on to that court, and Canada qualifies. Period. So why did he bother signing up if he had no intentions to field the best possible squad.
        Because the Lakers pay him more than Team Canada does.
        Eh follow my TWITTER!

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        • Craig wrote: View Post
          All I'm saying, is Steve Nash walks on to that court, and Canada qualifies. Period. So why did he bother signing up if he had no intentions to field the best possible squad.
          Somebody's full of grumpy whine today. Nash owes Basketball Canada nothing. He gave 10 years as a player for the national team, and is now giving in a different capacity. A role that fits with his age and conditioning needs for his last couple of years of his career. Nothing to criticize about Nash at all.

          As far as how the team did, probably as well as could be expected. There's some talent, even without Wiggins, Bennett, Olynyk, but they're kids in the international tourney game, who played 8 games in 10 days against seasoned men. These boys got very valuable experience from this, and the result is a minor speed bump in the promising outlook for our national team.

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          • http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/
            If Your Uncle Jack Helped You Off An Elephant, Would You Help Your Uncle Jack Off An Elephant?

            Sometimes, I like to buy a book on CD and listen to it, while reading music.

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            • I'm impressed with team Mexico's performance in qualifying for Spain next year. The team was put together just this year with a number of Mexican Americans with NCAA and pro experience and native Mexicans, most notably Gustav Ayon, who plays for the Hawks now. Ayon was among the very best players in the tournament, scoring, rebounding and defending.

              I'm going to be accused of trolling in saying this but here goes: Valanciunas could learn a lot from watching Ayon about how to set a proper pick, moving your feet in the post, and generally being an effective rebounder/defender without getting in foul trouble.

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              • stretch wrote: View Post
                I'm going to be accused of trolling in saying this but here goes: Valanciunas could learn a lot from watching Ayon about how to set a proper pick, moving your feet in the post, and generally being an effective rebounder/defender without getting in foul trouble.
                Their Per-36s are pretty similar from last year, however Jonas was only a rookie at the time, and Ayon was 28 years old. Also, if Jonas really could learn anything from him, I can't imagine the Bucks would have released him.

                I'd say Jonas will be a better player than Ayon next season.

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                • joey_hesketh wrote: View Post
                  Their Per-36s are pretty similar from last year, however Jonas was only a rookie at the time, and Ayon was 28 years old. Also, if Jonas really could learn anything from him, I can't imagine the Bucks would have released him.

                  I'd say Jonas will be a better player than Ayon next season.
                  Jonas has bad footwork compared to Ayon. Ayon has a better touch around the rim, also. JV is younger and bigger and will get better. Ayon is at the top of his game right now. JV has been underwhelming in Slovenia.

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                  • octothorp wrote: View Post
                    I don't think there's that much blame necessary. I'd say Nash probably put together the most talented lineup he could with the guys he had available, and Triano did a decent job managing that lineup. Though between them, their inability to come up with a real SF solution ended up being an issue at times. Going with three bigs will be much more effective when the big playing SF is Bennett and not Doornekamp. There's also a lot of specialists on this team, which makes putting balanced lineups on the floor a challenge. Guys like Anthony, Rautins, and Heslip belong on this team, but you'd ideally like to be playing them more situationally, rather than counting on them for minutes.
                    But ultimately a lack of experience amongst their most skilled players and a lack of skill amongst their most experienced players was their downfall. It's going to be an ongoing issue for team Canada: their most talented players will be going the NBA route and lack the understanding of the international game. It's an issue that a team like the US can overcome with elite skill. For Canada, it'll be more of a challenge, even as their skill level improves. Nicholson was where this was most visible: couldn't stay in games, despite the fact that refs were calling him for the exact same things all tournament long. He needed to stop assuming that the refs were wrong and instead try to learn what he was doing wrong.
                    I think you could also say that there was a lack of clutchness on this team. They didn't have a real idea of how to close out games, except when they had the luxury of a couple hot 3-point shooters. You look at the guys who really burned them this tournament, and it was rarely young guys... it was skilled veterans. FIBA tournaments are made for skilled veterans. Canada has exactly zero of them.
                    Octo, I generally love your posts in this whole thread, but I think you're really stretching the definition of "skilled" here. Are we saying that Nestor (who?) Colmenares is a skilled veteran that trumps anything we have???

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                    • Mexico wins the FIBA Americas tournament. Puerto Rico had a good look to win it at the buzzer but hit iron. The all tournament team was Campazzo and Scola from Argentina, Balkman and Berea from Puerto Rico, and Gustavo Ayon from Mexico. Ayon was the tournament MVP.

                      It was a surprising outcome. Barring winning a wild card spot, which I hear is unlikely, Canada's next important competition will be Olympic qualification in 2015. That FIBA Americas tournament will be tougher with only two spots qualifying for the Rio Olympics with the USA already in with the previous gold from London.

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                      • Here is an summary article on Canada's performance with some good comments. To solely blame lack of experience, or so-called "skilled" veterans for the disappointing finish, is not really looking at the total picture. The article and the comment section both have some interesting and diverse viewpoints worth considering....

                        http://www.raptorshq.com/2013/9/9/47...s-to-argentina

                        http://www.raptorshq.com/2013/9/9/47...ntina#comments

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