Canada Basketball

[planetmars]

$10 bet returns $800 for Japan winning a medal? Is this a terrible bet?

Host countries typically exceed expectations, but there won't be any fans. I don't think Japan will get far IMO. But it's also only $10.

[bertarapsfan]

$10 bet returns $800 for Japan winning a medal? Is this a terrible bet?

Gotta get out of the group of, Argentina,Spain, Slovenia.
Any of those 3 teams i could see making the finals

[Maury]

$10 bet returns $800 for Japan winning a medal? Is this a terrible bet?

[guyroch]

Japan beat France in an Olympics tuneup match. Lol. Yuta with 18pts/7reb.

With only 12 teams in this tournament . There aren't many ( maybe IRAN ) that are going to be walkovers

[golden]

Japan beat France in an Olympics tuneup match. Lol. Yuta with 18pts/7reb.

[Puffer]

Thank goodness nobody listens to Leo....

If Leo lived forever, humanity would evolve the ability to force their ear lobs into their ears at the sound of his voice. In the meantime, sound-cancelling headphones and ear plugs are a sure thing investment.

[golden]

You me and Leo are in agreement there. :-)

Thank goodness nobody listens to Leo....

[Puffer]

Almost forgot - live ball up on the rim is the easiest and most obvious one to implement

You me and Leo are in agreement there. :-)

[S.R.]

Almost forgot - live ball up on the rim is the easiest and most obvious one to implement

[S.R.]

I like that FIBA gets through games a lot faster. I don't mind the tighter whistles on certain types of plays. But if you end up with a system where Joe Ingles and Patty Mills type players look like your stars, we'll there's something a bit off with that too. Some history in various sports where clutching/grabbing/physicality closes the gap between super talented players and mediocre players. NBA did get it right in that no one's buying tickets to see Bruce Bowen types clutch and grab guys on the perimeter, we want to see Steph Curry unleashed.

The foul baiting is too much for sure. The rule adjustment for unnatural offensive movement should help next year. I wouldn't mind the gather step taken out of the travel rules but that'll never happen. I like the current zone defence rules, though makes it hard for post players. Dominant post players used to feast because you had to defend them one on one. Mind you going back to that might balance out the 3 point shootout game flow we're getting now.

[golden]

Look, they are virtually unbeatable since 1992 so it's not like this is some insurmountable issue for them. I think the bigger factor is simply that other teams are better than ever and there's a lot more competition than even 5-6 years ago. There a lot of good teams that didn't even make the Olympics this time around. Lesson in there.

Oh, for sure they are going to turn it on when it matters. Just piling on the comments I've been reading elsewhere about FIBA not rewarding stars for the same ticky-tack fouls they're used to getting in the NBA. Once Team USA adjusts and actually plays a game that matters, we'll see a different team.

[planetmars]

I'm surprised USA is went so small here.. Bam, Draymond and KD are their only bigs?

But yeah they should medal. I don't know about gold, as it won't be easy. It's a bubble with no fans. The celebrity life style that they will want won't be there. They won't be treated like rock stars. It's not going to be fun for a lot of them being away from their families.

[slaw]

Yeah, it's the NBA reward system that encourages players to learn foul-baiting techniques. Mastering those tricks could be literally worth millions.



https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ry-unstoppable

Look, they are virtually unbeatable since 1992 so it's not like this is some insurmountable issue for them. I think the bigger factor is simply that other teams are better than ever and there's a lot more competition than even 5-6 years ago. There a lot of good teams that didn't even make the Olympics this time around. Lesson in there.

[golden]

I agree with this to some extent. There are lots of plays every game where a guy flies into the lane completely out of control (sometimes intentionally) and gets bailed out by the refs, especially the star players, which doesn't happen as much in FIBA play. Not sure it's that players are 'soft', rather, they are used to playing a certain way in the lane and it can be hard to adjust the mindset in 20-30 minutes of on-court time.

Still think the US will be fine but it isn't going to be as easy as it used to be for them.

Yeah, it's the NBA reward system that encourages players to learn foul-baiting techniques. Mastering those tricks could be literally worth millions.

Harden and San Antonio Spurs shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, childhood friends who grew up playing basketball together in Los Angeles, have had discussions about the art of drawing fouls. DeRozan admits he has borrowed some tricks from his former AAU teammate, such as extending his arms on drives.

"That was something we always talked about, joked about," DeRozan says. "Especially in the summertime, just messing around playing and coming up with different ideas on how to get fouled and get to the free throw line."

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ry-unstoppable

[slaw]

A lot of people are pointing to the physicality, rules & reffing - basically saying that FIBA is real basketball where players are allowed to actually make contact and saying this is a perfect example that exposes how NBA badly the has watered down the game to dramatically favor offensive players with the ability to arbitrarily give FTs to star players of their choice.

In other words.... American NBA players are soft.

I agree with this to some extent. There are lots of plays every game where a guy flies into the lane completely out of control (sometimes intentionally) and gets bailed out by the refs, especially the star players, which doesn't happen as much in FIBA play. Not sure it's that players are 'soft', rather, they are used to playing a certain way in the lane and it can be hard to adjust the mindset in 20-30 minutes of on-court time.

Still think the US will be fine but it isn't going to be as easy as it used to be for them.