USA will have an easy time against Brazil.
Germany is a way better team than Greece, I doubt Giannis can carry by himself.
Canada wouldn't have issues against France if it was played anywhere else, but I expect a lot of home cooking from the refs.
Serbia should take care of business against Australia.
Semi-finals matchups will be drawn later.
He made the ECF as a sop re. Made the nba finals his 5th year and has played in 5 ECFs overall. It’s like you guys don’t even watch nba basketball
There is a difference between saying that the NBA remains the best league in the world, by far (and I share this opinion), and thinking that any role player, bench player or prospect has the same value as the elite players in the best clubs in Europe.
Behind the top twenty teams in the NBA, there is nothing on the entire country. We certainly find the best players there, but there is a large concentration of the best talents on the planet in very few clubs. The benches are very composite (prospects, very good players, old players, role players). Elsewhere on the planet, however, you find many more leagues that are worse than the NBA, but they are compe ive with very often players or teams that are better than non-star NBA players.
And I'm not talking about the ten worst teams in the NBA which would undoubtedly fare poorly against the ten best Euroleague clubs or against some national champions.
The worst NBA franchises are built through draft rounds, and therefore prospects. You mold these prospects for years according to playing principles and an environment specific to the NBA, and you establish objectives over three or four years. Playing in a FIBA or even Euroleague context requires completely different work. So again, okay, the NBA is the best league, but then you could hardly argue that an average NBA player (Fournier, Batum), a prospect (Coulibaly), a defensive role player (Gobert) or a former NBA player (De Colo), is at Euroleague level (actually De Colo played very poorly in the worst Euroleague team when not injured).
Even more so once the environments are always specific. We see it clearly with Tatum or with Duncan at the time, who are and were struggling to adapt to the FIBA game. Does this mean they are worse than direct opponents in FIBA? Not necessarily. They are less good in this specific environment. Some good Euroleague players could, for example, adapt quickly to an NBA game, there are never certainties.
This is why we must be wary of certain easy or clichés suggesting mentionning NBA fans known French players that a bench player in the "best league in the world" will necessarily have more talent, for example, than a... "world champion" not playing in the NBA, a real one: a player on the German team.
That Canada-France game will be exciting. On paper, Canada should have it, but the emotion of being host should boost France.
US, Serbia, Germany, and Canada feel like the final four, with US-Germany being the final.
I personally have always liked bigmen historically that played back to basket ala Duncan, Olaujuwon, Shaq, Jokic. Those types of bigs are the easiest to win with because when the offense falls apart, they can get easy buckets in crucial game time situations. It's a lot harder to win les with bigmen who are like Dirk, David Robinson, etc since they don't have any go to moves when their jump shot isn't falling.
If we applied Chinook's logic, Gobert should be playing in the gleague
His "theory" doesn't make any sense, he conveniently avoids many obvious handicaps Wemby shouldn't have to deal with
You probably have the end of the Japan game in mind, I get it, but the refs haven't protected the french players at all, far from it.
They're allowing A LOT of contact from their opponents
Only a monstruous game from Wemby can make it a close game tbh France is just too weak on the perimeter.
For those of you who questions Wemby's readiness, imagine replacing Gobert with Lauri Markkanen, then add Barnes and Chris Paul. France will suddenly become a medal contender.
Gobert is their main problem. He is in the way of the offense. France needs shooters and a point guard.
With Lauri, Spurs will be a playoff team and possibly get into top 4. After this coming playoff run, Spurs will be fully ready to compete for le in 2026.
Setting up a France- USA final
He still can't create his shot against the Dillon Brooks of the world. One step at a time.
I believe it will be Canada-USA final. Canada is loaded with NBA talent. Many of there players are starters in the NBA.
France probably loses to Canada tbh. France has feasted on terrible teams and barely survived against Japan who had their best player get tossed out
brooks will bother wemby and not sure where else France goes to for scoring
If Manu can win a medal for Argentina then Wemby should easily be able to win one for France?
Manu had an amazing cast/generation next to him.
Maybe in 4years France will look more like a contender for the LA Olympics
Does the French sport media pamper that asshat coach as much as San Antios media pusses out re Pop?
Any comments back from Wemby after asshat went off on him after their last game?
I did see that Fournier had critiques of the coaching:
“I think we lack fundamentals,” Fournier told Yann Ohnona of L’Equipe. “We have to move on. At times, I think we get it wrong in the way we want to play. And we pay the price for that. These days, the best defense is offense. It’s no longer the game of the 1990s or 2000s where you could defend half-court. Offense is essential. Balance on the court, transition game. Especially when you play a team as strong in transition as Germany is.”
Those Manu teams were stacked
I always wanted Spurs to get Nocioni
Not really, it's all very diplomatic at best.
Not only France doesn't have a lot of sports medias but the few journalists wants to keep good relationahip with everyone. At best the critics will come once eliminated (not even sure smh)
Fournier made some (light tbh) critics on the style of play and especially the fact that nowasday a team can't realy solely on defense like the past decades but need an efficient offense.
Collet got offended and almost talked about Fournier as if he was a treator!!
Not even sure Fournier will play the next game
Not much from Wemby aside the fact that he says the team needs to focus on having a good start, that the end of game's focus and strategy comes by itself
Honestly this is accurate from what I've seen watching the three games. They are staggering Wemby and Gobert more now, but at first they were sharing a fair amount of court time.
If Collette wants Wemby to play down low he has to create space and Gobert is in the way when he's out there. Even without Wemby, Gobert has been bad in these games, fumbling easy passes. Go France Go lol
What a sad start coaching wise to Wembys 1st full year.
Hopefully Duncan, DRob and others around the Spurs have strategy conversations with Wemby on a regular basis.
.jpg of praying dog that Wemby gets some star level teammates sooner rather then later.
Rathern then not at all.
I fear Gramps is gonna do all 5 years of his contract. In fact an extension, moronic as it sounds would not completely surprise me.
That where you see the importance of coaching.
For all the Pop gets, he wouldn't hesitate to bench Gobert. Thing that neither Wolves's coach nor "Collette" had the balls to do (or possibly BBIQ for the latter)
He’s surrounded by a team full of Sochan’s. Ain’t gonna happen.
On a serious note, there is no movement or motion in France’s offense. It is too stagnant. Wemby needs to get that ball on the move. He moves well without the ball so he is capable.
The Spurs guards are total dogs but even our crazy coach was able to figure that out and come up with clever ways to get Wemby the ball.
You got it. Wemby is way better than he appeared in these Olympic games.
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