Not sure if there is a thread somewhere but Nigeria just beat the USA in men’s basketball tonight. Wtf lol
Olympic Hoops
- Thread starter HomeRunBaker
- Start date
30 point favorites. I don't know if it's the most embarrassing loss in USA basketball history (considering it was an exhibition), but it may have been the biggest basketball victory ever for Africa. Plenty of other issues, but the final chance for USA seemed like they were trying to lose. Down by 3 with the ball and 13 seconds left, they had Dame/Durant/Tatum/LaVine/Green on the floor...and they drew up a super slow developing play for LaVine of all people. He was mercifully fouled with 3 seconds left (how do they let 10 seconds tick off), he missed them both and game over.
Working theory: Popovich really likes Mike Brown and wants him to get interviews for head coaching jobs (Brown is the HC of Nigeria).
Nigeria played with so much heart, and shot well from three. The US team played like trash. Tatum had it going in the first quarter, but barely touched the ball the rest of the way. He did miss a layup in the last couple of minutes.
At one point, KD was 2-11, and basically shot his team to a late deficit, one that his shot making in the last minute+ couldn’t overcome.
At one point, KD was 2-11, and basically shot his team to a late deficit, one that his shot making in the last minute+ couldn’t overcome.
The team could probably use a loss like this to help Pop convey that they can't just cruise to a gold.
Can you even imagine the excitement in the USA locker room prior to taking the court for this one? Like, aside from maybe Kevin Love, is there anyone who wanted to be at that venue on a Saturday night preparing to play Nigeria?
So should we use this thread or the one that is also actively being used in the Olympics sub forum?
Certainly doesn’t seem to be much edge. I bet half of the team is just there to recruit or get recruited, I wonder if these results have an opposite effect lol
I’m just triggered by such inept play after watching a full season of the Celtics. Maybe they’ll pick it up.
Hopefully the fear of international embarrassment will eventually take hold.
Are the clubs jumping on Monday night?
Ah, missed the location. That could explain a lot actually. Clubs are open Sunday night too...
I’m trying to come up with a good analogy to show how much they cared about playing these last two games but can’t think of anything that would do justice.
This isn’t Angola circa 1992 where you can simply walk out on the floor and win comfortably. With the intensity level showed tonight (I didn’t see any of first game) the result isn’t very surprising.
I have no idea how many NBA'ers these other teams have but the USA guys are coming off what closely approximates 2 seasons of basketball with no break. I don't blame them for taking it easy during these warm up games if that is what is happening.
7 NBA players on Nigerian team, and I think there was one guy on the Aussie team that I didn't know. Pretty much all NBA guys on the latter team.
Yes, and to HRB's point: this game is a big deal for the Australia and Nigerian squads, who have plenty of NBA talent. This game means literally zero to the US team.
That doesn't excuse not playing well, and both size and defensive chops are question marks about the roster, but I'm not sure it plays the same way if the game matters. My concern isn't at the offensive end once they care, it is whether they will run into teams they can't really stop
That doesn't excuse not playing well, and both size and defensive chops are question marks about the roster, but I'm not sure it plays the same way if the game matters. My concern isn't at the offensive end once they care, it is whether they will run into teams they can't really stop
Ya but looking at who those NBA players are for Nigeria they are all several orders of magnitude fewer minutes than all those USA guys. Same for Australia with the exception of Ingles and Mills, maybe Baynes.
In fairness, he's pretty good in the NBA as well. Can't remember the circumstances of why Portland let him go a decade ago but the Spurs totally nailed that signing, as always.
The Port Cellar and the Olympic subforum seem to draw slightly different crowds, and both threads are active, so for now they will both remain open. If one of them falters, I'll move posts to the other one, but for now let people vote with their feet.
Looking at the spread of the Delta I’m looking for a prop that we don’t send a team to the Games. This is these guys vacation season......why would they travel to Japan for a month, risk being ridiculed if they don’t win Gold, while playing in empty arenas? Who will follow Love?
Yeah, I wonder how many of these guys would have signed on had they known they'd be playing in empty gyms.
He's a good choice if healthy. FIBA teams actually throw the ball in the paint to big guys who actually try to score. Nick Nurse found out the big guys from Greece and Czech Republic did not bow down to the superior three point shooting of NBA players 40lbs lighter than they were and simply kicked their asses in the low block.
Sounds like we will need Kenneth Lofton Jr. to pull double-duty this summer.
They're still the most talented team in the tournament but I'll be surprised if they medal with all the crap going on.