C.Melendez
New member
I hate the fact we play 2 garbage teams going into the next rounds...plenty of time for complacency
Last edited:
Install the app
How to install the app on iOS
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
radaman;1206810 said:Missing it at work... Damn.... I'll catch it later tonight if it's even worth watchin...
Not worth watching at all. The B team needs to work on its Half-court offense big time, they look lost every time they are not on a fast-break.
Last edited:
toheeb27;1206891 said:Not worth watching at all. The B team needs to work on its Half-court offense big time, they look lost every time they are not on a fast-break.
just saw the highlights...game against iran looked sloopy as hell............... glad i aint watch it...
Last edited:
dj expanium
New member
A different time zone hours ahead. Team USA needs to be redefined and more focused, because the rest of the world is closing in.MR.CJ;1211893 said:damn, i didn't know they were playing this early.
Last edited:
Gordon playing way into starting lineup?
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Eric Gordon played so well in the second half Thursday against Tunisia, he may have earned himself a spot in the starting lineup.
Emphasis on the words "may have."
"Yeah, we'll take a look at it. We're always open for everything," coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team played sluggishly for the majority of the game before pulling away in the final 14 minutes -- led by Gordon's shooting -- to defeat winless Tunisia 92-57 and finish preliminary-round play 5-0.
"I do think we're going to make quicker subs," Krzyzewski continued. "We're going to get back to more of how we started and how we played the first two games of this pool. I didn't think the confidence level of our bench was where it needed to be during the first part of the pool play, but I think it is now. And for us to win we're going to need all 12 of those guys playing well, not just the starting unit."
Gordon scored a team-high 21 points, including a flurry of eight points on a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws in the first 41 seconds of the fourth quarter, while playing nearly 25 minutes, the same team-high amount as Russell Westbrook. And with the Americans needing a consistent 3-point threat, it would be illogical not to consider moving Gordon into the starting lineup, perhaps in place of Chauncey Billups, who is playing out of position at shooting guard instead of his natural position of point guard.
"I just had a lot of open shots and I had to knock 'em down," said Gordon, who is leading the Americans in 3-pointers made (11) and is second to Kevin Durant in 3-point percentage (Gordon is at 47 percent; Durant 50) among players who have attempted more than two shots from behind the arc.
Billups was 1-for-3 on 3-pointers, which actually raised his percentage for the tournament to 21.1 percent (4-for-19). Starting point guard Derrick Rose has gone only 2-for-7 from long range.
"I'm not really worried about that. I wasn't expecting to start any games here," Gordon said. "My role is to just come in the game and be effective shooting the ball. That's what I came here to do."
But what Gordon came here to do and what the team needs him to do is somewhat of an evolutionary process, and the Americans' need to get off to quicker starts and shoot better from 3-point range are two of the things the coaching staff will be taking a close look at over the next three days before they face Angola on Monday in the single-elimination round of 16.
"Eric tonight played like he's been playing most of the time with us, except for the last two games. For some reason, he was hesitant to shoot. I talked to him before the game and said, 'Just shoot, and if you do make a move to the basket don't look to pass.' He's a scorer, and his teammates know that," Krzyzewski said. "Actually I'm watching tape this morning, we gave 'em some feedback, and there was a play from yesterday and Eric was wide open. So I stopped it and I said, 'How many of you guys don't want him to shoot?' And nobody raised their hand.
"I said, 'Eric, see? Everybody wants you to shoot.'"
The Americans have converted 38.5 percent of their 3-point tries over their five games, averaging nine makes per game. But they've done that against a mixture of man-to-man and zone defenses, and they fully expect their future opponents to consistently zone them in the knockout round.
Hence, a premium will be placed on outside shooting.
For a 2½-minute stretch of the fourth quarter against Tunisia, Krzyzewski went with a rotation he hadn't used before, using Rose alongside Gordon and Westbrook. It was a brief sample, but the Americans did have two dunks in that span as they played a wide-open yet under control style -- exactly the right mix of yin and yang they have been trying to coax out of this roster as the tournament has moved along.
As much as the coaches want the Americans to use ball movement and player movement to produce better shot opportunities, there are some players they want to be shoot-first and pass-second performers. Durant is one of the few who fall into that group, and Gordon certainly is another.
"Sometimes we're not looking for our shot, we're looking to make the next pass. And I thought we were a little bit better with that this afternoon," Krzyzewski said.
Billups did not agree with the supposition that playing away from his natural position has had an impact on his game. He has shot 40 percent overall: 2-for-7 against Iran (0-for-2 on 3s), 5-for-12 against Brazil (1-for-7 on 3s), 2-for-6 against Slovenia (0-for-2 on 3s) and 3-for-6 against Croatia (2-for-5 on 3s).
Krzyzewski has counted on Billups to be the type of team leader that Jason Kidd was for the 2008 Olympic team, but Kidd was so deferential in that tournament that he attempted only one field goal prior to the gold-medal game. He also was not, like Billups, playing out of his natural position.
"It's easy for me because that's what I do on my regular team. Other than playing off the ball a little bit, my role hasn't really changed at all. Maybe I don't shoot as much as I would shoot for the Denver Nuggets, but I get out there and I kind of get a feel for the game and see how it's going. And the shots I'm supposed to shoot, I'm going to shoot. And other times I have to settle the team down and make sure everyone's in the right spot," Billups said.
So perhaps the solution might be moving Billups (14 assists and six turnovers in the five games) over to point guard and bringing Rose (11 assists and 11 turnovers) off the bench.
It's another option Team USA can look at, and Coach K made it clear that all options will be considered now that pool play is over and it's one-and-done time.
There is no more margin for error anymore, and it is never too late to tinker.
The real part of this tournament begins Monday, and at the start of its next game, Team USA may look just a little different than it has over the past six days.
...........................
Last edited:
toheeb27;1213576 said:Looks like we will be facing Angola next week Monday.
YEP!!! should be another easy game....
Last edited:
Serbia upsets Argentina at worlds....
Argentina captain and Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola sank two free throws with 38 seconds left to make it 77-77, but Serbia forward Dusko Savanovic hit a big 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.
Savanovic led Serbia with 19 points and Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad Krstic added 18. Krstic played his second game after a three-game suspension for a brawl against Greece.
"If we can beat Argentina, we can beat anyone," Savanovic said.
WOW....seems like i am missing some great games by not watching these other teams....
Argentina captain and Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola sank two free throws with 38 seconds left to make it 77-77, but Serbia forward Dusko Savanovic hit a big 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.
Savanovic led Serbia with 19 points and Oklahoma City Thunder center Nenad Krstic added 18. Krstic played his second game after a three-game suspension for a brawl against Greece.
"If we can beat Argentina, we can beat anyone," Savanovic said.
WOW....seems like i am missing some great games by not watching these other teams....
Last edited:
Miami6;1214401 said:YEP!!! should be another easy game....
Yea John, should be another easy one. But i would still like them to make that switch in the line up by replacing Billups with Gordon.
Last edited:
toheeb27;1215378 said:Yea John, should be another easy one. But i would still like them to make that switch in the line up by replacing Billups with Gordon.
wow..u guys are going overboard with this "john" shit...for real...
Last edited:
toheeb27;1215378 said:Yea John, should be another easy one. But i would still like them to make that switch in the line up by replacing Billups with Gordon.
these world championships is bullshit...lots of stars are out...ONLY USA will qualify for the olympics......and the rest of the world is basically playing for next year to qualify in their tournaments...thats when you will see pau gasol and the others....
its hard to imagine USA has not won this world championship since 1994 for real.....
Last edited:
toheeb27;1224461 said:spain vs. Greece in about 30 mins. Should be a fun game.
lol fuck that. College football baby!!!!
Last edited:
toheeb27;1224461 said:Spain vs. Greece in about 30 mins. Should be a fun game.
cot damn I wish my TV would split into 5 screens
Last edited:
