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US-Germany hoops

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Starman, Aug 30, 2006.

  1. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    I'm sure you know more hoops than he does, Starman.
    Gambling and stealing are not the same thing. When the U.S. gambles by jumping into a passing lane, it exposes its defense in unnecessary ways. Most of the success the U.S. had taking the ball was with traps or just flat picking guys off the dribble.
    A coach will tell his players, if you're going to gamble, you better get the ball. So it's not a gamble -- it's a sure thing. Otherwise, do it too often and you're hurting the team.
    Maybe it's just that you're up too early. Maybe that's why you're missing the fact that Fraschilla is the best hoops analyst this side of Hubie Brown.
     
  2. Barsuk

    Barsuk Active Member

    Didn't see the game, but LeBron just said the U.S. did a good job in the third half, so I guess that's good. :D
     
  3. Jeebus, for all the griping about the refs, the USofA got a sweet draw in this tournament. How'd Spain and Argentina -- who, I've heard, are the two other best teams in the field -- get stuck playing each other in a semi?
     
  4. PeteyPirate

    PeteyPirate Guest

    If you are assuming the USA to be the No. 1 seed, then it would make sense for Nos. 2 and 3 to be playing in the opposite semifinal.
     
  5. Should we assume that, given the USA's recent record in international play? Not saying that you're wrong but, if you're right, how'd we get seeded that high?
     
  6. Pastor

    Pastor Active Member

    I don't know for certainty how they do the ranking in international basketball, but if it is anything like how FIFA does its ranking, you end up with Mexico seeded, having accomplished jack squat over the years, with the USA shoved in a group of death.
     
  7. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    If his on-air output is any indication, I DO know more about hoops than he does.

    He's a fucking idiot who either has no idea, or more likely, completely disagrees with what the U.S. is trying to do on the court. He's the voice of Conventional Wisdom, the reincarnation of Norman Dale, Hank Iba (and, dare I say it, Larry Brown??) continually hand-wringing and pissing his diapers every time the U.S. takes a shot with more than 5 seconds left on the shot clock.

    Of course, every coach everywhere in the world is gonna say, "if you're going to gamble, you'd better get the ball." Duhhh.

    The primary objective of ANY U.S. team in any international basketball competition must ALWAYS be to run up the score as much as possible, to pump the margin as widely as you can, to eliminate the possibility of another game-fixing fucking by the refs. They did their best today -- the final margin was 20, and it should have been 40-50.

    The U.S. follows Granny Fran's advice, starts running clock with 8:00 left, and the final margin is 7 points with 2:00 to play. Then, two phantom foul calls, a bogus turnover or two, a mystery goaltending, Germany nails a couple 3-pointers, and you're down the toilet again.
     
  8. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    You're just paranoid enough, Starman, that the 9/11 conspiracy theory thread might be right for you.
    International refs might be incompetent, but all you needed to see was D. Howard's continuation play to know there hasn't been a strong anti-U.S. bias.
    Fraschilla clearly is on board with what the U.S. is doing, but he's got to analyze a game. And if he sees the U.S. rushing some shots (which it has done) or gambling too much (which it has done), it's his job to say it. When the U.S. is patient on offense and does not gamble on defense, there is no way even the best international teams can compete with them.
     
  9. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    I Tivo'd this and watched it when I got up. The thing that struck me is that Germany was supposed to be a stiff test for the US but the only reason this game was even in doubt at halftime was because the US killed itself by missing wide-open shots Germany did nothing to disrupt what Team USA wanted to do.

    If Anthony and Co. even hit their average shooting percentage they would have won by 40.
     
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