Phx-Suns.Net

Yesterday was the first group of games I decided not to watch since the tournament tipped off. I went out and touched grass as the kids say.

The tournament gets real tonight as the second group phase begins. USA v. Montenegro shouldn't be much of a contest, but Australia v. Slovenia and Canada v. Brazil certainly will be. Also keep an eye on DR v. PR, a little bit of a Caribbean rivalry?

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 31, 2023 2:14 pm

He was doing that goofy Mikal Bridges finger gun celebration at the end.

Everyone loves Mikal. How can you not like him?

I don't understand how Puerto Rico can have their own national team when they aren't even a nation? They are literally a territory of the US.

That's a slippery slope and I'm always in favor of autonomy.

Do you think Taiwan (err, Chinese Taipei ) should be allowed to form their own teams for international competition?

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 31, 2023 5:58 pm

That's a slippery slope and I'm always in favor of autonomy.

Do you think Taiwan (err, Chinese Taipei ) should be allowed to form their own teams for international competition?

Taiwan is much more of a country/nation than Puerto Rico is.

Fair.

But we're talking about sports, so where's the harm in letting people self-determine their representation in these competitions when there's a clear grey area?

Kerr elected to start Josh Hart over Brandon Ingram against Montenegro. Hart started the second half against Jordan as well.

I know Ingram has been struggling, but I really liked Hart's energy off of the bench. He fit well with Haliburton and Reaves in a scrappy trio that hounded opposing benches.

I know it's probably only the two of us up lol
Montenegro slowing it down and US still getting turnovers but not live ball so haven't been able to run

US has pulled away in the 3rd alot this tourney
Not sure they want a tight game in first elimination match, they a young group

The Point Guard from the US has been solid all tournament
Big difference maker again today cause they were made to sweat a little

Gotta give the Montenegrins credit, they executed the right game plan to compete with the Americans. They were effective at slowing the pace and taking fouls a the right time to prevent the avalanche of points this USA team has used to burry their opponents in this tournament. They definitely could've won this game if they didn't concede so many turnovers.

I also think the Americans played a pretty poor game in general and I want to believe their last game against Jordan lead them to drop their guard a bit. They weren't nearly as determined to get into the paint and became way too casual whenever the lead stretched into 3 possessions. Haliburton specifically frustrated me in the first half because he wasn't making the defense move enough in the second quarter. He played well in the second half, along with Edwards and Reaves.

Kerr closed with Haliburton, Edwards, Reaves, Bridges and Jackson.

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 01, 2023 2:01 am

Kerr elected to start Josh Hart over Brandon Ingram against Montenegro. Hart started the second half against Jordan as well.

I know Ingram has been struggling, but I really liked Hart's energy off of the bench. He fit well with Haliburton and Reaves in a scrappy trio that hounded opposing benches.

Hart's a really good glue guy who can more of less play off anyone. And he plays a lot bigger than he is so he can switch around and still be effective, especially on the boards.

if you're not going to send the true "A" stars to the international tournaments, it's better to send highly skilled, winning players who can make for a better team. Ingram's struggling because he's not really an active scorer moving on/off the ball or a real catch and shoot threat. His overall game is better suited for the NBA. Jalen Brunson, Mikal, CamJ, Banchero, Hali, Reaves are just better for this kind of tourney. And then guys like Portis, JJJ and Hart know their roles and know they're not there to score or doing anything crazy while Ant Edwards can be the go-to scorer when they need him to be with the other guys being OK with it.

A "bad" version of Team USA would be something like Ja, Ant Edwards, BI, Julius Randle, LaVine, etc...name guys, volume scorers who just want to do it on their own and think they're the alphas.

I'm not sure how much of these games you're watching, but I think it's pretty clear Ingram's issue stems from being called for a traveling violation every third time he tries to initiate a dribble drive. I'm exaggerating with the frequency, but it doesn't seem by much and he's obviously struggled to find a rhythm because of the officiating.

I kinda disagree with your assessment. He's been a good spot up shooter and he's intended to be the Camelo Anthony of the team. The problem is that when he can't get into a rhythm, he's not providing much energy elsewhere which is why Hart played more in the second half against Jordan and to start against Montenegro. You're right that he's more suited for the NBA, but I think it's more like he's conditioned to play in the NBA style and is having a hard time with the adjustment.

Overall, I think it's too early for Kerr to give up on him and I'd like to see Ingram back in the starting lineup against Lithuania. I there's too much pressure on Brunson and Edwards to create from the perimeter with Hart in the starting lineup. Even if he's not lighting it up, Ingram is still a far superior scorer to Hart and defenses have to respect that.

LAT-VI-A! LAT-VI-A! LAT-VI-A!

They just one upped their win of the tournament over France by beating the defending champions in Spain.

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 01, 2023 4:47 am

LAT-VI-A! LAT-VI-A! LAT-VI-A!

They just one upped their win of the tournament over France by beating the defending champions in Spain.

Wow

On my way home to watch AUS vs SLO
One more legit team bout to be OUT and join Spain n Serbia

I kinda disagree with your assessment. He's been a good spot up shooter and he's intended to be the Camelo Anthony of the team. The problem is that when he can't get into a rhythm, he's not providing much energy elsewhere which is why Hart played more in the second half against Jordan and to start against Montenegro. You're right that he's more suited for the NBA, but I think it's more like he's conditioned to play in the NBA style and is having a hard time with the adjustment.

But that's just it. He's no where near the pure scorer Melo was and he's not a pure C+S threat ala CamJ or Mikal. And if he's not in rhythm and scoring, he's not contributing in other areas like JJJ or Hart or Portis. He's an NBA player struggling in international competition, which we've seen from some other stars. And in Melo's case, he was coming off the bench playing off of truly great players so the shots came a lot easier for him.

I hear ya. He’s definitely not the perfect scorer for FIBA style and could benefit from less pressure to self create as was the case for Melo.

My own biggest critique of Ingram has been his mental toughness. He’s a phenomenal talent but he rarely shows emotion or aggression and I think it’s hurting him now. Unfortunately it’s water under the bridge at this point and the staff has to make the most of it because I don’t think they can win gold if Ingram isn’t a factor.

And just like that, Spain, France and now Canada are all gone. It wasn't long ago that I thought Canada was going to be a real threat in this tournament.

They’re not gone. Everyone in the group is on 7 points so the winners of Canada v. Spain and Brazil v. Latvia are through to the knockout.

Flagrant Fowl wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 01, 2023 8:39 am

They’re not gone. Everyone in the group is on 7 points so the winners of Canada v. Spain and Brazil v. Latvia are through to the knockout.

Oh, I thought we were in the knockout round already. Thanks for the clarification.

No worries.

Such a shame that more people in NA aren't seeing these games live. It's been a great tournament.