Here's the box score in the game thread. http://sportstwo.com/threads/269359...dame-make-it?p=3420091&viewfull=1#post3420091
Spain vs. Croatia, full game: [video=youtube;nVXBTE2OA5s]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVXBTE2OA5s[/video] (Fast forward to 55 mins for the first Claver sighting. But that's when Spain busts the game wide open!)
Sounds like Tom Thibodeau is on board with Rose getting the kinks out for Team USA instead of with his team. http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketb...rick-rose-getting-cautious-treatment-team-usa Sly and others thought Tibs might push for Rose not to make the team but looks to be the exact opposite.
This is what I was thinking. Rose is using this more like a summer league, which would get to me a little that he is wearing a USA jersey and really it is about him rather than team USA . . . but reality is that is how many other NBA players are treating FIBA. Players dropping out for fatigue, contract issues and or jkust wanting some time off. Personally I think they should go back to college players. Yes Team USA will lose, but there will be players there who will be going all out and trying to win for the USA. Right now it is a glorified summer league.
I think they should go to places like Rucker and form a team of uber-talented guys who somehow lost their opportunity to play organized team ball. Make team USA a bunch of underdog stories. I bet they could absolutely be competitive on a world scale with a squad of the country's best unknown streetballers.
Could they pass drug tests? Seriously though otherwise that would be a great idea and you would probably get a few that could catch on with pro or semi pro leagues afterwards.
The second part is why I really like the idea. How awesome would it be for some unknown 28-year-old dock-worker/street-baller who couldn't make the grades or test scores necessary to play college ball to suddenly get plucked out to participate in international competition, make a name for himself repping his country, and then parlay that into a six-figure pro contract?
I think you're about 20 years too late for this idea. They could've been competitive at the time of the Dream Team, maybe. The main problem is that streetballers don't play team ball. They would be more talented than all the teams they inevitably lose to.
Is CJ over Giannis going to be Oden-over-Durant, Martell-over-Chris Paul or just Nolan-over-Faried/Mirotic bad?
Durant plays for a contender... so no. Giannis plays for the bucks... he may be good, but if he's with the bucks, he ain't contending.
So if Durant played for the Bucks, we'd all feel a lot better? And it wouldn't count as a drafting screwup?
oden over durant...first ballot hall of famer vs colossal #1 bust...umm i dont see how that is possible cp3 over martel...first ballot hall of famer vs #6 pick...while some are good and some are bad, martell seems like a disappointment, but hes better than a lot of #6 picks turned out... list of number 6 picks...getting warmer but yeah, not likely as far as nolan vs faried/mirotic... i guess this might apply, except nolan was so spectacularly inept that, no, it kinda doesnt. add that faried is a 13/9 kinda guy and it doesnt really ring true i guess. but if cj washes out of the league after this season and giannis is a first ballot hall of famer you can say i told you so.
Why is CP3 a hall of famer? What exactly has he done to warrant a first ballot hall of fame? I'm interested...
