Team USA 2024

lars10

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WFAN was also talking about Tatum not playing a bit.. it’s not just a SOSH/ Boston story.
 

benhogan

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After a long Championship season where the Celtics ran over the NBA for 9 months, TeamUSA was a clunker for Boston.

Tatum 2 DNPz! White got himself a DNP in the France game. JT's broken jumper. Grant Hill publicly uninviting Brown. Even Jrue lost his starting spot by the end. Those guys need some serious rest.

I did find myself rooting for the underdogs in both the men's & women's games, which felt like a first.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Curry def should have been MVP. For this team the only games that truly mattered were these elimination games. Curry was the clear MVP of these final games.
Agreed - Curry was the best player when it mattered. LBJ getting it feels like a 'career achievement' kind of thing, though he was also impactful overall in the tournament.
 

chilidawg

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View: https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1822802090886070434


Just in case anyone was still on the fence about whether or not he was pissed off about not playing.
Cross posted from the Tatum thread.

Gotta say I'm very impressed with Mr. Tatum's response to his play time:

Tatum said he didn't confront Kerr over the lack of playing time and instead put Team USA over his individual needs en route to winning his second gold medal Saturday in Paris.

"No. I just stayed a professional," Tatum told reporters, per The Boston Globe's Tara Sullivan. "I came to work every day. Just stay ready. We got great guys on this team and while you feel like you deserve to play and the competitor in you wants to play, as a coach for a reason he makes those decisions. Your job as a player is to stay ready whenever your number is called."

Seeing how things played out on the Celtics this season had to have helped the 6-foot-8, 210-pound forward in this situation. Tatum seemed to adapt the mindset of the contingent of role players on the Celtics who rarely saw the floor during Boston's championship run but never complained -- at least not publicly -- about their position on the team.

"It was challenging," Tatum said. "I can't lie. It was challenging. Especially after the experience of the highest of the highest winning a championship, and then put in a new situation where you've never been in that spot before. But you know, I didn't want to make it about me. I got a chance to come to work with 11 other guys I got nothing but love and respect for. And you know, we won. I'm happy about that."


https://nesn.com/2024/08/did-jayson-tatum-confront-steve-kerr-about-olympic-benchings-celtics-star-opens-up/
 

bigq

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After a long Championship season where the Celtics ran over the NBA for 9 months, TeamUSA was a clunker for Boston.

Tatum 2 DNPz! White got himself a DNP in the France game. JT's broken jumper. Grant Hill publicly uninviting Brown. Even Jrue lost his starting spot by the end. Those guys need some serious rest.
I am on board with this. Others have said something similar and I agree that this gives the team motivation in the coming season which I think works well for Celtics fans in general. It would have been great if the Celtics players could have shined brighter in the Olympics but the guys were a part of the team that got the gold medal which was the overall objective. 2024 was the swan song for LeBron, KD and Curry. Good for them that they are going out on top. The Jays will feature more prominently in the 2028 games.
 

TomRicardo

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Well Kerr is being helped out the door before the planes took off from France (he did his time as they are phrasing it), have to move to Spo. I wonder if it was just Spo moving on him and/or some of the players complained. Durant was done with Kerr by the end but I am not sure if Edwards cared (then again Edwards would have parroted what KD said). He clearly was gone before the gold medal match as the Spo engine was running Friday.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Well Kerr is being helped out the door before the planes took off from France (he did his time as they are phrasing it), have to move to Spo. I wonder if it was just Spo moving on him and/or some of the players complained. Durant was done with Kerr by the end but I am not sure if Edwards cared (then again Edwards would have parroted what KD said). He clearly was gone before the gold medal match as the Spo engine was running Friday.
I said this during the games but this always seemed like a Kerr/Spo collaboration rather than Kerr as the dictator with Spo sitting quietly. Spo was in the first seat and heavily engaged in every game. What was the purpose of Few on the bench? Lue is another highly respected NBA coach on that bench but Few always felt like an odd fit.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Some Team USA stats below (from Reddit). Amazing how many guys were over 65% TS%.

Nothing really jumps out that we've not talked about except Booker having the highest 3P% at 56.5%.

87060
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I said this during the games but this always seemed like a Kerr/Spo collaboration rather than Kerr as the dictator with Spo sitting quietly. Spo was in the first seat and heavily engaged in every game. What was the purpose of Few on the bench? Lue is another highly respected NBA coach on that bench but Few always felt like an odd fit.
If memory serves, hasn't Team USA always had a college coach on its staff? In some ways, FIBA is more like college than pro so having a college coach can be helpful. (See, e.g., this article.) I seem to recall Boeheim being on staff to install 2-3 defense and help teach attaching a zone.

Hopefully, Spo will bring CJM along with him in 2028. That would be a trip, although I suspect CJM will want to be able to show the Town to the players at least once.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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After a long Championship season where the Celtics ran over the NBA for 9 months, TeamUSA was a clunker for Boston.

Tatum 2 DNPz! White got himself a DNP in the France game. JT's broken jumper. Grant Hill publicly uninviting Brown. Even Jrue lost his starting spot by the end. Those guys need some serious rest.

I did find myself rooting for the underdogs in both the men's & women's games, which felt like a first.
I think it was Brian Barrett who pointed out on the CelticsBeat podcast that the Cs were the first team ever to win 64 or more games and not have either: (i) two All-NBA players or (ii) the league MVP.

I suspect that will not be the case next season.

Were Tatum, White and Holiday ever on the floor playing together during the Olympics?
I don't believe so.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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France's McDs with a post:

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-h5YX9MbCm/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet


I don't think they did either.

Why would you not want 3 team mates from the best team in the NBA to play together when chemistry/familiarity could be an issue?
At least give it a shot as a second unit.

Water under the Pont Neuf.
Yeah, my memory suggests that most coaches play teammates together for continuity reasons. But as others have stated, Team USA won so I guess Kerr knows best.
 

InstaFace

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Well Kerr is being helped out the door before the planes took off from France (he did his time as they are phrasing it), have to move to Spo. I wonder if it was just Spo moving on him and/or some of the players complained. Durant was done with Kerr by the end but I am not sure if Edwards cared (then again Edwards would have parroted what KD said). He clearly was gone before the gold medal match as the Spo engine was running Friday.
Do you have links for any of this drama stuff? I haven't seen it reported that Kerr is leaving his role, nor that Durant was unhappy with the coaching.
 

TomRicardo

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Do you have links for any of this drama stuff? I haven't seen it reported that Kerr is leaving his role, nor that Durant was unhappy with the coaching.
Durant said in an interview Kerr kind of gave up coaching and let them ball. The Spo pushing him out the door, the Miami media (friends of the Heat organization) guys were writing Spo should replace Kerr regardless of result on Friday in SI. Now without Kerr saying anything there are a couple of articles this was Kerr's last tournament.
 

TripleOT

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I was really hoping that the USA would lose that final game. Now I’m hoping that nationally they just stop talking about this Steve Kerr handling of Jayson Tatum. I don’t think that’s going to happen though.
 

CaptainLaddie

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I was really hoping that the USA would lose that final game. Now I’m hoping that nationally they just stop talking about this Steve Kerr handling of Jayson Tatum. I don’t think that’s going to happen though.
See, I get why you'd want them to lose for spiteful reasons -- I get it -- but getting to watch KD, LBJ, and Steph do *THAT* was so cool. End of an era.
 

InstaFace

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See, I get why you'd want them to lose for spiteful reasons -- I get it -- but getting to watch KD, LBJ, and Steph do *THAT* was so cool. End of an era.
I'm with ya on that. The Tatum business was mildly annoying, but ultimately a sideshow. The story, the fun of it, was (a) look at how close these international teams are to being peers! And, (b) hey look we beat them anyway. Barely.

The second or third Steph 3, I said out loud to nobody in particular, "No way!" Way. With the last one, it was "NO WAY!", standing up while it was in the air. Swish., One step below the Ortiz slam in 2013, not least because USA was winning at the time, but same category.
 

TripleOT

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See, I get why you'd want them to lose for spiteful reasons -- I get it -- but getting to watch KD, LBJ, and Steph do *THAT* was so cool. End of an era.
Steph’s otherworldly shooting display made the gold medal game a good watch for me.

With all the top draft picks from France the past few years, I’m sure they’re going to be formidable in 2028. USA Basketball should think about a change in leadership. It won’t have three of the best 20i players of all time on the USA squad in LA,, assuming LeBron actually retires before then
 

CaptainLaddie

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I'm with ya on that. The Tatum business was mildly annoying, but ultimately a sideshow. The story, the fun of it, was (a) look at how close these international teams are to being peers! And, (b) hey look we beat them anyway. Barely.

The second or third Steph 3, I said out loud to nobody in particular, "No way!" Way. With the last one, it was "NO WAY!", standing up while it was in the air. Swish., One step below the Ortiz slam in 2013, not least because USA was winning at the time, but same category.
Yeah, I was watching with my kid (who I got into basketball last season) and I was trying to explain how special it was what Steph was doing and then let out a "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" on the last shot.

Honestly it was a top 5 basketball-fandom moment for me, probably top 2 if we're not talking just Celtics (G7 Cavs/Warriors would rank ahead for me).
 
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DamageTrain

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That last 3, my brother in law and I screamed and significantly startled our Minecraft-playing daughters in the room (their fault for not being interested and watching the game with us!)

A great moment in sports viewership and family bonding…
 

InstaFace

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He'd probably have more in the tank than Magic and Larry had in 1992. I could see a ceremonial spot for him.
Yeah if he's still playing NBA basketball and isn't on a beach filming a Corona commercial somewhere, he's getting on the roster. Whether it's still merited or not. And it might well be!
 

CaptainLaddie

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Yeah at this point he's like Brady. I'll believe he can't be elite anymore when he actually stops being elite (however you want to define elite). He's not a top 5 player in the league anymore but he's still got the best basketball IQ of any player this century that that's not a skill that degrades like physical ones.
 

BigSoxFan

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Yeah at this point he's like Brady. I'll believe he can't be elite anymore when he actually stops being elite (however you want to define elite). He's not a top 5 player in the league anymore but he's still got the best basketball IQ of any player this century that that's not a skill that degrades like physical ones.
Agreed. I simply can’t imagine him sucking out there. What I can imagine is a Kobe-like ending (career, not life) where the body just gives out on him. But if there is no Achilles-type injury, he could be out there another few years. The high flying act is mostly gone but even the grounded version of LeBron is still really good, as we just saw.
 

BaseballJones

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Yeah at this point he's like Brady. I'll believe he can't be elite anymore when he actually stops being elite (however you want to define elite). He's not a top 5 player in the league anymore but he's still got the best basketball IQ of any player this century that that's not a skill that degrades like physical ones.
And over a two-week span, playing 20 minutes a game, I firmly believe that four years from now he could still give them valuable playing time. He won't be able to play at an MVP caliber over the course of a full NBA season, but over a fortnight in the Olympics, yeah, I bet he could still do it.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Real shocker there.
Catching back up after a week away. Yeah, Kerr has always said that this was a 2-year commitment for him prior to passing the baton so this news is expected. I'll repeat once again that I was never a Kerr guy having taken over just as Curry/Klay/Dray began maturing as NBA players so he got the best of that deal however his greatest skill seems to be managing personalities which as Team USA coach is as valuable a skill as a coach as you can have. The Lue or Spo decision will be interesting. Lue fits that bill as a Team USA coach better but Spo was acting as a co-Head Coach with Kerr during these games. It was pretty clear that if Kerr got tossed that Spo would continue his role as voice in stepping in. If Lue is the guy I would be surprised if Spo committed again to an assistant role.