The Miscellaneous Sports Thread

[celedhring]

This isn't exactly the dream team, but it's still a team that would earn a top 4 seed in the NBA playoffs. They shouldn't be losing to France.

https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster

The US roster is very flawed despite the sheer amount of talent they have. France is one of the best international teams.

[Josquius]

I guess the US basketball team isn't a normal 'thing' where the players get together and train whilst other international teams actually are that?

[Grey Fox]

This isn't exactly the dream team, but it's still a team that would earn a top 4 seed in the NBA playoffs. They shouldn't be losing to France.

https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster

No, they should. Pop can't coach the team to adapt to the International rules. Also, the age of difference to the USA team is over. The other teams are not awed by the presence of DG or Durant.

@Tyr Neither are most teams. Lots of International NBA stars nowadays.

[celedhring]

I guess the US basketball team isn't a normal 'thing' where the players get together and train whilst other international teams actually are that?

They train about the same. However, the other international teams have more player continuity, so they are more used to play with each other. The US roster changes wildly every tournament.

[The Larch]

The gap between the US team and the ROTW has gone down by a lot in recent years, all top international teams feature a bunch of NBA players who are not awed to play Durant & co. anymore, and this particular US team is not quite a Dream Team anyway, it already struggled in the preparation games, so it's no wonder it might loose some games. Mind you, I'd still qualify them as favourites, but they can't pretend to coast for the rest of the tournament without breaking a sweat.

[Liep]

Insane triathlon finish. The winner crossed, celebrated, vomited, was dragged away by medical staff and then put in a wheel chair because he couldn't move.

[jimmy olsen]

This isn't exactly the dream team, but it's still a team that would earn a top 4 seed in the NBA playoffs. They shouldn't be losing to France.

https://www.nba.com/news/usa-basketball-announces-2021-olympic-team-roster

No, they should. Pop can't coach the team to adapt to the International rules. Also, the age of difference to the USA team is over. The other teams are not awed by the presence of DG or Durant.

@Tyr Neither are most teams. Lots of International NBA stars nowadays.

Yeah, but other teams have a one star and a few NBA role players. Everyone on the American team is at least an above average NBA player and there are several stars.

Durant, Lillard, Booker, Taytum... that's a great foursome to anchor a team.

[Josquius]

That's my suspicion.
I know nothing about pro basketball. But you do see this in football, its traditionally often been a problem with the England team. Too many superstars who don't know how to play as a team.
In comparison to Iceland, Wales, etc... who maybe have one top player and the rest as 2nd and 3rd division nobodies.... but they train heavily together to work as a team.
Its been commented about England doing so well this year that it was due to the club atmosphere that has been built up around the team and a step away from this cluster of stars setup.

[Grey Fox]

That's just piss poor excuses for players and coaches that can't adapt away from the star treatment they get in their regular leagues.

[Syt]

Well, to stay with football, your club, where you train multiple times a week and play oodles of matches during a season might have a certain form of tactics that they play and that gets drilled into your head. So when you come to the national team there might be a completely different tactic in place, most of your team mates with whom you have may have blind understanding will not be there, and you might be put in a different position with at least slightly different tactical roles and instructions than you play 90-95% of the time. (Of course a national coach will try to take that into account when creating their line up, but there's only so much you can do.)

[Sheilbh]

Well, to stay with football, your club, where you train multiple times a week and play oodles of matches during a season might have a certain form of tactics that they play and that gets drilled into your head. So when you come to the national team there might be a completely different tactic in place, most of your team mates with whom you have may have blind understanding will not be there, and you might be put in a different position with at least slightly different tactical roles and instructions than you play 90-95% of the time. (Of course a national coach will try to take that into account when creating their line up, but there's only so much you can do.)

It's also why national teams play "simpler" football. You can't do the detailed coaching that clubs can because they just have less time and as you say you don't know the players any more.

It's been mentioned on podcasts but it's why I've always wondered why a national coach hasn't basically tried to build a maybe less famous/talented team - but who all play the same style in the normal season. I don't know if it'd work but it'd be interesting

[The Larch]

That's why in football innovative tactics are deployed by club sides rather than national sides. National teams tend to be somehow conservative in the tactical department due to the factors already mentioned (team cohesion is a priority, and there's not much time to train together to implement innovative stuff). National team coaches tend to be more into man management than tactics, very roughly speaking.

[crazy canuck]

Well, to stay with football, your club, where you train multiple times a week and play oodles of matches during a season might have a certain form of tactics that they play and that gets drilled into your head. So when you come to the national team there might be a completely different tactic in place, most of your team mates with whom you have may have blind understanding will not be there, and you might be put in a different position with at least slightly different tactical roles and instructions than you play 90-95% of the time. (Of course a national coach will try to take that into account when creating their line up, but there's only so much you can do.)

I am not sure that analogy works well with basketball though.  Most of what the coach will want to implement is easily picked up as long as the player has strong fundamentals and the athletic ability.  And these NBA players certainly have all that.

I think where the Americans really suffer in comparison to international players is that the American club and collegiate systems have turned from team based basketball to hero ball programs where the stars are promoted and fed the ball.  There are exceptions to that of course but they are becoming more rare.  So what happens when you have a whole team of players who are used to the team revolving around them their whole playing carrier and have never really had the share the ball? 

Usually the Americans have so much overwhelming individual talent that the lack of the team game does not matter so much.  But when they run into a team that is close to matching individual talent the team game can make up the difference.

[Liep]

The Nacra boat races are amazing television.

[DGuller]

WTF is up with Simone Biles? Did the Russians zap her with their microwave gun or something?  Say all you want about how quitting is the new winning, but you don't just prepare for the Olympics for four years to quit in the middle of the games.  Whatever mental health issue she has must be crippling.