FIBA World Cup [USA vs. TUR: 9/3, 8:30 AM EST (ESPN+)]

[Celtics4ever]

It's looking like Brown is a complementary player.

Consistency is an issue for him.  If he ever gets that look out, if he does not he will be a guy who wants to be overpaid.

[KGs Knee]

You know, I read an article this week on the Ringer about team USA basketball that called Mitchell the best two-way guard on team USA.

That's bunk. On ball, he can hound defenders. Weakside, he makes some dynamic rebounds and disruptive plays. But man does he have defensive brain farts. Seems like a few times a game he loses his man for a wide open shot.

Whoever said that hasn't watched the games, or he is letting Mitchell live on his reputation, because his actual play hasn't been at that level.

Mitchell threw the ball away a lot while I was watching.  Hit some shots too, but the ball seemed to move better when he wasn’t out there.

Jaylen played some outstanding def tonight.  He was playing a lot in the second half as well when he wasn’t scoring as much.  Pop had the team ready to stop the Greek and it pretty much worked.

Also, it's looking like Brown is a complementary player.

Well he led the team in scoring the last game, he led the team in minutes played, rebounds and played great def this game.  I think that sells him a little short.  He didn't shoot well this game, but he is making a big contribution to the team.

But Brown is not a player who you can count on to be a go to guy.

I'm not saying Brown is bad, in fact, Jaylen is very good.
He's just not like Kawhi, Paul George, or Jimmy Butler.

Jaylen thrives when he doesn't have to do a lot.
Like in the 1st half against Greece.
In the 2nd half, Jaylen was a no-show.

The bad FT shooting also doesn't help because his team will suffer if he gets fouled in crunch time.

IMO Jaylen is not a #1 or #2 guy.
He's more of a complementary player, a supporting actor, not the lead actor.

I think Jaylen can become a #2 offensive option, but you're right, he'll never be a top option or go-to guy.  The hope is Tatum can be that guy.

[makaveli]

Smart is killing it on D

[blink]

You know, I read an article this week on the Ringer about team USA basketball that called Mitchell the best two-way guard on team USA.

That's bunk. On ball, he can hound defenders. Weakside, he makes some dynamic rebounds and disruptive plays. But man does he have defensive brain farts. Seems like a few times a game he loses his man for a wide open shot.

Whoever said that hasn't watched the games, or he is letting Mitchell live on his reputation, because his actual play hasn't been at that level.

Mitchell threw the ball away a lot while I was watching.  Hit some shots too, but the ball seemed to move better when he wasn’t out there.

Jaylen played some outstanding def tonight.  He was playing a lot in the second half as well when he wasn’t scoring as much.  Pop had the team ready to stop the Greek and it pretty much worked.

Also, it's looking like Brown is a complementary player.

Well he led the team in scoring the last game, he led the team in minutes played, rebounds and played great def this game.  I think that sells him a little short.  He didn't shoot well this game, but he is making a big contribution to the team.

But Brown is not a player who you can count on to be a go to guy.

I'm not saying Brown is bad, in fact, Jaylen is very good.
He's just not like Kawhi, Paul George, or Jimmy Butler.

Jaylen thrives when he doesn't have to do a lot.
Like in the 1st half against Greece.
In the 2nd half, Jaylen was a no-show.

The bad FT shooting also doesn't help because his team will suffer if he gets fouled in crunch time.

IMO Jaylen is not a #1 or #2 guy.
He's more of a complementary player, a supporting actor, not the lead actor.

Brown played the most minutes in the game for the US team.  If Pop thought he was a 'no-show' do you think he gets those minutes?  He led the team in rebounding was 5th in scoring.  He had an off night shooting, but was one of the best overall players on the team again today.  The last game he led the team in scoring. 

So are Middleton, Mitchell, Kemba, Barnes just complimentary players as well?  Because they all have been inconsistent at times as well. 

I am not sure who said he was Kawaii, but that seems like an arbitrary comparison.  Like 'he's no MJ', of course he isn't, who said he is?

[footey]

Besides Kemba Walker the most impressive player for USA has been Derrick White. Very composed. Almost Clyde like.

It really helps a lot that he's playing for Pop, his coach in the NBA.

Pop also gives him a longer leash.

Yeah, true, but he's making the most of his minutes. He is a better creator than I realized.  Really like his game.

[footey]

After the game, it looks like Freak and Brown had words, and Middleton had to step in to break it up. Seems like GA said something to Brown, who seemed to have gotten offended, and started back at him. Not saying it got physical (it didn't), it just shows how super competitive these guys are.

Poor Middleton, talk about being caught in the cross fire between his two teammates!

[blink]

After the game, it looks like Freak and Brown had words, and Middleton had to step in to break it up. Seems like GA said something to Brown, who seemed to have gotten offended, and started back at him. Not saying it got physical (it didn't), it just shows how super competitive these guys are.

Poor Middleton, talk about being caught in the cross fire between his two teammates!

Apparently Marcus Smart was involved.  Sounds like Smart and Brown didn't like the cheap-ish foul against Barnes when he was on the breakaway dunk.

https://sports.yahoo.com/2019-fiba-world-cup-tempers-flare-after-team-usa-rolls-over-greece-144927460.html

Both Brown and Smart played great def against Greek.  I am hoping for more of this def toughness if we face the Bucks in the playoffs this year.

[footey]

I'd say this game vs Greece was Team USA's best outing. The game vs Japan was a great mismatch talent wise. The Greek team has some decent athletes and size.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

You know, I read an article this week on the Ringer about team USA basketball that called Mitchell the best two-way guard on team USA.

That's bunk. On ball, he can hound defenders. Weakside, he makes some dynamic rebounds and disruptive plays. But man does he have defensive brain farts. Seems like a few times a game he loses his man for a wide open shot.

Whoever said that hasn't watched the games, or he is letting Mitchell live on his reputation, because his actual play hasn't been at that level.

Mitchell threw the ball away a lot while I was watching.  Hit some shots too, but the ball seemed to move better when he wasn’t out there.

Jaylen played some outstanding def tonight.  He was playing a lot in the second half as well when he wasn’t scoring as much.  Pop had the team ready to stop the Greek and it pretty much worked.

Agree.

Jaylen was playing the role of a big man in Pop's small ball basketball against Greece.

The only negative for Brown in this game is his FT shooting, went 2-4 at the FT line again.

Also, it's looking like Brown is a complementary player.
When he didn't have to make a lot of moves or dribble a lot, he scored.
But when he's asked to create his own shot or make multiple moves, he gets in trouble.

Brown is a finisher, but he quickly becoming an elite finisher. What I mean is that he finishes possessions with a high level of efficiency scoring the ball.

At times he creates pretty well. I actually think he has had a number of really impressive moments distributing the ball in FIBA. But if you are looking for a guy to dribble the ball 10 times and then make a move. Or make multiple moves on the same possession, that's not Jaylen's game and I don't think we want that to be Jaylen's game.

Not sure how you consistently throw shade at arguably the best team USA basketball player these last two games. Sure, he has his flaws, but  you could take the glass-half-full attitude with one of our own.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I'd say this game vs Greece was Team USA's best outing. The game vs Japan was a great mismatch talent wise. The Greek team has some decent athletes and size.

Their defense through 3 1/2 quarters was amazing. They were all in sync with each, playing aggressive, and had amazing individual multiple efforts every possession. The last half of the fourth slowed down a bit, but the game was pretty much in hand by then.

Their offense for the vast majority of the game was pretty good as well. They moved the ball with ease, exhausting the Greek defense and getting wide open shots.

They still don't get to the rim like I think they should, and they don't know how to exploit matchups in the post, which is a staple in FIBA play.

Overall played a winning style of basketball. Very promising.

[PAOBoston]

I'd say this game vs Greece was Team USA's best outing. The game vs Japan was a great mismatch talent wise. The Greek team has some decent athletes and size.

Greece is trash. They were way overhyped before the tournament by people that he never watched them play. They have. A great talent in Giannis, an idiot for a coach, and absolutely no shooting or good big men. USA wiped the floor with them like they should have.

[Somebody]

You know, I read an article this week on the Ringer about team USA basketball that called Mitchell the best two-way guard on team USA.

That's bunk. On ball, he can hound defenders. Weakside, he makes some dynamic rebounds and disruptive plays. But man does he have defensive brain farts. Seems like a few times a game he loses his man for a wide open shot.

Whoever said that hasn't watched the games, or he is letting Mitchell live on his reputation, because his actual play hasn't been at that level.

Mitchell threw the ball away a lot while I was watching.  Hit some shots too, but the ball seemed to move better when he wasn’t out there.

Jaylen played some outstanding def tonight.  He was playing a lot in the second half as well when he wasn’t scoring as much.  Pop had the team ready to stop the Greek and it pretty much worked.

Agree.

Jaylen was playing the role of a big man in Pop's small ball basketball against Greece.

The only negative for Brown in this game is his FT shooting, went 2-4 at the FT line again.

Also, it's looking like Brown is a complementary player.
When he didn't have to make a lot of moves or dribble a lot, he scored.
But when he's asked to create his own shot or make multiple moves, he gets in trouble.

Brown is a finisher, but he quickly becoming an elite finisher. What I mean is that he finishes possessions with a high level of efficiency scoring the ball.

At times he creates pretty well. I actually think he has had a number of really impressive moments distributing the ball in FIBA. But if you are looking for a guy to dribble the ball 10 times and then make a move. Or make multiple moves on the same possession, that's not Jaylen's game and I don't think we want that to be Jaylen's game.

Not sure how you consistently throw shade at arguably the best team USA basketball player these last two games. Sure, he has his flaws, but  you could take the glass-half-full attitude with one of our own.

Doesn't really even matter imo because you don't want almost any player to do that in the modern NBA.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I'd say this game vs Greece was Team USA's best outing. The game vs Japan was a great mismatch talent wise. The Greek team has some decent athletes and size.

Greece is trash. They were way overhyped before the tournament by people that he never watched them play. They have. A great talent in Giannis, an idiot for a coach, and absolutely no shooting or good big men. USA wiped the floor with them like they should have.

I don't know. They definitely lacked shooting, but I liked some of their players. I agree their coach could have helped them more.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Brown and Giannis disagreed after the game on Giannis' brother's foul on Barnes.

I wanted to see what happened. So I youtubed it. But a bunch of results came up with Brown dunking it on Giannis, like multiple times last year alone.

I don't think Brown is scared of Giannis. You have to have a guy who won't back down like that on your team if you are going to compete against him in the playoffs.

[Donoghus]

That foul was dangerous as heck.  Coming up from behind a guy on breakaway dunk & make contact while they're in the air.

Bad stuff can come from that.