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2023 FIBA World Cup

UpperWestside

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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My sports homepage is the ESPN site for Australia and since their NBL season is over their attention is now focused on the World Cup. I am actually excited that 32 teams participate now. Some of them are obviously going to get blown out of the water, but this will continue to help grow the sport globally by having more teams participate. The article below is from their site. Kinda cool to see how they feel about the Boomers chances going into the tournament. I think they should handily win their group, but Germany should give them a good game if Schroeder plays as well for the Germans as he did at the Euros. Franz Wagner might have a bit of a coming out party in Okinawa as well I think.

 

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The Australian Boomers will begin their 2023 FIBA World Cup campaign on the island of Okinawa, and could very well be tested early on.

The draw for the World Cup was determined on Saturday evening, with Australia landing in Group E, alongside Germany, Japan, and Finland.

Those Group Phase games will be played in Okinawa, Japan and, though the Boomers will enter the tournament favoured to finish on top, there's no expectation that it'll be a walk in the park; Germany is coming off a third-place finish at the 2022 Eurobasket, Japan will have home court advantage, and Finland is expected to feature their NBA All-Star.

The Boomers could, once again, be among the tournament's most stacked teams. Josh Giddey, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Jock Landale, Josh Green, Matisse Thybulle, and Dyson Daniels are among the elite of a talented pool Brian Goorjian has to select from, with Australia coming off a bronze medal finish at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

"I'm really excited," Goorjian, who's in the third year of his second stint as Boomers head coach, said about the draw.

"It becomes more real now that we know where we're playing and who we're playing. Japan in Japan is going to be tough, we played Germany and it was line ball at the Olympic qualifications, Finland has played everyone tough over there and qualified, so there's a respect for these teams.

"I find this tournament really challenging because it's game after game and a lot of the teams that could beat anybody don't qualify for the Olympics, so they're all there and it's a real challenge."

The first two rounds being in Okinawa works out well for the Boomers, who are planning to end their pre-tournament preparations in Tokyo, Japan, following a training camp in Cairns and warmup games in Melbourne, sources told ESPN.

Here's what to expect from the Boomers' opponents - one of the tougher groups early in the piece - and why things appear more palatable for Brian Goorjian's team the more the tournament progresses.

Germany

Gordon Herbert's Germany side won't be quite as stacked with NBA talent as Australia's, but there's enough to make this an even battle.

That's obvious enough when considering the fact that Germany came third in the most recent Eurobasket, and when one rolls through the names of those who may end up on their World Cup roster.

It starts with Dennis Schröder, who's currently in the midst of a playoff run with the Los Angeles Lakers, and who averaged a team-high 22.1 points per game at the Eurobasket. The crafty point guard is very much the head of that German snake, and has proved to be elite at that role at every level he's played.

 

Franz Wagner was an impact fantasy player as a rookie last season. AP Photo/John Raoux

Then, there are the Wagner brothers. Franz, the second-year Orlando Magic wing, is the main one to keep an eye on. He averaged 15.2 points per game at the Eurobasket, with the versatile, 6'9 forward coming off another impressive season with the Magic. There's an argument to be made that, when this matchup begins - depending how one rates Giddey's overall game - Wagner may well be the best player on the floor.

Franz's older brother, Moritz, who also plays for the Magic, is one of a series of quality bigs Germany could throw out there for the World Cup. Daniel Theisprobably leads that conversation, as well as New York Knicks centre, Isaiah Hartenstein, who's eligible to represent Germany. Add Johannes Voigtmann - a 6'11 EuroLeague veteran - to the mix, and the Germans could very well enter this matchup with the advantage in the frontcourt.

Germany will also look to be one of the more prolific three-point shooting teams at the World Cup, putting up 32.7 attempts per game from downtown, shooting over 40 percent.

Herbert's team has a heap of versatile creation options, but Australia's athleticism makes them one of the better prepared teams to handle it. Keeping the pace relatively high would be one of the Boomers' key advantages going into a game where their opponents will likely want to keep things in the half-court.

Japan

There are three home nations during the group phases of this World Cup, and Japan is one of them.

Group E's games being in Okinawa mean the Japanese will have some version of home court advantage over Australia going into this matchup, and that's on top of some intriguing talents.

Rui Hachimura is the key name the Australians will be zoning in on during this matchup. The Los Angeles Lakers forward was extremely prolific for Japan during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics - averaging a team-high 22.3 points per game, as well as 6.7 rebounds a contest. Hachimura gives Japan an athletic, high-level creator out of the mid-post, and his versatility for his size makes him a difficult matchup for any team that doesn't have big wings.

 

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images

Luckily for Australia, Goorjian should have multiple elite defensive options to throw at Hachimura, from Josh Green and Matisse Thybulle - both of whom give up size but make up for it in length, athleticism, and defensive IQ - and even someone like Nick Kay, who has the size and instincts on that end of the floor to stay in front effectively.

Yuta Watanabe is the other Japanese wing Australia will need to place a large focus on; he's another one of those 6'8 wings that's tough to match up with, and coming off a career shooting season with the Brooklyn Nets. The 28-year-old can do his work both on and off the ball, and gives Australia another big, crafty creator to deal with; containing both Watanabe and Hachimura will be tough for any team in Group E.

The overall size advantage will favour Australia, who are also a lot deeper. Japan, on the other hand, have select players who could make an impact; that will likely include former Melbourne United guard, Yudai Baba, and former Brisbane Bullets guard, Makoto Hiejima. Once again, it shouldn't be considered a given, but Australia should be the obvious favourite going into this game, even with what's expected to be a raucous home crowd behind Japan.

Finland

This will be Australia's first game of the tournament: a matchup with Lauri Markkanen's Finland.

Australia has the clear depth advantage here, of course, but Finland will enter the game with the obvious best player on the floor.

Markkanen is in the midst of the best 12 months of his career, coming off being named a first-time NBA All-Star and winning the league's Most Improved Player award. Before the NBA season started, he led the way for Finland in the 2022 Eurobasket, finishing the tournament second among all players in scoring: 27.9 points per game, only behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. The seven-footer also added 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, with his versatile skillset - he's an elite scorer at all three levels - lending itself to success in the international arena.

 

Getty Images

Finland finished an admirable seventh, among 24 teams, at the Eurobasket, with Markkanen flanked by veteran combo guard, Sasu Salin, who currently plays for Tenerife in the Liga ACB. Salin averaged 12 points per game in the tournament, shooting an impressive 46.8 percent from downtown, on 6.7 attempts per game.

Going into the matchup, one would probably favour the creation depth and overall top-end talent - and athletic defensive identity - of Australia, but Finland is a prolific and efficient three-point shooting team - 39.3 percent over the Eurobasket, on 32 attempts per game, which was among the most in the tournament - and have the most talented player on the floor, so there's no expectation that it should be an easy win.

Second Group Phase and beyond

 

Should the Boomers progress to the second round of Group Phase action, they'll cross over with Group F, which features Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia, and Venezuela. The second Group Phase games will also be played in Okinawa, Japan.

Group F is, on paper, among the weaker groups in the tournament so, while the stakes will continue to rise as the Boomers potentially progress through the World Cup, the competition would likely be easier to deal with.

Luka Dončić's Slovenia would be the hardest matchup among the Group F opponents; a team the Boomers defeated in the bronze medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The top two teams of the second Group Phase will progress to the quarterfinals - to be played in Manila, Philippines - where the Boomers would then be aligned with the nations who were originally in Groups G and H. Spain, France, Canada, and Brazil are the teams most likely to perform well and progress; the former three all with the capacity to win a medal.

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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I saw the roster for the US for this and it’s an interesting mix, but I don’t know that they can win the title with this group. Brunson at least means they will be in every game and have an edge to them though.I like Portis being on there as well. They should have an easy go of it in the 1st and 2nd rounds at the very least. 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/usa-basketball-names-12-player-205941209.html

 

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HookEm

HookEm 2463

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The world has gotten a lot more talented.  Check out Canada's likely team:

  • Starters:  Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Kelly Olynyk, Dwight Powell
  • Bench:  Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks, Bennedict Mathurin, Thomas Scrubb 

That is a legit team right there.  

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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A lot of this can be traced back to the Dream Team’s popularity and the growth basketball has seen since then. The Canadian team will be a good one for this competition. It would be really cool to see the African nations get some legit basketball federations that will spend money on infrastructure and training for players. I feel like the entire continent should be further along, but corruption in so many of those countries holds back, among many other things, athletic progress.

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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No Jokic was expected, but a bummer nonetheless for the Serbians. I keep looking at the guys going to this and the Aussie group just looks really strong heading into the tournament. I have zero idea what identity the Americans are going to try and coalesce around, but they cannot leave this tournament without at least making the title game. They have probably the easiest travel schedule there so lack of rest cannot be the culprit of another disappointing showing. 

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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Looks like Dellevedova is off the Aussie roster now as they are making cuts. Xavier Cooks is interesting to me as this could be a tournament where he excels of given enough time on the floor. 
 

The biggest thing I can say for the US roster is that having Jalen Brunson running the show means they will not be out of any game. Still hard to believe the Mavs let that guy go and then brought in the polar opposite of a good teammate and leader with the Flat Earth King..

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BigOrange1

BigOrange1 6432

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pretty fun exhibition game going on against germany right now on fox.  they were down by 12-13 about midway through the third quarter but they are on a run right now (spearheaded by anthony edwards and tyrese haliburton) and have cut the deficit down to 3 with just under a minute to go in the third.

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MNLonghornFUKM

MNLonghornFUKM 8817

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they finished the game on a 22-5 run and won 99-91.  edwards is definitely the alpha on this team.  34 points on 11/20 shooting.  
first game of the world cup is against new zealand at 7:40am on saturday.

Gotta pick up the turds Ingram has been laying.

Not only is he our starting 4…but he’s skinny as shit and can’t hit shots. Start walker Kessler and move JJJ to the 4.
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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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This is going to be a fun tournament to watch.  I wish all the stars were able to participate, but we are going to get to see some new names on the world stage. Giddey, Franz Wagner, Markkanen, Ant Edwards and many, many others. I think that there is no clear cut favorite this time around which will make it fun and hopefully help continue to grow the game worldwide. Having a larger field of teams is a very good thing in my opinion.

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ztejas

ztejas 43411

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15 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

This is going to be a fun tournament to watch.  I wish all the stars were able to participate, but we are going to get to see some new names on the world stage. Giddey, Franz Wagner, Markkanen, Ant Edwards and many, many others. I think that there is no clear cut favorite this time around which will make it fun and hopefully help continue to grow the game worldwide. Having a larger field of teams is a very good thing in my opinion.

US is the clear favorite.

Screenshot_20230820_145406_Chrome.thumb.jpg.08be6e5a81cf9e8a19d660c9cf081abb.jpg

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ztejas

ztejas 43411

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3 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

Betting lines do not matter in the least. They are only an indication of where the money is at. This almost sounds like a take Bill Simmons would have.

The US has nine times better odds than anyone else. 

The term "favorite" goes hand in hand with Vegas odds. And it is not a direct reflection of where the money is. 

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

The US has nine times better odds than anyone else. 

The term "favorite" goes hand in hand with Vegas odds. And it is not a direct reflection of where the money is. 

Again there is no favorite in this competition and citing betting odds is, again, a very not good way to make a point.
 

There are four teams with legitimate aspirations to win it right now with France, Spain, the US and Australia. I’d put more stock in Spain if Rubio was not taking a well deserved break from national team duty. If Canada had Murray they would be a 5th team with legitimate reasons to think they could win. This is what makes this tournament fun. The US has no stranglehold on this tournament and a young team like this one is going to have to grow up fast or teams with veterans of the international game and its nuances will beat them. 


The two best things this team has is coaching and a roster that plays hard and together. Having the best travel schedule of anyone there will be helpful as well. 

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ztejas

ztejas 43411

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3 hours ago, UpperWestside said:

Again there is no favorite in this competition and citing betting odds is, again, a very not good way to make a point.
 

There are four teams with legitimate aspirations to win it right now with France, Spain, the US and Australia. I’d put more stock in Spain if Rubio was not taking a well deserved break from national team duty. If Canada had Murray they would be a 5th team with legitimate reasons to think they could win. This is what makes this tournament fun. The US has no stranglehold on this tournament and a young team like this one is going to have to grow up fast or teams with veterans of the international game and its nuances will beat them. 


The two best things this team has is coaching and a roster that plays hard and together. Having the best travel schedule of anyone there will be helpful as well. 

It's actually a great way to make a point when we are favored by nine fucking times more than the next team. 

Have a nice evening. Retard. 

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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54 minutes ago, ztejas said:

It's actually a great way to make a point when we are favored by nine fucking times more than the next team. 

Have a nice evening. Retard. 

And there we have it. Can’t help, but use the R word because you have the emotional maturity of a child, especially when you are drinking. What a sad existence your life is. Get help from someone that can deal with your extreme toxicity. 

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ztejas

ztejas 43411

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3 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

And there we have it. Can’t help, but use the R word because you have the emotional maturity of a child. especially when you are drinking. What a sad existence your life is. Get help from someone that can deal with your extreme toxicity. 

You basically have no fucking idea what you're talking about ever. You think that one of the biggest sportsbooks in the world just goes out on a whim and puts the US as almost 10 to 1 favorites over everyone else because, what, people have money on the US? After you said that "there's no clear cut favorite".

You're a fucking clown with zero practical basketball knowledge and it appears you have no idea how betting works, either. Yeah - I have personal issues. I openly admit them here. I also routinely know what the fuck I'm talking about unlike your dumbass. 

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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7 minutes ago, ztejas said:

You basically have no fucking idea what you're talking about ever. You think that one of the biggest sportsbooks in the world just goes out on a whim and puts the US as almost 10 to 1 favorites over everyone else because, what, people have money on the US? After you said that "there's no clear cut favorite".

You're a fucking clown with zero practical basketball knowledge and it appears you have no idea how betting works, either. Yeah - I have personal issues. I openly admit them here. I also routinely know what the fuck I'm talking about unlike your dumbass. 

You are a sad and vitriol-filled person who needs time away from people because you have zero ability to function like a normal person. Profanity-filled insults that you somehow believe have any effect in making a point other than you having lost control? You are easily the most negative poster on this site. I ignore most of your posts and this interaction is why. 
 

Please go find another outlet to spread your negativity other than here. 

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ztejas

ztejas 43411

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4 minutes ago, UpperWestside said:

You are a sad and vitriol-filled person who needs time away from people because you have zero ability to function like a normal person. Profanity-filled insults that you somehow believe have any effect in making a point other than you having lost control? You are easily the most negative poster on this site. I ignore most of your posts and this interaction is why. 
 

Please go find another outlet to spread your negativity other than here. 

I'm not even close to the most negative poster on this site. That's a laughable take. 

You are literally telling me that you think that a team that is favored 9 to 1 over the next best team isn't the clear favorite to win. How the fuck do you think that's a reasonable stance to defend? You're being absurd. 

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MNLonghornFUKM

MNLonghornFUKM 8817

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I mean outside of Luka and Shai, the international stars are lackluster. The US can constantly rotate all stars where Germany today was gassed at the end.

US would be in deep shit if a Spanish team of Marc, Pau and Ibaka played with Rubio, Rudy Fernandez and Calderon. Or the Argentinian team of Scola, Manu, Nocioni etc.

I definitely won’t be getting up 3:40 am to watch. Maybe the 7;40 stuff.

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MNLonghornFUKM

MNLonghornFUKM 8817

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Anthony Edwards is special.
Can't help but think of the lol Gobert trade every time I think of the Twolves though. 

“Wolves were our toughest opponent”- Denver players and brass. we didn’t have our best starting defender and top bench player. On paper this trade was a total overpay. But Tim Connolly clearly made it because you need bigs to handle Jokic and denver, a team he had just constructed.


If not you end up being pushed around like Phoenix, LA, Miami.
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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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On 8/20/2023 at 8:35 PM, Macklemore said:

Sorry you’re completely wrong on this. Point to ztejas.

I can take being corrected on my where the money is comment. I think it’s important to be able to say you do not necessarily understand something fully. I’m not a lifelong gambler so my knowledge will be limited on the ins and outs of that.

Where I do not care and have not changed my stance is that these betting odds are meaningless and that it is absolutely something I would read from  noted “Basketball-knower” Bill Simmons. (Obvious sarcasm. I would listen to Screamin’ A explain the game before him.)

I go by what I see and how the international game is different. This is not 1992 anymore. We will never be that dominant in this sport ever again and that’s good for the growth of the game worldwide. There are four teams that can all say they can legitimately win the title this year. That, to me, makes it wide open and fun. No one is intimidated by seeing the USA jersey. The Aussies have poured a ton of resources into their national team program and they are bearing those fruits now. That is awesome to see. I hope it gets to a point in my lifetime where there are 10-12 countries at every World Cup that are good enough to win it. I would love to see several African countries get their act together and start putting the finances into the game to grow it across the continent. 

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UpperWestside

UpperWestside 6159

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I think the biggest accomplishment already made of anyone in this tournament is of South Sudan qualifying. That Royal Ivey is their head coach makes the story even better. They are the youngest country in the world and anyone who has followed South Sudan and their battle to be a nation has to be pulling for them. They have had so much bloodshed there so to me this is a nice respite from everything they have gone through.
 

Luol Deng is the head of the South Sudan Basketball Federation (He could probably personally fund the entire national team with the contract Mitch Kupchak gave him) and the Bright Stars became the first African country to qualify for the World Cup on their first try. If they beat Puerto Rico in their first game I think they can get 2nd in the group. 

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angelfacedmongoloid

angelfacedmongoloid 80

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Not a ton of competitive games today except Dominican Republic vs Philippines was pretty damn good. KAT had 26 and 10 for the Dom Republic and Jordan Clarkson had 28,7,7 and 2 steals for the Philippines before he fouled out and their offense stalled. 

Canada looking really strong, Dillon Brooks played some damn good defense and France didn't have anyone that could slow down SGA. Germany didn't look great, Schroeder sucked but the Wagner bros and Daniel Theis played really well

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