2024 Paris Summer Olympics - Death Squad

[Esque 135]

March Madness has ended and the NBA regular season will follow in a few days.  Feels like the right time to set our sights on the upcoming summer Olympics.

Team USA has landed in Group C with Serbia, South Sudan, and TBD which means Team USA is going to have to overcome Joker to open the games.  The biggest question to date is who will be Team USA this go around.  Obviously hoping for a "Death Squad" this go around with names like LeBron, Curry, Durant, Booker, Davis, Butler, Embiid, Tatum, and so forth.  Don't believe we have any final confirmations - yet.

We'll see.  If Team USA gets the right players in the lineup and actually focus on winning the Gold, this should be fun.  Can't remember the last time I looked forward to basketball at the Olympics to this degree.

 

[Rockethorn1978 6153]

[Kermit 3160]

Do we really need Lebron, again? These old heads need to stay home and enjoy their goddamn summers. Let the young kids play.

[aggie08 21592]

I bet Steph plays if his postseason is as short-lived as it appears. He's never participated in the Olympics and probably has enough self awareness to know that it's the last big thing to win in his career. No need to save his body for mid-June playoff runs anymore.

[statsman 5520]

I thoroughly enjoyed KD playing in 2021, and hope to see more. 

[cmontexas 3306]

So they announced 11 of the 12 players for the Olympic Squad

Embiid

Lebron

KD

Edwards

Curry

 

Bench:

Bam

AD

Tatum

Booker

Holiday

Haliburton

Mystery Man

 

Favorite for the last spot is probably Chet if he wants it/can go. Other candidates maybe Butler, Brown, Banchero. Kyrie is probably the best pick though

[MNLonghornFUKM 8918]

As long as it’s not JJJ, Brunson or Brandon Ingram after last years turd those 3 laid


Banchero would probably be the best choice..size, muscle, can hit the international 3

[MrX 745]

Sounds like it might be Kawhi. 

[aggie08 21592]

32 minutes ago, MrX said:

Sounds like it might be Kawhi. 

All the American Finals MVPs getting together for one last hurrah.

[Esque 135]

23 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

All the American Finals MVPs getting together for one last hurrah.

Yes - love it.  Hope they can run the table and beat teams by 20.  They have the fire power.  Also, first time it seems there's some excitement / focus on getting a gold after recent debacles where nobody wanted to play or they just wanted to goof around.

[MrX 745]

Yeah - definitely a torch passing era. LeBron, Curry, KD won’t be playing in another one. Holiday same. And if Leonard plays he probably won’t come back again. So that’s half the team turning over for 2028. 

Edited April 16 by MrX

[aggie08 21592]

1 minute ago, MrX said:

Yeah - definitely a torch passing era. LeBron, Curry, Steph won’t be playing in another one. Holiday same. And if Leonard plays he probably won’t come back again. So that’s half the team turning over for 2028. 

I wonder if it was always the plan for this generation's best to play together one last time, or they actually felt needed with last year's youth movement shitting the bed in the WBC.

[MrX 745]

2 minutes ago, aggie08 said:

I wonder if it was always the plan for this generation's best to play together one last time, or they actually felt needed with last year's youth movement shitting the bed in the WBC.

Probably. Ant and Halliburton feels like the future of the backcourt and last WBC was just too early for them. We have a problem with young bigs going forward though. Davis and Embiid are already 30+ and Bam will always be undersized. 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8918]

Sounds like it might be Kawhi. 

How? Doesn’t he have knee swelling right now?

[Fud 9576]

10 hours ago, cmontexas said:

So they announced 11 of the 12 players for the Olympic Squad

Embiid

Lebron

KD

Edwards

Curry

 

Bench:

Bam

AD

Tatum

Booker

Holiday

Haliburton

Mystery Man

 

Favorite for the last spot is probably Chet if he wants it/can go. Other candidates maybe Butler, Brown, Banchero. Kyrie is probably the best pick though

The 12th spot is between Kawhi, Paul George, Paolo, Brunson, and Bridges, with Kawhi as the favorite, per Chams. I'd pick Paul George since he's an excellent two-way big wing who's a great spot up three point shooter, and who doesn't really have a weakness 

Chet should be in play if Embiid drops out, which he should considering he struggled to finish the NBA season. Of course, Kerr could pick Draymond over Chet, but Chet would be an excellent fit 

Bridges was thought to have been a lock previously, but too many elite players are playing

Paolo will probably feel mislead if he doesn't make this team after choosing US over Italy, but his time will come

[MNLonghornFUKM 8918]

Bridges was good for World Cup last year, forgot about him

[gsoda3 3311]

Good balanced squad. I'd swap ty hal for Kyrie but that's it.

[Fud 9576]

Decent chance that Embiid, Halliburton, and Kawhi end up not playing 

I think the replacements could be Chet/Draymond, Brunson, and Paul George 

[Chewbacca 7793]

Do we really need Lebron, again? These old heads need to stay home and enjoy their goddamn summers. Let the young kids play.

No shit. I'd be a lot more excited if Lebron, KD and Curry weren't on the team. And Embiid because i hate his game. And Booker. Can't stand his little rat face.

[Pam Cummings 9703]

Wemby gonna fuck them up tbh

[Chewbacca 7793]

28 minutes ago, Pam Cummings said:

Wemby gonna fuck them up tbh

Embiid should have played for France.  Him, Wemby and Rudy is a tough out for anyone.  

I'm rooting for Serbia and Canada.  I don't like this USA team at all.

[Lonestar88 4729]

41 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Embiid should have played for France.  Him, Wemby and Rudy is a tough out for anyone.  

All 3 of those guys can’t play at the same time, Embiid made the right choice with regards to fit.

Im fine with the team, but I don’t understand why they didn’t have a tryout phase. They usually have a minicamp of some sort before they finalize the roster.

[Fud 9576]

1 hour ago, Pam Cummings said:

Wemby gonna fuck them up tbh

Jokic is the guy to worry about. And Doncic. One man wrecking crews. 

[Fud 9576]

2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

No shit. I'd be a lot more excited if Lebron, KD and Curry weren't on the team. And Embiid because i hate his game. And Booker. Can't stand his little rat face.
 

Why? All three are still very good, and the international three point line is a joke or KD and Curry 

Lebron can play small ball five when the other team doesn't have a jumbo center 

[Chewbacca 7793]

Just now, Lonestar88 said:

All 3 of those guys can’t play at the same time, Embiid made the right choice with regards to fit.

Im fine with the team, but I don’t understand why they didn’t have a tryout phase. They usually have a minicamp of some sort before they finalize the roster.

People said the Wolves couldn't play Rudy and KAT at the same time, either.  That seems to have worked out fine this year.  I'm sure they could find a way to get them all on the floor.

[Chewbacca 7793]

Just now, Fud said:

Why? All three are still very good, and the international three point line is a joke or KD and Curry 

Lebron can play small ball five when the other team doesn't have a jumbo center 

Because I'm tired of them.  LeBron is almost fucking 40 and has been the center of the basketball world for 20 years.  KD is 35.  Steph is 36.  Just go away and let me watch the younger guys like Ant, Brunson, Halliburton, Chet, Banchero, etc.  I'd be much more interested in watching that.  I'm not a big fan of the old dudes hanging on for one more go-round.  You've had your shot, now let the younger guys take over.

I don't need any more LeBron, Steph or KD in my life.  I'm full.

[Lonestar88 4729]

3 minutes ago, Fud said:

Jokic is the guy to worry about. And Doncic. One man wrecking crews. 

Slovenia hasn’t qualified for the Olympics yet, and they’re not a lock to either. Now that Dragic has retired, that team is Luka and a bunch of spares. Serbia is dangerous though, if they get everyone to play, that team is more than just Jokic.
 

2 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

People said the Wolves couldn't play Rudy and KAT at the same time, either.  That seems to have worked out fine this year.  I'm sure they could find a way to get them all on the floor.

That’s two guys. Add Embiid to the Timberwolves and they would struggle to start all 3. Especially since Gobert isn’t versatile at all.

 

[Fud 9576]

2 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Because I'm tired of them.  LeBron is almost fucking 40 and has been the center of the basketball world for 20 years.  KD is 35.  Steph is 36.  Just go away and let me watch the younger guys like Ant, Brunson, Halliburton, Chet, Banchero, etc.  I'd be much more interested in watching that.  I'm not a big fan of the old dudes hanging on for one more go-round.  You've had your shot, now let the younger guys take over.

I don't need any more LeBron, Steph or KD in my life.  I'm full.

I think the best team possible should be assembled, and that still includes those three players 

[Michael Knight 13050]

23 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Because I'm tired of them.  LeBron is almost fucking 40 and has been the center of the basketball world for 20 years.  KD is 35.  Steph is 36.  Just go away and let me watch the younger guys like Ant, Brunson, Halliburton, Chet, Banchero, etc.  I'd be much more interested in watching that.  I'm not a big fan of the old dudes hanging on for one more go-round.  You've had your shot, now let the younger guys take over.

I don't need any more LeBron, Steph or KD in my life.  I'm full.

You might find that those younger guys while talented simply aren't as good.

[Lonestar88 4729]

15 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Because I'm tired of them.  LeBron is almost fucking 40 and has been the center of the basketball world for 20 years.  KD is 35.  Steph is 36.  Just go away and let me watch the younger guys like Ant, Brunson, Halliburton, Chet, Banchero, etc.  I'd be much more interested in watching that.  I'm not a big fan of the old dudes hanging on for one more go-round.  You've had your shot, now let the younger guys take over.

I don't need any more LeBron, Steph or KD in my life.  I'm full.

USA basketball basically begged those old guys to come back, because all those young guys you listed minus Chet were on the last world championships team that got their asses kicked. I’m not going to bash the OGs for simply saying yes.

If the young guys want to take over, then they should be better. 

[closetohumping 17552]

1 hour ago, Chewbacca said:

Because I'm tired of them.  LeBron is almost fucking 40 and has been the center of the basketball world for 20 years.  KD is 35.  Steph is 36.  Just go away and let me watch the younger guys like Ant, Brunson, Halliburton, Chet, Banchero, etc.  I'd be much more interested in watching that.  I'm not a big fan of the old dudes hanging on for one more go-round.  You've had your shot, now let the younger guys take over.

I don't need any more LeBron, Steph or KD in my life.  I'm full.

Young dudes have had some challenges in international competition. Last Olympics KD was the only one worth a shit. Forgot you’re not a Texas fan.  
 

I want to see the old guys one more time

[gsoda3 3311]

The more interesting question is what's our game plan? Iso PnRs aren't going to cut it. Will we be able to defend these euro style sets?

[ztejas 43752]

6 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

No shit. I'd be a lot more excited if Lebron, KD and Curry weren't on the team. And Embiid because i hate his game. And Booker. Can't stand his little rat face.
 

Yeah I hate watching awesome players play together for my country. 

[Chewbacca 7793]

56 minutes ago, ztejas said:

Yeah I hate watching awesome players play together for my country. 

Sorry, not sorry.

[MrX 745]

6 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Because I'm tired of them.  LeBron is almost fucking 40 and has been the center of the basketball world for 20 years.  KD is 35.  Steph is 36.  Just go away and let me watch the younger guys like Ant, Brunson, Halliburton, Chet, Banchero, etc.  I'd be much more interested in watching that.  I'm not a big fan of the old dudes hanging on for one more go-round.  You've had your shot, now let the younger guys take over.

I don't need any more LeBron, Steph or KD in my life.  I'm full.

I understand your point but current age and experience of roster state sure feels like we need a bridge team to 2028. 

[MrX 745]

3 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

The more interesting question is what's our game plan? Iso PnRs aren't going to cut it. Will we be able to defend these euro style sets?

Ant and Booker give us a good start on the perimeter and Tatum, AD, KD, and Embiid plus the Clippers guys round out a pretty solid defensive roster. 

Plus Bam whoops. 

[BigOrange1 6561]

the Canadian squad is legit:

 

[gsoda3 3311]

the Canadian squad is legit:
 

I see Dwight Powell and a couple scrubbs

[Derka 6379]

42 minutes ago, BigOrange1 said:

the Canadian squad is legit:

 

melvin ejim??

 

he was badass at isu.

[Chewbacca 7793]

the Canadian squad is legit:
 

I'm team Serbia and Canada. I can't stand half of the US roster.

[Fud 9576]

There's a report out that USA could replace Kawhi with Derrick White

I've been thinking they'd potentially replace Embiid with Chet or Draymond, and Halliburton with Kyrie or Brunson, but I wonder if they'd go Horford and Jaylen Brown?

[Fud 9576]

If I'm running the Clippers, Sixers, or Pacers, I'm not too happy about players who were banged up for a large part of the season participating in this 

 

[Mittens 8395]

 

[Derka 6379]

TIL that there’s one part of basketball where i am >>>>> steph and embiid:

 

[closetohumping 17552]

11 hours ago, Mittens said:

 

Generally a fan of Ant but this is dumb 

[Derka 6379]

i mean that’s typical ant. if you like ant you should like that.

[d2o 1602]

 

 

 

[MNLonghornFUKM 8918]

lol love that guy

Just taking the reigns from the olds. Ain’t nobody got time for passing of the torch

[BrazilHorn 6660]

If i am owner of NBA team I am not thrilled old/injury prone players like:

Embiid, Davis, Lebron, KD & Leonard are doing this. 

[conVINCEd 21474]

4 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

If i am owner of NBA team I am not thrilled old/injury prone players like:

Embiid, Davis, Lebron, KD & Leonard are doing this. 

As a Mavs fan I was thrilled Slovenia didn’t qualify.