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Team USA Advances In World Cup; Tatum Sprains Ankle

September 3rd, 2019 at 10:22am CST by Luke Adams

Team USA survived a scare on Tuesday in Shanghai, narrowly pulling out a 93-92 win vs. Turkey in overtime and securing a spot in the second round of the 2019 World Cup. The Turkish team missed four free throws in the final minute of the game, opening the door for the USA Basketball squad to seal the victory.

Having defeated the Czech Republic and Turkey, Team USA will take a 2-0 record into its final first-round matchup against 0-2 Japan. The top two teams in each group move on to the round of 16, so even if Japan pulls off an extremely unlikely upset in Thursday’s game, Team USA would advance. The winner of Thursday’s Czech Republic/Turkey contest will also secure a spot in the second round.

Although they held off a strong push from Turkey, it wasn’t all good news for Team USA today. Jayson Tatum was forced out of action in the game’s final minute after rolling his left ankle, as a video from Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston shows.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst tweets that the official word on Tatum is a left ankle sprain. The Celtics forward will be re-evaluated on Wednesday, at which point we should have a better idea of whether or not we’ll see him suit up again in China.

Meanwhile, Team Canada was eliminated from medal contention on Tuesday after falling to Lithuania by a 92-69 margin. Canada, which lost to Australia on Sunday, is one of the only countries that theoretically features enough NBA players to fill out an entire 12-man squad. However, only two NBA players – Cory Joseph and Khem Birch – participated in the World Cup and Nick Nurse‘s squad couldn’t keep up with Australia and Lithuania in Group H.

Canada will enter the classification round along with the other 15 teams eliminated from the World Cup in round one. Those games will still be important, since Canada will have to finish between 17th and 23rd to clinch a spot in next summer’s Olympics qualifying tournament. A finish below 23rd would ensure the program doesn’t participate in the 2020 Olympics.

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World Cup Notes: Walker, Gobert, Scola, Guduric

September 2nd, 2019 at 8:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Chinese fans have embraced Kemba Walker and he’s enjoying the attention as the biggest star on Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports. Many fans are wearing his jersey in the stands.

“To know you have fans in other places, especially me, it was very humbling,” Walker said. “It’s just a great feeling.”

While many stars passed on playing for their national teams this summer, Walker has looked forward to this opportunity for years.

“It’s special to be a part of this team,” Walker said. “I’ve been a part of USA Basketball for years, I was on a couple Select Teams where I didn’t get this far. I appreciate it.”

We have more World Cup news:

  • Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who is representing France, is upset by FIBA’s drug testing procedure, Sportando relays. Gobert posted on Twitter that he was awaken after a late game to get tested. “No respect for the player’s recovery time,” he wrote in part.
  • Former NBA forward Luis Scola has moved into second place on FIBA’s all-time World Cup scoring list, Sportando reports. The 39-year-old Scola trails only Brazilian legend Oscar Schmidt. He surpassed Australia’s Andrew Gaze during a game against Nigeria.
  • Marko Guduric, who signed with the Grizzlies this summer, is averaging 10.5 PPG for Serbia through two games in the FIBA World Cup, David Cobb of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. The swingman inked a two-year, $5.3MM deal with Memphis after playing the last two seasons for Fenerbahçe in Turkey.
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Poll: Will Team USA Win 2019 World Cup?

August 30th, 2019 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2019 FIBA World Cup will get underway in approximately 12 hours, as Angola and Serbia are scheduled to tip off at 3:30am eastern time on Saturday. Team USA, meanwhile, will begin its quest for a gold medal on Sunday morning with a matchup against the Czech Republic.

There has been plenty of hand-wringing in recent weeks over the exodus of talent from USA Basketball’s preliminary World Cup roster. James Harden, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard, and many more All-NBA stars have pulled out of the competition, leaving Team USA with a roster headlined by Kemba Walker, the only player on the squad with more than one All-Star appearance on his résumé.

Outside of Walker, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez are the only other former All-Stars in the 12-man group. The roster is rounded out by up-and-coming youngsters like Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Myles Turner, and Derrick White, along with veteran role players Harrison Barnes, Marcus Smart, Joe Harris, and Mason Plumlee.

It’s not exactly a star-studded roster, but it’s still the only 12-man squad at the World Cup that will be made up exclusively of NBA players. Team USA will have a depth advantage over every other national team in the field and will have a versatile enough roster to match up with any club it faces. It also has one of the sport’s best coaches of all-time in Gregg Popovich.

On the other hand, Team USA’s dozen representatives aren’t particularly accomplished in international play, and NBA experience isn’t everything in these tournaments — the last time USA Basketball lost a major international competition, in 2006, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard were among the stars representing America. They fell to a Greek team without a single player on an NBA roster.

In international play, and particularly in the single-elimination stage of these tournaments, a hot five-man lineup – or even a single player – can be enough to pull off an upset.

The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag view Team USA as the favorites to bring home the World Cup gold from China, but not overwhelmingly so — the line for Team USA is -170, meaning you’d only have to risk $170 to win $100.

Nikola Jokic and the Serbians (+350) are considered strong challengers, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece (+1000) in the mix as well, along with Marc Gasol and the Spaniards (+1600). Tom Ziller of SBNation.com also views Australia, France, Lithuania, and Germany as teams with the potential to knock off Team USA — Australia already did so once in exhibition play, snapping the program’s 78-game winning streak in international contests.

What do you think? Is Team USA still a slam dunk to win this year’s World Cup, despite all its missing stars, or is this the year that the country’s streak of gold medals comes to an end?

Vote below in our poll, then head to the comment section to weigh in!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Community Shootaround: Biggest World Cup Competition For USA?

August 29th, 2019 at 9:38pm CST by clarkcrum

Danny Chau of The Ringer has taken a look at the five teams he opines have the best chance to knock off Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. He notes that Team USA is still the favorite, but it’s become clear that the playing field is more level than it’s been in a long while.

In Chau’s view, the biggest threat is Serbia, led by one of the top players in the tournament – Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. USA’s opponent in the 2016 Olympic gold medal game, Serbia has a very tall roster that includes Boban Marjanovic, Nemanja Bjelica, and Bogdan Bogdanovic in addition to Jokic.

In addition to Serbia, Chau lists France (led by Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, and Frank Ntilikina), Greece (led by NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo), Spain (led by Marc Gasol and Ricky Rubio), and Lithuania (led by Jonas Valanciunas and Domantas Sabonis).

We want to know what you think. Will Team USA have trouble with one of the aforementioned teams? Will they win another Gold? With another team not listed above be the surprise of the 2019 FIBA World Cup and knock off Team USA? Please leave your responses in the space below.

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World Cup Notes: Japan, Montenegro, Top Players

August 28th, 2019 at 11:04am CST by Luke Adams

Several more national basketball teams have announced their 12-man rosters for the 2019 World Cup in China, including Team Japan, which will be led by a pair of NBA players, per a FIBA announcement.

Former Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, who was selected ninth overall by the Wizards in this year’s draft, is the headliner. He’ll be joined by Grizzlies swingman Yuta Watanabe, who is on a two-way contract in Memphis.

The Montenegro national team, meanwhile, is light on NBA players, but does include one notable name — Magic center Nikola Vucevic, who earned his first All-Star nod in 2018/19, will represent Montenegro as the program attempts to make its way out a tough first-round group that features Brazil, New Zealand, and Greece.

Here’s more on the World Cup, including a couple more roster announcements:

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World Cup Updates: Lithuania, Joseph, Nigeria, France

August 27th, 2019 at 10:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Lithuanian national team has announced its roster for the 2019 World Cup, according to Donatas Urbonas, who tweets that the 12-man squad will include Grizzlies center Jonas Valanciunas and Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis in the frontcourt. Former Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas is also on the roster.

Lithuania is viewed as a contender to make a deep run in this year’s tournament, but it won’t have an easy path to even make it out of the first round. The Lithuanian national team is part of a group that also includes Australia, Canada, and Senegal — only two of those clubs will advance to the round of 16.

Here’s more on the 2019 World Cup, which will tip off in just four days in China:

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World Cup Notes: Walker, Team USA, Star Power, Celtics

August 25th, 2019 at 5:30pm CST by JD Shaw

While fans have certainly (and understandably) reacted harshly to Team USA losing its exhibition game 98-94 to Australia, players and staffers alike haven’t been overreacting to the upset.

“They say Team USA doesn’t lose, I get it, they haven’t lost in a very long time, which I understand, but it happens,” Kemba Walker said, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Teams lose. We are just going to take this loss and build from it, that’s all we can do is continue to try our best to get better.

“The real thing doesn’t start until China, so we’ve got one more game. We’re going to head to Sydney and focus on Canada and from that point out the real thing starts. That’s all we are worried about, just continuing to get better, continuing to learn each other.”

Australia stunned Team USA behind Patty Mills‘ 30 points, Joe Ingles‘ 15 points and Andrew Bogut‘s 16 points off the bench. The team sported a starting five of Mills, Matthew Dellavedova, Ingles, Jock Landale and Aron Baynes.

Walker led the way for the United States, finishing with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting in the losing effort. The Australians broke a 78-game winning streak for Team USA, their first ever victory against the Americans.

Here are some other notes from the FIBA World Cup today:

  • This year’s World Cup will have dominance in an international sense, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes. The depleted Team USA could be tasked with playing the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Nikola Jokic (Serbia) and other NBA stars throughout the tournament.
  • Competing in the World Cup is a preseason bonus for Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, with each player set to enter the fall together on the Celtics, as published in an article by the Associated Press. “It’s pretty cool,” Brown said. “It’s a blessing, of course. I take it very seriously to be able to represent not only your family and Boston but the country. We take it serious, and we come to play basketball.”
  • Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated examines why members of Team USA have chips on their shoulders, embracing the disrespectful message from fans around the world. The absences of several players who withdrew from the team has led many to believe the Americans could be upset by another team in the tournament. “We are embracing it as much as we can,” Walker said. “It’s adding fuel to the fire. A lot of us, it’s where we come from. We come from being underdogs, most of us. We’re hungry.”
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Team USA Notes: White, Mitchell, Kuzma

August 24th, 2019 at 3:57pm CST by ChrisCrouse

USA Basketball lost its first game in 13 years on Saturday, as Australia took down Team USA in an exhibition game by a score of 98-94.

“Some of it is expected with a new group that’s trying to learn about each other and learn a system,” U.S. coach Gregg Popovich said (via ESPN). “So it’s not surprising. But the Aussies gave us a great lesson as far as where we want to be and how you have to play in this kind of a competition.”

The squad has one more exhibition contest (Monday vs. Canada) before the start of the FIBA World Cup. Here’s more from Team USA:

  • Derrick White tripped and fell face forward during the game in Australia. Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link) hears that the point guard has passed his first concussion test and suffered no damage to his teeth during the fall. White did need four stitches over his left eye.
  • Tony Jones of The Athletic wonders if Donovan Mitchell can carry Team USA. Mitchell has learned so much since coming into the league and Jones examines the play of the former Rookie of the Year runner up.
  • Kyle Kuzma recently dropped out of international competition with an ankle injury. He was impressive during his time with the club, as Mike Trudell of NBA.com details.
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Kyle Kuzma Out For Team USA; World Cup Roster Finalized

August 24th, 2019 at 9:25am CST by marksuleymanov

One day after Kyle Kuzma was ruled out of Saturday’s Team USA exhibition against Australia due to left ankle soreness, the Lakers forward will not participate in the tournament, USA Basketball announced.

Thus, Team USA’s roster for China has been finalized and will be comprised of the following players:

Kemba Walker, Derrick White, Marcus Smart, Joe Harris, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, Khris Middleton, Jayson Tatum, Harrison Barnes, Brook Lopez, Mason Plumlee and Myles Turner.

After a series of injuries and players pulling out of the tournament, Team USA has assembled its complete roster. After one final exhibition game against Canada in Sydney on Monday, Team USA will head to China aiming for gold.

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World Cup Notes: Exhibition, Australia, Free Agency, Clarkson

August 22nd, 2019 at 1:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Team USA got the test it was hoping for in today’s exhibition matchup with Australia, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Playing before more than 51,000 fans in Melbourne, the Americans trailed briefly in the second and third quarters before pulling away for a 102-86 victory.

“One of our big mantras has been ‘composure and poise,’” coach Gregg Popovich said. “Things are going to go the other way in some games. And the way you respond to that is really the measure of how you’re going to do.”

Popovich put together a challenging exhibition schedule to test his team before World Cup play officially starts at the end of the month. After facing second-ranked Spain last week, Team USA is playing a pair of games against Australia, then taking on Canada.

There’s more World Cup news to pass along:

  • Before the game, Popovich told reporters he sees Australia as a legitimate threat for the gold medal, per an Associated Press story. The Boomers feature several NBA players and have a core that has been together for a long time. “They are one of the teams that can win the whole thing, without a doubt,” Popovich said. “I’m not saying that because I’m here. It’s just a fact. They’ve been close for several years, and they are hungry. They are talented. They have the toughness and physicality to go with it. I think they are one of the top contenders.”
  • International play has frequently set up future free agent moves, notes Douglas Farmer of Basketball Insiders. He singles out Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell as two players who could work well together, although both are expected to sign rookie scale extensions with their current teams, so that partnership may not be formed until 2027. Among 2020 free agents, Mason Plumlee and Joe Harris are both role players who could be valuable in the right situation. Farmer expects the four Celtics on the World Cup team to talk to Plumlee about coming to Boston, while Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez may sell Harris on the Bucks.
  • Cavaliers guard Jordan Clarkson won’t be part of the Philippines team, relays Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The nation included Clarkson’s name on the 19-man pool it submitted to FIBA just in case he was declared eligible, but head coach Yeng Guiao announced Wednesday that the team is moving on without him.
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