The spinmeister

[jazzdelmar]

‘When you lose a game, you’re not surprised. You’re disappointed," Team USA Coach Gregg Popovich said. "I don’t understand the word ‘surprised.’ That sort of disses the French team, as if we’re supposed to beat them by 30. That’s a hell of a team.”

[ZagsObserver]

And this is why I have tired of the nba. It’s not good basketball. It’s a bunch of ball hogs which the refs protect, allowing 30-50 pt games for certain personalities.

It’s exemplified on the Olympic stage.

[JPtheBeasta]

Popovich has been so rude to the media for such a long time that I don't much take much stock, if any, in what he has to say. He mostly just feeds the negative feelings I have for him already (This isn't intended to be preachy). I think that to be as rude as he is, he must be very arrogant and self-absorbed.

[Zagceo]

Popovich should have retired years ago.

Agree with you JP

[23dpg]

‘When you lose a game, you’re not surprised. You’re disappointed," Team USA Coach Gregg Popovich said. "I don’t understand the word ‘surprised.’ That sort of disses the French team, as if we’re supposed to beat them by 30. That’s a hell of a team.”

I don’t see the issue with this quote. Obviously someone asked if he was surprised by the result.
I wasn’t surprised by the Baylor game, I was also disappointed.

[ZagsObserver]

I don’t see the issue with this quote. Obviously someone asked if he was surprised by the result.
I wasn’t surprised by the Baylor game, I was also disappointed.

Would you have been surprised if it was WSU instead of Baylor? I think that’s the point. The NBA is constantly advertised as the world’s best with nothing coming within miles in terms of competitiveness.

[Grand Valley Zag]

The NBA is constantly advertised as the world’s best with nothing coming within miles in terms of competitiveness.

France has good NBA players too. This doesn't prove that the French league is better than the NBA. Or that the Euroleague is. Or that either of them are even close. They aren't.

eta: I actually do like European basketball though.

[daskim]

Not necessarily disagreeing with this thrust of this thread, but I believe there are three NBA players on the French team. And the French team plays together a good portion of each year.

The USA team was certainly not composed of the league's best players.

Still, I was surprised with the result. Two missed free throws, then four straight missed threes from closer than NBA range by the US team.

There are a lot of very, very talented unheralded international players out there.

[bartruff1]

I knew when St Mary's beat them in a exhibition that there was trouble brewing .....actually I think this is good for basketball.....much like the expansion of the European Ryder Cup Team is good for golf.....

[seacatfan]

To say the NBA is the best league in the world, so we should roll over everybody in the Olympics, ignores the fact that there are a ton of really good international players in the NBA. This includes the most recent MVP, the player who dominated the Finals, and some kid named Doncic who might be the future of the league. And as mentioned the US Olympic team is not comprised of all the best US players (look at the roster, a few of them you won't even believe made the team). The days of the Dream Team are long gone, for whatever reason winning a Gold Medal is a lot less of a draw for men's basketball players than athletes in pretty much every other sport, so we don't send anything close to our A team.

[jazzdelmar]

To say the NBA is the best league in the world, so we should roll over everybody in the Olympics, ignores the fact that there are a ton of really good international players in the NBA. This includes the most recent MVP, the player who dominated the Finals, and some kid named Doncic who might be the future of the league. And as mentioned the US Olympic team is not comprised of all the best US players (look at the roster, a few of them you won't even believe made the team). The days of the Dream Team are long gone, for whatever reason winning a Gold Medal is a lot less of a draw for men's basketball players than athletes in pretty much every other sport, so we don't send anything close to our A team.

Cat, agree but you would think a team led by KD, Tatum, Dame and Booker would beat a team led by Goebert and the other guy.

[jazzdelmar]

I knew when St Mary's beat them in a exhibition that there was trouble brewing .....actually I think this is good for basketball.....much like the expansion of the European Ryder Cup Team is good for golf.....

Funny, my thought exactly. Landale starting, too.

[MDABE80]

Pops been a jerk for years. The failure of the team is disconcerting but they’ve done poorly prior to the Olympics. The two issues are different though. Pops just wore out his welcome IMO. The pros don’t seem to take this very seriously. NBA season is different t. They lose millions if they underperform. These Olympics don’t mean much. When the college kids were the Olympians , the games mattered to them.

[seacatfan]

Cat, agree but you would think a team led by KD, Tatum, Dame and Booker would beat a team led by Goebert and the other guy.

True enough, still plenty of talent on the US team.

[JPtheBeasta]

Dame and Durant, especially, but multiple players are typically uber competitive, refuse-to-lose types. I hope this is just a fluke and not signs of something fundamentally flawed with this team.