Didn't watch the game, but DMo's stat line looks good. Eurobasket.com gave him "player of the game" honors even. DMo is looking better and better with each game it seems. He's still awkward in some ways, even with the newfound bulk, and sometimes guys get past him on defense, but all in all he looks good. His three-point shooting was good to start the Eurobasket games, but these last two games he's been 1/4 from deep. It'll be an interesting battle for starting PF between DMo and Jones. By the way...I wonder what Jones is up to these days??
DMo yelling at the ref reminds me of... http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs&desktop_uri=/watch?v=FsqJFIJ5lLs
Lithuania finishes 2nd in group E, will likely play one of Italy, Spain or Croatia in the quarter-finals. Greece needs to win against Croatia and Italy to beat Spain to advance. I believe Spain is only out of the tournament with a loss to Italy, with Greece also beating Croatia and Slovenia beating Finland. Ha. Here are some Ajinca highlights from yesterday's game for ya: <iframe width="640" height="380" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AJIQFKFC-PI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Got called for a few ticky-tack fouls, so he only got to play limited minutes. Sold in what way? I wasn't trying to imply that Ajinca could be more than a serviceable/good backup, if I didn't make that clear. He's obviously still got some holes in his game. His post defense isn't very good. His pick&roll defense is good for the most part, but not consistent. He's a bit foul prone and he probably wouldn't be more than an average rebounding center in the NBA. I don't think he's a sure bet to be a good backup, however I think he's shown enough to get a second chance in the NBA somewhere. Jazz and Thunder are interested according to French newspaper L'Équipe. Ajinca has an NBA-out until September 30th, so we should know soon whether or not he'll be with an NBA next year.
From what I understand, if Italy won, it would face Lithuania in the next round regardless of the result of the other two games. If Italy lost, Lithuania has 1/2 chance to play Slovenia, 1/4 to Croatia, and 1/4 to Spain. Any comment?
The part about Italy is true, but the probabilities are off. Slovenia is unlikely to finish third. Sold on him being a good backup, exactly what you said. I didn't watch last night's game nor can watch the highlights you posted, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like Ajinca had a tough time guarding Nenad Krstić (it's not spelled Kristić, everyone) a player that never made an impact in the NBA, although I'm fairly surprised that he didn't. France still has 3 games left, all against opponents with quality frontcourt players (except for Italy), so I'm sure we're going to get a clearer picture regarding Ajinca after those matches. Speaking of Italy, it's amazing how they'd got this far without a single center on the team. Gigi Datome should be a great signing for Pistons, such prolific shooters like him are rare to find. Croatia is currently the most successful team of EuroBasket, with a 7-1 record, and if we win against Greece today, we'll match up with an easier opponent, Ukraine, in the quarterfinals. Who would've thought this was possible after that disastrous opening loss against Spain?
They mostly caught off guard the previous teams, but next group stage games exposed them. We (Slovenia) showed everyone how to beat them and you took our recipe to finish them I didn't watch a lot of Italian games, but if I understand correctly Gigi Datome's game is similar to Ryan Anderson's? I don't think he's physical enough to succesfully guard NBA's PFs, even those who come off the bench. We have yet to see also how he will get accustomed to longer 3pt shot.
Luigi is a small forward, he was utilized as a PF in Italia's system because they are paper thin under the basket. The longer 3pt shot won't have a big effect on him as he's regularly hit deep 3 pointers on this EuroBasket. Yeah, he was ok, not a real impact defender at his position, but he's now on the down slope of his career. 30 years and a lot of injuries in recent history.
Well, he's one of the best bigs in the Euro system right now. I'm sure he'd be able to score in the NBA too. He has always been a good smart scorer, even after injuries. It's just that he couldn't stay in games lately. But it seems to work so far in Europe - I guess it's the slower pace and fewer games. If Krstic is healthy, which he is right now, it's no surprise that he's scoring. Not just against France/Ajinca either -- Valanciunas was bamboozled by Krstic.
Serbia Vs. Spain Lithuania Vs. Italy France Vs. Slovenia Ukraine Vs. Croatia If Lithuania advances they play with Croatia/Ukraine game winner, which most likely will be Croatia. France, Spain, Croatia, Lithuania, that's my prediction for Semi's.
Lithuania lucked out by having to playing Italy rather than Spain. Good for them. Don't think Serbia has a chance against Spain. Very much looking forward to France-Slovenia. Not sure how many of y'all care about this, but I broke down France's offense (the most efficient offense at the EuroBasket) and looked at its similarities to the Spurs and NBA offenses, in general: Part 1: http://ballnado.blogspot.com/2013/09/eurobasket-2013-french-playbook-part-1.html Part 2: http://ballnado.blogspot.com/2013/09/eurobasket-2013-french-playbook-part-2.html (I don't get anything out of you clicking the links, it's simply too much to copy and paste).
too realistic a prediction...and this was a championship of full surprises... I think youll be 50% correct at best
Slovenia, Lithuania, Croatia and most likely Spain. Serbia has a young squad full of newcomers, but they've traditionally been a tough opponent for the Spaniards. I'd say that Spain lucked out because they intentionally lost to Italy so they could face Serbia rather than Lithuania. Smart decision, but very unsportsmanlike. Dragić vs Parker will be a joy to watch. I'll definitely check out your blog later, currently on my phone..
People really think Spain lost intentionally... Should go read the youtube comments from Serbian people...
Spain has known to try to manipulate match-ups like that, but I doubt they lost intentionally yesterday. They even went into overtime, didn't they? Also, you really think Serbia is that much easier than Lithuania? The Spanish perimeter has like 6 players that could take on the entire Lithuanian perimeter (including bench) by themselves. How do you propose Lithuania beats Spain, hire a hitman to kill Gasol and feed the ball inside? I'm not saying Lithuania has no chance against Spain at all, I'm just saying, if I could pick, I'd rather face them than any team coached by Ivkovich.
Look up for Rodriguez hands when Italy hit that clutch 2pointer in 4q. ****, it's easiest block. Sure, no foul, better give him open lay-up :grin:
Spain led by 11 with 4 minutes left, from then on they gave zero effort. Datome's game-tying layup that led to OT was also a joke. Rubio just watched Gigi go past him. Ivković is a mastermind, but don't forget that Serbia is also a team that lost to Ukraine. Looking at the names, Lithuania is a top 3 team and, even if they aren't playing as well as they could, you have to be wary of their talent at all times.
The thing with Serbia is that they're comprised of players who rarely give 100%. Teodosic was a greater talent than Rubio once upon a time and the Euroleague MVP at 23, but he just cashed in on that and hasn't improved at all since, coasting on talent alone and playing no defense whatsoever. Krstic also displays obvious signs of a great player from time to time and other times he'll look completely lost on court. Keselj had a great outing with the national team a few years back, got a good contract immediately and proceeded to warm the end of the bench for a couple of years after that, showing no interest in contributing at all. Just a massive waste of raw talent in there, but still the potential to go off and dominate an opponent.
Teodosić and Kešelj are not members of this Serbia team. My whole point is that they came to EuroBasket with 9 debutants and 7 players under the age of 23. This isn't a great group of players (they're lucky to be led by a great coach) and the only star left is Krstić, Nedović will soon become one. Teodosić is possibly the biggest European talent in recent years and, if he was playing, no one would want to face Serbia. Not even Spain.
