[Final] Game 90/A: Spain - France

[murfhom]

maybe it is all in ibaka's shoes

[NorCal]

I think that's the best Spanish nt ever.Many might disagree but for me the evolution of Marc Gasol from a role defensive player to a gifted inside scorer has made all the difference.Havin one skilled 7 footer who can score at will like Pau is a nightmare for opponents,havin 2 of them makes them nearly impossible to deal with.Until 2009 Marc was used as a substitute to Pau,give Scariolo credit for goin big and starting both of them.

Yeah the Gasols work really well together on the court, their high/low post action is devastating to most teams as, usually, one of them is being guarded by a smaller player and they are able to seal them for easy over-the-top passes.

[Kwijibo]

I think that's the best Spanish nt ever.Many might disagree but for me the evolution of Marc Gasol from a role defensive player to a gifted inside scorer has made all the difference.Havin one skilled 7 footer who can score at will like Pau is a nightmare for opponents,havin 2 of them makes them nearly impossible to deal with.Until 2009 Marc was used as a substitute to Pau,give Scariolo credit for goin big and starting both of them.

The best Spanish NT is in 2006 with:
Calderon > This calderon
Navarro = or < This navarro
Jimenez > This rudy
Garbajosa> McGasol
Pau = PAU

[Gonzaka]

Garbajosa> McGasol

Please, ban him.

[NorCal]

http://sheridanhoops.com/2011/09/18/spain-wins-eurobasket-but-can-they-beat-team-usa/

Here's an article on the (hopefully) inevitable meeting between Team USA and Spain in London.

[Kwijibo]

In my opinion USA TOP team (the best available players) vs Spain TOP team our chances are more or less 16'79% of victory.
Usa 3rd team against Spain TOP team our chances are 63'16 %
Usa 2nd team vs Spain TOP team our chances are 50%

[Gonzaka]

Serious, I don't give too much possibilities to our NT... It depends a lot of with what roster USA goes.

[damelo]

He did it in 8 minutes! Piece of history

And you could see all of them coming 10 seconds before they happened... No, only 4, the one on De Colo's lay-up was huge(and impossible for refs to see if it's illegal or not).

Anyway, about the game:

- Navarro is a barbarian. Conan is a little girl compared to him.
- Spain for once was not able to pull out by 20 points in 5 minutes. But they managed to expand the lead little by little. At least, they had to play seriously for the whole game.
- Spain is the only team that can match France's athletic abilities. And they are taller. They completely destroyed the French offensive game, although I don't really like the manner. But refs let them do until Rudy's flagrant foul. And only then France tried to be a bit more physical, which was more sanctionned by refs.
- For the first time I was unhappy with a few calls by the refs. I mean, by the fact they were not coherent with the rest of the tournament, and globally with how they let the game happen. They did not change much, but stopped the last possibilities for France to make a run and come back in the last 5 minutes.
- France missed a chance. With a bit more intensity, vivacity and ball movement, with a Pau Gasol who was not unstoppable, I think they had a chance to pass. They needed to play perfectly, and Spain not to play perfectly. Well, Spain could have done better, but France too.
- I did not like at all how Calderon and Sada defended Parker. It was very rough, always on the limit between legal and foul. And the refs let them do the first time, then, they can not call it for the remaining plays. Unfortunately, France was not able to answer this kind of physical intensity. And they are the only ones who were able to limit Parker, he arrived to set the play everytime exhausted by the treatment of the Spanish PGs.
- Well, hopefully, they take revenge in London.
- Last: Spain has an incredible team, and Navarro was the best player in the world during this last week of tournament. Hope for you that Rudy will remember himslef in Madrid.

[damelo]

Apart from this, one question to french people.
Why Florent Pietrus (terrible player) is always in roster?
i do not understand why France has only a tall center, JOakim NOah and,however, Ian Mahimi,Alexis Ajinca and Johan Petro, at home.
France needs more centimeters, it is obvious.Seraphin is only 2.06 too.

Andrew Albicy should have played more time but Collet does not like him ¿¿??.
With Beaubois and Mickael Pietrus, France would be closer to Spain but without another center (beyond 2.10 cm), impossible.
Marc Gasol and Ibaka are not cracks but good enough to beat small centers.

First, Spain was not so good, offensively, nor defensively, considering how passive they managed to get the French ball movement. They did not took so much advantage of this, or maybe France is really so much talented.

Flo Pietrus is an excellent team player. He can bring on a short period in defense, intensity, rebound, and makes few errors with the ball. He has been the soul of this team for so long. He much more needed than his brother. I don't really agree on the need for Mike anyway. Depends on how he places his ego.
A second center? Well, France managed to dominate the rebound, Seraphin is not so tall, but he is massive and athletic. He has the level to play in international games. It's better than a 2m20 guy who has not. And France has not much size overall, in its population. We'll see how Pourchot develops.
Albicy was not good in this tournament. He was completely unable to impulse movement in the Spanish offense, while he was not so aggressive defensively. Yet, i would have liked to see this team play with more guards, but it was a tough decision for collet as long as the 2 replacement for PG were at their limit concerning the level of the competition. Albicy will only get better in the future.

Marc Gasol and Ibaka are cracks, but not in the context to show it fully. They are doing their job, like Ricky. That's why this team is so good.

[damelo]

I'm not sure that France problem is tall centers. Our neighbours problem is shooting. They have a lot of problems opening defences with 3p shots, only Gelabale can score on the outside with regularity. They are one of the besta rebounders team in the tournament and they only lost one "serious" game eventough they have a very poor 3P%. I insist, maybe the problem is not the centimeters. Give them some credit.

Well, this time 3s were going down. The problem against a team like Spain, is that France lacks great great shooters, like Navarro, to really open the defense ways farther than the 3 point line. With 3 mobile very big men, Spain does not need to be too worry when Parker passes Calderon, and does not have to leave the shooters open, like the other team had to do. They can wait for him to jump into Pau or Marc and these 2 are strong and quick enough to be back on the center eventually receiving the ball.
Add this to the special treatment for Parker and De Colo given by Spain, and you get the result of a French team having difficulties to move the ball even when Parker beats his man off the dribble.

[damelo]

I also noticed that. Lamonica had several bad calls against France. The offensive foul on Seraphin was a joke.
Globally, the refereeing was ok, but Lamonica definitely screwed up.

It was Lamonica show in the last 5 minutes. The first call for carrying the ball happened at that moment, probably the first in the whole tournament, and it was not so obvious.

[damelo]

Rudy's Foul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hzc-3jQUi0&feature=channel_video_title

i'd like to comment this action.

You can check this video from the Spanish players interviewed by a French site the day before the game.

they already said that they have to make De Colo unconfortable on the court.
Considering how they played Parker in Almeria and the way they answered this day, you could see something like that coming.
This foul is simply the consequence of their game play on parker, which is No easy basket, No easy drive. On the first balls he gets, Calderon comes full court defending by bumping him anytime he can. It caused a few lost balls. I mean, this guy is and NBA player Point guard of a coach that is not known to appreciate guys who looses easy balls, etc..., used to play physical, and Spain managed to bump him enough in 15 meters so he looses his dribble? And no foul? And they did that every possession of the game?

This exactly the same mindset that brought the foul by Rudy.

They did the same on De Colo.

So, the refs were whistling any hand checking, very carefully from anybody, which are the official requirements by FIBA, but since Calderon, Sada, who are strong PGs, did not put the hands but bump him ever time with the chest, there is no foul.
Spain decided to play this way because it has worked against france for a long time. They have players able to do that, quick enough to stay woth Parler al the time he crossesl the court, 3 guys that can change during the games, while no other team has.

Yet, if they whistle one or two times early on these bumps, the game would have been clean. Spain might not have been tempted to do any fould on Parker, like Rudy did. But any other Spainish player would have done the same in his position, I guess. It was the instruction from Scariolo, and the refs had let them do until now.

unfortunately, France was not able to give back these kind of kicks. They need to get dirtier for Fiba ball.