WC 2019 Power Rankings

[Steadysoul]

No Thompson for Canada

[cagney]

No Thompson for Canada

Another Rich Paul client. Perhaps that’s just a coincidence though.

[usagre]

Another Rich Paul client. Perhaps that’s just a coincidence though.

That’s a big hit for Canada but like I said to me none of this is unexpected. We will see more before August. And then you will also have training period bumps and bruises that could lead to more eventual absences. The Rich Paul factor might not be a coincidence. It’s his job to advise his clients and honestly it’s probably sound advice to skip these tournaments. But the final decision lies with the individual player and how much he values participating in the end.

[mojo13]

That’s a big hit for Canada but like I said to me none of this is unexpected. We will see more before August. And then you will also have training period bumps and bruises that could lead to more eventual absences. The Rich Paul factor might not be a coincidence. It’s his job to advise his clients and honestly it’s probably sound advice to skip these tournaments. But the final decision lies with the individual player and how much he values participating in the end.

I hope the Klutch thing is just a coincidence as Cory Joseph and Trey Lyles are Klutch clients as well.

Yes this hurts and I'd like TT to be there, but this is not that big of a loss as you may think. It might actually prove to be a blessing in disguise provided that it's not the start of an avalanche). TT is at the position and is the big that we could most afford to lose. Kelly, Powell, and Birch are better players than TT at this stage of their respective careers. Many of us have been advocating that Khem Birch does everything TT can do and better at this point in time. TT has been banged up allot an comes with too many distractions. Because of legacy TT was given the nod over Khem Birch last summer and because of that Birch was relegated to a very minor role. This clears up that problem.
Assuming Melvin Ejim was the 5th big (KO, Powell, Birch, TT, Ejim) - this also gives a chance to bring in another younger big into the system. Hopefully Trey Lyles (only 23) who hasnt been involved with Team Canada at all in many years (since the youth days). Or maybe Chris Boucher, who could be a really good fit for FIBA ball (but is too frail defend the Lithuanian bigs). Or maybe this opens the door for Brandon Clarke who is a very tantalizing player - but as I said, I really doubt any rookies will play.

Thompson ranks second last in all of the NBA for Cs in Real +/- Powell/Birch will bring a lot of the same things Thompson can bring to the table and much more. Khem Birch was the best in the league in paint protection behind only Rudy Gobert from Jan 2019 to the end of the season, and Dwight Powell has been once of the best rim running, PnR bigs in the NBA the last couple years and among the league leaders in efficiency (#1 in TS%, #8 in WS/48, #20 in OWS, #24 in BPM, #33 in WS, #36 in PER) . This seems underappreciated, by even most Canadian fans.

This isn't like losing Murray, Olynyk, CoJo, Powell or SGA. But I really hope there are no more to pull out (even though I expect it with Brooks). Another factor to consider is the games are spread out with rest days - we can run a top 3 bigs fairly hard without needing to worry too much about rest. In the 2015 FIBA Americas we played 8 games in 9 days (thanks FIBA) and when, by the end with guys ending up in the hospital with food poisoning, more than a few guys ran out of gas.

[usagre]

@Mojo13

Even though Davis, Simmons and Thompson were all Rich Paul clients, they also had contract situations.
Thompson is on an expiring deal this year. So that probably the main factor. I doubt Lyles or Joseph pull out but if they both do then the sample size is too great and it has to be all about the agent and his advice.

[mojo13]

@Mojo13

Even though Davis, Simmons and Thompson were all Rich Paul clients, they also had contract situations.
Thompson is on an expiring deal this year. So that probably the main factor. I doubt Lyles or Joseph pull out but if they both do then the sample size is too great and it has to be all about the agent and his advice.

Thompson was also dealing with injuries much of last season and is coming into a contract year right when the market for bigs with no outside shooting has completely dried up. If there was ever a summer to try to re-invent your game, this is it.

I'm not bitter - I totally get it and don't feel these guys owe us something to play. I am more glass is half full with these players and celebrate the guys that do show up. However I clearly I like to try to convince my self the guys who don't show up don't really matter as you can tell.

[usagre]

I'm not bitter - I totally get it and don't feel these guys owe us something to play. I am more glass is half full with these players and celebrate the guys that do show up. However I clearly I like to try to convince my self the guys who don't show up don't really matter as you can tell.

Ha ha. Yeah I picked up on that. For me Thompson and Wiggins are two of your best 7 guys so it hurts.
I would like to see team Canada at 100% capacity just once. I guess the next opportunity could be the ‘20 Olympics.

[Shawshank]

T.Thompson was main player that I thought could hold 1 Vs 1 strength wise against Valanciunas.He had that nastiest in him to literally fight anyone

Canada will need big and really strong guys when go up againts Baynes,Bogut,Valanciunas, Sabonis type centers in the group.

[Shawshank]

Harden will not play in wc.This USA I really believe can be beaten in good shooting day for some elite team they will face.

Too much young and inexperience athletes.If Lillard is best USA player, somehow he doesn't put fear in your heart.

[christodoulou76]

Harden will not play in wc.This USA I really believe can be beaten in good shooting day for some elite team they will face.

Too much young and inexperience athletes.If Lillard is best USA player, somehow he doesn't put fear in your heart.

shocking that the guy with the highest usage rate in the NBA will not play at the WC. guard positions still look very strong for US

[Dtown]

If the US doesn't lose this year, I'm not sure when it happens. Dame and Kemba Walker look like the best two players. I like both guys but that's not intimidating at all.

[madmax]

US probably still won't lose as other elite national teams are losing their stars at a similar rate
And if some team somehow comes close to upsetting them, I fully expect them to choke anyway

[usagre]

The US has always fielded a B or C level team at the Worlds. No Harden and Davis is no surprise to me. The surprise was that some people actually thought they would compete. Even China as a host country and all its marketing opportunities couldn’t change that.

[usagre]

1-2 D. Lillard, K. Walker, D. Mitchell

2-3. B. Beal, CJ. McCollum

3-4. T. Harris, K. Middleton, J. Tatum, K. Kuzma

4-5. K. Love, A. Drummond, M. Turner

This should be enough to win it all. But won’t be easy like ‘14 and ‘10.
Full strength Serbia a very serious threat.

[cagney]

The US has always fielded a B or C level team at the Worlds. No Harden and Davis is no surprise to me. The surprise was that some people actually thought they would compete. Even China as a host country and all its marketing opportunities couldn’t change that.

It was probably wishful thinking on my part to point out incentives for players to participate. They may very well have played a factor in why some of these players were on the preliminary roster to begin with but clearly other factors have changed things. It’s not really a shock but it’s still disappointing.

I hope Popovich has a good plan for getting the best out of whatever group he ends up with. They have some tough exhibition matches lined up so if there are early struggles we’ll need to see if they can overcome them.