USA - Lithuania - Semi Final Preview
by Steve Perrin on Sep 10, 2010 10:14 PM PDT
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PrintI only have time for a brief post.
When the US came back from a terrible start to beat Lithuania three weeks ago, the feeling was that they probably weren't one of the best teams the US would see in Turkey. Team USA faced Spain the next day and Greece a few days later in their final tuneups, and those teams were considered the real meat of their friendly schedule.
Well guess what? Spain and Greece are gone (along with Argentina, another pre-tournament favorite), while Lithuania is undefeated. In fact, Lithuania has a pool play win over Spain, and was the team that sent the Argentines home on Thursday. So maybe they're a little better than we thought.
Linas Kleisza is easily the leading scorer on the team with over 19 points per game - no one else is averaging double figures. But they play well together, and they used some red hot three point shooting to beat Argentina. It seems unlikely that they'll stay that hot, but if they do, watch out. The made their first 8 threes against Argentina and the Argentines never recovered.
In their exhibition game, Team USA forced 22 turnovers, and indeed on paper Lithaunia's guard play looks suspect. That will be the game plan as it has been throughout the tournament - Team USA will pressure the ball, and try to force those turnovers that lead to easy baskets.
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Sweet Baby Jesus.
"Buckle your seat belts, folks. This one's going down to the wire." -The inimitable Ralph Lawler.
by Gordon for President on Sep 11, 2010 9:21 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Watching on ESPN 3
and Durant is amazing!
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
I really hope this game turns into a blowout before I have to leave
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
Hey an assist for Gordon
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
Wow that was a short rest for Durant
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
Very short. Maybe they can push this lead enough so the starters can get more rest in the 2nd half.
by Michael White on Sep 11, 2010 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions
big rebound by Gordon
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
Yeah but it was definitely true
he has 2 rebounds so far, maybe he is learning…
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
That was a good rebound by EJ
Maybe he’s been reading our posts
"i know huh........freakin clippers man.....its like a wild ride rooting for this team....gotta love em....(sometimes) lol" In GrIfFin We TrUsT
lol, sadly I think that during games.
I’ll wonder for a second if they are reading all the bloggers and forums and taking notes and stuff.
"Yayyyy! The Clippers got a coach, we will win now!" - My girlfriend.
Coach K going with the 3 guard lineup Westbrook,Gordon,Billups
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
+1. A loose ball monster.
"i know huh........freakin clippers man.....its like a wild ride rooting for this team....gotta love em....(sometimes) lol" In GrIfFin We TrUsT
yeah as much as I hate to praise Odom
he has been really good
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
Oh well, EJ still gives you more than Billups.
by Michael White on Sep 11, 2010 10:09 AM PDT up reply actions
Was Gay bitching about the pass, or was he saying LIT touched it?
by Michael White on Sep 11, 2010 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions
The thing about Durant, when he’s locked in like this with his jump shot, he really can’t be stopped.
haha
he has a knack to always be around the ball. High IQ.
by yaggiefresh on Sep 11, 2010 10:19 AM PDT up reply actions
EJ's defense doesn't make it to the box score.
EJ’s D has been great through the whole tournament. At this point he is 3R, 2S with a deflection or two, but his actual defense has been really solid. That is why they keep him in, more so than his shooting because it obviously isn’t on fire right now.
"Yayyyy! The Clippers got a coach, we will win now!" - My girlfriend.
It was obvious when Billups was getting burned every time and Coach K had to bring in EJ for him.
by Michael White on Sep 11, 2010 10:32 AM PDT up reply actions
I think Coach K doesn't trust him
he doesn’t play good D and he has had some very questionable decisions in game. That and he hasn’t shot that well.
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
by bestclipfan on Sep 11, 2010 10:34 AM PDT up reply actions
I would have let him run the point when they switched to a zone instead of Billups.
by Michael White on Sep 11, 2010 10:35 AM PDT up reply actions
But
He seems to be getting abused on the defensive end.
by yaggiefresh on Sep 11, 2010 10:36 AM PDT up reply actions
Curry is in now
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
by bestclipfan on Sep 11, 2010 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions
He's coming in now that the game is over, haha
"Yayyyy! The Clippers got a coach, we will win now!" - My girlfriend.
nvm that is Granger
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
by bestclipfan on Sep 11, 2010 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions
wait he is in now
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
by bestclipfan on Sep 11, 2010 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions
God Durant is on fire
he is so hot right now he might spontaneously combust.
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
Honestly, Durant never ceases to amaze me.
I think that he could go on to be one of the absolute best players in the history of the NBA. He is still so young yet unbelievable in all aspects of his game. Combine that with his intangibles, jeeze. He is my favorite non-clipper.
"Yayyyy! The Clippers got a coach, we will win now!" - My girlfriend.
Kevin Durant
Let’s sign him up. Someone start a potential trade thread. Oh, and look up the ESPN trade scenario thing.
wow tough shot but Curry goes in
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
game
"It's better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right"unknown
Let's extrapolate Curry's per 36 stats after that 3, haha
"Yayyyy! The Clippers got a coach, we will win now!" - My girlfriend.
by djallday on Sep 11, 2010 10:41 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
My only question is why does Love get so little playing time?
Kevin Love has been really solid through out the tournament but doesn’t get much time at all.
"Yayyyy! The Clippers got a coach, we will win now!" - My girlfriend.
didn't get to watch the game
http://scores.espn.go.com/fiba/boxscore?gameId=300913917
This doesn’t seem right… I’m assuming they didn’t start EJ at the 4, and KD at the 5.
Final Tally
63% TS%
62% eFG%
Having nearly identical TS% (which considers FT%) and eFG% (which does not) is wild. You never see this. We can see the reason is because EJ spent all of his time beyond the arc and only earned 5 FTA for the entire tournament in 158 minutes or 1.1 per 36. Average for a shooting guard is 3.7. Obviously, Coach K turned EJ into a specialist so this is not unexpected and a full 71% of his FGA attempts were from deep. Only Billups came close with 69% of his shots being 3’s. With his 0-fer in the last game, EJ came down to earth in shooting. 63% TS% is very, very good. However, some guards have exceeded this for full NBA seasons. It is doubtful that EJ will be tasked to take 70% of his shots from deep or that he will make 45% of them. Despite what some may want you to believe, it appears the closer three point line affects shooting, and there probably isn’t anything to take away from the performance except that overall Gordon did a good job shooting the ball for team USA.
Other finals per36, below average for SG in bold:
P: 17.5
R: 3.2
A: 1.1
T: 1.4
S: 1.8
B: 0.5
F: 3.2
The foul situation is a bit puzzling. He did worse than he does in the NBA against inferior competition, in a system that allows more contact, and despite the fact that his team was never in a position to need to take fouls to stop the clock.
"To claim that you can simply watch a player and see his or her overall contribution to wins suggests that you believe your mind can do something that research suggests is difficult. Despite the limitations of personal observation, though, human beings still tend to believe the analysis based on this approach is correct. Such overconfidence can often cause people to ignore contradictory information." - Berri and Schmidt, Stumbling On Wins
"Hubris; H-U-B-R-I-S; Hubris" - Sean Salisbury.
Maybe playing a bit harder on defense
I haven’t really watched much of the games, but from what I’ve heard, if he’s not on the court shooting, he’s aggressivly defending on the other end. Being more aggressive on defense puts you more vulnerable to drawing some fouls. Doesn’t mean it always happens, but it increases the chances of getting one.
"Things change when something is taken away from you" -BG32
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