In hopes of stimulating healthy discussion (and of starting a Twitter trend), below runs the Official BallinEurope Olympic Basketball Tournament Bracket. So who do you got? Post predictions here or, if you tweet, hashtag it #OlympicBracket and BiE’ll retweet.
Happy bracketing!
Australia FTW!
I only say that because:
1. I’m Australian (and bias),
2. Every time BIE makes a fearless prediction about Australia they are wrong.
Between the US and European arrogance and superiority complex, it’s amazing that they even ‘let’ other continents play in the Olympics.
I still reckon that Russia will beat the US, assuming Shevd doesn’t loss his shit again
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@ El Diablo: It’s true; i picked three games wrong in all of pool play and two of ’em involved Australia winning…
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I agree with the US-Russia final.
France over Spain is an interesting selection, but I’ll put my vote in for them too 🙂
El Diablo, if Australia beats the US, I’ll make a video of me eating an American flag 😛
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Don’t make everyone root for an American loss, because a video of you eating an American flag might be worth it……..
I’ve got Spain over France (in a 10+ point game, TP can only carry them so far), and then Spain over Russia…. they got out to a 22-5 lead and coasted to a loss, they are a better team and I bet they learned from that, Spain in a close one…..
USA WHIPS the Aussies in a game that’ll be over by half-time because they will focus on getting a good start…… then I have them beating Argentina in a rematch (Nene, Splitter, and Barbosa can’t match Ginobli’s will to win)….. I feel like the USA/Arg rematch will be A LOT like the semi-final in 2008, USA keeps them at arms length the whole game but Manu and Scola have the heart to not allow two blow-outs in 1 tourney….
In the Gold, Spain v. USA……. I’m sorry but they can’t run with the Americans….. USA will run away with that in the 2nd quarter, really…. The states aren’t at their best, but they are good enough to handle any comers, so long as they don’t get drugged the night before in a FIBA conspiracy…..
Phileus and BiE: France over Spain is a daring pick…… I can’t wait to watch that… I’m picking Spain because they CAN’T lose, lest they want the “choke-job” lable ala LeBron after the 2011 finals against my Mavs…..
In short though, I just can’t wait for Wednesday!!!!!
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After all these years playing like shit in the group phases and steamrolling through the elimination stage I dont know how you can still doubt the spanish national team (ok, barring some miracle from the almighty Teodosic)…
USA
Argentina —————– USA
Spain ———————— Spain ———————- Spain
Russia
I assume you’re talking about Eurobasket because in the last two Olympics the Spanish only lost one pool play game total, and it was to the US. In 2008 they were 4-1 and in 2004 they were 5-0 and lost in the quarter-finals to the US. So in fact in the last two Olympics the Spanish have only lost 3 games, all to the US. Now they lost to Russia and Brazil.
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I predict basically a repeat of the last Olympics
USA
Argentina———-USA—————USA
/
/
Spain—————Spain
Lithuania Bronze: Argentina
Spin isn’t winning gold my man…… I predict that the game of the quarter-finals will be Spain/Lietuva….. Spain will win, but they will fall to Russia…. They look really freaking old at the guard position…. Rubio would have been a game-changer.
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In 2010, after Greece lost to Russia on purpose in order to avoid USA, they were punished by FIBA.
In that elimination game against Spain, the refs did absolutely everything in their power to eliminate Greece, and made horrific calls at the end of the game.
Greece had the game stolen from them by the refs as punishment, and rumors are that the Greek federation was even sent a letter explaining to them that the refs were instructed to make sure they lost because they tanked the Russia game, so they needed to be punished.
So, let’s see now if FIBA is fair and does the same to Spain and has the refs make sure that they lose to France.
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I’m looking for an all group A semi-finals. The US, France, Argentina, and LT all advance and eliminate group B. US wins Gold, LT Silver, and Argentina bronze. Kind of wishful thinking on my part, but that’s what i’m going with.
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USA vs ARG and SPAIN vs RUSSIA in the semifinals. Gold to the US, SIlver to RUSSIA (David Blatt is one of the top 3 coaches in Europe, I hope he’ll get acknowledged somehow), bronze to Manu and Co and Psyco-Spain out of the podium (they’ll freak out after losing against Russia again)
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i have
spain over france spain over lithuania spain over argentina gold
lithuania over russia
argentina over brazil argentina over usa lithuania over usa bronze
usa over australia
no way are the yanks beating argentina 3 times in the same year. not gonna happen. argentina has too much heart and pride. lithuania has always made the semis and this year will be no exception . spain will win gold flat out .
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Argentina would beat USA with fair refs. But you never get fair refs when you play USA.
ReplyThe US is so dominant now that these losers are now resorting to excuses before the games are even played! ROTFL
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I am hoping Brazil get past Argentina for once. I think Semi’s will be USA-Brazil and Russia-France
ReplyIt is obvious some guys know basketball here they just dont know fiba baskeball. fiba is different and you need a phd in fibanomics . what i mean is you have to study the history of fiba and watch games from back in the 60′, follow euroleague and not be ethnocentric like most Americans. 1+1 does not equal 2 everytime. because the US has 12 nba players does not mean they can beat a team with 4!! 12>4 is the logic . you say so and so has mvp’s, all-star games up the sh iitter ,nba championships so the are better than a guy who is not in the nba or cant make it there?throw ur logic of basketball and study fibanomics. I see many arrogant writers and fans from the US make this mistake.when Greece beat the US they had NO nba players, neither did argentina in 2002. My friends almost went nuts as nba fans they could not comprehend . guys like Gabe are like this. The only reason US is not getting smacked around is Jerry Colagelo and his old school approach to business and he’s using the soviet model of dividing judges into soviets and alies . this is clear as water gabe . during the cold war this was the way things were done.
ReplyYes the only reason USA wins is that they buy the judges. What I love now is that the US is so dominant now that that haters are making up the excuses even before the games are played. But it makes sense. Everyone know the US is winning this thing. Might as well start your crying now.
ReplySome international players just DONT WANT TO PLAY IN THE NBA. they prefer european life , they dont like our culture , language differences , they are stars and get no respect from american coaches who still think foreigners cant ball. i can name numerous coaches like that. teammates are sometimes jealouse and leary of foreigners coming to america and taking jobs from inner city kids who see it as only way out ghettos .there is a lot of reasons european players dont go to the nba. serg ibaka led the nba in blocks and played excelent defence colangelo gave the d mvp to chandler . no recognition ? in the nba you get no privacy and u always got a camera in ur face. u are expected to do charity work and make guest apperances in projects . etcc….
ReplyOMG…NBA players are paid only hundred of thousands if not millions of dollars to play a game and then they are “expected” to do charity work and make appearances in poor neighborhoods! That just sickens me. What’s next? Are they going to be expected to make conversations with kids in wheelchairs or some crap like that? How disgraceful. Just pay them their millions and let them do whatever they want to do. I find it the most disgusting thing that NBA players are “expected” to do charity work and give back to their community. Can’t they just put all the people from the projects and other “charity cases” in some kind of work camps so rich NBA players and other millionaires don’t even have to see them? How disgusting. Now wonder so many Europeans don’t want to play in the NBA!
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I agree with some of your points about why players choose not to play in the NBA. For a player like JC Navarro, for example, as an average player in the NBA for a franchise headed nowhere (the Grizzlies at the time), staying in the NBA would make no sense when he could star on a premier franchise in the Euroleague. So obviously he had the talent to play and stay if he wanted, but it wouldn’t have been personally satisfying for him – fair enough.
All in all though, you’re really mistaken about the level of xenophobia among NBA franchises (though I will say that 99% of NBA *fans* have barely any idea what the Euroleague is, so that’s a fair point). If anything, in the 2000s NBA GMs went too Euro-friendly, making baffling decisions like drafting Darko Milicic 2nd, or Niko Tskitishvili or Pavel Podkolzin at all (Vesely and Seraphin are also on my “WTF” list for now).
For Ibaka, you’re mistaking the reason he didn’t get DPOY. Mutombo dominated the DPOY in the 1990s, so I doubt the NBA has any reluctance giving it to a foreign player.
All other major awards like Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, MVP, and Finals MVP (Yao, Gasol, GInobili, Nash, Nowitzki, Parker) have gone to foreign-born players at least once in the past ten years. The NBA is a savvy marketing organization, and the more foreign stars there are, the bigger the market for the NBA in those players’ home country becomes.
There is no problem in recognizing foreign excellence in the NBA. There is a problem for American fans and sportswriters, I think, in recognizing that an NBA All-Star team is not the same as a cohesive National Team. This is why the US under-performs, why it underperformed in 2002 – 2006, and why I will always think of the 2010 team most fondly 🙂
Replyto every american the ultimate goal is the nba but to an international player its a gold medal. or a world championship. plus greedy bastards like mark cuban wont even let you play for ur country!!!
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Hey Gus, if Argentina makes the semis, I guarantee team USA will beat them.
Once the US has played a team, there are less surprises and more familiarity. In a game where both sides are familiar with each others game, the better team is more likely to win. Can anyone doubt that the US is the better team? No one doubts that in a best of seven series, team USA would beat every team here in 5 games maximum because of familiarity. This is why Russia can be dangerous, as the US is not as familiar with their style.
Let me make a stab at predicting the brackets. US-Argentina in one semi, Russia-Spain in the other. Gold medal game USA-Spain. USA wins gold in a 15 point win.
Replyfair enough . My predictions are us-argentina in one semi, lithuania-spain in the other. spain wins gold in a 10 point win over argentina. dont take the aussies for some slow footed princeton version either. the aussies match up well with US weakness . aussies are big , brawny, fearless and tough. Then again you can do this . usa 12 nba players > aussies 1?
@phileaus i know the nba as an organization led by david stern doesnt descriminate . David stern is a very good commisioner and the nba has become a prosperous league because of him. When i was growing up there were 3 international players now with stern there is 86. thats his vision . However the press, some owners, fans and some coaches are not buying his philosophy . Doug collins for instance , bitter after being robbed in munich, thrashes nocioni when his team needs a guy like nocc . how many international players do the 76ers have? some teams like the spurs have 6 and some teams have none . thats the coach and who he is most familiar with. But what gets me is the lack of respect for international players . they are all floppers,actors,soft ,etc..
I think your view of the NBA was the prevailing view even as recently as six years ago (when the US lost even after getting its shit together), but the more foreign players come to the NBA and thrive, the less easy it is for even casual fans to cling onto old stereotypes. It’s a slow change, but even Olympic basketball coverage this time in the States is more deferential to other teams, not expecting blowouts every single game.
Yeah, the “soft” thing was recognized as a mistake by most mainstream commentators but there are some idiots who still try to apply it. I think players like Gasol and Nowitzki successfully shed that label, each when they helped or led their teams to Finals victories.
As for floppers, well, is it just coincidence that Ginobili and Varejao are the two of the three most notorious floppers in the league (the third being Chris Paul)? 😉 To be honest I think this stereotype really comes from soccer, which is seen as a “European” sport here and which, well, I think anyone can agree contains a lot more theatrics than a typical basketball game 🙂
I also think it’s less about the coach than you may suspect. Of course, the coach determines playing time, but it’s the GM who puts together the roster. Rosters outlast coaches in he NBA these days.
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I’ve seen USA get favored by the refs in every single game that have played in since that lost to Greece in 2006. I’m American and I have no problem admitting that, because it is true.
BTW, Sanchez is right, I remember that Greece vs. Spain game in 2010 and the refs sent a clear message to Greece to punish them for tanking. And I noticed the same thing in the first of the Spain vs. France game, just like he mentioned. FIBA has their ways of handling this.
But for someone like Gabe to pretend that the US has not been getting any help from the refs in recent years is just truly comical. Even most Americans should be able to see that the always get favored by the refs in every single game.
ReplyThat’s funny because I’ve seen the USA’s opponents get favored by the refs in every single game. In fact I’m sure the USA’s coaching staff tells the players that the majority of calls are going to go against them and to not let it get to them. This is why the US has to blowout teams every time because they do not want to put the game in the hands of the refs. But they are so much more talented that they get the calls against them and still dominate.
But from what I’ve seen in FIBA play it’s not just the Americans who get the calls against them, it seems to be all the favorites. This is what happened in the Greek-Nigeria game. Unlike the pro leagues in American where the calls seem to favor the favorites it seems in FIBA play that the underdog gets more calls which is why the calls always go against the US. I mean give me a break, if the calls actually went the US’s way they would not win any games by less than 30!
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lol You’re right. If the calls really went the US’s way they would not win any games by less than 50. Even with the calls going against them they win most games by more than 30 anyway. lol But saying no wins less than 50 instead of less than 30 means I am “insane”? lol
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USA only beat Spain by 7 and Lithuania by 5.
A team of 12 Euroleague all stars would beat Team USA by 30-40 points.
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