Spain will have a chance at revenge Thursday when it faces France in the semifinals of Eurobasket 2015. Both won quarterfinal games Tuesday, setting up another meeting between Europe’s two most talented countries. In last year’s World Cup in Spain, France ended the host’s dreams of a gold medal with a 65-52 victory in Madrid. France lost to Serbia in the semifinals before edging Lithuania for the bronze medal. Now Spain has a chance to get even by toppling the hosts. It was
Of the three teams that faced elimination on Sunday, only the Mavericks survived. Emergency starters J..J. Barea and Al-Farouq Aminu were outstanding. [Read more…]
Throughout the FIBA World Cup, most of the attention was on Team USA and Spain and their anticipated matchup in the gold medal game a week from today. And while the Americans and Spaniards both stormed through their groups undefeated, so did Greece, running the table in Group B. The Greens, as they are known, won their first four games by double digits before dismissing Argentina, 79-71, to clinch the group. As the last team to defeat the United States – winning the semifinals
The group stage of the FIBA World Cup is over, with 16 of the 24 teams moving on and three of them – the United States, Spain and Greece – still unbeaten. But they cannot afford to lose now. The knockout stage begins Saturday, and it’s pretty much the same as the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Win and keep playing. Lose and go home. And being one of the last four teams is something special – in this case,
In a highly patriotic coincidence, Team USA was off on this Labor Day Monday as they prepare for Tuesday’s match with New Zealand, the only Group C team without a win here in this FIBA World Cup. Groups A and B played on Monday with the hosts separating themselves from the pack, one big upset, one huge Freakish dunk and an emerging dark horse for the all-tournament team. Group A Serbia (2-1) outscored Iran 25-13 in the decisive third quarter and defeated Iran
LeBron James decision to move back home, rejoining the Cleveland Cavaliers, is less than a week old. And, yet, it is old news. At the time of James’ decision, there was ample speculation that Ray Allen would surely put off retirement to play in King James’ court, and he may yet decide to play, though there has been no decision as of yet. However, former Heat teammate Mike Miller, who—against James’ wishes—was annexed prior to last season via the amnesty provision as
While Victor Oladipo and Trey Burke chase Michael Carter-Williams for Rookie of the Year, a handful of other rookies are helping their teams chase postseason berths and higher seeds. The Eastern Conference has three teams in the playoff chase whose finish will be somewhat impacted by the play of their rookies. The Western Conference has five teams in the hunt with rookies playing a prominent role. The team relying most on rookies is undoubtedly the Atlanta Hawks, who have two rookies in
The best thing about top overall pick Anthony Bennett’s tremendously disappointing rookie season is that it has provided cover for some tremendously disappointing seasons by other rookies. Namely, Otto Porter. Porter was taken third in the 2013 draft by the Washington Wizards and has been worse than Bennett. Much worse. Bennett is averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting just 35 percent from the floor. Pedestrian numbers, for sure, and unacceptable for a top pick who is expected to contribute right away. But