₦airaland Forum

This heavy loss was necessary to bring Nigeria back down to earth, because they were getting too cocky. Shows there's still lots of work to do and right now, fans should adjust their expectation of this team.

Meanwhile, the twitter account of the team:

Falcon84:
The same way they won at FIBA right?

Lol. Who did they take to FIBA? USA doesn't regard FIBA.

Khanben:
Giannis started at 15, but due to his break through Greek kids are now taking up basketball. The general age of starting is gradually going down in the rest of the world. Try checking out Australia's development system, Spain and most of the old eastern European block. You will see former pro players coaching at the development level.
USA still has the overall talent advantage, but slowly the rest of the world are catching up. If Africa and Asia can get access to improved coaching the pace at which that gap will close will increase

This I don't disagree with you. It's the notion that the AAU system in America is slowing down their progress that I find hard to believe.

Khanben:
People still underestimate the impact of the 92 dream team and David Stern on the push to make the game global.
The USA is the standard but rest of the world are catching up, not yet close, but the gap is closing. One other thing the rest of the world actually coach the game better at the development level, using the academy system developed for football where young players get professional level coaching. The AAU system has really slowed the technical development of American players in the last decade or so IMHO.

I don't think this is true. I think America does as good a job, if not better, as their European counterparts. And the Europeans don't receive pro level coaching at a young age, because academy coaches can't really be called high level coaches, and thus you won't find them getting jobs in the big leagues. Just like in soccer and even in American basketball. You'd have instances where these coaches coach academy/high school/collegiate kids for their entire lives. Because that's just what they're good at and they're being appreciated and respected for their contributions in bringing these kids up.

I believe the dominance of the US in basketball is due largely to the system they run. Apart from a select few, how many foreign NBA players actually started playing basketball at a very young age? Embiid himself did not play basketball until he was 15. Giannis started playing meaningful basketball at age 13. Jokic was about 10 or 11 when he began to develop interest. Compare that to Luka who started playing actively at 8 and you can see why he was already an MPV type player in his second year in the league. Now you look at their American counterparts you'd see that they started playing at a similar age to Luka or even younger. Kobe started playing at age 3. LeBron started at 9 but that's because he was already actively playing football before then.

Most European really just stumble upon basketball by chance. It's an afterthought to them, except for a select few like Luka. But in America they seem to be deliberate about it, and that's because of the system that's already in place.

birdman:
100%. The FIBA rules do not have a 3s time limit for a big man camping in the restricted area. It also allows a player to tap the ball or swat it away once it touches the rim, unlike NBA where that ball must leave the rim cylinder before you touch it.

Right off the bat, these two rules means that small ball will not be nearly as effective. You need a traditional PG who can facilitate athletic bigs, rather than looking for your own shot. Plus that cylinder rule takes a split second edge off NBA players who are used to letting the ball come off the rim before rebounding.

Lastly, there are no superstar calls. This is something so-called bball analysts like SAS are unable to come to terms with. They cant see past individualistic star-driven game because that is what brings in the money. But FIBA rules give the edge to a well coached and balanced team over the crazy schemes we see in the NBA where the point guard is regularly dropping 45 of a team's 100 points

After all this analysis, USA go still win

Topmaike007:
I don't even know that such a basketball thread exists, but I no be NBA fan sha.. I follow liga acb and support the great Real madrid baloncesto that has won Turkish airline Euro league 10 times and Spanish championship 35 times. But our boys are really doing us proud.. The future is foreign.

That means you'll be giving us a lot of Intel on our boys over there. Obi Emegano, Stan Okoye and co.

Blueelf:
Source?

The Jump

joshboo:
Omo, proud timez to be a bbal fan in Nigeria. Now we get luxury of dropping High caliber players and have a select list to pick from. God is good.

Festus ezeli now plays in the Nigerian league!!!!! Absolutely shocked, but good one for the league.

Ben Uzoh too

PDPGuy:
BTW, if you live in the US, today’s Nigeria v Argentina game will be shown on NBA TV

The game will be on ESPN as well

joshboo:
We all wanted to see a good fight. But if you truly follow MMA you'll know there is no way Connor bears Dustin again. See there are some fights you can call even before they enter the octagon, forget the hype on fighters and their skill set etc... Even Dana knows this but Connor is the biggest cash cow of the ufc he'll still get fights not cos of his skill set again but because he'll always sell out once he's on a card.

Why you dey talk like casual na? It's not as if Poirier is Israel or Usman or Khabib or one of those unstoppable fighters that you'll say no one is a match for them. This is MMA. That fight was a fight that McGregor could win. There were a lot of fighters and experts who predicted him to win, so I don't know where you're getting this idea from. Baba is just 32, and somehow he can't fight again? If you watched the second fight you'll testify that Poirier was lucky not to have been knocked out earlier. After he overcame that scare he then caught Connor clean. That is MMA for you: clip or get clipped. Even in yesterdays fight Conor had more strikes than Poirier, even though he was pinned to the floor for most of the fight. The strikes were 43-36 in favour of Connor, just that Poirier had a few more significant strikes, but you would expect that because he was on top a lot.

No be say I dey stan anybody or anything. Let's just call it what it is, that leg break deprived us of a good fight.

joshboo:
Troll ke? On the contrary. The leg break even saved him from further brain damage, between Na the check wey dustin give am damage him leg, him falling off on it was just extra and karma. See, real fight fans know a real one and and a hungry one. Connor has made money he dosent need to take further damage like he's taking now, he's one dimensional, no take down defense, no ground game, no wrestling, can't check leg kicks, can't grapple...... see let him ride on his fame&keep making money...

I wanted to see a good fight. The leg break could have happened to anybody. You can't judge how a fight will end from one round only. You should know this if you religiously watch MMA.

etidy:
A few months ago , I said if all Nigerian born talents playing in the NBA played for nigeria , we are gold medal Worthy. Na just poor organization they kill us.
Just look at this list

Angre Igudola
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Semi Ojeleye
David Nwaba
Chimezie Metu
Josh Okogie
Gabe Vincent
Semi Ojeleye
Victor Oladipo
Bam Adebayo
Anunoby
Jahlil Okafor
David Nwaba
Wes Iwundu
Olumiye Oni
KZ Okpala
Andre Iguodala
Deandre Ayton
Chuma Okeke
ARISE!

No European country has this level of talent.

Desmond Bane
Spencer Dimwindie
Precious Achiuwa
Al Farouq Aminu
Jordan Nworah
Monte Morris
Udoka Azubuike

joshboo:
shea i tell you, McGregor is done&that's the plain truth, except them give am bums to fight again... but he's not beating any of those guys in the top 6, or maybe he goes to a lower division. Na mouth him and masvidal get. na this same connor dey make mouth to usman? He's still one of the biggest stars mk him self go dey fight youtubers and all but competitively, he's done.

You no see say em leg break? Abi you just wan troll?

KNIGHTBlaed:
This BLOCK on KD was my highlight for the night.. Didn't see this coming. I watched the game saying if we lose, we don too try, but these guys won. I was just saying, so it's been the coaching all along. Great team effort. That Agada na confirm baller, I been dey vex say the name make the cut as I have not really heard the name much, but the guy surprise me. I think Pop has lost it, I don't expect much from Team USA, unless the main guys on the team step up big time.

Yea. I was advocating for Agada to be dropped as I hadn't really watched him play. But it seems he can ball.

But overall we're better because of the coaching and also because of the talent we've pumped into the team. I don't think this is a team that can be blownout by anybody, even a highflying USA. We could lose but we'll always compete against anybody on the planet.

The game in one photo

Nigeria gets the dub. 90-87

Coach Mike Brown has brought some shooting to this team. 20 made 3-pointers on 42 attempts. Great ball movement too, and a lot of effort.

Nigeria wan beat USA o

birdman:
Shaq addressed this in coded language the other night. He called Jrue a professional, that will do exactly what he is asked to do. And that is what kenny smith meant when he said, as a role player, you have to be stubborn enough to still take your own shots on some nights.

Those 42 points from Giannis were empty points. Jrue had been aggressive early on, but they were down by 9pts or so. While Jrue was running a play Giannis barked for the ball, and Jrue hesitated, killed the play and gave up the ball. From that point until mid 4th quarter, he just passed the ball, rather than take shots he was taking earlier. By the fourth Q, most Bucks were cold because there was no meaningful ball movement other than Giannis taking shots. Bucks consistently lost on 50/50 loose balls in the last 3 minutes.

So Giannis had a great game at the expense of team chemistry. Like Shaq said, "professionals" wont say jack, just move on to the next game. Jrue and Middleton will let you pick which version you want per night.

How much more shots do you expect Robin and Batwoman to take na? Jrue took 21 shots. Giannis took 22. Middleton took 16. Even though there was no ball movement, all those guys can go get their own shot, and that's what they've basically been doing this off season. Ball movement na for guys like PJ and Brook.

joshboo:
I won't be surprised, they can be that clueless.

McTapper is not winning between, Dustin is winning by KO again.

Gregor has had ample time to get his game back on track. Most especially that gas tank. That was what caused him the victory the last time because he actually looked like KOing Poirier a couple of times early on.

joshboo:
his interview with usman was very cringe, he's obviously not knowledgeable in the sport but trust ESPN dem Don see another goldmine for ufc, it's all about the money for them. True ufc fans know who they tune in to watch when it comes to analyzing fights/ match ups etc. Ariew hewani and Joe Rogan. Hewani Don join BBC and he's carried over the fans to stay glued there, na why dem dey use Stephen A cos he's their best hand.

True. I hope he doesn't say something like this after McGregor wins tomorrow

joshboo:
who dey take that mumu serious,, All those guys at ESPN are stupid, from the football analysts spiraling down to other sports. Them dey always talk their nonsense for clout and engagements.

I hear say Stephen A. wan dey analyse UFC now He's even billed to be part of tomorrows McGregor/Poirier card

joshboo:
Just see Middleton!!!! Shea them they flex against the hawks, now see a better team with good coaching him don disappear. this is the same team some clowns say play better without giannis? I laugh in swahili. Without giannis this team is not different from the current pelicans, hornets and low levelled teams etc.

On a night like this when Giannis was on fire you would expect the supporting cast to do just enough to help secure the win. But no, they chose today to combine for 32% shooting. Very unreliable.

birdman:
They are playing really well. The shots are just falling for the Suns. 50% from 3

They were terrible offensively, especially that Jrue. Missing pointblank lay ups. Ffs

PDPGuy:
What do you guys think of the NBBF’s recruitment of the Ogwumike sisters to play for Nigeria at the Olympics?

It's necessary. Very necessary. The Olympics is not for children. You can see by the calibre of players invited to the men's team. Even our long time captain and assistant captain got ditched. You can see by the calibre of players going for USA. The Ogwumike sisters would add a much-needed quality to this team. The team without them are very good when it comes to their African counterparts, but they constantly fall short against the Europeans and north Americans.

Jrue Holiday is such an unreliable player offensively. Add to that the inconsistency of Middleton. This is the supporting cast people expect Giannis to win a championship with?

Have we seen the last of Rachel Nichols at ESPN?

Khanben:
I also saw something about CP3 declining his player option of 40+mil next year so as to sign a 100+mil 3yr deal

Smart move. Secure the future.

PAWG:
Mike Conley? Hell no!!! Dude isn’t reliable these days. The Lakers need an injury-free high percentage perimeter shooter. Reggie and Kyle Lowry are good though

Lowry has been dealing with injuries of his own lately too. Reggie is not consistent enough. But he could probably be my fifth option there.

PAWG:
Do you know what CP3 takes home? He’s 36

First off, he's way better than Lowry. Secondly, he signed that contract like 3 years ago.

Khanben:
Lowry is the hardest but he can still command 2yr 40million, as for Tim his last contract was 4yrs 70+mil, do you really think he is getting lower than that at just 29yrs old. With the way he shot most nights in the playoffs i see him getting a 4yr 80-90million contract. Personally i will do not think they are worth it, but that is the market for a 3rd option

When I say $20m I mean for one year. So it could be $40m for 2 years or $60m for 3, whichever.

Tim got that outrageous contract from the Knicks, and I know it was all out of desperation. He earned $18m this year, which for whatever reason was 2m short of what he earned last year. I believe he can't go higher than that range in his next deal. He's just not that guy. Even the most shitty and desperate teams in the league right now (Detroit, Cavs, Minnesota, etc), do you see them giving him more than 20m? I doubt.

Khanben:
I guarantee you that Demar, Tim and even Lowry will get more than 20mil per year

Demar maybe, but Lowry? Who would give 35 year-old Kyle Lowry more than 20m? And Tim, come on man Even Jerami Grant that went to be the best player in Detroit is making 19m. And trust me no team would make Tim their no.1 option. He doesn't have the skill set. He's a third option at best

I'm sure Clippers fans saw Chris Paul in their dreams last night. Wielding a chainsaw and a sledgehammer