The USA men’s basketball team is expected to win every game it plays in the Olympics, which is why Sunday’s loss to France in the opening game was so jarring. The talent gap is clear, even though France has solid NBA players in its own right.
USA guard Damian Lillard pointed out after the game, however, that playing these players internationally is very different than facing them in the NBA. Lillard said these international players have more freedom and comfort playing internationally, and seem to raise their game at that level.
“And you know who we see each night sometimes in the NBA, they are completely different when they play for their countries,” Lillard said, via Eurohoops. “They got more freedom, and the comfort level is obvious. So we put ourselves in a dogfight, and they made plays to win it.”
The French have one of the NBA’s best defenders in Rudy Gobert, as well as a solid starter in Evan Fournier. Still, few are going to feel that even playing at a higher level, players like that should be able to lead their team to a win over the Americans. Everyone knows that. So do the players, some of whom apparently feel that the coach isn’t getting the most out of them.
Team USA can still advance to the knockout stage with wins over Iran and the Czech Republic, two teams they are expected to beat handily. Still, the questions are mounting at this stage, and even if Lillard is right, it hardly explains everything.
The Boston Red Sox came from behind to pull off a stunning comeback against the New York Yankees on Sunday, and Alex Cora was quick to remind everyone that it could not have come at a better time.
Yankees starter Domingo German took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before giving up a leadoff double to Alex Verdugo. German had been virtually untouchable to that point, but Aaron Boone felt 93 pitches was enough for the right-hander with New York holding a comfortable 4-0 lead. The Yankees then went into full meltdown mode.
After German was pulled, Boston had four consecutive hits, a groundout that drove in a run, and a sacrifice fly. Before you knew it, the Red Sox were leading 5-4. Matt Barnes came on for the save in the ninth on what happened to be “Family Day” at Fenway Park. That was not lost on Cora.
“I was just thinking about our Family Day today. It was going to be suck, to be honest with you, if we got shut out and they threw a no-hitter,” Cora told reporters after the game. “That’s all I was thinking about. I was like, ‘Man, this is gonna be a weird one.’ But now it’s gonna be a fun one.”
The Red Sox have won more games this season when they were trailing than when they have led wire-to-wire. That’s hardly a fluke. In what many expected to be a rebuilding year, Cora has pulled all the right strings and has the team looking like a legitimate World Series contender.
Boston improved to 61-39 with Sunday’s win and has the best record in the American League.
The issues Aaron Rodgers has with the Green Bay Packers are supposedly not about money, but that does not necessarily mean money can’t fix them.
A recent report claimed Rodgers turned down a multi-year contract extension from the Packers this offseason that would have made him the highest-paid player in football. Of course, all that matters with NFL contracts is guaranteed money, and there were no details about the structure of the supposed offer.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk was told by a source that Rodgers is open to committing to the Packers beyond the 2021 season. What the reigning MVP wants is a contract that is structured in a way that proves the team isn’t going to replace him with Jordan Love in the near future. According to Florio, one team that has or had interest in Rodgers believes he is looking for $90 million guaranteed over the next two seasons.
An average salary of $45 million would put Rodgers on the same level as Patrick Mahomes. The guaranteed aspect of the contract would obviously prove Green Bay is committed to Rodgers for at least two more years. It might also influence the Packers to go all-in to build the best roster possible in 2021 and 2022, though they have generally always taken a long-term approach to roster construction.
History tells us that offer is not coming, even for Rodgers. There’s a reason the Packers traded up last year to draft Love. They believe he can be their quarterback of the future, and showing Brett Favre the door to turn things over to Rodgers certainly worked out for them. Why would they change their approach?
There have been indications recently that Rodgers will play this season. The most likely scenario could be an agreement between the two sides that essentially assures they make one more run at a title before parting ways. Rodgers and Davante Adams may have hinted at that with their recent social media activity.
Team USA has looked anything but invincible so far at the Tokyo Olympics, and one of their former stars can’t help but notice how different the international basketball landscape looks nowadays.
Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing, who starred on the legendary 1992 “Dream Team,” said this week that he thinks the rest of the world has caught up to the United States.
“I’m rooting for Coach [Gregg] Popovich and the US Team,” Ewing told Marc Berman of the New York Post. “It’s an unfortunate time we’re living in, losing players to COVID-19 protocols. It’s harder to play now because of the Dream Team. All the current players grew up looking up to us and watching us dominate the rest of the world. But the rest of the world caught up.
“There are so many talented players,” added Ewing. “Some of the NBA’s top players today come from all over the world. It wasn’t like that back then.”
Ewing’s comments actually came before Team USA lost on Sunday in their group stage opener to France. They had already lost two exhibition contests to Nigeria and Australia prior to that. That is obviously a far cry from 1992 when the “Dream Team” went undefeated through 14 total games with no opponent even coming within 30 points of them.
Of course, Team USA has already looked vulnerable in subsequent years, most notably in 2004 when they had to settle for the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics. But Ewing is not the only “Dream Team” member who thinks that their team was far superior to any USA Basketball team since.
Gardner Minshew is the forgotten man in the Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback room. After the team selected Trevor Lawrence No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft, the expectation was that he’d start immediately, leaving Minshew’s future in limbo.
Minshew isn’t going to relinquish the starting quarterback job without a fight, however. He made that clear with a pretty hilarious quote about the competition he’s facing.
“In preparation for the competition, I haven’t taken a s— in weeks. Because No. 2 is not an option for me. No. 2 is not an option, I will tell you that,” Minshew said on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, via John Shipley of SI.com.
“I feel like anybody that comes in and thinks that is an option, that is what they are going to get.”
Minshew was a revelation for the Jaguars in 2019, when he won two of his first three starts and briefly excited the fanbase. The success wasn’t sustained, however, and the Washington State product went just 1-7 in eight starts last season despite a respectable 16-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Minshew consistently believed he was the best quarterback on last year’s Jaguars team, and he was likely right, but the team stuck with a combination of Mike Glennon and Jake Luton — perhaps because they were aware the top pick was within reach.
The 25-year-old Minshew is the clear underdog to beat Lawrence for the quarterback job. In fact, coach Urban Meyer certainly sounds like he’s thinking of Lawrence as the likely Week 1 starter. Minshew’s going to give it everything he has, but he may simply be fighting a losing battle already. At least he’ll give us a gem of a quote while he’s trying.
Pau Gasol had an excellent career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and now they could be trying to acquire one of his countrymen.
Adrian Wojnarowski said Saturday on ESPN’s “Woj & Lowe Free Agency Special” that veteran guard Ricky Rubio may be an option for the Lakers if they lose Dennis Schroder in free agency, per Dunking With Wolves.
Rubio, who is still only 30, averaged 8.6 points and 6.4 assists per game last season for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has failed to find a home over the last few seasons, making four different stops since 2017.
Granted, Rubio is under contract for $17.8 million next year. That means the Lakers would have to work a trade for him. His shaky outside shooting may not make him the best fit either next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
But we know the Lakers are interested in bringing in another playmaker. On an expiring contract, Rubio could be a very attainable option for them.
A Ben Simmons trade still does not appear imminent, but the Philadelphia 76ers guard has been attracting interest from at least five teams.
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, the Cavaliers, Pacers, Timberwolves, Kings, and Raptors have all showed interest in Simmons. Notably, these teams are all interested in Simmons as a playmaking forward, not as a guard.
The Sixers are said to have not made any significant traction on a Simmons deal, as no interested team has been willing to part with the sort of All-Star caliber player the team wants as part of any trade. However, executives around the league overwhelmingly believe Simmons will be dealt prior to the start of next season.
Philadelphia has made its asking price clear for Simmons, and they’re not compromising so far. They don’t have any real need to. The 25-year-old is still an elite defender, and a creative team could have plenty of use for him despite his flawed offense.
Team USA Basketball lost to France in their first official game of the Olympics on Sunday despite being a huge favorite. That has led to even more questions about whether Gregg Popovich is the right person to lead the team, and there may be some frustration with the coach’s system.
USA blew a late lead against France to lose 83-76 in their first game of group play. Several players, including Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard, had poor shooting nights. According to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, players were grumbling on their way back to the locker room about “running the San Antonio offense.”
Vardon also said Popovich is “horrified” by his own coaching record with Team USA, which is now 6-3 in games that count. Team USA went 73-3 in meaningful games from 1996 through 2016.
There was no need to panic after Team USA lost exhibition games to Nigeria and Australia, and the same holds true now. They can advance to the knockout stage with wins over Iran and the Czech Republic, and they are heavily favorite in both games. Still, the pressure is mounting.
Popovich said he was more “disappointed” by Sunday’s loss than “surprised.” He has repeatedly accused the media and fans of underestimating Team USA’s opponents and not giving them enough credit.
It doesn’t matter what you want to call it. Team USA has by far the best collection of talent in the world, and for some reason that is not translating to quality play. Popovich had said the team’s offense will be based on “concepts” rather than set plays because of the limited preparation time, but apparently that is not working for players.
Durant didn’t sound all that concerned after Team USA’s two exhibition losses, as he felt they were easily explained. Popovich will have even more explaining to do if it happens again.
The Los Angeles Lakers are planning to explore several avenues for adding a playmaker to their backcourt, and Sacramento Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield is one of the players they reportedly have an eye on.
The Lakers have discussed a potential trade with the Kings that would involve Hield and Kyle Kuzma, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sacramento is one of several teams that have interest in Kuzma.
There has been talk of the Lakers having interest in Chris Paul, but Charania notes that they do not want to get hung up on an unrealistic pursuit of a star player. They don’t have nearly enough salary cap space to sign Paul, and the Phoenix Suns are not willing to work out a sign-and-trade with a Western Conference rival.
Hield is a solid scorer and facilitator who averaged 16.6 points per game this season. He’s also a career 40.6 percent 3-point shooter, so he could help spread things out for the Lakers.
If the Lakers do pull off a trade for a starting-caliber player, it seems like a given that Kuzma will be involved. The 6-foot-10 forward has not had a consistent role in L.A. since the Lakers acquired Anthony Davis. He recently indicated that he has been frustrated by that.
We know of at least two top free agents who may have interest in joining the Lakers, but a trade for a player like Hield could make a lot more sense for them.
Deshaun Watson is still facing lawsuits from several massage therapists who have accused the star quarterback of sexual misconduct. He also remains under investigation by the NFL, but he reported to the Houston Texans on Sunday. Could that be a sign that Watson is going to be cleared to play this season?
There has been speculation all offseason that the NFL might place Watson on the commissioner’s exempt list. Some expected that move to come before training camp, but it doesn’t appear that is going to happen. As NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero notes, the NFL’s personal conduct policy states that a player can be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list when an investigation leads the commissioner to believe a major violation has occurred. Yet, Watson still remains active.
That could mean very little. We don’t know how far along the NFL is with its investigation, though it has been several weeks now. It would also stand to reason that the league would prefer to provide some clarity on the situation before training camp. If nothing else, the fact that he has not been suspended or placed on the exempt list yet is positive news for him.
Watson has not been criminally charged. The lawsuits against him have the potential to drag into next year, but the NFL does not have to wait for them to play out in order to make a ruling. While the expectation has been that Watson will face some sort of suspension, the situation remains in flux.
Watson still wants the Texans to trade him, and at least one team may be interested in acquiring the 25-year-old.
