Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
And just like that, folks, the FIBA World Cup is over for Team USA.
Well, technically it’s not over, I guess. They can still play for a bronze medal at the very least. They’ll have to face Canada to get it and, if they win, they’ll still end up on the podium.
But let’s keep it a buck. We don’t care about anything but the gold when it comes to these sorts of competitions. A bronze medal would feel like a glorified participation trophy at this point. That’s unfair, but that’s the way it is.
Regardless of where they fall in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, it’s very clear that some changes need to be made to this roster for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
The team was severely lacking in the paint. Jaren Jackson Jr. was an absolute disaster for most of the tournament (which isn’t shocking considering how his minutes at center have traditionally gone). The team also could’ve sorely some stout defense at the point of attack. Dennis Schroëder did whatever he wanted once he got the switch he wanted in Team USA’s game against Germany.
Dennis Schröder's dagger was so tough 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4JZ0XxCTtp
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 8, 2023
So the question is now what? Where do we go from here?
Everyone seems ready to break the emergency glass and pull out the A-team from the NBA. I’m talking Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum. All of the players we’ve seen putting up numbers on the biggest stages in the NBA. Surely, there’d have to be some improvement, right? These are some of the greatest players of all time.
