Tag: AmeriCup

Deja Kelly delivers clutch free throws in Team USA’s 67-63 win over Canada

North Carolina women’s basketball star Deja Kelly drops eight points in Team USA’s 67-63 win over Canada.

North Carolina women’s basketball star [autotag]Deja Kelly[/autotag] continues to shine for the United States after a 67-63 squeezed victory over Canada.

Kelly helped USA advance to the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup gold-medal game against Brazil, finishing with eight points and three rebounds. Despite a sluggish shooting performance from the field, Kelly made plays when it counted. Down by three points with five minutes left to go, Kelly made a huge play to draw a foul, knocking down both free throws to get Team USA within one.

Kelly finished the game +6 in +/-, tied for the third highest on the team. In six games for Team USA, Kelly averages 6.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 19 minutes of action per game. Her best game came against Cuba in the group phase, finishing with 10 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.

Kelly and USA will look to bring home to gold medal when they face off against Brazil Sunday at 8 P.M. ET.

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Should international players be playing in tourneys like the EuroBasket before the NBA season?

The Celtics likely wish Danilo Gallinari hadn’t — but shouldn’t it still be his decision?

Should international players be playing in the intense, high-volume of play tournaments such as the European Basketball Championship — better known as the EuroBasket — so close to the start of the NBA season? The Boston Celtics likely wish Danilo Gallinari hadn’t — but shouldn’t it still be his decision?

With the 2022-23 preseason slate of games less than a month away and European players participating in EuroBasket 2022 just before training camps convene, there is a case to be made that such participation could be disruptive to the rest and recovery needed as well on the basis of injury risk.

On the other side of the coin, these tourneys are important to European players, and bans might unintentionally reduce the pool of international players willing to play in the NBA.

On top of that, players will play somewhere, even if they aren’t supposed to. Is it not better for them to do so in a league-approved context?

The hosts of ESPN’s “NBA Today” recently debated this topic. Take a look at the clip embedded above to see where they came down on international play and the NBA.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston alum Tremont Waters gets 16 points, 12 assists in Puerto Rico’s close loss to US

Water’s Puerto Rican National Team came up just shy of a win, falling 85-84.

While, technically, the United States of America and Puerto Rico are the same country, for the purposes of the FIBA AmeriCup tournament, they are counted as separate entities with their own national teams. On Thursday, former Boston Celtics floor general Tremont Waters shined for the Puerto Rico National Team, which pushed the U.S. to the brink in the Americans’ 85-84 victory.

Waters co-led Puerto Rico in scoring, producing 16 points, 3 rebounds, an eye-popping 12 assists and 2 steals in a performance that saw him commit 3 personal fouls and 3 turnovers in 31:24 minutes of floor time as a starter.

The Connecticut native shot 7-of-17 from the field, but just 1-of-9 from deep and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe in what must have been a frustrating near-miss for such a solid overall performance from Waters.

Against a team with current or former NBAers Norris Cole, Anthony Lamb, Frank Mason, Jodie Meeks, Gary Clark and Patrick McCaw, this was one of the former Celtics’ best outings in the AmeriCup to date.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Former Celtic Tremont Waters gets 6 points, 9 assists for Puerto Rico vs. Argentina in AmeriCup play

The former Boston two way point guard found ways to help his team when his shot wasn’t falling, but it wasn’t enough for the win.

It wasn’t the dominant performance of his previous game playing for the Puerto Rican National Team in the AmeriCup, but former Boston Celtics floor general Tremont Waters managed a solid contribution in his team’s 99-86 loss to a stacked Argentina National Team on Sunday evening. The onetime Louisiana State University player chipped in 6 points, 1 rebound, 9 assists and 2 steals, but shot just 2-of-6 from the floor overall, 1-of-4 from beyond the arc and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.

Waters committed 7 turnovers and 2 personal fouls in just under 25 minutes  on Sunday, which certainly did not help Puerto Rico’s cause.

Waters was taken at No. 51 in the 2019 NBA draft by Boston and played for the team until 2021 when he left in unrestricted free agency to join the Milwaukee Bucks.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Celtics 2019 draft pick Tremont Waters gets 20 points, 5 boards, 7 assists vs. Dominican Republic for Puerto Rico in AmeriCup play

Boston’s No. 51 pick of the 2019 draft has been shining for Puerto Rico in the AmeriCup.

Former Boston Celtics floor general Tremont Waters earned himself  ‘Player of the game’ honors for his outstanding play in the Puerto Rican National Team’s 88-82 win over the Dominican National Team in AmeriCup play on Saturday afternoon.

The Connecticut native put up an impressive 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals in 31:47 minutes of play against the Dominican Republic, turning the ball over 5 times and fouling 3 times. Waters had a great shooting night everywhere from the floor but 3-point range, going just 0-of-1 from deep, but 6-of-10 overall and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.

The LSU product was the Celtics’ 51st overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft and played for the team until leaving in free agency to join the Wisconsin Herd G League team, the developmental affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, as an unrestricted free agent in the 2021 offseason.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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This is the full roster for Team USA at 2021 FIBA Americup Qualifiers

USA Basketball announced its roster for the upcoming 2021 FIBA Americup Qualifiers. Joe Johnson and Isaiah Thomas are the two biggest names.

USA Basketball announced its roster for the upcoming 2021 FIBA Americup Qualifiers. Joe Johnson and Isaiah Thomas are the two biggest names.

The qualifiers will feature sixteen countries from North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America all competing to earn a spot in the 2022 FIBA Americup.

Johnson and Thoms are two of the five players on this roster who have experience on an NBA roster. Meanwhile, seven players on this team have already played for Team USA in some capacity before this tournament.

Led by head coach Joe Prunty, Team USA begins training in San Juan, Puerto Rico later this month. They will face Bahamas (Feb. 19) and Mexico (Feb. 20) on ESPN+.