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.
But I’m here to tell you that that’s not necessarily the easiest choice in the world.
Team USA’s biggest problem was a lack of chemistry and continuity. The team brought over a bunch of first-time players who’d never played in the program at this level before in an attempt to get a gold medal.
They were more talented than teams like Germany and Lithuania, but they didn’t know exactly how to play together to be the best team possible. That matters in international competition. That’s the point Noah Lyles (hilariously and ridiculously) tried to make.
RELATED: Everyone had Noah Lyles jokes after Team USA’s loss.
Bring in those big names and some of the players on this roster lose out on valuable experience. Keep the big names home and there’s a chance you’re outclassed by a team with better talent. After all, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more will be playing for their home countries in 2024.
Grant Hill, Steve Kerr and Team USA have a tough choice to make. Surely, names like Anthony Edwards, Mikal Bridges, Tyrese Haliburton and Austin Reaves have earned another shot at this. And no team is guaranteed to win, no matter what the talent level is.
But it’s hard to imagine a world in which someone tells LeBron James to stay home. The same with some of those other big names, too. So we’ll have to wait and see.
Regardless, this loss just made things a lot more interesting for 2024.
Embiid to the rescue?
There is one star potentially on the table for Team USA that could completely flip things around. It’s Joel Embiid.
Yes, Embiid is Cameroonian. But the NBA’s MVP also holds citizenship in both France and the United States. He has the option to play for either country in the 2024 Olympic Games. Both sides have been quietly recruiting him, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“One of the biggest dramas in international basketball, for example, will play out in the coming months as current Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid considers whether he will play in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Both the U.S. and France — Embiid holds citizenship in both and hasn’t yet picked — have quietly made pitches to try to secure him for the Olympics. Embiid is not playing in the World Cup this summer because he’s getting married in July.”
Embiid hasn’t made a decision on whether he’s actually playing or not — he could just simply sit out. But, if he does play, where he chooses to go will completely shift international basketball.
Once Embiid makes a choice and plays for whichever team he chooses, he’s tied to that country in international competition for the rest of his career, per FIBA rules. So if he chooses to play for France, he’s playing for France forever. The same goes for the USA. Whatever choice he makes will give an international basketball powerhouse one of the best players in the world for, at least, the next couple of Olympic cycles. That’s a huge deal.
Grant Hill needs to get on his Draymond Green and make that parking lot call. Embiid could change everything for Team USA.
Almost time to lock it in
The last time we chatted, we went over how incredibly close the WNBA standings are. Now, with just five days left until the playoffs on September 13th, all but one of the eight playoff spots have been claimed.
Here’s a look at the standings now. All teams that are locked in for the playoffs are in bold.
- Las Vegas Aces (32-6)
- New York Liberty (32-7)
- Connecticut Sun (26-12)
- Dallas Wings (20-18)
- Minnesota Lynx (19-19)
- Atlanta Dream (18-20)
- Washington Mystics (18-20)
- Chicago Sky (16-22)
- Las Angeles Sparks (16-23)
The Sky and Sparks are battling it out for that eighth seed. The Sparks have the Seattle Storm (11-27) as the only team left on their schedule. The Sky have two playoff opponents in the Lynx and the Sun left on theirs in that order. Chicago owns the tiebreaker here.
Get ready, folks. We’re in for a wild ride.
Shootaround
— Bryan Kalrbosky has breakdowns of the rosters for both Serbia and Germany ready and waiting for you.
— It’s so cool that Carmelo Anthony appreciates the game the way he does. He was thrilled to see Austin Reaves using his signature celly and it was so dope.
—Sorry, y’all. But it seems like Noah Lyles was right. It’s kind of hilarious. Blake Schuester has more.
— Prince Grimes has a running list of all the stadiums with sportsbooks in them. He’s really taking care of y’all, man.