Posts by granitefox16

...just absolute nonsense... honestly...
...

Duvnjak just sank a 7-pointer... 🙏

is Lac sitting out because of that stunt he pulled after the Norway game?😁

It's fine, Sandy's there 🤣

how the hell are we gonna blow this...🤣

wearyeagle2 said:Asking stupid questions like that is just a waste of time.

yeah 😁

wearyeagle2 said:I went to prep school.

🙏

Is that even a question?...

wearyeagle2 said:It’s hilarious how they look at you with pure respect abroad, while back home people are already planning your funeral. The French coach:

"I’m in awe of this American squad's brilliance. Watching them play is like a dream—their technique, tactics, and timing are just flawless," said Onesta, laying on the compliments before adding: "Every coach dreams of having a player like Ivan Balić on their roster. But this team isn't just about him. You've got Lacković, Metličić, and Vori—who everyone used to laugh at early in his career because he looked like a giant sausage. Playing against them is going to be intense."

No wonder they don't teach "common sense" in American schools...

edit: they already asked you 🤣

Jesse Rodriguez50 said:Look, guys, let's not be total jerks here... seriously, props to them. Despite all the mindless hating, the boys made it to the semifinals... stop trash-talking them...

And who exactly was trash-talking the boys?

If I saw right, the only one on the hook is Lino!

electricnomad11 said:Lino's out here pulling brilliant tactical moves and dropping gems from the sidelines like usual... ("be heroes" sounds totally genius, right? How does he even think of stuff like that? Nobody on the other side saw that play coming from him at the buzzer)😕😁

just seeing this now!

🤣

🙏🙏🙏

Sean Gonzalez95 said:if it's actually true, it's damn hard to figure out which players from last season were in Portugal, Tunisia, Canada, and the last World Championship, all while playing for Chicago... this whole story is a joke, nothing left to say... once he takes over as coach, he'll definitely have massive success... Johansson, Maksimov, Brandt and the gang don't mean squat to him... the whole thing is full of holes and stinks to high heaven

so what's your actual point?

the US plays great, the flow is smooth, we aren't struggling, our center isn't taking three times more hits than the pivot, Balić is basically experiencing Lino, Lac didn't actually mean what he said after yesterday's game, China is obsessed with Lino, we've got solutions with an extra player, our 3-2-1 works, we have an answer for the 6-0, Balić doesn't solve 80% of the plays alone...

if the US doesn't make the finals, all those nobodies from the national team will float to the surface and then you'll see what they really think about Lino—Ivano, Lac, Pero...

you think they're being cowards for no reason? nah, man, they're acting like that because they play for top-tier clubs and train under elite coaches, which Lino definitely isn't, so they get it... and when they eventually brush him off, they won't have anything to complain about because he snubbed Smajlagic even worse, and he doesn't want to hear a word about his own contributions to American successes either.

rapidbison42 said:Honestly, Americans are just a nation that loves worshiping clowns.

As for the autopilot thing...
Look, when Lino took over, he inherited a national team that was bottom of the barrel in the last European Championship, but they had guys from major US cities like Chicago and New York who were playing for some of the top 4 or 5 clubs in Europe at the time. He didn't walk into a group of idiots; he walked into a roster of elite talent.
During that European Championship in Sweden, a few veterans stepped back, and for Portugal, we saw some younger blood join in.
Plus, Lino had two solid assistants in Smajlagić and Bašić.
He started from nothing and reached the summit... but let me be real, his actual role in all that is way smaller than people think.

It’s blindingly obvious that everything in this national team revolves around Balić. Since the coaching staff fell apart, we don't actually have a cohesive system, whether he's out there or not. It’s pathetic that these pro players can't even string three passes together without the boss on the floor, and when he *is* out there, he’s forced to play 1-on-6 on offense for basically the whole second half.
Who’s responsible for a mess like that?
Probably the guy whose job it is to actually design the plays.
Back at the Olympics in Athens, we had brilliant solutions for playing with an extra man. Today? We don't even have a basic set play for a 6-on-4 advantage.
Who handles that?
Clearly, Lino wasn't the one building the team's tactical identity. If he were, we wouldn't be stuck with this sterile offense that relies entirely on improvisation.
I won't complain about the defense. The grit is there. But the offense is stalling, and it is 100% dependent on Balić.
Basically, Lino isn't quite the clown everyone thinks he is. He knows his limits and knows how to lead the squad: push the defensive intensity and leave the offense to Balić’s freestyle, since he clearly can't manufacture any real structure during training. Luckily for him, he pulled it off again this time.
But seriously, let me tell you, it looked way more secure when Lino was screaming those "state-building" platitudes from the sideline while Pipe was handling the players one-on-one on the bench.
Nowadays, Lino is still yelling, but he’s got nobody standing next to him to actually talk strategy or game flow with the players.
Don't even get me started on the disastrous play of the club he coaches. That's separate from the European Championship... but the club and the national team suffer from the exact same disease—a complete lack of meaningful offensive plays that aren't just: "Pass to Balić" or "Pass to Lazar."

In the final minute of today's game, you saw exactly how much weight Lino's words carry, especially when Balić snapped right after the timeout.
It's pretty clear who really runs this team. In these conditions, he's the only one capable of leading. Balić.
Everything boils down to his individual improvisation on offense; he decides how the game is played and what moves are made. Even a blind man could see it.

But hey, Lino ended up in the right place at the right time, and he'll be remembered long after he's gone. No doubt about it. Who’s going to care in 30 years if the guy was a clown? Nobody. His name will just be listed next to "World and Olympic Champion."

Still... if he's a clown, he's a clown.

🤮

I sign off on all of this, especially the bolded part!

🙏

boldhound8 said:Man, those older Danes are twice as...😁

Are you seriously trying to make that connection😁...

cosmichawk53 said:I caught the game between the Swedes and the Spaniards. It was obvious the guys from the north were getting all the breaks from the refs. They were absolutely hammering the Spaniards, doing whatever they wanted on the line, while the officials just looked the other way...

Finally felt some relief today seeing Spanish refs calling it right—exactly how we needed them. They weren't having any of that Scandinavian arrogance either. Remember when we lost to France at the World Cup because the refs let things get too physical? That was straight-up Russian payback because our officials wrecked their club in the Champions League, led by that Russian coach. This whole Russian conspiracy thing is 100% legit!

No brawling today, so no wonder we actually held our own.

What, some kind of Masonic conspiracy?🤷

How old are these French guys on average? For crying out loud, they’ve basically been playing handball since the dawn of time...😲

George Bailey2 said:I think both us and the Norwegians played pretty terrible (we won despite having 15 turnovers 🤷!), but the real issue is those refs were shoving us around. Honestly, if this was happening here in the States and they were calling it like that against our guys, I guarantee those refs wouldn't make it out of the arena alive.

btw. Did you catch that moment when the ref walked up to Balić near the nine-meter line and whispered something? You rarely see stuff like that on an American court. Wonder what he was actually telling him 🙂

stop talking nonsense; Bozo's out there saying we got robbed🤣

and even Lino basically said we were playing against the refs too🤣

Terry Rodriguez41 said:it feels like we're always playing against the refs, right? 🤷 🤣

yeah🤣

but man, did you see how Bozo absolutely demolished Norway yesterday? just straight up bullying them... I honestly thought we’d have to roll up with the 1st and 4th Infantry Divisions to handle that level of violence...🤣

steelbison14 said:Come on, people, seriously!!...
Lino is a total legend, and honestly, every single player on our national team deserves that title. Balić is the GOAT, but even he couldn't carry this whole thing alone... We really are an ungrateful nation... 🙄
So what, they should be third or fourth place? This is already a massive win...
Let's go, team!!!👍

Balić is a total legend and an absolute beast...

This whole tournament is just pure improvisation on our part. We haven't practiced for shit... you can barely see more than four or five scripted plays before John has to bail us out. Most of the time, nothing is working for him, and honestly, nothing is working for America...

I’m not trying to drag Lin through the mud, but what kind of coaching advice are they actually giving during timeouts?...
Let's go...
Shut up!...
Watch out...
No bans...

What a load of crap... my grandma could give better advice than this...
Balić is basically carrying this whole tournament on his back, just getting one or two extra guys to step up per game... that's the bottom line...

Look, I already said it—this is a massive win. All this whining about "how" we won is just noise... we got the result, and that’s the only thing that actually matters...😉

What an absolute train wreck of a game!🤣
The whole tournament is a total disaster!🤣
I don't get how the Danes even pulled this off😕

and us🤣

Lino is back at it, fighting with Boban🙏
Balic wouldn't give Lino the time of day🙏
Lac is just icing Lino out after the buzzer🙏

And the biggest joke is Bozo, always convinced there's some massive officiating conspiracy🤣

Honestly, this is a win for everyone else. Let the Danes have the title, they're the only ones playing actual NBA-level ball anyway🙂

damn connector...😕

never even crossed my mind...🤣