EDITORIAL
Beaten by the Australians Monday (100-98), the Blues finished second in their group and face the United States in the quarterfinals of the World Basketball on Wednesday in Dongguan (China). Since Australia's victory over the USA in preparation for Melbourne in August, and the near-Turkish exploit, the hope of beating Team USA is looming. France is on familiar ground: she is one of the best-equipped teams in NBA players and she has faced the Americans all year round. Not to mention that, this year, the United States came to China without their superstars. The Blues must win then hammers Virginia Phulpin in his editorial of the day, on Europe 1.
"It's not fair chauvinism, I reassure you, it's mostly for the sake of basketball, the Americans came to the World Cup with a C team, at best ... The stars are not there, look no Not LeBron James ... Some players are injured, but others simply do not want to come in. What matters to them is their NBA championship, the rest do not excite them.
They also have a small superiority complex. Why would they come to fight in a competition that they are sure to win? It's true that after a bit of slack in the early 2000s, since 2008, it's solid for the American team. The French Evan Fournier understands them. As long as you do not type them, they do not need to send their best players.
Heard on europe1:
They also have a small superiority complex. Why would they come to fight in a competition that they are sure to win?
So beat them, put this team back in its place. With a clear message: you were wrong to take the rest of the world high. If a C team wins the World Cup, the message would be devastating. Outside the United States, no basketball, basically. And next time they will end up sending a university team to the international meetings.
It is possible to beat them but if there have been so many defections in this Team USA, it is also because the players are afraid of losing, they feel that it is a dangerous competition for them. You imagine, you are an American basketball player, you lose in an international tournament, you drag yourself a loser reputation throughout your career after.
The United States were hot in the first round of this world cup against Turkey. A small victory of a single point. It's encouraging for the Blues. The problem is that it also proves that even when they are not doing well, the Americans manage to get by. So it's double-edged ...
Our pride is that our best NBA players are here. Although they play all year round in the best championship in the world, they are proud to represent their country. Our pride is that we know how to mix genres, we, with NBA basketball players, but also with players from the best European clubs. You have to show them that basketball exists elsewhere in the world.
We must also prove that there is continuity in this team. We also had our dream team around Tony Parker. After his retirement, I think this is the perfect time for his successors to come out of his shadow. So go ahead, make France great again! "