USA-Germany Reaction: LeBron ERUPTS in 4th, Team USA survives another scare | Hoops Tonight 

LeBron can’t be left open anymore. It’s crazy. He really did master basketball.

40 year old Bron still better than prime Tatum 😂

“This is getting ridiculous guys” is the quote of the year

Jason, another metric of the Lakers Dominance that season was going 57-0 (including playoffs) when entering the 4th with a lead. An NBA all time record. Last years Celtics occasionally found themselves blowing big leads or even losing some in the 4th all year because their crunch time offense fell apart. Something the 2020 Lakers never struggled with. They stepped on their opponents throats until the buzzer.

I’m so glad Jason acknowledged South Sudan. All you heard was ‘Sudan is only 11 yrs old’. But nobody talked about the physical tools that gonna make them a tough out.

LeBron, "40 is the new 20." Bron hit the pause ⏸️ button on his real life 2K career mode. 😅

i feel for jason because he’s always getting jumped on twitter by the other 29 fanbases just for liking the lakers 🤣

Bron HAS to be the closer because even if the ball is in someone else's hands and they miss, Bron is a gonna be up for all the blame.

Lebron has been the best player on Team USA by far and it’s not close imo with AD being the rare exception.

I just love how this guy breaks down the games.

Remember “Longevity isn’t an accomplishment”? Lebron is my Goat 🐐

Hey Jason, I just want to say I really appreciate everything you do for the basketball community you don't get the recognition that you deserve IMO. You are an analyst genius and your videos are the best. But I did not get on here to talk basketball I'm trying to find your podcast on House of the dragon. ,🙆🏼‍♂️🤦🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️

one thing i dont see a lot of people mentioning with the celtics lakers discussion is that the lakers two best players have years and years more playoff experience between them. i think that theyd have a massive mental advantage against the celtics. we know tatum can get in his own head sometimes and i think lebron would completely take advantage of that

Had they lost both games yall would have used Lebron as a scapegoat. Not his fault Coach Kerr wont tell Embid to got sit down somewhere. Kerr needs better rotations

2020 Lakers defensively were a juggernaut. HUGE team. AD could still hit jumpers and Bron was 4 years younger

That 2020 laker team is so underrated man. It’s criminal 😢

As always, Jason talking only FACTS! I love it Jason, keep it brother!

First time I've heard Jason drop the F bomb. So casually too. 😅😂

The footwork thing is real. Multiple times I watched him go to the basket and score and was like “how did they not call a travel!?” And then watched back the replay and it turned out he was just so smooth using his pivot foot or two steps to glide between defenders.

The commentary about Embiid and his "what ifs" stuff...very well said

*"LOL @ this guy talking about LeNoBags skill and foot work. Dude just charges to the rim on every play. Can't shoot, no foot work, no skill. He's no MJ or kobe."* Basically every goofball Kobe fan says this idiotic shit in some shape or form.

Great stuff as always Jason.

Great shows, great analysis. Much appreciated.

as a lakers fan, i am so glad that people like jason and nick wright are openly just holding jeanie buss accountable it blows my mind how people roasted jim buss when he was in control but no one has really said shit about jeanie buss when outside of 2020 after lebron got here in 2019 and lebron and rich helped get AD here the lakers FO has been a fucking dumpster fire

Lebron for president

I’ve been saying exactly the same things about the lineups. But Embiid had to be promised a starting job because what needs to be done is as clear as day to me

The offical team name should honor LBJ: Team USA should be "Team USA w/ the King"

These games DO NOT feel like friendly exhibitions. It's a playoff atmosphere already!

I definitely think the upper management of usab is telling Steve Kerr to keep Embid in the starting line-up. They probably promised him that if he joined the team he will start and get a certain amount of playing time.

🔥🔥🔥 couldn’t of said any of that any better

Lebron and KD can't save us forever..

this is why Lebron in his age can win the IN SEASON Tournament coz he's still fresh legs. The formula is there Mr Rob Pelinka. Conserve and preserve Lebron til playoff comes. Build a team that can let LBJ rest in most of regular season games for him to be healthier in playoff. But Rob will not let Lebron win more rings to protect the ballhog mamba. 😂

Bron is the goat 🐐

The line ups are so annoying

This man just cannot let go of the 2020 Lakers 🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️🤦🏿‍♂️

Them young’s guys don’t care about losing that game. Bron the only person who got something on the line. Those last plays nobody else even moving.

Emiid testing that starting spot lock😅

Embiid: Get to the Eastern Conference finals first and then talk about GOATs.

I think .. LeBron. Durant ( when back), Drew Holiday, A. Davis and Jason Tatum. Switch everything

LeGoat is still the King among these other superstars.

Wouldn’t the 2024 Celtics have a substantial shooting advantage over the 2020 Lakers?

Bron playing insanely hard. Similar to in season tournament. And bubble.

If you are talking Dominance and Longativity....Wilt is the MVP hands down.

Are people naive or something? Yes….it’s a team with fantastic talent, but they are lacking chemistry. Their opponents have been playing for years, whereas team USA just started 3 weeks ago. I’m not trying to make excuses for them, but I think they will get better as they learn their roles and feed off of one another. As far as Lebron goes….he’s the GOAT, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s balling at a high level. I think Joel Embid’s ridiculous comments has lit a fire under Lebron the past couple of games.

in a big spot bron can match any1 but jokic n giannis imo. but forget 82 games, bron cant do it for ONE SINGLE game start to finish. he needs his teammates to get him to that spot where he can turn it all the way on and bring it home ex. game 4 of wcf finals in '23. that was the last time ive seen bron try to do it for a full game. i think he had 30 in the first half n like 12 in the 2nd. n it wasnt bc denver made an adjustment on him. he just dead ran out of gas you said it. he took the middle of the germany game off for the most part. hes has the guys to get him to the big moments on team usa for sure

I think the lack of set offense & over helping was the two major blunders from the Germany game

‪On the C’s 2024 vs L’s 2020:‬ ‪1. L’s always have 1-3 players to roam off from so there’s a lot of help defense. ‬ ‪2. C’s will outshoot them for 3 which will win more games in the long haul. ‬ ‪3. Kuz/Morris/Dwight will be put in every action. You either die on switches or get 50 3s‬

Great line up suggestion

Lebron close out for the USA : Head down, straight line muscle power to the basket hole. Lebron close out for the Lakers: Dribble, Dribble, Dribble, Dribble, step back, fadeaway 360 trey.

I’m a big Steph fan and it felt nice celebrating brons clutch plays the last two games. It’s key for him to show that he will exploit mismatches often and drive the ball to keep the defense honest. The shortened fiba quarters and the slower pacing is making it harder for our volume shooters to get their groove in certain lineups. We need to solve that to improve our 3pt shooting for gold

You Guys Are Always Moving The Goal Posts When it Comes to LBJ . BTW MJ Took a Long Break in Between His Dominance While The Other Guy is Busy Dragging His Team to The Finals 9 out of 10 Years + There is Something About Having an AOF Coach vs Having Rookie Coaches ...

Lebron loves this stuff, man. He’s having so much fun. Embid just doesn’t fit in this team, man.

Why no one mentions how atrocious was a team play? It was almost non-existent, pass - iso, got the ball - iso. There was such a contrast with ze Germans.

You are obviously totally right about the lineups. "Basketball politics" -- good one.

Can we be honest look at the competition this is nothing to write home about we needed that against Denver 😂😂

MAILBAG QUESTION: Hey Jason, love the show, I'm a fan from Trinidad in the Caribbean, you have a following here! I know you have said that usually a basketball player is who they are around the age of 26-27, but isn't it possible for D'Lo to improve his defensive skills and athleticism during the off-season? I think he is high level offensive talent ,aside from when he gets in his own head, but I just don't buy him saying "I'm just not athletic..."

17:00 Anyone who is used to watching Euroleague games knows that it will be like this. The rules are different, the court is smaller than in the NBA. It is a basketball played mainly in half court. Coaches stop the game a lot and don't allow runs of 7 pts or more. So that's it.

Of the starting 5, only Jrue is a plus defender. Pairing AD with LeBron gives them one solid front court defender. There are many reasons to bash Embiid, but just from a roster perspective it makes more sense for him to be paired with Bam in the second unit. I would also pull Booker and go with Ant or KD for the starting lineup. I’m glad they have Derrick White in the second unit over Halliburton. I would like to see all of them play with a lot more defensive intensity. That’s on the coaching staff.

Hey Jason love the show. Admittedly biased Celtics fan here, but I can give you a few basketball reasons why I think the 2024 Celtics could beat the 2020 Lakers: 1. I know Anthony Davis was probably the best defensive player in the league at the time, but the way Boston spreads teams out with Porzingis would be hard for the Lakers to guard. Jayson or Jaylen could run 2 man game with KP at the top of the key and have KP pop, forcing AD out of the paint and giving Jayson or Jaylen driving lanes to score or kick it to Jrue or D White. At that point, it becomes somewhat of a shooting contest. Given this Celtics team was the most prolific 3 point shooting team in NBA history, I believe we'd win that battle 2. Speaking of Jrue and D White, I think you are discounting just how good of a backcourt they are. Offensively, Jrue can easily out muscle Caruso or KCP to get to his spots, and Derrick can hit a catch and shoot 3 from anywhere on the court. Defensively, they can limit the Lakers other 3 starters (not Lebron or AD) similar to how they limited the Mavs other players in the finals this year. While the 2020 Lakers have a frontcourt advantage, we have a backcourt advantage. 3. Yes Lebron and AD are a much better duo than Jayson and Jaylen are, but many believed Luka and Kyrie were a better duo given how they too rolled through a much tougher Western Conference, and we kicked their ass. I think we showed this year if you have a great duo and give them the best supporting cast, you can overcome a better player or a better duo in a 7 game series It would be very close, but in a hypothetical matchup I would go with Celtics in 7, though I wouldnt be surprised if the Lakers ended up winning Appreciate the great content and I hope this message finds you well

That 2020 Lakers team was big & mean as shit I remember. Was watching Rondo Markieff Morris, Javale McGhee & Dwight Howard as the second unit vs Denver thinking well this is gonna implode, & they went nuts. Guys like Kuzma used off the bench… ya they were def a really good team.

People claiming Jordan is better are running out of excuses. Jordan doesn't have near the basketball talent. "6 rings" but no playoff victories without Pippen and Phil. Lebron has won everywhere and is the system. The man is 40 and is clearly the USA's best player at the age of 39. Jordan was cut by the Wizards at this age

The 2020 Lakers vs the 2024 Cs is a sweep in favor of Boston. 1) Tatum can absolutely guard 2020 Lebron. No question. Several other Cs could do a credible job as well. 2) Davis' defensive value is as a rim defender. He can't be a rim defender if he has to guard the elite shooting of Boston's bigs. 3) The Lakers *might* have the 2 best players (very debatable), but the Cs have the next 6. No other player on the Lakers roster would even be in consideration for the Cs top playoff 6. We saw how that goes against the mavs. Many thought they had the 2 best players in that series too.

i agree bron is most ready for the pressure...but remember for decent period of time he used to crumble under pressure...lets keep that in mind when talking abt other players in high stakes moments. i believe as guys get older they dont only get better from a skillset and decision making standpoint, but they also become more mature as a person and confident n comfortable as an elder statesman in the league

I don't know if I agree with 2020 Bron being an elite defender at least on ball, but for help defense he did his work for the playoffs. Other things about the 2020 Lakers: Avery Bradley was their best perimeter defender and he didn't even play in the bubble. The Lakers also had Rondo working his magic on the offensive and defensive end. Dwight Howard also was in the best shape of his career and determined to redeem himself. He was in great cardio shape and even capable of switching onto to smaller perimeter players. The 2020 Lakers are like an anti small ball team they have bigger players who can dominate the paint and glass like Bron, Davis, and Howard. I could also see Howard playing good defense on Al and Kristops because he was trouble for a young Yokic and Bam.

Bron's dominance this late in the game when there are no more secrets in terms of basketball is an argument for goat. Every player and ever team has every advantage in terms of film, nutrition, facilities, medical staff, etc Bron still all-NBA

FULL '20 LAKERS v '24 Cs ANALYSIS: 1. the lakers 2020 run was not tougher than the Cs. cj n dame blazers were always trash. all time playoff choker harden n maybe the most erratic decision making guard of all time in russ is not v formidable team (the peak of those houston teams ended in '17 or '18), n those nuggets didnt have ag to cover up jokic's defensive weakness. jokic wasnt even jokic on offense then - he averaged less than 20ppg that yr. murray's outlier shooting variance died in that series. n the whole time half the guys in the bubble didnt even want to be there 2. lets talk abt match ups: first we have to remember celtics are v smart abt their drive n kick scheme its not just guys trying to beat their matchups...they are EXCELLENT n RELENTLESS hunting the matchups they want. so lets highlight the matchups that are v favorable for boston. - kp v any1 but ad - jt v any1 but mayb bron at that time. i'll double click on this bc i already know youll say ad can switch on to him. jt in 2020 had his real coming out stretch v the clips right before the allstar and then their first game out of the break he goes for 41 on the lakers. n abt 15 of that 41 was on ad. he killed em on 3 levels. stepback 3s, blow bys to the rim and middys. please go watch jts highlights from that game. as a matter of fact ad has never rly been able to guard jt from that point. n jt is better now. so again only bron stands a chance to guard jt - jb v kcp n danny green is bbq chicken. hes too big n strong ... maybe even for bron too. im pretty sure jb dunked on bron in the 1st celtics v lakers match up in '20. he blew by danny green n boomed it on brons head. imagine what '24 jb would do - derrick n jrue would kill v the lakers tilted defense after the advantage was created by the matchups above but they also would get up a lot of 3s... - the coaching match up is another one we need to examine. mazulla ball n the style the cs play would help cs win on the margins by getting up more shots and way more 3s (higher value shots). esp compared to the '20 lakers (it was ads best shooting szn but he was v low volume, bron shot it 35% from 3 that yr. caruso shot it 33% from 3, 28% over their playoff run. kcp shot it well but on low volume. danny green was their only real volume 3pt shooting guy in their starting/closing lineup). mazulla clears vogel pretty easily thats offensively defensively, - kp stuggles v super big n strong bigs not guys like ad HOWEVER the cs most likely put him on caruso and have him help off n clog the lane - '24 jt is more than capable of slowing ad in iso nd bc kp is in help he can stay attached to ad on bron drives in order to take away lobs, dump offs for layups n dunks. and hes mobile so he can obviously move w him on the perimeter - '24 jb is as strong n quicker than '20 bron. bron is bron n will get his based on his understanding of the game but '24 jaylen is more than capable of slowing him v his playoff averages/efficiency - jb n jt are switchable v ad n bron.that should severely limit the lakers' best offensive action. the jays are solid getting over screens too esp bc if theyre chasing over the top it means ad isnt the screener which limits bron's options while being funneled downhill right into kp's help - kcp n caruso have absolutely NOTHING for jrue n dwhite '24 Cs are WAY more versatile. the match ups CLEARLY favor the Cs! bruh the '20 lakers struggled against the '20 celtics who started kemba n daniel theis (in their two match ups lakers won a game by 2 and then got blown tf out by 32 in the first match up). v the celtics in '20 bron averaged 22ppg on 45%fg ad averaged 20.5ppg on 40%fg w jt n jb as their primary defenders. but dont trust the numbers alone right, go watch those games. the jays guarded bron n ad fairly easily '24 jays would do an even better job.... '20 lakers would DROWN against '24 celtics. Cs in 5/6!

I agree with most of what you said until the end. Like I'm worried about people who think that other people don't care about what you got going on or they only care about themselves. That's a weird self centered attitude to have. I agree excuses in competition serve no purpose to your opponent but life is different.

In regards to Embiid saying he could have been the GOAT and your comment that nobody cares about excuses, people don't care because he hasn't been great enough for people to take the excuses seriously. Had he played out of his mind on the way to a ring or had sustained playoff successes he wouldn't even need to make excuses because fans would be making them for him, but he hasn't shown people any good reason to think he had GOAT potential so nobody takes that claim seriously.

Mailbag: Once KD comes back, who on USA do you think will see less time? Would it be Booker or Tatum? I think those are the only two that sound reasons. Booker hasn’t necessarily been amazing but I think that while playing with better offensive options than him, he’s been solid, especially while having to focus more on defense. I think Tatum in theory is the better fit and can provide more things but I feel that he has had some bad spots in these exhibitions. What would you do?

Booker set the NBA combine record for the shuttle run, he's not a leaper but absolutely has elite start stop ability

If Lebron was on the Knicks they’d be title favorites

Devin Booker really isn't suited for the Olympics

I'd love to see Haliburton start at PG to increase the pace and ball movement to start the game. Pairing him with Steph coming off screens could be lethal

Well Jason--and this is not because I'm a Celtics fan--you need to have Jrue and DWhite in those lineups (somewhere). Those guys are too good at doing smart, little things that compliment a team, no matter who, what, when and where.

Right on. Kerr was given directives on staffing. It's a damn shame. Given the constraints, in a single-elimination format, USA may very well lose the gold.

2020 Lakers was next level

LEBRON IS THE GOAT 🐐

I don’t mind him saying that the 2020 Lakers can beat the 2024 Celtics. It’s all hypothetical anyways. At the time, AD and Bron were playing top 5 Basketball but when he said “handily” as if the Celtics wasn’t historically great from top to bottom is my issue. Handily is what the Celtics did to Dallas. The Lakers isn’t doing that to this Celtics team

2020 Lakers are a tough matchup for 2024 Celtics, would have been a great series for sure. The way Lebron and Davis were at that time i probably get the Lakers 4-2.

Lebron is officially the most Versatile bball player EVER. So greatful to see him play.

Winning by 1 point or 100 points, it still only counts as 1 win.

It’s not just the level of talent… it’s the continuity of Germany and Serbia… They have played many games together…

I would never have thought that the Lakers of 2020 beating the Celtics of this year would be a hot take. Is the idea that travel would make it harder on the Lakers or is it anti LeBron shenanigans at play?

Lebron, curry and embiid are defensive liabilities. They cannot have all three on the court together. Cmon kerr

I love the 2020 lakers take. I always tell people… that team could have won with any coach… they had everything… and it emphasizes the failures of the organization this summer. You put defenders around Lebron and AD and they can beat anyone…. They need rim protection, and switch ability on defense and the west has just gotten better around them. We are just going to watch Lebron fade into the twilight and that is Jeanie’s fault.

When will Kerr have the courage to kick Embid out of the starting

the amount of ads on this video was absurd

Don’t know why my favourite player Steph struggling shooting the ball now

1. LeBron is a massive liability on defense. He gives up as many points as he creates. Every time the non-Lebron unit increased the lead against South Sudan and Germany, that lead disappears when LeBron re-entered the game. I've been watching every Lakers game since he joined them. In Save his second season, they never get any easy wins or blowouts because of him. Even the worst teams in the NBA can get easy wins sometimes. 2. LeBron is a good closer now in exhibition games but he will be much less effective in elimination games. 3. European teams play good collective defense but their players are average defenders individually and are small, and LeBron knows that. 4. Regarding the GOAT thing, this is decided by comparing players traits at their peak NOT by what they do when they are way past their prime and playing with a team of all-stars against G-league and reserve NBA players. 5. If AD gets injured, Team USA is not returning with gold.

Embiid is not the smartest dude and regardless of Team USA's situation he should just keep his food hole shut. He's either crying about the lack of respect, begging for an MVP(which he finally got outta pitty imo), flopping to get to the charity stripe and selling out his teammates. Are people really surprised at his comments? He dissed his home country to play for Team USA as it was his best chance to snag Gold.....smh at this dude's behavior.

Even if Embid was promised a starting spot, Kerr should bring him off the bench if it becomes necessary.

So much respect to you for the W Lebron takes, I love the line about not letting the mess of the Lakers distract from the fact that he is top five. The lakers are a dumpster fire carried by bron and ad.

Embiid hater

MAILBAG: Hi Jason, thanks as always for your content! As a depressed Pistons fan, last season was an absolute shitshow & really tested my love of the game - however I think this offseason was quietly one of the best considering the overhaul of the front office & getting Fred Vinson to help Ivey/Ausar/Holland improve their jumpshot. People clowned the Tobias contract & THJ trade (I understand when you win 14 games we don't deserve the benefit of the doubt), but you've always mentioned the importance of solid vets that can still play at a high level to help a young core develop good habits. When you're assessing rebuilding teams, what signs apart from the W-L column are you looking at to see if that group is on the right path to take the next step, and do you think this Pistons group can take a Houston-esque leap towards respectability e.g. 30 odd wins?

Can’t wait to see what this team looks like when KD comes back.

The first mistake u made is saying that since the Lakers started 24~3 they would have won 64 games. The grind of a full season has to be factored in. You are omitting it.

the thing is bron didnt play for the same team so your analogy doesnt make sense

And KD hasn't played yet.....Can't wait to see how he elevates the Team. Steph's not standing out like I thought he would. No wonder USA basketball never put an Olympic team in his hands like they've done with Kevin Durant. Enjoy them now Folks. This is our last best chance at guaranteed gold. Sun is setting on American Empire geopolitically and basketball wise too.

I'm a Celtics fans, and I don't think it's absurd to consider the 2020 Lakers might be better. My only caveat against them has always been to ask, if the season weren't interrupted, do they manage to stay healthy the entire way? I don't say that in hindsight--I thought it THEN.

Rob Pelinka looks so bad right now. Bron and AD look like the 2 best players on team USA and yet the Lakers struggled with both of them healthy all season.