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Post by RaidersFan92 on Sept 11, 2021 10:21:45 GMT
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D44
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Post by D44 on Sept 11, 2021 11:46:19 GMT
Will probably watch it out of (morbid) curiosity since it's only a few quid.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2021 13:53:00 GMT
Big game tonight fellas. Interesting that the BBL hype machine is quiet. Marques Teague is a good addition but as we’ve seen with DeAndre, former NBA jouneneymen is probably not the answer. Also, they could really use a real coach? Not a dig, but is this dude real?? Do we really think he will get this team past the qualifiers? They have to win three games. I guess we all know what the answer is. But good luck to him. Seems like a nice guy that really loves his team.
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Post by LTFan on Sept 13, 2021 13:54:14 GMT
First basketball of the new season (for me at least), I'll certainly be watching.  For those interested, here's my beginners guide... The format of the Basketball Champions League Qualification Round these season sees 4 'tournaments' (groups of teams) played throughout this week with the 4 winners of the Qualification Round tournaments qualifying for the Regular Season, joining the 28 directly qualified teams. London Lions were drawn into Group B, along with Bakken Bears (DEN), Belfius Mons-Hainaut (BEL), De’Longhi Treviso (ITA), Tsmoki-Minsk (BLR) and ZZ Leiden (NED). Schedule is as follows, with all games being played in Trevisio, Italy: Quarter-Final 1 (Mon): London Lions vs De’Longhi Treviso Quarter-Final 2 (Mon): Belfius Mons-Hainaut vs ZZ Leiden Semi-Final 1 (Weds): Bakken Bears vs Winner of London Lions/De’Longhi Trevisos Semi-Final 2 (Weds): Tsmoki-Minsk vs Winner of Belfius Mons-Hainaut/ZZ Leiden Final (Fri): Winner SF1 – Winner SF2 If the London Lions don't qualify for the Regular Season, i.e. they lose any of the above games, they'll automatically qualify for the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season, which starts mid-October. |
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Post by LTFan on Sept 13, 2021 14:04:33 GMT
Big game tonight fellas. Interesting that the BBL hype machine is quiet. Marques Teague is a good addition but as we’ve seen with DeAndre, former NBA jouneneymen is probably not the answer. Also, they could really use a real coach? Not a dig, but is this dude real?? Do we really think he will get this team past the qualifiers? They have to win three games. I guess we all know what the answer is. But good luck to him. Seems like a nice guy that really loves his team. I feel bad for saying this... but I really hope Lions don't qualify for the Champions League regular season. They'd then qualify for the FIBA Europe Cup, which I feel would be much more competitive for them. Then after maybe a few successful seasons in the Europe Cup we could look at the Basketball Champions League. I'm still catching up of my off-season news, but as for Vince - in my opinion, he's one of the best people in British basketball and I would hate to see him no longer associated to the Lions. He is the London Lions, and deservedly so. But, personally if I were the new owners I'd have brought in a new head coach instead of a new GM, and moved Vince into a GM-type role. There aren't many involved in the BBL that know British Basketball like he does... so he'd make a good GM for the team, and then have a new head coach to take care of the on-court business. Just my opinion of course. And from my few personal interactions with him, yes, he is a really nice guy and does really love his team. |
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Post by LTFan on Sept 13, 2021 14:06:29 GMT
Preview of tonight's game, from here: www.championsleague.basketball/21-22/qualifiers/news/treviso-group-foxes-lions-dragons-and-bears-trying-to-avoid-nutri-bulletsLondon Lions v Nutribullet Treviso We haven't had a British team in the Regular Season yet. London Lions are set to make it happen in 2021-22, but their assignment is about as tough as it gets, having to play against ambitious hosts in their own arena in a do-or-die game to start the tournament. Dirk Williams and Justin Robinson led the way last season, and the team got another big name in Marquis Teague, a former member of the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets and Memphis Grizzlies from 2012 to 2018. But not even Teague could say he was the biggest prospect on this squad. That honor belongs to Joshua Ward-Hibbert, a Grand Slam winner at 18, claiming the 2012 Australian Open Boys' doubles title. A year earlier, Ward-Hibbert made history in Wimbledon, clocking the fastest serve by a junior player ever, serving at 133mph/214kph. He switched to basketball and it seems like a smart decision, as he now gets to show what he's capable of at international level. While the Lions are about to experience this level of basketball for the first time, Nutribullet Treviso put together a team with loads of experience, led by coach Max Menetti, a legend in Reggio Emilia who is on his way to establish a similar status in Treviso since taking over in 2018. Treviso are coming into the tournament with four wins in four games in the Italian Supercup, clicking together early on in the season. Nicola Akele, Giordano Bortolani and Davide Casarin are giving the team good Italian vibes as they are all just starting their careers, and international help is coming from DeWayne Russell, Henry Sims, Aaron Jones, Michal Sokolowski and Tomas Dimsa. Having a big coaching name like Menetti, and the mix of international experience and domestic youth, it doesn't seem like the pressure could slow down this Nutribullet. With the fans in the stands, it could be a starting point for something big in Treviso basketball history. WATCH THE GAME LIVE TONIGHT FOR 3.99€ HERE:www.fanseat.com/livestream?id=s-london-lions-nutribullet-treviso-basket-w6ylzd |
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Post by inaminute23 on Sept 13, 2021 14:28:47 GMT
I think if you use a VPN you can watch on Youtube
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2021 14:32:07 GMT
Big game tonight fellas. Interesting that the BBL hype machine is quiet. Marques Teague is a good addition but as we’ve seen with DeAndre, former NBA jouneneymen is probably not the answer. Also, they could really use a real coach? Not a dig, but is this dude real?? Do we really think he will get this team past the qualifiers? They have to win three games. I guess we all know what the answer is. But good luck to him. Seems like a nice guy that really loves his team. Why would the BBL hype machine [whatever that is] be interested? It's not their competition. As for the rest of your drivel, if Lions won EuroLeague you'd find fault. Whatever your problem with British basketball is, your constant bleating is utterly tedious and clearly disingenuous. |
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Post by drivethebody on Sept 13, 2021 15:00:46 GMT
Rob Youngblood now announced as assistant coach (after being there since Laurent Irish got himself banned from the game).
Took a while to announce that
Within 20 points of Treviso would be a good first game out
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Post by dandayr on Sept 13, 2021 17:01:46 GMT
Big game tonight fellas. Interesting that the BBL hype machine is quiet. Marques Teague is a good addition but as we’ve seen with DeAndre, former NBA jouneneymen is probably not the answer. Also, they could really use a real coach? Not a dig, but is this dude real?? Do we really think he will get this team past the qualifiers? They have to win three games. I guess we all know what the answer is. But good luck to him. Seems like a nice guy that really loves his team. have they been quiet though? I have hardly been on my phone today - but did see 2 tweets by the BBL about this game plus they retweeted at least one by Lions as i saw that also. seems an appropriate level. |
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Post by Steven McTowelie on Sept 13, 2021 17:09:31 GMT
I'm not sure why people are being asked to pay anything for this. The first two qualifiers today were both streamed free on Youtube. If you don't mind watching in slightly reduced quality, I imagine there will at least be a free stream available on Bet365.
Don't think Lions fans need to worry about qualifying. I'll be surprised if they get close tonight. Unlike last season when they were handed a pretty kind draw and probably should have done better, I think they've got a very tough assignment this time around. Treviso were good enough to finish 6th in the Italian league last year. They've retained a decent chunk of that roster and look to have added a couple of good ones. Dimsa played for one of the better ACB sides last season. Averaged 10 ppg in Eurocup. Sims had a decently productive stint with the Sixers a few years back and has been a big time performer at anything beneath that level. He's another one of those hopelessly washed up, 30+ former NBA guys that serious European teams don't sign *cough* But I reckon he's gonna look a good player in this sort of company. They look a lot stronger on paper than the Lithuanians did. Probably favourites to qualify from this section. And is anyone really confident that Lions are a better team now than they were this time last year? I'm not. I'm not sure Washburn is going to be as good as Liggins. And there's no big guy on this year's roster with anything like Mullens' pedigree. I'm not even sure who the starting 4 is. I don't think they have a starter calibre player at that spot.
We should probably judge this Lions team based on how they do in Europe Cup. I'm expecting this one to go quite badly. If you're more bullish on their chances tonight than I am they can be backed at about 9/1. Roughly 17 point underdogs.
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Post by LTFan on Sept 13, 2021 18:00:05 GMT
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2021 18:04:14 GMT
Looking at the roster, they have 6 Americans on a squad of 13?? Is that the squad for FIBA Europe also? Seems an awful waste of cash when they could easily got same results with an all British team. At least it would have given good minutes to up and coming Brits. At some point the money will run out so I guess let’s enjoy while it lasts.
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Post by saintpat on Sept 13, 2021 18:25:39 GMT
I'll be more than mildly shocked if we win but if you're not in it, you've got absolutely no chance.
I still believe we're a big bruising European 4 short at the very least &
I'm not convinced signing mainly Americans who've never played in European competitions is a wise move, I'd have thought signing Americans with Champions league/Eurocup experience would have been better but I'll be very happy if I'm proved totally wrong!
I'm certainly looking forward to watching Lions, just wish I'd managed to watch it in Treviso!
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Post by edware on Sept 13, 2021 19:47:26 GMT
Admittedly i've only watched the 2nd half but Lions have very little to offer in the half court offence. They don't appear to have much of a game plan other than "kick it to the wing, see what happens". Too much over dribbling and 1 on 1.Talent they have will see them through to an extent in the bbl but this approach won't get it done at this level. Also giving up way too much on the defensive glass.
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Post by drivethebody on Sept 13, 2021 21:17:00 GMT
Treviso never had to get out of second gear.
London have 4 coaches at least but seemed like rabbits in the headlights - where were the leaders?
Even the bench looked bored of it all offering no encouragement
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2021 22:00:21 GMT
At some point the money will run out so I guess let’s enjoy while it lasts. You keep saying that. It still hasn't happened. |
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Post by casualhook on Sept 13, 2021 22:37:09 GMT
Went about as expected, think the Europe cup will be a more realistic chance to be competitive
Can we stop calling it the Euro cup as well please, seen it called that way too much
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2021 5:30:00 GMT
Wow. They lost by almost 30pts!! Can’t see why they would continue in FIBA Cup as it certainly won’t stem financial losses. Lion were just sloppy from the beginning and never broke out. Without Cugini, would have been far worse. They are better off playing in the BBL only as they truly have shown they are not remotely close to competing even in the third level European competition.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2021 6:26:38 GMT
Can’t see why they would continue in FIBA Cup as it certainly won’t stem financial losses. You worry too much about their money. I used to worry about Leopards' money. Now I worry about Wolves' money thanks to the college believing a kids' basketball club apparently believing we can plug their black hole. You don't need to worry about Lions' money, they have plenty of staff and don't need a bloke who lives under a bridge to help. Whether they were in the Champions League or the Europe Cup makes little financial difference. The former would have given them 14 games, the latter is an initial six games followed by another six of they qualify. So they've probably saved a few quid. Maybe a better conversation would be the women's team they've put together. Almost certainly the biggest budget (in real terms) ever seen in British women's basketball, they have the depth - both with 11 pros and with the academy as back-up - that they could play two WBBL games simultaneously and win them both far more often than not. Chuck in the fact they have the best coach currently in the WBBL and it should be interesting to see how they perform in Europe. your mates at 777 certainly didn't need to enter Europe this season, the fact they were willing to do it when there's absolutely no chance of making money out of the women's game suggests that you really don't need to lay awake at night worrying about cash. Maybe the whole project will go pop in the end. But you could have a couple of years off from here and come back if it starts to go pear-shaped, because they clearly sufficient funds to keep this going for a while. |
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Post by lexumcomp on Sept 14, 2021 8:52:05 GMT
Bizarre Lions are spending the money to play in Europe but won't employ a proper coaching staff.
Surely Vince needs to step back from head coaching?
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Post by notoriousbigz on Sept 14, 2021 9:12:01 GMT
Wow. They lost by almost 30pts!! Can’t see why they would continue in FIBA Cup as it certainly won’t stem financial losses. Lion were just sloppy from the beginning and never broke out. Without Cugini, would have been far worse. They are better off playing in the BBL only as they truly have shown they are not remotely close to competing even in the third level European competition. Why do you keep coming back here if you hate british basketball so much? |
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Post by LTFan on Sept 14, 2021 10:37:53 GMT
Great to watch some basketball again, looking forward to the start of the BBL season next week now...
As for last nights game, let's look at it like grown ups...
Treviso beat Lions by 27 points. Expectation was they they'd beat them by about 20, so Lions slightly underperformed in that respect.
Treviso outplayed Lions in every respect, except perhaps in 3-pointers. I was particularly impressed with how they managed their fouls, using them to the limit for their benefit and never getting into any foul trouble.
But let's be honest, no one on here thought the Basketball Champions League is the right level of pan-European competition for Lions (or anyone in the BBL for that matter). It'll be good to see how they perform in the Europe Cup. They're not going to win it, or even come close. But getting out of the initial groups round is probably the right goal to aim for in their first year competing. Remeber the new owners have always said they're looking at a 5-10 year plan. I'm looking forward to it.
Looking at the new Lions line-up, Lorenzo Cugini looks good. As does Isaiah Reese. But you can't really make any conclusions on just one game. It'll be interesting to see how this team works and who shines once the BBL gets underway.
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Post by Steven McTowelie on Sept 14, 2021 14:21:30 GMT
Big bruising power forwards who move like tractors and have no perimeter game aren't really much of a thing any more Pat. I do think Lions lack a real quality option at that spot but if you're waiting for them to sign the type of player you apparently want I think you'll be waiting a long time.
It would appear Lions have actually added another forward to this roster without telling anyone about it. Unless I missed the announcement? I'd certainly not heard any mention of Aurimas Majauskas prior to last night. For Europe only I assume. Makes some sense as a fit but not sure he's going to be a big difference maker.
Game went roughly as bad as expected. Pressure's on to deliver something in Europe Cup now.
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Post by drivethebody on Sept 14, 2021 14:41:26 GMT
I wonder why London enter it- a vanity project perhaps?
Leicester and Newcastle must love the fact as it must reduce the confidence of the team to play so badly and get well beaten?
I’d have thought a new (better) coach and assistant (to replace the bewildering 5 they currently use) would have been a better spend?
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