[Bill Simmons] It's hard to believe a squad featuring Rudy Gobert, Evan Fournier, and Nic Batum crashed out of a basketball tournament like this. I'm going to need some time to process it

Digestion & Gut Health
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https://x.com/billsimmons/status/1695835055548187032?s=46&t=ae-Q38M0hKIllff2mVkNGg Latvia has officially ended France’s hopes for a Basketball World Cup title. This result ensures France won’t finish higher than third in Group H, ending their run for the Naismith Trophy.

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This same team led by those three guys beat the US recently and made the EuroBasket finals last year. But sure, instead of talking about the actual basketball reasons for the loss, let’s just make the millionth Rudy Gobert joke and drag Fournier (who was great) and Batum (a winner) into it for no reason.

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That trio literally defeated Team USA in the previous World Cup. Gobert put up 21 and 16, Fournier had 22-4-5, and Ntilikina even outscored Jaylen Brown.

edit: For all the Simmons fans shouting ‘THAT WAS 4 YEARS AGO!’, this same core beat the US in the Olympic group stage as well.

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Is he trying to make a joke? I honestly don’t get it.

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The Kristaps Porzingis Ewing Theory.

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France has been one of the most consistent FIBA teams over the last decade, consistently winning medals. They might lack motivation this year since they’ve already qualified for the Olympics as the host nation.

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Didn’t France beat them in the 2021 Olympic group stage? I saw a recap on Finnesa about their recent head-to-head record. Simmons has a short memory.