By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
#CopaTutoMarchand @CanBball Bennett, Stauskas, Nicholson, Wiggins and Joseph all 1st round NBA picks. pic.twitter.com/hv4Ufuz1zb
— LuisMurphy@MBSports (@LuisMurphy) August 27, 2015
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The calendar may have flipped to September but we’re still in the dog days of summer as far as basketball is concerned. Many NBA fans starving for meaningful on-court action have checked out the FIBA Americas, a tournament to help determine determine which teams in the Western Hemisphere will qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games.
With the USA already qualified and not participating, Sixers fans might as well grab a Tim Hortons doughnut and some poutine fries and adopt Team Canada as their squad. In addition to getting to see Andrew Wiggins dunk on ex-Sixer, Andres Nocioni, the main reason to wave the maple leaf flag is to get a first-hand look at recent acquisition, Nik Stauskas.
Unfortunately, while Sixers fans have already seemingly penciled him in as a starter at shooting guard for years to come, the fact remains that Sauce Castillo has struggled at the professional level. His summer with Team Canada has done nothing to dissaude that notion, as Stauskas averaged just 4.5 ppg on 28.6% shooting in the recent Marchand Cup, an international warm-up tournament for the FIBA Americas, and was quiet in yesterday’s FIBA Americas opener.
Yesterday afternoon, Canada lost 94-87 to Argentina in their opening game of the tournament, falling victim to 35 points and 13 rebounds from Luis Scola (who absolutely crushes it in international competition if you weren’t aware). Stauskas had another nondescript performance, scoring just 7 points (all in the first half) on 2-5 shooting (1-3 3PT, 2-2 FT). Coach Jay Triano opted to go with the hot hand of former Baylor sharpshooter (and his nephew) Brady Heslip in Stauskas’ place for a good portion of the second half.
With Canada featuring a full starting lineup of NBA talent, including former no. 1 picks Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett (who led Team Canada yesterday with 13 points apiece), Kelly Olynyk, and Cory Joseph, it would be nice to see Stauskas not only hold his own, but even have a standout performance or two. Canada next faces Cuba today at 3:30pm, Venezuela tomorrow at 7:00pm, and Puerto Rico Friday at 7:00pm. We’ll check back in at some point to see if Sauce can get anything cooking.
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