Comments on: Has the United States Made the Adjustment?

By: Mike C.

Mike C. — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:02:12 +0000

In Miller’s Defense he has 6 turnovers in 6 games, thats not TOO shabby. he is the only US player to foul out of a game though. He serves his purpose, and i hope he isn’t replaced for the Olympics next summer.

Wade is going to be on the roster (attempting to break the record for most traveling violations in a game) so there goes D. Williams. Bosh is also pretty much a lock to be on the Beijing roster so there goes either Prince or Chandler by my estimation. I’d like to see Oden on the roster taking Chandlers minutes, though we don’t know how good Oden is going to be in the NBA, I bet he could offer just as much Defense as Chandler and get a guy in there who knows how to score with the back to the basket. (Bosh is more of a finesse midrange player, doesn’t like to bang it on the inside)

When Team USA is playing unselfish team basketball they are unbeatable. we saw tonight against Puerto Rico when US’s shots weren’t falling they reverted back to the 1 on 1 NBA style, and it doesn’t work against these international teams. The unselfish play by the teams leaders started to pick apart the PR defense and once that happened it was over.(speaking of leadership anyone else catch Kobe explaining to Amare how zone defense worked in the halftime shpeal)Having our marquee players buy into a Team philosophy is not only entertaining as hell, but (forgive me for sounding like Bill Walton) its also beautiful thing to watch as a fan of the game of basketball. I smile like a little kid any time I see Howard catch a pass off of someone else’s drive only to leave a pile of bodies in his wake as he seemingly almost brings the whole hoops down.

All in all, I don’t see any real holes in team USA, besides what I’ve all ready said about a big who can create his own shot inside when the outside shooting isn’t working, but in the last few games I’ve seen both Kobe and Carmello step up and back guys down in the post to get the high % shots up. I hope by the time we play Greece someones taught Amare how to defend the screen and roll, but even if we don’t play stellar defense, as long as we stick to a team game we can probably outscore any team we play.

On another note, does anyone else prefer these FIBA games to NBA basketball? I’ve been following Olympic basketball and the FIBA world games very closely since 2000 (god bless NBAtv) and while the level of sheer athleticism is lower on these other teams their basketball IQ for some of them is way above some of our players (for example they understand how zone defense works) These are games played by TEAMS and not stars for the most part. I also like a lot of their rule differences. I love the goaltending rule, imagine Lee a guy whose all ready all over the glass being allowed to take it off the rim, or just how many more times guys will get dunked on if the balls live once it hits the rim instead of having to wait for it to either go in or roll out. The shorter court makes for a faster game. A closer 3pt shot = higher scoring games. Even the trapezoid lane has grown on me. I doubt it will ever happen but as long as Stern is the commissioner I can dream.

By: Hudson River

Hudson River — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:13:19 +0000

Although I think Bill Walton is a lunatic (although hilarious)he made a good point about the difference between this team and teams of year’s past is Jason Kidd and the fact that they have 3 true point guards on their team (Chauncey Billups and Deron Williams). The shooting, Dwight Howard and Amare manhandling the other team down low, and as is the addition of good defensive players (Kobe, Prince, Billups etc…)are all very important towards the team’s success, but the point guard play leads to team unity, and when the players on the roster are motivated, they could beat every team by 30 including Argentina, Spain, Greece, Brazil and all the other powerhouses of the world.

On another note, doesn’t Mike Miller look god-awful next to all the other top-notch USA players? He commits so many turnovers and does nothing really productive unless hes hitting 3s and playing defense.

By: JK47

JK47 — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:45:26 +0000

This version of the team also plays much better perimeter defense than the last few Dream Teams in my opinion. You throw Billups, Kobe and Tayshaun out there and that’s some pretty hellacious perimeter defense.

By: jon abbey

jon abbey — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:52:28 +0000

Chad Ford had the solution a couple of competitions back, one that makes so much sense to me that I think it’s crazy that they haven’t used it yet.

along with 8 or 9 NBA All-Stars, you pick a few role players who play all the time in Europe and who are comfortable with the different rules, primarily shooters. I’m sure the article is around somewhere, two guys I remember him suggesting were Trajon Langdon and Tyus Edney (at the time, of course).

By: Owen

Owen — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 01:34:31 +0000

Dave Berri had a very interesting post recently analyzing the various dream teams. They have gotten steadily worse according to him, until this edition, which is better than the previous two and actually does resemble a dream team…

http://dberri.wordpress.com/2007/08/21/the-dream-team-is-back/

By: Mike C.

Mike C. — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:43:39 +0000

while I think this US team is gonna plow over any other team in this tournament, in the Olympics there will be tougher competition. I like the team, but I’d like to see a big who can create his own shot in the post and not just a finisher just in case or outside shooting inst going in some game. other than that I think this is a gold medal team. I think we can find better players than Williams, Billups, and Chandler, but thats just nitpicking.

By: 94by50

94by50 — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 21:44:45 +0000

(To add: what I meant in the second paragraph is that Miller has strengths that fill weaknesses the US team would have had otherwise – in this case, outside shooting. There has been a consistent effort to create a team with no weaknesses, as opposed to the “All-Star teams” of previous years.)

By: 94by50

94by50 — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 21:32:07 +0000

What distinguishes this edition of USA Basketball from the versions of the early 2000s is that there is organization involved. Players aren’t simply being asked to play or not play for a tournament. They’re asked to make a long-term commitment to the program, and there are enough players involved that it allows the coaches and administrators flexibility in setting up each team.

Also, this version of the team is far more well-rounded than any since 2000. At least, it seems to be. You tell me: would Mike Miller have ever sniffed an invite to play for us internationally before this year? I doubt it.