nbc pimping the beach volleyball in primetime deserves a thread of its own. there's only one reason that sport is on television, and LBJ is staring right at it.
Welcome to the club. I've been a fan since he was a rookie. He's no more overrated than Kobe, LeBron or anyone else. On this forum, Wade is underrated because there are so many who simply refuse to see or acknowledge how great he is.
Why is Carmelo Anthony on the team? He gets exposed on this team, and is terrible on D. There are several people that probably should not be on the team. Melo Redd Boozer Kidd But they are good enough for Gold. DD
I just think Melo is vastly overated, his game is all on one side of the ball, if anyone has a player that he is guarding that is skilled it could be trouble for the USA..... DD
Gotta have Redd -- in general, our most reliable long-range shooter. If anything, we need a couple more zone-busters. If we have one of those cold games, we could still be in trouble in the medal round.
Actually I think Michael Redd absolutely deserves to be on the team. They needed outside shooters and he has a great outside shot. He was doing really well in the minutes he got in the exhibition games. The problem is, they have to find time for him behind Wade and Kobe (not to mention Deron playing the 2 as well). Melo isn't playing well at all in these games. Hopefully he starts to step it up in these last two pool games.
Doug Collins brought up an interesting point during the game, when Kobe stepped back and hit that 3pt shot he mentioned that the 20'6" line is a harder shot for the USA because they are not comfortable shooting from there as they don't practice it as much as the NBA 3pt shot. This is a very valid point, IMO......players are used to shooting from longer range and are more comfortable doing that. Maybe they should step back a bit on their 3s..... DD
Who else would you have on the team, Kevin Durant? He was playing really good last year and then great in 2006. Obviously this is not what was expected of Melo and he's not really in that great of shape, but I'd rather have him than a Kevin Durant. There's no one else, Stoudemire chose not to play, Battier is injured, and the list of great players goes on and on until you get to the Kevin Durants and Kirk Hinrichs.
No that is a fair point. And Durant might be interesting because he is the future of the USA basketball.... I will say that I think the USA should have found a spot for Brandon Roy ... DD
That will probably help Redd and Bryant the most. Williams is a great mid-range shooter along with Paul. LeBron doesn't really shoot that many 3's anyways so it doesn't matter for him and for that 3 pt line is like a mid-range shot in the NBA for Dwyane Wade, so it's good for him. After that, there's only Redd and Bryant and yeah it would support them the most to step back a little bit when shooting the 3. It will give more of an open look too.
Roy just went through Surgery lol.. He couldn't have played anyway, Durant has no experience, just 1 year of NBA experience with one of the worst teams in the NBA. Yeah he will be good for the future, but come on this is the Olympics. You can't rely on unproven players yet.
For those who didn't watch the game and just read this thread would have thought VSpan played horribly. Fact was, he shot poorly but had a few highlights breaking Kobe's ankle to the hoops and scored as well as came from behind steal. The game basically summarized what we all know about him as a player, penetration and hustle, something JVG really didn't optimized instead making him a jump shooter something he really not good at. So scoring against Boozer an NBA all-star was considered garbage points, what does that make Boozer? Garbage's garbage? Amare's last 2 international appearances had been a flop so i don't think he will fare much better this time has he joined the team. Overall, a very very good game. I really hope the USA will meet Greece again in the later round! Good night!
After these Olympics the US will reload the team for the next WC-Olympics cycle, probably wil include Roy and others. Kobe will probably step back, LeBron I doubt will be in for another 4 years. I woudn't be surprised if Wade came back though, he's kind of a gamer.
