wow brazil is stacked with nba vets: nene, barbosa, varejao, splittler. they are keeping this one close. still lol at kobe's comment about 2012 better than orig dream team
best thing about world basketball is seeing superb individual defensive efforts by star players because they don't have to conserve for offense.
chemistry isn't there yet,yes.and i'm not sure of how well ranked the brasil team is in fiba competition but I assume this marginal win doesn't bode well for team usa?
USA will still destroy the field of competition. Remember that they haven't had much practice. Not only that but this team is a lot different than the 08 team. Chemistry will take a while.
As a Brazilian and a Rocket fan, I'm proud of my team. USA is, without a doubt, the best team in the world because it has the best players in the world. Still, Brazil, in my opinion, had more will than USA, considering that NBA players are far more athlethic than the ones who play in another league. It was a joy to watch my country competing against such good players. I just wish that one day I can see a Rocket out there
Lame game. I think I counted at least four missed lobs, dunks, and open layups. The outside shooting was atrocious, and this Team USA normally isn't even bad at 3's. I also couldn't believe how much this team stacked with NBA superstars decided to settle for the jumper. One thing that really got me at the end was the crowd chanting "We want Davis!" while the USA was barely hanging on to double digit lead. It's like the audience was satisfied merely with winning this exhibition, and not concerned at all that Team USA was struggling with a Brazilian team that might not even medal in the Olympics. And Kobe? This ain't no Dream Team. So far, it's not even the 2008 Redeem Team.
talent is talent but chemisty goes a long way (look at college basketball). usa had little practice together and was playing an experienced team with chemistry. people need to calm down. the dream team didn't play anybody that why their margin of victories was so high.
I still think they'll win the gold, but they need to take this game as a wake up call. And those DC fans ought to realize that their standards have slipped too much.
What's so bad about putting Davis in the game? I guess every game is an important one, but to be honest, the Olympics haven't started yet. Coach K should have given Davis some minutes at the start of the game / the first half, just to give Davis a feel for what international ball plays like. Davis IS on the team, and does have length that disrupts players. I mean, what if Chandler goes out with a minor injury, and the team absolutely needs length in the frontcourt, and James / Durant isn't long enough?
I have no problem with Davis playing, as part of the regular rotation, or spot minutes in the middle of the game. My problem was the crowd treating it like a joke, and using him as a human victory cigar with 1:30 left on the clock. As if they weren't disappointed that Team USA won a close game, rather than getting the blowout that they should've gotten.
Well, shux. Rep to ANYONE that can direct me to the boxscore for these games!! I know they are "only exhibition" but SOME site has to have it! Either I'm drunk and high as **** (I'm totally sober), or they are nowhere to be seen. Thanks in advance!
the nba would be unbearable if they allowed the kind of contact fiba allows. so much bad defense is saved by just straight up grabbing and reaching (especially the reaching) that it's ridiculous and hurts the quality of the game. offense would plummet if you could just reach in and body block people on drives with no call. of course the offense gets a little advantage with how much you are allowed to move on picks in international ball. just some straight wipeouts going on out there with no call. as for this game, just got finished watching the rest of the game. horribly ugly game. no one but lebron made anything, no one hit 3's, i think there were 4 dunks and alley-oops missed and some super careless turnovers and botched easy opportunities. and very stagnant offense. no bosh and wade is a big deal for this team. team USA certainly had to work to keep this game as close as they did, especially considering they got brazil down to under 5 on the shotclock on seemingly half their possessions. kobe doesn't do anything but face up and take contested jumpers. durant being on like he was in the world championships will be huge. if he's not, there's not a lot to spread the court. and man i forgot how taxing watching FIBA refs is. a monkey throwing darts at a dartboard full of calls would be more consistent and coherent. early in the 2nd half durant got a block on barbosa where it looked like he basically chopped him on the back first and there was no call, but late in the game chandler probably gets the cleanest block all night on a barbosa drive and they blow the whistle. and you never know what little ticky tack reach in will be called amidst the overly generous contact allowed the rest of the time on the perimeter. it's like every trip up the court is a new game.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/olympics/8...s-dirty-secrets-olympic-village-espn-magazine Apparently the Olympic Games are a huge orgy. Wish ball player do you think will do the best?
