What can the Rockets learn from International ball?

you're joking right... do i need to post the rules on travelling

 

They do bend the rules for you -- if you're playing against Goliath. It didn't make a difference today though.

 

yes please

 

Surely you jest? While I agree the FIBA refs are more strict on traveling, they turn into a bunch of blind mutes when allowing over the back, and any physical contact against American players. While NBA refs are biased towards star players, at least they aren't openly biased against an entire team.

 

>I'm not proposing a solution to Team USA's problems. I'm asking what >can the Rockets learn and copy from the incredible effectiveness >international teams have negated these NBA star/superstars with a >"different" blend of basketball talent. (I don't think anyone can say >"inferior" any more.) The poll is just a starting point, I'm sure there >are many other issues.


Basically attention to fundamentals and the concept of team play. But then the teams that win it all do undertand that (look at the Pistons vistory over LA).

 

The Rockets (or any team) could learn not to build a team of Tim Duncan, a rookie that barely plays, and 10 variations on the exact same player (that is the no defense, all-athleticism, can't shoot type that is seen on team USA: Marion, Jefferson, Stoudamire, Wade, Odom, James, Anthony, Marbury, Iverson, and Boozer). I'd take any playoff team in the NBA over this year's national team.

 

since i rarely, if ever, see Pued complain about the refs or go into histrionics about such things or make excuses for the good guys (in whatever sport), i'm going to assume that i haven't been blindly patriotic in thinking the refs are tearing us a new one in every game.

we are friggin' getting outshot on free throws by large margins (wasn't it 21 to 7 at one point today?). i wanna say turkey, in the game they shot 35 3's to our 6 still shot more free throws. amazingly, every time the other team drives in a foul is called, then when we're inside all of a sudden international ball allows more contact. ayuso drove straight into 4 people one time and immediately was bailed out with a foul call, arroyo threw himself into odom and got odom fouled out of the game and yet wade takes it in and gets turned sideways by the contact and slams it off the backboard and no whistles are to be heard. at some point you just give up and get frustrated by the whole thing. it's not like we don't have enough problems as it is to contend with. i mean if there was any bigger blatant anti-US call that could've been made than that intentional foul call then i haven't seen it. that was essentially PR's strategy every time we looked like we had a fastbreak, to reach out and grab us. always just a normal foul, take it out of bounds. odom does it. two shots and the ball. hmmmmm.

hell, i'm a huge fan of duke basketball and i see the refs screw the team they're playing night in and night out. it's not hard to see when refs are biased and so far in the pre-Olympics and this first game the refs are making that Lakers-Kings game 6 look down right fair and even.

 

exactly. 3rd tier talent plus all the same type of 3rd tier talent plus the same type of talent including the ability to not shoot equals big problems. it can be overcome, but it's a hell of an uphill climb.

and Smeg, traveling rules are ridiculous. one thing is traveling, another isn't. you so much as head fake or pump fake and traveling is called. shuffle the hell out of your feet catching a pass off a pick? apparently perfectly legal. international rules are as imperfect as NBA rules and FIBA refs just plain suck. plus, there's only 2 and not 3 of them so they get to miss even more calls. yay!

 

The Olympics hasn’t proven anything that we don’t already know. A team full of talent doesn’t mean anything if the players don’t mesh.

 

The Detroit Pistons would be steamrolling the competition right now.

 

The Rockets could learn when you assemble a team you don't just want a team full of stars that will fight over who gets the ball but rather a team that has chemistry together. The game is more than just the individual talent you assemble but how that talent meshes together. But most teams know that already especially after watching a more talented Lakers team get squashed by Detroit. You need players that are willing to accept roles. And you need a team that will that will put their focus on D and not just in looking flashy. The team out there today played like a bunch of indivduals and not a dream team.

The other thing the Rockets could learn from this is they fired probably the best coach at knowing how to get a bunch of players to play like a team. He won in Sydney and he even came in third place in the World championships in 98 with a bunch of scrub CBA players.

 

Pood,

have only seen highlights of the game so far, so can't comment too much

the Greek v Aus game certainly had loads of contact especially in the paint... plenty of banging big bodies

which is pretty consistent for international basketball

Smeg

 

I think today proves that an NBA team built around Gasol, Ginobili, and Arroyo would win the next 15 championships.

 

I think the only way for the US to win in Olympic basketball is to send our NBA finals champ to represent us.

Of course, there are international players on the Finals team so the coach should be given the right to "draft" the replacements for the US team.

Only this way will we not have to rebuilt chemistry from ground up. In fact, it may even make going to the Olympics to represent the US more a honor than a chore.

 

And there's the "nobody knows how to play with each other" factor. I think someone made a good point that a team of All-Stars are so used to taking charge on their regular teams, that when they are playing with so many good players, they're not used to changing their role. If these Olympics were an 82 game season with playoffs, I'm sure that Team USA would eventually gel into a great team.

 

Fundamental basketball is what the Rockets can learn. Learn how to take care of the ball. Learn how to run a full court press. That is all the US needed to do to win the game today.

 

You need a damn good point guard to run the team. I'm jealous that Arroyo kid is with Utah.

 

well... now i'm worried that we won't get enough rebounds and creat too many second chances for the other team.

 

Nothing against these players, but what were USA basketball officials doing when they put L. James, Carmelo and Amare on the team. They have too inexperienced in international play and seemed lost on the court all the time. This was a disaster waiting to happen.

 

Good question. Maybe the NBA wanted to showboat these young stars after their main stars didn't show up and think they were good enough to win it all easily. Well I'm not going to count the US out yet because the top four is going to make it and the only thing that matters are the medals round.