I dont know if you move Duncan to the international squad it actually becomes pretty competitive. Duncan plays for the US team but he was born in the Virgin Islands and if they had a team before he played in the US he would probably be on that team. (which means he wouldnt be playing for the US) so with that in mind. Shaq JOneil Garnett Kobe JKidd w/ Bench of Tmac Artest Redd BWallace FIBA Yao Duncan Peja AK47 Nash w/ Bench of Ginobili Dirk Parker Gasol seems pretty even to me. J
who would Dirk start over? Yao? Duncan? Peja? (maybe Peja but im worried he might be too slow to play SF) what do you guys think of my dream international team? J
its not really NBA then its more like USA vs World all of the int'l players you listed are NBA players as well
I think Duncan would have to be on the US team. Therefore, my starters for the international team would be: PG Nash (Canada) 6'3 - stable, creative point guard, great shooter SG Peja (Serbia & Montenegro) 6'10 - possibly the best 3-point shooter in the league SF Kirilenko (Russia) 6'9 - one of the best defenders in the league PF Nowitzki (Germany) 7'0 - offensive juggernaut, unstoppable C Yao Ming (China) 7'6 - huge presence in the paint Bench: G Parker (France) G Ginobili (Argentina) G Arroyo (Puerto Rico) F Turkoglu (Turkey) F Gasol (Spain) C Ilgauskas (Lithuania) C Vlade (Serbia & Montenegro) They would go up against Team USA: PG Kidd 6'4 SG Kobe 6'6 SF Garnett 6'11 PF Duncan 7'0 C Shaq 7'1 Bench: G Iverson G T-Mac G Ray Allen F Carter F Artest F O'Neal C Ben Wallace Comparing the starters Overall: The international team actually has a slight advantage in size, but size-wise, these teams are both great. Matchups: PG Nash has played on the same team with Kidd. Kidd is even more creative as a playmaker, but Nash's shooting is WAY better than Kidd's. I believe (have not checked) that Nash also produces less turnovers than Kidd. Plus, Kidd is coming back from a severe injury and a bit older (I think). Even. -> 1:1 SG Kobe might be one of the hardest players to guard in the NBA, possibly (together with T-Mac) the most terrific scorer. He can also be a great defender. He would beat Peja with his quickness. On the other hand, Peja would shoot over Kobe all day - he is much taller and also very hard to guard. Still, the edge would have to go to Team USA here. -> 2:1 USA SF In my opinion, Garnett and Kirilenko are actually quite similar. Garnett is a little further along offensively, but defensively, I think Kirilenko is basically as good as Garnett. Garnett is the better rebounder, but Kirilenko gets even more blocks and steals than Garnett, I think. I actually call this one even. -> 3:2 USA PF Duncan might just be the best player in the NBA. However, offensively, Dirk has more variety to offer. He can shoot from anywhere. Duncan's range is more limited. Duncan is a slightly better rebounder. However, Duncan has huge problems from the free-throw line. The international team could play "Hack-a-Tim". Dirk, on the other hand, is an excellent free-throw shooter. Dirk could go outside and take Duncan out of his comfort zone. EVEN! -> 4:3 USA C Shaq is on the decline. He is still the most dominant physical force in the NBA. However, Yao Ming is getting better while Shaq is getting worse. I think Yao Ming will next season be able to play Shaq at least to a standstill, with a slight edge to Yao, because you can put him at the line and expect good results. The international team could foul Shaq all day and just laugh at this free throws. Therefore, I see an edge for the international team here. -> 4:4!! Most will certainly disagree, but it would sure be fun to watch .
i think it can be even. even though the u.s team has a bit more talent, if the international stars play properly and play the right way using fundamentals and basketball iq, they can give the best american team a run for their money and could probably beat them. what happen if dirk goes buck wild or yao start making all his shots and get shaq into foul trouble? or ginobili, parker, and nash penetrating and dishing it to a wide open peja for a 3. talent alone does not guarantee a win. man look at the blowout of the u.s. team by ITALY!! that was so humiliating! a bunch of italians who can't dunk, jump, and run all that good can still get the job done using bball iq and fundamentals. and that blowout by puerto rico too! and australia, greece, turkey, and germany gave team usa a hard time too. also consider that most international teams gave team usa(i know they "suck" compared to shaq and kobe, kg, t-mac) a fight. it wasn't a blowout or anything, us had to work hard for it.
Personally, I think the result depends on which set of rules you go by. If you go with NBA refs and NBA rules, I don't think they match up well at all against the All-USA team. There's just too much physical play involved. Shaq and Duncan can eat up Yao and Dirk inside, while only AK-47 can defend the likes of Kobe or T-Mac. If you go with the rules and style in Olympic play, the international team has a huge edge. For one thing, there are so much touch fouls called on the perimeter. And the shorter 3 point line is something the international team can probably abuse thoroughly. Imagine Peja, Dirk, and Nash coming off picks set by Yao and just shoot 3s all day long. Considering that making even just 40% of your 3s equals 60% of 2 point shooting, that's a huge advantage towards shooters.
Wouldn't it be fun to also invite 1 or 2 foreign guys into All-Star weekend? Like getting the Lithuanian who torched the US last week, either throw him on the team as a 12th man or put him in the 3 point contest. It's a global game, let's open it up. This game would be a passionate and extremely intense game, man, I'd love it.
If you play with FIBA rules, then the international team will win. If you play with NBA rules, then the Americans win. I think Duncan would play international because he said he regrets not playing for his home country, and since this is not an official proffesional game, it wouldn't be a big deal to swtich sides and it would make it a bit closer... Yao Duncan Nowitzki Peja Nash Bench: Parker, Kirilenko, Gasol ------------------------------------- Shaq Garnett T-Mac Kobe Kidd Bench: Iverson, Carter, O'Neal That would be a damn good game.
