The USA didn't play defense in the 2nd half and that made it easy for him. On offense, they started going one on one and chucking up jumpers. If they hadn't lost focus, the game would have been a 30-40 point blowout like the others. Let's see what happens in the rematch on Sunday.
The US team really isn't that disciplined if you think about it. As Walton alluded to in his commentary, the real challenge is when the team faces the better int'l teams and are in a close game. When I watch Team USA, it is are still a game of individuals, and the passing looks more like an all star game as opposed to real team game. The problem is, losing focus is a huge issue on a team that has more than 5 go to guys. Despite the one sided games they have played in, I really haven't been that impressed with the way they play, they are just beating people more on athleticism at the moment than anything else.
US's interior game is also pathetic. Stat looks completely lost, Chandler looks useless, Howard is decent but nothing special. Even Melo who plays PF can only play on one side of the floor...
FIBA rules & Style (wider lane at the baselines, shorter 3 pt line, more zones, lots of flopping on D) make dominant American style post-up game ineffective because it is easier to pack the paint and rotate back to double. that is why Duncan was never as great INt'ly as he is in the NBA.
But the current crop of interior players don't have post up games - unless you consider Howard's extremely raw offensive game as such. All they know is how to dunk, which renders them ineffective, because they have almost no game outside of that. Although Stat can make that occasional 15-18ft jumper when left completely wide open, which almost never happens in the international game. The rules haven't stopped Yao, Pau, or Scola from flourishing. The only reason Amare/Howard can flourish as "big men" in the NBA is because the rules favor athletic 2-4s in a face up game.
Geez, According to your logic, the Celtics are the best team in the NBA right now because they had way more championships than any other teams in the league.
smh @ the way most of you are overrating Scola already...... glad to have him as a rocket but calm down saying the guy is better than amare. you wouldnt rather have amare at PF than Scola ? you guys are out of your mind.
Not impressed? C'mon now, this is exactly what people expected Team USA to do. Remember that these guys don't get lots of time to play with each other like most international squads. They maybe get a month with each other, while other teams work together almost year round. They're doing what they are suppose to be and thats blow these guys out of the water. IMO, their defense has been most impressive. Teams are shooting under 40% against us and everyone and I mean everyone is playing really hard on defense. I have yet to see a team that has any offensive flow against the USA. Most of the time its either a turnover, or a forced shot to beat the buzzer. Their defense is probably the biggest factor in these blowouts. We all know that this team has the offensive weapons to beat anyone, but when you get these guys to start playing some hard defense, ITS OVER!
Okay, fine. The US didn't take this game seriously and still managed to win by 15 pts and scored less than 100. I'm willing to bet that if you took the French, Spanish or Argentenian national team, they would indeed beat the Clippers. The US's main strength (on average) in basketball is at the guard positions. But if you line up Tony Parker against any American PG, he would likely be able to hold his own. Think about all the opportunities the US Team was able to reap by forcing turnovers. I liked the idea Bill Walton had last night. He suggested that we take the best players from around the world and line them up against the American Team. You'd already have Yao at center, Tony Parker at the Point,..then likely Manu, Dirk and.... say... Biedrins (AK..substitute any INT'l) *edit-- I mean Nash at the point* I think that team could go toe-to-toe against any Team USA. $.02
We're basically playing against cannon fodder... Surely, you can't expect us to roll over the best teams of the world?
Howard's rudimentary post up game, under NBA rules , would trounce any of the pathetic man defenders the international teams throw at him. But like I said, it's not just Howard who has had trouble, TIm Duncan and Elton Brand did not have as much success either. The only US big man who I thought was truly effective in recent years was Kevin Garnett - defensively he was a complete destroyer to international teams - the 2000 team's defense with him and Mourning in the lane was very disruptive. Well, I daresay that if Yao, Pau, & Scola played on teams with the Kobes and Carmelo's, Wade's & LeBron's of the world their numbers would go down quite a bit. But of the three you picked, none of them save Yao has a classic NBA style post up game, though I don't recall if Yao used his much in Int'l play.
The guy can play simple as that. He has moves that, despite the "lack" of defense by the big men on the USA team, works. He has really good court vision for a big man. He can hustle in the paint.
You're right about that....it's hard to say whether Scola will be a better NBA player than those two, because of the competition and rule differences. He probably doesn't have Howard or Amare's athletic skill, mainly on running and dunking...but with that being said....athletic skill doesn't necessarily make you a better player...which sense I believe Scola will probably be a better long-range shoot, mid range shooter, have less turnovers, and possibly better defense. He won't average as many points as those because of the team he is on, following T-Mac, Yao, Francis, Wells, and James. This also show people how much better the Rockets are compared to the team that lost Utah....even though people may point to chemistry problems....but I would rather have chemistry problems than having enough players to score.
I'm actually very surprised that Duncan/Brand struggled offensively in FIBA, because they did play in college; where zone was the predominant form of defense. Perhaps it has more to do with their teammates being incompatible under FIBA rules. I think the international scene requires a game that is based much more on fundamentals, hence the reason of our current struggles. I'm not arguing that their numbers wouldn't go down. Any time you play with better players, individiual stats are always compromised. I agree, Yao is the only one with a classic NBA style post up game, but Pau and Scola still does have some form of a back to the basket game, or game revolving around the high/low post, which none of the US players have.
"Fundamentals" is ill-defined by most people here. A classic post move is fundamental. A crossover pull up jumper is fundamental. What you are referring to here is the fundamental of ball movement, which I agree that the better international teams are better equipped in. I agree that the likes of Brand and Duncan would struggle in international games more because of the team style than their individual skills. I daresay that Duncan would do a lot better playing with a team like Argentina than with the US under FIBA rules.
Most of the basketball players in the world outside USA consider the Olympic games to be the most important games in their basketball lives and they will do anything to compete for a medal in this stage. the second important game is the FIBA world championship game. Both games give the players a chance to compete representing their own country, not only individuals. That's a big honour to most of the international players and it seems this part is what american fans have difficulties to understand. But for us non-american fans, it's obvious. NBA is the best basketball league in the world, no doubt about it. But all in all, it's just a league, its importance can't be compared to the Olympic games.
However ill defined or cliche it is - I have not been on this board long enough to know the history of such discussions - I believe it is the truth. I'm referring to both on/off ball movement, the variety of shots that a big man should have, footwork, basic dribbling. Clearly, most of these things are lacking in the current set of interior players because they are gifted with such athleticism. If I am wrong, regardless of the usage of terms, please elighten me (SamFisher, Easy, etc...).
they may have not watched it live, but i guarantee that they dvrd it and did watch it. and they will watch them play again on Sunday.
