On setting basketball back 20 years. Those guys played their hearts out, so I'm not going to get on them. They're not thugs, they're guys who actually played hard for the U.S. But you can screw guys like Shaq, and Duncan, McGrady, Kidd, Webber, Garnett, Kobe, and the other greedy bastards who felt that hanging with their buddies during the summer was better then helping their country win a gold medal. Thanks to them we have to send guys down to South America or where ever the hell the games are next year. Pathetic.
good point if they don't play the media should insult them and call them out on national tv, and they will be booed for the rest of there lives.
with the US not gettin a medal here, it might be one of the best things for US basketball - hopefully. I expect that for the olympics in 2004, that all the big names that don't have a major excuse (such as being in a coma or dead), such as shaq, kobe, vince, garnett, duncan and whoever else is asked, will WILLINGLY ACCEPT their invitations so that they can get the program back on track.
These guys need to work on their shooting, that's it. I still can't believe a Baron Davis lead team lost.
Let me make a prediction here: In 2004, if Shaq or Duncan is not in, then no matter whom we send, whether it is Kobe, AI, McGrady, Webber, Kidd, the games are still going to be close and will be decided in the last 2 minutes of the game.
I disagree. The "Final 4" Centers at the Worlds include Vlade, Dirk, and Gasol. IMHO, this years team would have remained unbeaten had Kevin Garnett played the Center position. There is no defensive three seconds in international BBall and international centers have a different skill set for success. Also, the way the international game is officiated, I don't think they would allow Shaq his pet NBA move of rocking into the defensive player to clear room. They would call it for the charge that it is. (Bavetta - are you listening?).
On setting basketball back 20 years. How exactly did this loss set basketball back 20 years? If our 2nd tier players get their asses kicked two days in a row by people who can't even make the NBA, maybe that says something about US basketball. It's not like these guys were scrubs - they were all-stars. If it takes our absolute best players to (Shaq, Kobe, etc) to beat a bunch of non-NBAers, then the quality level of US basketball isn't all that great. This didn't set anything back anywhere - it just exposed the nature of basketball here (lack of teamwork, passing, execution, etc).
"On setting basketball back 20 years. Those guys played their hearts out, so I'm not going to get on them. They're not thugs, they're guys who actually played hard for the U.S. But you can screw guys like Shaq, and Duncan, McGrady, Kidd, Webber, Garnett, Kobe, and the other greedy bastards who felt that hanging with their buddies during the summer was better then helping their country win a gold medal. Thanks to them we have to send guys down to South America or where ever the hell the games are next year. Pathetic." How can you say that? Shaq played hurt with an arthritic big toe for an entire season, then you want him to not get surgery and play for his counry in a tournament that has always meant nothing? Sorry, that's not happening. None of you apparently understand how rigorous an NBA season is. They train from July until the season starts in October, then play for 6 to 8 months of 3 to 4 games a week. They travel across the country, play hurt, and rarely have time for their family or friends. You want a guy like Kobe, who has absolutely NOTHING to prove, to play in the WBC, where ratings are, have been, and will continue to be at an all-time low because nobody cares, after having been training since the previous July. Give me a break, I'd love to see you do that and then complain. It's nobody on the US team's fault. The foreign teams are playing their game, Euro-style basketball. Look at the key, it eliminates posting up. It's all about shooting in Europe (see the 3pt. line?) and the US team didn't have enough shooters. Reggie and the Truth were the only ones. Please, the game hasn't been set back at all. If any of those teams (Argentina, Yugoslavia, Spain) played an NBA team in a playoff atmosphere in April, when the NBA players are playing their best, they would be demolished. If you put Argentina against New Jersey or Yugoslavia against LA, they would be ripped apart. The NBA guys play their entire life with one set of rules, then for 2 weeks they have a new set of them. You can goaltend, no defensive 3 in the key. Don't blame the US, this isn't their fault. The refs were out to get them, all the teams were hungry, and give them one reason to not be cocky, they were undefeated sine 92. They've learned their lesson, and it will never happen again.
Goaltending is pretty much the same except that a ball that bounces off the rim can be touched as long as the ball is rising even if it's directly above the rim. The shot clock is also a little different because in FIBA rules the ball has to touch the rim before the shot clock is up. But most of the other rules are very similar to those in college so I don't think they should've had too many problems with them
And you don't have a clue how much money $10m is. A man graduating from college at 22 and working to age 65 would have to earn $232,558 a year to make $10m. The average NBA salary is $2.0m/year. That's over $46,000/year for the life for the average working stiff. Shaq will make $32.4m in the last year of his contract. You do the math. How many posters here would trade one year of NBA travel for $2m? How many career ending injuries did you see at the Worlds'? At the Olympics? The idea of a healthy NBA player (many of whom have no children) passing up one month to represent his country is indefensible to me.
That comment was a figure of speech. Either way they lost THREE in a row, they sure didn't help basketball. If we send Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, McGrady, Kidd and others the games WILL NOT be close. Those guys would physically manhandle foreign teams and they have experienced enough success to play together as a team instead of one-on-one. And bigsmooth they didn't have to travel across the world or country, just catch a flight to Indiana and play for TWO weeks! And since Indiana is an NBA town it isn't any different then traveling for an NBA game. They do the same thing in exhibition in preseason, except this is for their country!
<b>How can you say that? Shaq played hurt with an arthritic big toe for an entire season, then you want him to not get surgery and play for his counry in a tournament that has always meant nothing? Sorry, that's not happening. </b> For the people who say that this tournament meant nothing you are DEAD WRONG! Because they didn't make the semi-finals they're not elgible for the Olympics. So now they have to go to South America next year to qualify. Say that the U.S. team collapses next year in South America, which is very possible since the star players definitely aren't going to want to play in South America if they didn't want to play in Indiana. That means we're sending 2nd tier players AGAIN! If they get knocked out of the South American tournament early then they're not eligible for the Olympics. Let me repeat if they lose next year the United States IS NOT eligible for the Olympics. So saying this tournament meant nothing was dead wrong. <b>None of you apparently understand how rigorous an NBA season is. They train from July until the season starts in October, then play for 6 to 8 months of 3 to 4 games a week. They travel across the country, play hurt, and rarely have time for their family or friends. You want a guy like Kobe, who has absolutely NOTHING to prove, to play in the WBC, where ratings are, have been, and will continue to be at an all-time low because nobody cares, after having been training since the previous July. Give me a break, I'd love to see you do that and then complain. </b> I'd do it in a heartbeat for several million dollars! And the excuse for Kobe not playing you use is the reason the U.S. didn't do anything in the tournament. It isn't about Kobe and what he has to prove, it's about helping the U.S. become elgible for the Olympics. He comes to Indiana, plays for 2 weeks, and doesn't have to play again because the U.S. got what they needed, elgibility for the Olympics. Yeah they travel around the country, play hurt, etc. And they get paid well to do it. Who cares about ratings and people watching, it's about helping the U.S. become elgibile for the Olympics in basketball. How about asking the original Dream Team about traveling, working hard, and not having time to represent their country. I guarantee that guys like Barkley, and Magic, and Bird, and Robinson and Stockton woudl tell you they would take 2 weeks off of their summer every year to represent their country and help their country make the Olympics and win a Gold Medal. There are people who kill themselves for 10 to 12 hours a day for low pay, and have to work injured and sick because they can't afford to miss a check, and barely get to see their family and kids because they take care of them. So I don't want to hear about how millionaires barely have time for THEIR family as an excuse.
Gater, all you would have to do is pay me 45K a year and cover my health insurance and I'll sign a lifetime contract with any pro sport team. I love sports. Of course, noone would pay to see me play. Therien lies the dichotomy. But, I will not feel sorry for professional athletes nor actors. Back on topic, I thought the team was good enough to win; they just didn't play hard enough and there may have been some dissension on the team.
Shaq has spent the entire summer not getting that operation on his big toe. I'm not saying that he should have played hurt. But don't use the surgery as an excuse. Steve Francis had his shoulder surgery early on in the summer, so he could recoop, and be in shape and practice with the team by the start of the season. Shaq didsn't seem to have the same priorities.
"How many posters here would trade one year of NBA travel for $2m? How many career ending injuries did you see at the Worlds'? At the Olympics? The idea of a healthy NBA player (many of whom have no children) passing up one month to represent his country is indefensible to me." Ok, one year, I think anyone would trade it in. But when you are criticized by people you don't know, have played against the best athletes the world can offer since high school, and have a chance to take a summer off and work on what you need to work on or to go to a tournament which the US should've won, you're choosing the first. The US didn't lose because of lack of talent, they lost because the players on the team played selfishly, Karl coached incredibly poorly, and they took the competition lightly. PLEASE don't tell me they "shouldn't have taken the competition lightly." When you go 10 years without losing, you're going to take it lightly. I don't care in what it is or what you do, whether it be having an undefeated softball team or a professional basketball team, you'll get cocky.
"Shaq has spent the entire summer not getting that operation on his big toe"-I read he had it scheduled for July, then got sick for a few weeks (remember he missed that appearance at a camp in early August), then scheduled it again and now he has liver problems. I think his plan was to take a few weeks off from the season, see how it felt, and then decide. He did that, decided to get it, then had some setbacks.
"But, I will not feel sorry for professional athletes nor actors."-I'm not saying have pity on them, I'm saying understand that their schedules are much more rigorous then anyone on this board. If they have an opportunity to take a month off and just hang around, they'll do it.
I'm not so sure about that. How many people here have a job that gives them 3 months of "off season"? As for family time, how many people can afford flying your whole family with you in all your business trips? Beside, if you paid me to play basketball, I'd do it every day and every night.
