Who would've thought that the US National Soccer team would do better in a World Competition than the US National basketball team. My roomate said that.
When the US came back in the 3rd quarter and had a 10 point lead in the 4th Yugoslavia stepped up on defense, rebounding and started taking better shots.They also took the big guys off the dribble easily.The US players didn't pass around the ball well in the latter part of the game and started isolating the ball or ended up passing to guys like Ben Wallace who couldn't score. The referees didn't determine the final outcome but Pierce and Andre Miller got called for fouls that they didn't commit. Elton Brand and Shawn Marion were missed today. The outcome is good for international basketball and I hope that fundamentals will be stressed and younger players will be be discouraged to come out of high school and college and learn how to play team basketball in the future.
Bah....I disagree with anyone that feels the NBA's elite MUST play in any game outside of the NBA season. I guess I'm also self-centered and childish, but I sure as hell wouldn't want to play during the summer after an 82 game season + playoffs. Even though Pro Athletes are seriously overpaid, once the season is up, their vacation begins. They have the right to do what ever they want. The reason we lost isn't because Kobe and Tmac weren't receiving the ball from Kidd, but modern basketball in general is without fundamentals. A team of Finely, Davis, Miller, Wallace, O'neal, Marion, and Brand is good enough to blow-out international teams by atleast 15-20 points. There is no comparison when it comes to physical talent, but we've lost twice now because we can't play team basketball.
Paul Pierce is a guy who's used to taking over a game, just like the guys who stayed home (Shaq, Kobe, AI, etc.). He's the only guy on this team who is that kind of player. The difference between Pierce, Shaq, etc. and the other US team member is huge. The MIA superstars are dominators. The US team guys are just good players.
I really don't care. These guys make enough money as it is. You're right, they do have the right to do whatever it is that they want. But as a result, we have the right to look down upon these millionaires for looking at a chance to represent your country (especially with everything that happened with 9/11 and its anniversary looming) as a hassle, instead of an honor.
1. Indiana claims it's a basketball hotbed, but they came up lame big time throughout the whole tournament. To think that we were supposed to have home court advantage. It's one thing to have no one show up (like in Montreal for baseball games), but it's another thing to be outcheered by fans of a country torn by civil war at home. 2. Taking one month out of your at least 4 month vacation from a job that pays you millions of dollars to represent your country and your league is not too much to ask. Plus, it's a chance to play with the best of your peers. You would think it could be fun. This team made it look painful. Is there such a thing as pride anymore these days?
I think this is an interesting point. If we gave these guys more than a couple of weeks of practice, and maybe a couple of exhibition games against *other* NBA guys, that might have made a big difference. Or do some of you think that a lot of the NBA players are now just incapable of good team ball?
I think this really exposes George Karl as a coach. I gave him the benefit of the doubt when the Bucks had their freefall out of playoff contention. I figured injuries and fatigue had taken their toll on the team, but he had no excuse with this team.
I'm not trying to sound like some ex-pro player, but what gives us the right to look down upon these men for not playing during their vacation. And please don't try to correlate pro sports with 9/11. One was a life and death issue that involved real heroes doing their best to save lives, and the other is just basketball. And yes, there is no longer any pride.....at least when it concerns international games, unless its the Olympics or World Cup. And yes B-Bob, team ball and fundamentals are nothing more than a myth to the majority of the current players in the NBA. Many have been saying it for several years, I'm just glad that it's finally been exposed.
Wake up! In 2000, The US had Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Antonio McDyess, you would think they could blow out other teams by 15 and 20 points? wrong! They struggled against Lithuanian and nearly lost it if not for the missed 3-pointer by the Lithuanian player. The 2000 Olympics team definitely would beat this year's US WC team! and Argentina this year most likely would beat the Lithuanian team in 2000. The matter of fact is, except for Shaq or Duncan, there is no post player on the US team that can dominate! If you rely on a bunch of perimeter players, you are destined to lose sometimes!
So we should only send members of the old Bulls and the mid 90's Rockets, the '99 Spurs and the Lakers?
It is a basketball hotbed. If they had thought they'd see any real basketball out of the USA team, I'm sure Indiana's fans would have shown up. Looks to me like they were smart enough to see this one-on-one street-ball train wreck coming, and stayed away.
OVRRTD, I couldn't agree more with your first point. Part of the problem is I've always thought 82 games + playoffs (for many of the best players) is just way too many games. (what the buck is that symbol anyway? I'm hoping it looks like a tired guy). As for fundamentals, yeah, they've been declining, but I challenge you to put a bunch of random Argentinians together, give them two weeks, and then see get some sort of good team play. Familiarity is a big part of the equation here, IMHO.
There are several international players representing their countries and they had to go through 82 games + playoffs. This is not an execuse.
True, but once you reach a certain level, meaning NBA First or Second Team, you should understand how to play the game....or at least that's how it should be. That is the problem with the team we sent, they may be good individually, but they sucked as a team. Not only is it a problem with the team we sent, but is reflective of the entire status of NBA basketball. I'm willing to say that the Lakers would have won these World Championships because they have 2 superstars that KNOW how to play basketball, and role players that know they're role players. Problem is, these players don't know how to play various roles, other than the go-to guy on their own respective team.
Overrated- I was not comparing pro sports to 9/11. I lost 2 uncles on 9/11, so I am fully aware of the difference (maybe too fully ). What I was trying to get across, that you didn't follow, was that this country has been brimming with national pride ever since 9/11. Various people around the world see 9/11 as the beginning of the downfall of the USA or whatever. The fact that all of these ultra-elite players look upon representing your country as a hassle instead of an honor, especially taking into account 9/11 and the amount of national pride that stemmed from the incident along with the amount of money they make, really bothers me. Call me over-patriotic or whatever, but I know that many people would kill to have a chance to represent their country internationally. The original Dream Team was made up of our best, so was the 1996 team. They were all more than willing to go out there and represent their country. Nowadays, the best aren't willing to participate. I mean is it too much to ask: twice every four years, you take a month off your four month vacation to represent your country? I mean you're going to be representing your country by actually playing a sport that you love; why is this treated like pulling teeth? If you're injured, fine, that is more than understood. But if you're healthy, I just don't see how it is justified to not want to represent your country. MJ, Clyde Drexler, among others, also had to go through an 82 game schedule + playoffs, but were more than willing to give up a month of their summer to represent their country. What you describe is essentially the microcosm of today's player. The millionaire who's too tired and too afraid of injury to represent their country. The word that describes this behavior in my mind is selfishness.
