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U.S. Men Stunned by Puerto Rico, 92-73
- Thread starter macsrus
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well what do you expect. we have all these millionaires who are stars of the team and don't know how to work as a team and the end up getting their asses whooped by some white people. it's embarrasing but i'm hoping they can get their act together and win.
iJon
iJon
well as a person on a sports board said...we have 0 shooter.
We have "9 slashers, 2 rookies, and 1 center".
The only good player is Tim Duncan, b/c at least he can score/board consistently that's worth a damn.
When the 3pt line is only 20ft (vs. US's 23ft), you know that the 3pter will be exploited CONTINOUSLY. The sad part is, that in the US these are "mid-range jumpers"...and I don't remember many of these stars (Jefferson, Lebron, Carmello for example) having trouble with this in the US. But all of a sudden, in Europe, they go 3 for 25? ...scary.
Where's Steve Kerr when you need him? hahaha
We have "9 slashers, 2 rookies, and 1 center".
The only good player is Tim Duncan, b/c at least he can score/board consistently that's worth a damn.
When the 3pt line is only 20ft (vs. US's 23ft), you know that the 3pter will be exploited CONTINOUSLY. The sad part is, that in the US these are "mid-range jumpers"...and I don't remember many of these stars (Jefferson, Lebron, Carmello for example) having trouble with this in the US. But all of a sudden, in Europe, they go 3 for 25? ...scary.
Where's Steve Kerr when you need him? hahaha
Mav451 said:
Its just because they play a lot of zone defense in the international style of play.None of the US players with the exception of Duncan can consistently shoot perimeter shots, which is the best way to break down the zone defense is by hitting midrange jumpshots.They have players that really has no purpose to be there they got three pointguards, who can barely shoot consistently, too many slashers and not enough shooters.
The local tv sports guy was showing the list of the players who turned down USA olympic basketball team, on the news tonight. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnet, Jason Kidd, just to name a few, and he made a good point that if the team would've had all these players plus the few stars on the team now, could you imagine just how good they would've been. The Puerto Rico game would not have gone down how it did. Too bad ego came before pride for them.
i think it has less to do with who turned down invites, than with who wasn't invited at all. they should have found a point gaurd, a three point shooter, and some people who play defense. and they didnt. they slopped together a team of famous names.
jrv3034 said:Let's not forget that the US wasn't playing solitaire...
Yeah, because imagine how embarrassing it would have been if the US team lost at solitaire!
They suck. Its always the same thing. They have a lot of talent, but not the right mix of talent. I think that no matter who agreed to play, they would have got their asses whooped. Its better to send out a team like the entire Detroit Piston lineup than an All-Star team. It works in hockey, but not in basketball because they're so used to doing everything on their own. You only need 2 or 3 stars to lead the team to victory, not 12 guys who are all trying to steer the car, if you will.
Not even sure, but is the Canadian basketball team in the Olympics, because if they are, maybe they'll finally win something this time.
starcrossed said:
i completely disagree with the assessment about this team being sub-par or that we don't have the best players. i think that NBA has enough depth that as long as a team was sent, it would win even if the members on the team were not the stars. the notion that sending stars is enough to win, as reflected in the above opinion that we didn't send the best stars, is precisely the reason this team lost.
u.s. should have sent the pistons - no notable stars - but the best team. instead, marketing guys just wanted the exposure of NBA stars - they couldn't care less about fielding a team. no wonder the u.s. lost and i'm glad it did. it's a mockery of the competition to basically use it as an advertisement instead of honoring the competitive spirit of the Games. i really hope the u.s. doesn't even medal - there are many more countries out there that are actually interested in playing the game as a team and playing hard to represent the country and the sport in the best way possible.
I honestly won't be surprised if we get scorched by Greece now. They downed Austrailia by 22. This was our first Olympic loss in basketball ever. I think our guys are talented, but they are not the best of what America has to offer. Unfortunately, those guys didn't have the ball's to go to Greece. So much for American arrogance.
I have to admit i found it quite funny! not too good really, I didn't see much of he match but was it just that they didn't play well as a team or they were too arrogant and sat back on a lead?
I'm glad that they lost. My reson for this is that the Olympics shouldn't allow pros to play. The Olympics is a joke now, because they allow pros to compete against amateurs from other countries.
Hmm, i was under the impression that US had sent college kids initially, but when European countries sent pros, we fought back with the Dream Team (lol...MJ? That's a one man team there haha).
'course now, there are people on my board, TerpTown, that think the Maryland team would have "done better".
Personally, the result probably wouldn't have been THAT much different--MD still has outside shooting problems (no solid 3pt shooter, and definitely no equivalent to the '02-'03 Reddick), but at least they play as a team =D
'course now, there are people on my board, TerpTown, that think the Maryland team would have "done better".
Personally, the result probably wouldn't have been THAT much different--MD still has outside shooting problems (no solid 3pt shooter, and definitely no equivalent to the '02-'03 Reddick), but at least they play as a team =D
I dunno, even "slapping" together a team of big names can work (very well):
Look at the 1992 USA Men's Basketball Team: Jordan, Bird, Johnson, Ewing, Barkley, Malone, Mullin, Pippin, Robinson, Stockton... to name a few. In their first game, they destroyed Angola's team: 116 - 48 (that's a 68 point victory).
Look at the 1992 USA Men's Basketball Team: Jordan, Bird, Johnson, Ewing, Barkley, Malone, Mullin, Pippin, Robinson, Stockton... to name a few. In their first game, they destroyed Angola's team: 116 - 48 (that's a 68 point victory).
Mav451 said:
True, however, I'm talking about overall. It was meant to be for amatuers only. They stripped Jim Thorpe of his Gold, as you recall.
Sedulous said:
Um, yes, but look at where they're lacking............nowhere!!
This is the best team ever assembled, and I can't imagine another team this good ever again. You have the best player of all time, best clutch player ever, you have 2 of the best power forwards ever, 2 great forwards, 2 best point guards and assist men ever, and 2 great centres.
You can say they were slapped together, but these were such obvious choices that they just happened to fill the positions perfectly. These new Dream Teams aren't really filled with such legends of the game, and all the appropriate positions and skills aren't represented properly. That may be the difference.
which amateurs from which countries?OnceUGoMac said:
The vast majority are pros and it never made sense that pros were not allowed.
It should be about the best athetes. period. usually these are pros.
As far as comparing this "dream" to the original one... are we kidding?
they would have whoopped these guys by 68 points too
You can't just say no pros because if they didn't have any pros then they would still be out there running faster (or whatever) than the people in the olympics. The olympics is meant to be the best people in the world, whether they are professionals or not they are the best, otherwise you'd get an underground olympics with the best pros who weren't allowed in!
Anyway I think that the olympics is kinda a joke now, some events are good but others aren't, the IOC kinda ruined it with all the bribe taking and stuff. Is nothing sacred any more? no obviously not when there is money involved!
Anyway I think that the olympics is kinda a joke now, some events are good but others aren't, the IOC kinda ruined it with all the bribe taking and stuff. Is nothing sacred any more? no obviously not when there is money involved!
In some weird way I found myself cheering on the Puerto Ricans. Even though I am an American, I don't have a connection with this team. They are bland and boring to watch, Puerto Rico seemed active, and really knew how to play basketball, with inspiration, determination, and passion.
OnceUGoMac said:
i think this is the same with soccer (or football for the other people
), cycling, tennis and some other sports i don't care about let the amateurs play. it surely is more fun to watch.
i personally couldn't care less that pros play in Olympics. i want the best athletes and teams competing at the Olympics.
U.S. certainly has the flashiest basketball team, but it's not the best, apparently.
Headline from ESPN.com:
you know the expectations of the so called "dream team" is quite low when a 6-point victory is written up in news as if it was a no surprise that is was actually competitive?
let's learn a lesson here, NBA... send a team next time to the olympics. do you realize how hollow duncan's dunks and iverson's cross overs look when the teams are losing or barely winning?
U.S. certainly has the flashiest basketball team, but it's not the best, apparently.
Headline from ESPN.com:
you know the expectations of the so called "dream team" is quite low when a 6-point victory is written up in news as if it was a no surprise that is was actually competitive?
let's learn a lesson here, NBA... send a team next time to the olympics. do you realize how hollow duncan's dunks and iverson's cross overs look when the teams are losing or barely winning?