# How to Save USA Basketball



## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

I’ve now watched every game played at the World Championships this year (the USA games 2 or 3 times each), and I have reached some conclusions about the future of USA Basketball.

They’ve decided that LeBron, Wade, and Melo are the cornerstones of this team. I will accept that as fact going into my assessment (even though I don’t necessarily agree).
The other teams in this tournament (Greece, Spain, Argentina, China, and to a lesser extent Angola, and Serbia Montenegro) have dependable post options. These post options for the most part have little-to-no athleticism. They are simply smart basketball players who know how to operate with there backs-to-the-basket. USA basketball has a gaping hole in the middle.
Shooting is still a HUGE problem. When Joe Johnson and Carmelo Anthony are your best 3-point shooters, you’re going to loose games in FIBA.
What ever happened to the idea of *ROLE PLAYERS*? Wasn’t that the concept when this new regime took over? They said they were going after role players, and yet they assembled a team with tons of star power. Are they really interested in winning or just stirring up interest?
As the frightfully boring commentators noted on numerous occasions throughout the medal rounds, team USA needs to learn to play at more than one speed.
What does all of this mean? Let’s dissect the full roster:

LeBron James – He’s going to be on this team. He’s going to play significant minutes. He needs to up his defensive intensity over longer, more consistent intervals.
Dwayne Wade – He actually seems to be a very good 6th man. 
Carmelo Anthony – He was USA’s most successful offensive force throughout the competition. He does, however, need to be a little more team-oriented.
Kobe Bryant – I’m going to eat my crow sandwich on this one. I was one of the many people singing his praises before the World Championships. Now, I no longer think he belongs on this team. He always expresses his interest in competing in international ball, but he never actually makes it on the court. Injuries, personal problems, and court cases always seem to get in the way. I suspect he’s just posturing to improve his image. Besides, this team has enough star power. It needs *ROLE PLAYERS*.
Gilbert Arenas – He expressed his anger about being cut from this team. In his defense, he was playing very unselfishly in the tune-up games. The problem with Arenas, though, is that he would want to take over games down the stretch. This team has too many chiefs and not enough *ROLE PLAYERS*.
Shane Battier – This guy earned his spot and proved he belonged.
Adam Morrison – He’s yet another guy who needs the ball to be effective.
Chauncey Billups – He’s shown in the past that he knows how to ignore his offense for the greater good, but will he be willing to pass it to Wade in the clutch?
Chris Bosh – He’s simply not a role player. He’s a top banana. That’s all there is to it.
Bruce Bowen – I actually think he would help in FIBA basketball. They would have to guard him out in the corner on offense, and he would lock a guy down on D. He was a bad cut.
Elton Brand – He was rendered relatively ineffective by the better teams in this tournament. He used to be a valuable role player, but he’s gotten used to being the focus of the offense too much.
Dwight Howard – He seriously needs to improve his free-throw-shooting and find a center-of-the-zone jump shot to help this team.
Antawn Jamison – He shouldn’t have been with the team in the first place.
Joe Johnson – He’s too perimeter oriented for a guy who’s simply not a pure shooter.
Shawn Marion – This guy’s a supremely good role player who doesn’t need the ball to be effective. He could help the squad (as long as he doesn’t fall in love with his outside shot).
Brad Miller – He’s slow of foot. He’s got a good open jump shot. He’s not a great defender. If he had any back-to-the-basket game to speak of, he’d be perfect! As it stands, I think he still deserves to be a bench player.
Lamar Odom – He would be useless in international competition.
Chris Paul – He’s a great distributor, but he tried too hard in this tournament. The staff decided to bench him in favor of Hinrich on several occasions. If he can settle down and play with more poise, he’d be a nice addition.
Kirk Hinrich – He’s a good defender, but his outside shot left him for large portions of this tournament. 
Luke Ridnour – This guy actually resembles the more effective PGs in international play. He’s got going to beat too many people off the dribble, but he still can be effective in this format.
Amare Stoudemire – Until he’s healthy and we can all see what changes he’s made in his game, he’s not going to be on this team.
Paul Pierce – He needs the ball to succeed. This team needs *ROLE PLAYERS*.
Michael Redd – He’s a great shooter, but he’s always had a me-first mentality. I don’t think he belongs on this team.
J.J. Redick – The international 3-point line is basically a college 3-point line. What does that mean? J.J. is a go.
Greg Oden – He’s not a prototypical international big man.
So where does all of that leave us? 
PG Billups/Hinrich/Ridnour
SG Wade/Redick/Bowen
SF James/Battier
PF Anthony/Marion
C Miller
Isn’t that a dismal group? They still have no post defense, very little perimeter defense, no shooting, and not enough *ROLE PLAYERS*. Here are my suggestions for additions/replacements to this team:

Chris Kaman – This guy has international big man written all over him. His defensive short-comings can be hidden in a zone defense. His offensive strengths are precisely the offensive weaknesses of the current roster. Put him in the post and let him work.
Emeka Okafor – This team desperately needs an enforcer down low. He’ll provide some rebounding , and he’ll know his role.
David West – He’ll be the zone buster. His most effective spot on the floor is the foul line area. He has a dominant midrange jump shot. Flash him to the elbow enough times, and that zone will melt away. West also won’t hurt you on the defensive end.
Tayshaun Prince – He’s the ultimate gap-filler, and team USA has a lot of gaps to fill.
Derek Fisher – When I think role player, I think Derek Fisher. He’s made a career out of hitting open threes in clutch situations. He won’t hurt you defensively, and he won’t hurt you at the free throw line.
Raja Bell – He’s really rounding into a great role player. Also, his game is perfectly suited for international play.
Nick Collison – Here’s another solid midrange shooter who rebounds the ball well. He’s also pretty crafty around the bucket. Keep in mind he won’t have to contend with the type of athleticism that gives him trouble on a nightly basis in the NBA.
How close are we to a working roster now?
PG Billups/Hinrich/Ridnour
SG Wade/Fisher/Redick/Bowen
SF James/Bell/Battier/Prince
PF Anthony/Marion/West/Collison
C Kaman/Okafor/Miller
We have ourselves a much more well-rounded roster. So who gets cut to make a 12-man roster? I like the idea of keeping 3 PGs. Hinrich would have to be on the team for defensive reasons. Fisher is a perfect *ROLE PLAYER* who provides this team with a little flexibility. That leaves Ridnour and Billups to choose from. Contrary to popular belief, I think Ridnour would actually be the better player in this setting. At 2-guard, I think you go ahead and start Bowen while playing Wade more minutes. Redick is on the fence. James is in. Prince is in. Bell is on the fence. Anthony is in. West is in. Battier is on the fence. I think Marion actually provides more versatility than Collison in the long run, but I'm going to cut them both. Kaman and Okafor are in. Miller is on the fence. So that leaves the 15-man roster looking like this:

PG Kirk Hinrich/Derek Fisher
SG Bruce Bowen/Dwayne Wade
SF LeBron James/Tayshaun Prince
PF Carmelo Anthony/David West
C Emeka Okafor/Chris Kaman
EOB Luke Ridnour/Shane Battier
IR Redick/Bell/Miller

This team certainly isn’t as star-laden as past incarnations of USA basketball have been, but I think they’re balance. The starting line-up will rely on James and Anthony to initiate the offense. Hinrich and Bowen will spot up. Okafor will clean up the mess down low. On defense, James and Anthony’s defensive deficiencies should be adequately compensated for by a shut-down backcourts and an enforcer in the paint. The bench mob will run offense through Wade. Prince, West, and Fisher can all hit an open jump shot. Kaman will provide the low post punch. Defensively, Prince and Fisher will take care of their men. Kaman and West will work down low, and Wade will play the passing lanes. Ridnour will be a nice change-of-pace whenever he gets to play, and Battier will be an excellent fill-in piece at basically 4 positions. Redick is a reserve shooter in case of injury, Bell is a reserve defender, and Miller is a more-than-serviceable 6th big man.

Wow, I feel like I said a mouthful. I really think this could work. Comments?


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## JT (Mar 1, 2004)

Just get Kobe healthy and watch the wins roll in. Its that simple. If we send LeBron/Wade/Carmelo again with no Kobe, they will lose again. They had their tries, and the definition of insanity is repetition of the same thing with expectations of different results. Its time for a basketball savior to save us all. That man, is none other than Mr. Kobe.


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## Steez (Nov 28, 2002)

Wow, very good post... I agree with almost everything, except for Kobe not being on the team.


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## qross1fan (Dec 28, 2004)

Agree with it all, except it's not the fact that EB was used to being the focal point, it's that he was much shorter and at times slower then most the bigs in the games. A 6'8 C in FIBA, or anywhere(except a Midget League), is not a good idea. Can't really blame him for that fault though


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

The team lost one game and everyone wants to blow it up. One game by 6 points. Unreal. Expectations are what hurts Team USA. They are expected to be perfect from now until infinity. In a one and done scenario, how can this happen?

Picking Kaman and then neglecting that the USA never plays zone defense, is strange.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

HKF said:


> Picking Kaman and then neglecting that the USA never plays zone defense, is strange.


I didn't neglect that fact. I think they should play zone defense. They have to learn to play at different speeds.


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## MemphisX (Sep 11, 2002)

Team USA Hoops...the only time when people think less talent is better. I wonder if Argentina and Greece are thinking of making the same brilliant changes since they each loss a game.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

The roleplayer angle is a little overdone. You just need to cover all your bases. The shooting and the defense were both weaknesses. 

I like the team we have, it's the best we can put together with the players who accepted and weren't injured. 

Add Kobe to the team, and maybe another jack of all trades hustle player (Prince?), and we'll roll the dice again in 2008. Major changes aren't needed. Kobe alone is a major addition, and if we had Kobe this past summer, all of this blow-up talk is moot, because we would have taken the gold.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

HKF was right surreal expectations killed this team. We don't need Kobe either, all Kobe would do is shoot even more shots that this team doesn't need. Unless he plays totally different than he does in the NBA than I think he gives this team little if any help.


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## MemphisX (Sep 11, 2002)

The only idea I liked was adding Chris Kaman in place of Brad Miller , then Kobe in place of Jamison and we are a go. Maybe something with the Paul but he has a year of experience over Ridnour and Billups. If we would have taken either over Paul with the same results people would be in an uproar.

PG Paul/Hinrich
SG Wade/Kobe/JJ
SF Bron/Battier
PF Melo/Brand/Bosh
C Howard/Kaman


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## kflo (Jun 28, 2002)

we lost because greece hit like 70% of their shots (and scored 47 pts the next game). how do we prevent that from happening in the future? how does that happen in the first place?


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## ralaw (Feb 24, 2005)

MemphisX said:


> Team USA Hoops...the only time when people think less talent is better. I wonder if Argentina and Greece are thinking of making the same brilliant changes since they each loss a game.





Sir Patchwork said:


> The roleplayer angle is a little overdone. You just need to cover all your bases. The shooting and the defense were both weaknesses.
> 
> I like the team we have, it's the best we can put together with the players who accepted and weren't injured.
> 
> Add Kobe to the team, and maybe another jack of all trades hustle player (Prince?), and we'll roll the dice again in 2008. Major changes aren't needed. Kobe alone is a major addition, and if we had Kobe this past summer, all of this blow-up talk is moot, because we would have taken the gold.


These two post pretty much sum up my opinions on this topic. As Sir Patchwork already said, the whole role player thing has become overrated. Some of the rosters I've seen on this board would struggle to win in the NBA. I understand having balance on offense and defense, but I'm still of the belief that if we sent our absolute best the US would win. I think the current team is going in the right direction, but in my opinion if Kobe is added one of the big three have to go: Wade, James or Anthony (preferably Anthony for me) and replaced with Kobe. Now, in my opinion, Kobe really doesn't want to play, but is giving the impression of interest in order to prevent the backlash he would recieve if he said he didn't want to play (Kobe hate is alive). If Kobe doesn't play than Anthony should be on the team, but he needs to watch his shot selection. This team is too perimeter oriented and needs some inside presence. Paul, Kobe and LeBron could handle the wing fine. 

By 2008, Paul and Hinrich will be good to great players, while Kobe will be Kobe and Wade will be Wade. JJ Redick already is an an elite shooter, while Bron will be Bron. Battier will provide defense and perimeter shooting, while Artest will be the enforcer at the SF and PF spots. Oden should be mature enough to handle the international scene. While Howard and Bosh should be fully developed making leaving Melo at the PF spot usless. Kaman will be good as well providing size, defense and shot blocking.

PG Paul/Hinrich
SG Kobe??/Wade/JJ Redick
SF Bron/Anthony??/Battier/Artest
PF Howard/Bosh
C Oden/Kaman


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

I hate to say this but most of this post is absolutely filled with terrible ideas. 

Suddenly the role players are gonna dig us out of this situation. Thats laughable 

We'll never again be the dominant World Power in Fiba style ball unless the very best players we have play. Not the NBA's marketing guys but the best players we have 

iGive me te older generation of players. 

I'd take Tmac over Melo, Kobe over Lebron or Wade, gotta get KG on board , lose the politically correct posturing and get Artest and Rasheed Wallace on this team. Sheed has all the things this team neeeds in a big, he has, size, low post game and shot blocking he has better skills than Howard and more size than brand. 

I'm trying to keep it real not try and force them 03 guys down our throats when its obvious te flaws in their games may be preventing us from winning. 

Sure in 3 yrs the 03 guys may close the holes in their games but lets get the older , smarter players on board thats part of a big advantage the Dream Team had along with talent was experience in seeing all different defenses and guys who were fundamentally sound

If we had Duncan, Shaq, KG, Kobe, Tmac and Billups on the team we wouldn't lose instead we're sending the marketing campaign. 

Kobe posturing sounds stupid, thats irational, he had surgery this season and had a rape case before. 

PG Kirk Hinrich/Derek Fisher
SG Bruce Bowen/Dwayne Wade
SF LeBron James/Tayshaun Prince
PF Carmelo Anthony/David West
C Emeka Okafor/Chris Kaman
EOB Luke Ridnour/Shane Battier
IR Redick/Bell/Miller

With this roster where's the shooting. Where's the low post scoring. You mention it then ignore it when setting the roster. 

I like Kaman addition just because he has size and some scoring ability wit his back to the basket. I also like Prince he has the all around game including d that could help this squad.

Fisher is as prone to a cold spell as anyone his d in the pick and roll is terrible at times did you watch him plaing for the Lakers all those years. 

The team isn't about Role players its about having fundamentally sound vets who have shored up the weak parts of their games. 

Gotta stop trashing experience for somewhat raw talent. Kobe's, VC's, Tmac's Redd's, Artests, and others experience matters when playing against teams that have been together for yrs. 

The Role Player argument is faulty because those players crafted their roles playing in specific systems with certain types of players doesn't mean they'd offer up the same type of play folded into team USA with players they're not used to playing with. 

We can win this thing again if Colangelo and USA bball get off the politically correct way of thinking picking guys who are not so called threatening to give us a bad image and field a team with tough , and more experienced players who don't have gaping holes in their play I can go through the current roster and pick holes in just about everyone's game that hurts the collective when it comes to winning. 

Time to get real about this thing.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

What this team needs is more work on their defensive assignments and systems, as well as a workable half court offense which actually goes into the post with Melo and Lebron more often. We also need a true center on the team to intimidate in the lane like Howard was doing, as well as who can finish on the offensive end, a little better than Howard was doing, but in the same spirit.

Your complete dismissal of Oden was staggeringly unimaginitive. Dwight showed that there is a definite place for catch and dunk, shotblocking american big men in the international game. If he made his free throws at any kind of rate, he could have threatened to lead the team in scoring.

Here is what happens for 08. The changes are this:
Brad Miller, Jamison, and one of either Bosh or Brand leaves. Probably Bosh, but he has 3 years to get better, and he might just, I'm not writing him off just yet.

Then you are adding:

Kobe Bryant-He completes our superstar rotation. You combo he and Wade, and Lebron and Melo on 1st, and 2nd units, and you can play the same system with pretty much the same results on both units, with Wade and Bron creating for Kobe and Melo. Probably play Chris Paul with Wade/Kobe, just to add a pinch of more playmaking. And Hinrich with Melo/Bron to add defense.

Greg Oden-True American Center. And he is defensively oriented. By 3 years he'll have played 2 years in the Pros and by all indications should be ready to go.

Amare-I have faith he can come back, and his ability to play both the pick and roll, and pick and pop should make him an asset with passers like Paul and James. Hell I can envision even Kobe running the Pick and Roll with Amare. Who do you go with on that? You can't leave Kobe, and you can't leave Amare. Your defense will cheat over for Amare, skip pass to the corner to Battier--3 points.

I think we're good on shooters. I think in 3 years Hinrich, Wade, James, Johnson, and Paul should be pretty dead eye. And I'll take Kobe to make wide open jumpers all day every day over almost any other option in the NBA. If he can make 3's with 3 defenders hanging on him every night, he can make a wide open 20 footer. He's a vet now, so that shot should be a layup to him.

Also I think Kobe meshes well with Lebron, Wade, and Melo's egos. I think with the exception of Melo, they all like him, and with Melo, there's a lot of respect from Kobe for Melo.


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## HKF (Dec 10, 2002)

I agree with jazzy, but we both know they are not going to select Artest (which is stupid IMO, because he is one of the 12 best American players in the NBA) or Wallace.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

jazzy1 said:


> If we had Duncan, Shaq, KG, Kobe, Tmac and Billups on the team we wouldn't lose instead we're sending the marketing campaign.


Wade>>>>>>>Shaq
Lebron>T-Mac or KG--did you watch the NBA this past year?
Duncan refuses to ever play international ball again. And Billups is on the team, but I think had a marriage this time. If he's good enough to take the spot from Paul and Hinrich, he'll do so next time around.

I don't call sending the runner up to the MVP race, and the NBA Finals MVP..."sending the marketing campaign".

It's stupid based upon one loss that some of you completely forget 82 games plus playoffs.

T-Mac needs to work on representing the Houston Rockets, by the way, before we even consider him for Team USA.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

HKF said:


> I agree with jazzy, but we both know they are not going to select Artest (which is stupid IMO, because he is one of the 12 best American players in the NBA) or Wallace.


It's not stupid. Putting Artest on the team, letting him talk to the international media--it's waiting for an embarrassing incident to occur. Colangelo doesn't want to get embarrassed like that. Artest needs to prove he is a good boy before he can get the acclaim. Right now he's a locker room powder keg.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

Our perimeter players don't concern me, especially with Kobe in the mix in 2008. I just wish we could get Duncan and Garnett in the frontcourt. They are the two best power forwards/post players that America has. 

Hopefully Howard's improvement and Oden being on board will remedy that.


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## cadarn (Feb 1, 2006)

qross1fan said:


> Agree with it all, except it's not the fact that EB was used to being the focal point, it's that he was much shorter and at times slower then most the bigs in the games. A 6'8 C in FIBA, or anywhere(except a Midget League), is not a good idea. Can't really blame him for that fault though


The one center thing never made sense from the beginning. Brand as center should be a last resort, not a default option.


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## BucketDawg (Jun 30, 2006)

Team USA just needs to stay the course and develop some offensive and defensive continuity that can only be provided by experience playing together. Just keep the team together for the most part and add guys that can help in areas like Kobe (leadership in clutch), Odom, Amare, Marion, Reddick,Billups etc. Seriously we only lost one game by six points while we missed 14 ft's in the process and Greece shot 70% form the field. Some people are just overreating with knee-jerk reactions. 
We need to curb the unrealistic expectations for every USA team, this latest team played solid and respectable, not perfect, but were definitely good enough to win but they just ran into a great team with great shooting, used to elimination games of that magnitude. Just keep the team intact and they will grow under FIBA rules and become better international players, seriously why are people attacking this team as if they couldn't win the gold, they can, they just need to play better team defense that can only get better through more time and playing together.


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## SeaNet (Nov 18, 2004)

Veteran leadership at the guard spots, shooting, and *no ball holders* (that's for all you Gilbert Arenas and Kobe homers). Oh, and someone should get around to coming up w/ a defense that respects the opponents as basketball players (you can't overplay everyone all the time) and actually installing some sort of offense as opposed to the one-pass... chuck, that we saw this time around.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

The one player I would like for the International game if not for all the baggage would be Rasheed Wallace.I would take him instead of Miller and either wire his jaws shut or put some prozac in his gatorade.

The big thing we need to do is learn how to get away with the same crap that everyone else does to us.If they can set illegal screens we should just lay out people.We really need to learn to deal out the same sort of contact that we were receiving in Japan,send one or two guys over that can rattle the other guys' cages and see if the refs let that sort of stuff go both ways.We can't just take that stuff and never return it.In the Argentina game you saw Lebron and some other guys put some of Argentina's guys on the floor,and set some screens that might have been flagrant fouls in the NBA.If that's how FIBA wants to play then we have to learn how to play the way they used to when Grandpa Mahorn was in the NBA.


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## Hiro! (Sep 10, 2006)

four players that will save team usa


Duncan
Kobe
Kidd
Allen

i dont care who you remove out of the current starting lineup, but with these playes on board its almost a guaranteed gold.


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## DKaiser (Jul 28, 2006)

RollWithEm said:


> So that leaves the 15-man roster looking like this:
> 
> PG Kirk Hinrich/Derek Fisher
> SG Bruce Bowen/Dwayne Wade
> ...


I agree with you on the idea that some degree of revamping is necessary. The tough games team USA faced in this year's FIBA Worlds highlighted different match-up problems and struggles on both ends of the floor. They should consider changing the following:

1) Against Italy, a team that didn't have a legitimate center, team USA had trouble keeping up with their speedy guards. (in: Ron Artest...out: Shane Battier). 

2) Another problem they had in the Italy game was their "funk" from the outside (until Melo took the team on his shoulders). (in: Hamilton, Billups/Mike Bibby, Redd, and Kobe...out: Jamison, CP3, Joe Johnson, & Hinrich)

3) When Greece repeatedly ran their high pick-and-roll play, guess who was the guy team USA couldn't stop? Yes, Schortsanitis, the 6'10" Baby Shaq. Also in that game, second-chance opportunities helped Greece climb back from 12 points down. (in: Sheed, Stoudemire, & Dampier...out: Elton Brand, Chris Bosh, & Brad Miller)

4) When you talk about keepers from the current roster, you think about the success some players had in the tournament. (keep: Melo, Wade, and.....Lebron, just for the sake for having a big guard creating match-up problems.....but the coach should play him as part of a big lineup).

5) Lastly, the coach. What was Howard doing on the bench in that Greece game? In: Pat Riley...Out: Coach K

A game against Spain would've shown a lot more ****** in the armor of the current roster. But this team has more than enough firepower to overcome "funks" that NBA players are known to have from time to time.

Of course, you'd like to have a Shaq, KG, Duncan...but these guys have their minds all made up...or probably just scared to lose?


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## g-dog-rice#2 (Jan 29, 2006)

Get Kobe to play. It's that simple. Why? Because nobody in the NBA can stop him, so you can bet that no international teams are going to shut him down.

C- Sheed: excellent range, solid shotblocker
F- KG: can do anything
F- Kobe: nobody will stop him from scoring; solid defender
G- Allen: 3-point er
G- Kidd: unselfish, strong defender

^^That team would win it - but you might need a better big than Sheed.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

SeaNet said:


> Veteran leadership at the guard spots, shooting, and *no ball holders* (that's for all you Gilbert Arenas and Kobe homers).


Might as well knock off LeBron, Melo and Wade while you're at it.


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## lw32 (May 24, 2003)

g-dog-rice#2 said:


> Get Kobe to play. It's that simple. Why? Because nobody in the NBA can stop him, so you can bet that no international teams are going to shut him down.


Nice theory, but it won't work. Nobody in the NBA can stop LeBron and Wade, yet Team USA still lost. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

futuristxen said:


> Wade>>>>>>>Shaq
> Lebron>T-Mac or KG--did you watch the NBA this past year?
> Duncan refuses to ever play international ball again. And Billups is on the team, but I think had a marriage this time. If he's good enough to take the spot from Paul and Hinrich, he'll do so next time around.
> 
> ...


Come on man Lebron isn't as good as Kobe is and Tmac has a more complete game tan either melo, Wade or Bron. 

Not a Tmac fan but the facts are this. 

Tmac is a better shooter than Wade, melo or bron, he's a better defender than they are, and he has range and experence playing international ball. 

Wade's inablity to shoot the ball consistently from the mid range PLUS his inability to get the NBA calls, hurt team USA in the last 3 games. Lebron's a sf defensively and doesn't play with any real defensive intensity when he does try and play d he only gambles for steals. Plus his jumper in the mid range is inconsistent. 

I was just listing guys from an experience standpoint who don't have as many weaknesses or inconsistencies in their games. KG would have been better than Howard or Brand on the World team and I do realize that Duncan wouldn't play thats why I said try and convince him. 

03 guys lost in the Olympics came back and lost in the Worlds because they are marketed superstars before the've come into teir primes as players. They still have holes despite teir greatness as players. The league is pushing their image as good guys and the future when in fact others may be better suited from an experience standpoint.

What does Wade being better than Shaq have to do with it, Shaq is more valuale to the Heat and a World team than Wade is, there are 5 guys to replace Wade with but NO ONE in the world that gives you what Shaq does with his size and athleticism and talent. 

Lets be real the Heat became contenders and champions because of Shaq's arrival NOT Wade's brillance. Shaq's abilty to draw double teams and his defensive intimidation factor were keys to the heat winning not Wade going off for buckets alone.


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## DKaiser (Jul 28, 2006)

qross1fan said:


> Agree with it all, except it's not the fact that EB was used to being the focal point, it's that he was much shorter and at times slower then most the bigs in the games. A 6'8 C in FIBA, or anywhere(except a Midget League), is not a good idea. Can't really blame him for that fault though


Exactly. The team USA selections prior to 2002 had imposing centers, from Ewing-Robinson to Shaq-Olajuwon to Duncan-Garnett. Since those glory years, USA basketball started preferring versatile players like Elton Brand & Vin Baker (in 2002), both center/forwards. Center Dwight Howard who measures 6'11" plays also plays center-forward and has proven not quite capable of containing Schortsanitis (in the Greece game) or even the Gasol brothers had they clashed in the finals. I think this preference for multi-positional players was meant to overcome foul troubles, so coaches can easily shuffle players. But this is a big mistake. It's like having a swiss army knife...it can be a handy tool, but you need a bigger knife than that to cut down bigger things. In other words, you need specialists for specific objectives.

Speaking of centers, the name Greg Oden keeps cropping up. Is there such a dearth of a dominant American center in the NBA that team USA should look to the high school ranks? What about players like Eddy Curry (remember why Larry Brown hired this guy....he caused him matchup problems when he coached Detroit) and Erick Dampier (the guy who proclaimed himself the 2nd best center in the NBA)?


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

DKaiser said:


> Speaking of centers, the name Greg Oden keeps cropping up. Is there such a dearth of a dominant American center in the NBA that team USA should look to the high school ranks?


Yes.

And Jazzy1, don't guess you watched T-mac or Bron last year. T-mac isn't the same player he used to be. Lebron's better either way. Also I didn't say Bron andd Wade were better or worse than Kobe. I think Kobe should be on the team.

Also I like that Lebron and Wade want to rep their country. T-Mac could care ****ing less. T-mac talks like he doesn't even like basketball anymore.


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## Nuzzo (Jul 11, 2005)

90% of international bball fans are hating on Team USA with no reason well give them a reason
PG-Jason Kidd, Billups
SG-Kobe, Bonzi Wells, Ray Allen 
SF-Ron Ron, Bruce Lee Bowen
PF-KG, Howard
C-Sheed, Zo, Haslem
Coach- Bill Laimbeer 
Ast coach-Rick Mahorn


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Nuzzo said:


> 90% of international bball fans are hating on Team USA with no reason well give them a reason
> PG-Jason Kidd, Billups
> SG-Kobe, Bonzi Wells, Ray Allen
> SF-Ron Ron, Bruce Lee Bowen
> ...


Haha I can co-sign this.


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## kochamkinie (Jan 23, 2006)

Nuzzo said:


> 90% of international bball fans are hating on Team USA with no reason


??? If saying that USA team is not the best one is "hating" - then perhaps You're right. Otherwise You Yourself are hating on the international bball fans.



Nuzzo said:


> well give them a reason
> PG-Jason Kidd, Billups
> SG-Kobe, Bonzi Wells, Ray Allen
> SF-Ron Ron, Bruce Lee Bowen
> ...


So what's the problem? Assemble such a squad and win it all. Every game by +40.  Or keep dreaming.


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## Nuzzo (Jul 11, 2005)

kochamkinie said:


> ??? If saying that USA team is not the best one is "hating" - then perhaps You're right. Otherwise You Yourself are hating on the international bball fans.
> 
> 
> 
> So what's the problem? Assemble such a squad and win it all. Every game by +40.  Or keep dreaming.


If you post a poll with name "D you hate USA national team" in the biggest Lithuanian forum, 90% will be HELL YEA, 8% will be kill the basterds and 2%-Lietuva RULERSZRZRRZ


This team wont win by +40 but they will send at least 8 players straight to hospital :banana: or even 10-2 will be taken down by the coaching staff :biggrin:


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## kochamkinie (Jan 23, 2006)

Aaah, I understand. So 90% of *all* international bball fans are hating on Team USA with no reason. The evidence to it is that *if* someone posts an Internet Poll on biggest *Lithuanian* forum, most of the answers would be saying it.

Yeah, that's great eviedence. Makes perfect sense.


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## Nuzzo (Jul 11, 2005)

I pointed the lithuanian forum as example.


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## JonMatrix (Apr 8, 2003)

I agree about TMac poor attitude these days, he still showed little to no emotion when the Rockets got blown out by 40 in a game 7. But nevertheless, he and AI carried team USA in the Americas tournament in '03. He is on Kobe's level of dominance when he actually cares and is healthy. TMac sat out the '02 WC and '04 Olympics due to his back injury.

As for the three superstars: Wade, Melo, and LeBron. They, along with Amare, should have played more in 04, especially after the first loss. But at the time they weren't any better at outside shooting than the guys who were playing instead (AI,Marbury,Jefferson,Odom,Duncan). Wade played a bit more than the other two due to him actually playing defense, which most of the 04 team did not do. However, his shot was non-existent. Lebron was used as an offensive spark for a few dunks, but whenever the games slowed down, he would get called for carrying and traveling almost everytime he touched the ball. Melo shot every time he got the ball and missed most of them. Amare had the right idea by trying to be aggressive, but he did not have a rounded offensive game at that point to be a consistent factor. Yes Larry Brown was/is a control freak, but they all knew his rep when they signed up for the team.

With that said, I believe Kobe will play within a team concept next year (I believe we have to win the tournament of the Americas again to get into the olympics) and in 08 for these reasons: He has stated time and again his desire to play for USA and he has also stated his immense respect for Coach K. I think he will play relatively unselfishly and help carry the load. Besides, you never can tell about health and fatigue these days, you can never tell who will show up and make the team in the next two years. I think Kobe NEEDS to be on this team and that they NEED him because to put it simply, he is the best all around guard in the world. Better shot than anyone of the selected players besides Redd, better defense than anyone besides Bowen and maybe Battier, most proven clutch player, easily the most creative offensively on the team.

BTW, our '04 team still managed to beat Lithuania when they had a veteran team and we beat them again this year with both sides having a very young team. I'm not trashing them as they did beat us in the exhibition of '04 I believe.


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## g-dog-rice#2 (Jan 29, 2006)

Lachlanwood32 said:


> Nice theory, but it won't work. Nobody in the NBA can stop LeBron and Wade, yet Team USA still lost. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that.


Kobe is a better scorer AND defender than Lebron and Wade. Sure, they're great players, but Kobe is on a whole different level when it comes to scoring. He can shoot the long ball, they can't. He can post up, they don't. 

Kobe would save USA basketball.


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## DKaiser (Jul 28, 2006)

g-dog-rice#2 said:


> Kobe would save USA basketball.


Nope. Surround him with the wrong guys and team USA'd still end up without the Gold.

Team USA has took at the top teams in the competition and figure out which players would do well against these teams. For example: when you think about Greece, you know you'd need a center that can stop Schortsanitis. Against Spain, you'd need to match them well in all five positions. 

Teams that have been known to give USA a hard time (at least in the sense that the game normally would go down the wire) include: Greece, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Spain, & Lithuania. So they must make sure to at least cover most of the weak positions. Like they say in the business circles: competition is never healthier than total domination.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

RollWithEm said:


> PG Kirk Hinrich/Derek Fisher
> SG Bruce Bowen/Dwayne Wade
> SF LeBron James/Tayshaun Prince
> PF Carmelo Anthony/David West
> ...


I'm pretty sure I came up with this whole ridiculous idea just to get Okafor into the starting line-up for team USA. It's like I had a crush on the guy or something.


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