# Dirk: He (Kobe) would have won it for the Americans single-handedly.



## bender (Jul 15, 2002)

*Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Dirk Nowitzki gave an interview to German sports website Sport1.de

In German:
_*Sport1:* Woran hat es bei den Amerikanern gehapert?

*Nowitzki:* Bitter war, dass Kobe Bryant sich verletzt hat. Dessen Präsenz hätte allein schon gereicht, um das Turnier zu gewinnen. Auf diesem Niveau sehe ich ihn. Für mich ist er derzeit der beste Spieler der Welt. Der kennt so was wie Angst gar nicht. Das ist dem alles egal. Der hätte das im Alleingang für die Amis gewonnen._

Translation:
_*Sport1:* What did the Americans lack?

*Nowitzki:* It was bitter that Kobe Bryant got injured. His presence alone would have been enough to win the tournament. That's the level I see him on. To me he is the best player in the world right now. That guy doesn't know fear at all. He doesn't care. He would have won it for the Americans single-handedly._


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## BG7 (Jun 25, 2003)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

So even Dirk agrees just sending a team consisting of Kobe, and having him play 1 on 5 will work!


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## jordan0386 (Jul 4, 2006)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

well, its kinda hard not to agree considering...nobody on Greece can check him...but then again, nobody on Greece can check anybody in the League, but they did happen to beat Team USA...strange planet we live on


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## Sad Mafioso (Nov 7, 2004)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Dirk also thought USA was unbeatable coming into this tourney. Even if his german side was steam rolled by Greece in the euro championship.


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## jordan0386 (Jul 4, 2006)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

one has nothing to do with the other


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Dirk has seen his Mavericks get single-handedly destroyed by Kobe Bryant alone, so it's no surprise he has this kind of respect for him.


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## Matej (Aug 14, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

so why aren't lakers the nba champions?


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## One on One (Dec 12, 2004)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Smart man Dirk is....you will see in 08, there is no player like Kobe. I don't know why some people are so blind and annointing all these false prophets.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



Matej said:


> so why aren't lakers the nba champions?


For the same reason the Mavericks aren't. They weren't the best team. That shouldn't detract from the type of player Dirk or Kobe is, though.


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## Matej (Aug 14, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



Sir Patchwork said:


> For the same reason the Mavericks aren't. They weren't the best team. That shouldn't detract from the type of player Dirk or Kobe is, though.


so you agree dirk's words are BS


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



Matej said:


> so you agree dirk's words are BS


Not at all. Dirk was pointing out that USA was missing the player that would have been the most effective player on the team under the FIBA rules because of his ability to smoothly sink the long ball consistently and also get into the paint and finish when he wants to. Kobe would have also been the veteran on a team of very young players. He would have put an imprint of confidence on the team, and also put some fear into other teams, just with his presence alone. That's what Dirk was talking about with the presence.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Dirk is also the guy who blasted the way Americans play last offseason, saying it's an individual's sport and not a team sport. Kobe's name was involved in his statement too. Apparently he has had a change of heart, saying he is the best player in the world and his being there this summer would have had a drastic impact on the outcome.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

I think we win if we just have one really great shooter.That doesn't have to be Kobe,in fact with only about 100 possessions per game it's hard to see how many superstars you can really have on one team.
We lost in large part because we couldn't hit the jumper against the zone.Sad as it sounds JJ Redick might have been enough to get us past Greece.The sort of densely compact zone they were playing would have been suicidal against him.

Of course up until that game we were shooting over 40 percent from the 3pt line and the Greeks were one of the worst in the WC shooting treys.They hit a lot of their shots and we were terrible.Today Greece looked ten times worse against the zone than we did and they could barely hit the rim.After watching them against Spain it seems to me that we could have beaten them fairly easily if we had been more familiar with their players and the stuff they run.For that matter if we'd just been able to play an effective zone ourselves.They were shooting well against us,but they beat us by getting into the lane and I don't think they have a very effective zone offense.


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## Dee-Zy (Jan 12, 2006)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



Matej said:


> so why aren't lakers the nba champions?




that struck something interesting in my mind, are the Heat better than Team USA?

(let's say Wade could be cloned)

Cuz If I'm not mistaking all the heat players are american, so the Heat and Riley as the team could very well go in and represent USA, would they win?


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## jordan0386 (Jul 4, 2006)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

yes...Alonzo would be having none of that lay-up line non sense

but its unrealistic to send an entire franchise there...for obvious reasons


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## One on One (Dec 12, 2004)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



Diable said:


> JJ Redick might have been enough to get us past Greece.


I think JJ Redick should be on the team along with Michael Redd in case one or the other is cold. There is already plenty of talent, it doesn't matter that JJ isn't a star. We have enough of those.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Joe Johnson is as good a shooter as Michael Redd, and he actually defends.
As for Redick, we don't know what he would do against professionals.

Team USA needs three main things(in no order):
-Better scouting(Coach K not knowing the Greek players names was inexcusable and embarrassing. How can USA basketball not have a permanent scout? Or just someone who watches NBA TV in the summer? Boggles the mind)
-Better Frontline(We were a little thin up front, someone said before the tourney that Brand and Howard would be too small, I disagreed at the time, but I think they were right. We got bullied in the paint a lot, and adding Greg Oden would fix a lot of this)
-More time together(something that will be addressed by the olympics).

All three things are fixable by staying the course(with the exception of hiring a scout. But how hard is that? Go hire some one from the Spurs as a scout, or advisor to the team).


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Unless guys like Wade, Anthony and Melo plan on not shooting at all. Then no Kobe isnt the answer. And how many points can one guy put up, if the other team keeps scoring then its really of no use.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



futuristxen said:


> Joe Johnson is as good a shooter as Michael Redd, and he actually defends.
> As for Redick, we don't know what he would do against professionals.
> 
> Team USA needs three main things(in no order):
> ...


I think we have a pretty good idea what Redick would do against a zone

Supposedly Rudy T was in charge of scouting,but it's pretty obvious that our players didn't know what to expect from the Greeks and I think it's reasonable to believe we'd have beaten them if they had.


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## 77AJ (Feb 16, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

I agree with Dirk that Kobe is the answer. More importantly Kobe will answer the call when his time comes. Kobe won't allow for these 3rd rate finishes to go any further when he takes the court for team USA.


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## 77AJ (Feb 16, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



Diable said:


> I think we win if we just have one really great shooter.*That doesn't have to be Kobe,in fact with only about 100 possessions per game it's hard to see how many superstars you can really have on one team.*
> We lost in large part because we couldn't hit the jumper against the zone.Sad as it sounds JJ Redick might have been enough to get us past Greece.The sort of densely compact zone they were playing would have been suicidal against him.
> 
> Of course up until that game we were shooting over 40 percent from the 3pt line and the Greeks were one of the worst in the WC shooting treys.They hit a lot of their shots and we were terrible.Today Greece looked ten times worse against the zone than we did and they could barely hit the rim.After watching them against Spain it seems to me that we could have beaten them fairly easily if we had been more familiar with their players and the stuff they run.For that matter if we'd just been able to play an effective zone ourselves.They were shooting well against us,but they beat us by getting into the lane and I don't think they have a very effective zone offense.


I believe the original dream team would disagree with your bolded comments.


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## TwiBlueG35 (Jan 24, 2006)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



Matej said:


> so why aren't lakers the nba champions?


Then why didn't the best player of the NBA champion team Miami Heat, Dwayne Wade, win the gold medal for the U.S......twice? There was D Wade in 2004 Olympics. There was D Wade in 2006 FIBA World Champion. Both times, Americans got bronze medal.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

If we get Kobe he will play the role Melo does. One of them will come off the bench. And it will make Wade into more of a creative player than just a finisher. He'll fit in fine. He knows and gets along with all three guys with varying degrees, and they have nothing but respect for him. So they will be accomidating.

You guys as fans just have to get over box score watching the points per game and start watching more facets of the game. Because all of these guys do other things besides score.


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## Sixerfanforlife (Jun 23, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

Your going to need a talented coach to coach this olympics squad in 08, and no Krzyski is not a talented coach. He just was lucky to be surrounded with great talent.


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## DKaiser (Jul 28, 2006)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*

True...you need a good coach to draw up the plays....but the coaches can't save the players from missing free throws or turning the ball over or boneheaded passes or ill-advised shots/drives or getting outrebounded. Only the players can save themselves from these "malaise".

In the end, it's about the player with the ball making wise choices. Admit it. Team USA lost to Greece because they made bad choices in the game. Greece made the most of their opportunities. You think Greece could shoot the lights out if there was tight defense? Call a spade a spade. Some players got lazy in defense and paid the price for it. It's not the referees fault. It's not even luck....repeat after me: "Bonehead got them beat"...Good.


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## Matej (Aug 14, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



TwiBlueG35 said:


> Then why didn't the best player of the NBA champion team Miami Heat, Dwayne Wade, win the gold medal for the U.S......twice? There was D Wade in 2004 Olympics. There was D Wade in 2006 FIBA World Champion. Both times, Americans got bronze medal.


That doesn't mean Kobe would get them the gold. Especially not "single-handedly"...


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## RomaVictor (Feb 16, 2004)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



futuristxen said:


> You guys as fans just have to get over box score watching the points per game and start watching more facets of the game. Because all of these guys do other things besides score.


NBA circus monkeys run and jump but IQ lack!!! 
:banana: 

Don't even try talking to some of these people. Do idiots really believe that all Kobe brings to the table is scoring? I used to be a huge Kobe hater but he's won even me over (and I'm a Blazers fan.) He's a cold-blooded killer and would be supremely effective in FIBA ball. It wouldn't even be funny to see him penetrate and kick out to Michael Redd for a three and then take it all the way to the hole himself as he worms his way to the basket.

Apparently, everyone also forgets that US college teams go over and do well against professional European teams. I think a decent but not great maryland squad went over there and went 3 out of 4 or 5 against Italian professional teams (and I'd add that they have American players.)


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## AUNDRE (Jul 11, 2005)

> (translated to english)
> Sport1: What did the Americans lack?
> 
> Nowitzki: It was bitter that Kobe Bryant got injured. His presence alone would have been enough to win the tournament. That's the level I see him on. To me he is the best player in the world right now. That guy doesn't know fear at all. He doesn't care. He would have won it for the Americans single-handedly.


http://www.sport1.de/de/sport/artikel_346488.html


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## AUNDRE (Jul 11, 2005)

> (translated to english)
> Sport1: What did the Americans lack?
> 
> Nowitzki: It was bitter that Kobe Bryant got injured. His presence alone would have been enough to win the tournament. That's the level I see him on. To me he is the best player in the world right now. That guy doesn't know fear at all. He doesn't care. He would have won it for the Americans single-handedly.


http://www.sport1.de/de/sport/artikel_346488.html


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

:biggrin: Yup.


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

Kind of odd to see Dirk say something good about Kobe.....


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## ballistixxx (Jan 24, 2006)

I didn't expect Dirk not to say that


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## orhe (May 10, 2006)

but he's so right...


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## kironte (Aug 30, 2006)

hahahahaha

untill Usa starts playing as a team no player will make them win a championship

poor asslicker dirk........at least he´s tall :biggrin:


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## nbanoitall (May 21, 2004)

AUNDRE said:


> http://www.sport1.de/de/sport/artikel_346488.htmlhttp://www.sport1.de/de/sport/artikel_346488.html


single handedly no... you cant pass up what Melo did this summer. In 08 its the Melo and Kobe show.


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## bender (Jul 15, 2002)

I mentioned that one already. Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss


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## P-Dub34 (May 19, 2005)

I don't know if he would have "single-handedly" won it, but he undoubtedly would've been a huge boost.


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## Dre (Jun 20, 2003)

He's an unstoppable scorer..that's great to have in any federation in the world. People over complicate things.


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## The lone wolf (Jul 23, 2003)

Obviously adding Kobe to this team is a HUGE plus.. 

and by the way - we lost to Greece not because we couldn't score but cause we couldn't get stops.

I think poor in-game changes are the main reason for the loss - not the lack of kobe or any other player


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## Matej (Aug 14, 2005)

Check out the article titled "Can't Compare Kobe and MJ" on Scottie Pippen's BLOG 

It says a lot about basketball now and then in the NBA.


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## cgcatsfan (Jun 10, 2005)

The lone wolf said:


> Obviously adding Kobe to this team is a HUGE plus..
> 
> and by the way - we lost to Greece not because we couldn't score but cause we couldn't get stops.
> 
> I think poor in-game changes are the main reason for the loss - not the lack of kobe or any other player


I agree whole heartedly. We couldn't shut them down. We had ONE off shooting night in the whole tourney. We could have survived that IF we had played killer defense. We didn't. We shot poorly, defended poorly and turned it over too much. Having said that, I can't subscribe to the Team USA sucks theory. Being a rabid hoops fan, nothing less than gold was going to make me happy either. 
But we didn't suck.


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## jaja (Jan 4, 2005)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



RomaVictor said:


> NBA circus monkeys run and jump but IQ lack!!!
> :banana:


why do the mods on this board encourage this sort of racist nonsense. or maybe this postr is a moderator?


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

*Re: Dirk Nowitzki's thoughts on the US loss*



RomaVictor said:


> I think a decent but not great maryland squad went over there and went 3 out of 4 or 5 against Italian professional teams (and I'd add that they have American players.)


7/8 > 3/4


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## PauloCatarino (May 31, 2003)

Matej said:


> Check out the article titled "Can't Compare Kobe and MJ" on Scottie Pippen's BLOG
> 
> It says a lot about basketball now and then in the NBA.


The definite proof that Pippen is a moron:



> Charles was a load to deal with. He was a guy that was probably, as far as height and length wise, when I first came into the league, a guy that played a lot like me.





> But the most impressive thing about Charles Barkley was that when he had the ball he possessed the abilities of a guard. He could grab a rebound and then just take your team right into transition, and that was when I felt like he was at the pinnacle of his game.





> Kobe Bryant's 81-point performance the other night against Toronto was certainly incredible, but it is unfair to try and compare what Kobe did to what Michael Jordan did in his playing career or what he could have done for that matter.





> But in today's game, you can't put that physical wear and tear on a guy. It's a free ball type of game. If you are shooting it well, you can score 80, as you've seen because you are going to get to the foul line.





> When Michael Jordan scored 40, it was all over the front page of a newspaper. Now you can pretty much have 40 points at halftime





> If you want to say that Kobe could get 100, I would say that Michael could get 100. If Kobe could get 81, I think Michael could get 100 in today's game.


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## Matej (Aug 14, 2005)

So... what are you trying to say, Paulo?


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## bender (Jul 15, 2002)

Matej said:


> Check out the article titled "Can't Compare Kobe and MJ" on Scottie Pippen's BLOG
> 
> It says a lot about basketball now and then in the NBA.


Who cares? Pippen is like your old grandpa telling you that back in the days, winter used to be so cold even penguins wore a shawl. He overestimates his own playing time, like all players do. Ask Oscar Robertson, and he'll tell you that Pippen is plain wrong, and that the 60's where actually the toughest era in NBA history. Ask John Wooden and ... you know.

Pippen says it's easier to draw a foul for the offensive player today than it was in Jordan's Prime, meaning that today's scorers have more opportunities to score easy points from the penalty stripe. But actually there were much more fouls called and much more freethrows awarded in Jordan's Prime than there are today. This is like grandpa saying the winter 1920 was coldest ever, but historical climate records telling the opposite.


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## Matej (Aug 14, 2005)

bender said:


> Who cares? Pippen is like your old grandpa telling you that back in the days, winter used to be so cold even penguins wore a shawl. He overestimates his own playing time, like all players do. Ask Oscar Robertson, and he'll tell you that Pippen is plain wrong, and that the 60's where actually the toughest era in NBA history. Ask John Wooden and ... you know.
> 
> Pippen says it's easier to draw a foul for the offensive player today than it was in Jordan's Prime, meaning that today's scorers have more opportunities to score easy points from the penalty stripe. But actually there were much more fouls called and much more freethrows awarded in Jordan's Prime than there are today. This is like grandpa saying the winter 1920 was coldest ever, but historical climate records telling the opposite.


Who cares? Pippen has the gold medal, LeBronze doesn't. So grandpa's maybe right...


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## beamer05 (Feb 24, 2006)

Gotta respect Scottie, he was a great player and a champion.. I think he is just very biased and sticking up for his boy, MJ. While anyone being compared to MJ is ridiculous I don't think Scottie needs to knock Kobe for him being compared to him. It's not as if Kobe wants to be compared to MJ, who would want that?

As for Dirk's comments... I somewhat agree with him. I thought from the beginning that USA would win it all- even when I found out Kobe wasn't going to play- but I was obviously wrong. I didn't think they couldn't lose, but I thought they would win somehow. With Kobe on the team however, it would be so much more of a dynamic team. I think everyone involved, even Kobe and the 3 captains, would realize what is at stake and wouldn't complain too much about sharing the ball or not getting shots. What would happen is that Kobe would score, but he wouldn't need to score like he did with the Lakers. He could put up 15ppg and then be a lock down defender on that pick and roll that Greece killed us with. 15ppg isn't hard for Kobe to put up, so to have him out there playing tight D and scoring would be nice. I say- C. Paul, Kobe, Redd, Lebron, Howard as the first unit would be unbelieveable and have it all. Then Billups, D. Wade, Redick, Melo, a healthy Amare would be a really nice second unit. Those ten, assuming they all make it and are healthy, with Brand and Battier is what would hopefully bring us the gold. Wow, long post.


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