# GameThread USA vs Australia Round of 16 [email protected] Sat



## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I don't know that much about Australia.I tried to dl their game vs Brazil,but the torrent was so slow I abandoned the effort.They have Bogut,but honestly it's hard to see this game being competitive based on the fact that Australia was only able to defeat Qatar and an underperforming Brazil team in group play.Hopefully those idiots at ESPN2 will show the game live at midnight,but their program guide currently lists the game at 1AM.I wonder if Chris Sheridan isn't running things in Bristol sometimes.


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## Wade2Bosh (Mar 31, 2004)

I think those idiots at ESPN are going to show the game on tape delay. ESPN news showed that the game was going to be shown at 1AM on ESPN2.

Also, DirecTv's program guide shows the game on at 1AM and says "delayed" next to it.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Remember when ESPN was known for trying to get sports that were hard to find onto TV . This is pathetic if they show this game on tape delay so we can watch contender reruns or some crap like that


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## Wade2Bosh (Mar 31, 2004)

Pioneer10 said:


> Remember when ESPN was known for trying to get sports that were hard to find onto TV . * This is pathetic if they show this game on tape delay so we can watch contender reruns or some crap like that*


Worse, they are showing an MLS Game. I love soccer but not the MLS.

ESPN has 5 channels yet can't seem to find a way to show the game live.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

*NBA TV is listing the game showing LIVE at midnight, on NBA TV.* they've been listing it as such all day. USA Basketball website also says the game will be on LIVE at midnight on ESPN2. earlier today, ESPN NBA webpage did list it at midnight, but now it's been changed back to 1 am. and it's listed at 1 am on my cable guide (TimeWarner)...


all that said...


*HOW HARD IS IT TO SHOW THE GAMES LIVE?*

heads should roll in bristol if it's not. that's inexcusable. what's the point of delaying it for AN HOUR???


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

ESPN is lucky that I'm not some evil script kiddie.I would by god crash their website and choke their email servers with spam...or just emails telling them to show the freaking game

It's really hard for me to believe that the game will not be on live though.They would get better ratings for one thing

EDIT I sent the morons an email asking them if the game was on live and if it was not then why the hell not and if it was why the hell can't they communicate this fact 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?page=contact/espntv


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Diable said:


> ESPN is lucky that I'm not some evil script kiddie.I would by god crash their website and choke their email servers with spam...or just emails telling them to show the freaking game
> 
> It's really hard for me to believe that the game will not be on live though.They would get better ratings for one thing
> 
> ...


I sent them an email as well: write in campaign lol


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## Hakeem (Aug 12, 2004)

I sent them an email demanding a replay of the 1987 Cricket World Cup final.

Australia is pretty weak (the basketball team, not the cricket squad). I hear they haven't sent out their best side, preferring to give young guys some experience. They recently lost to New Zealand. They did thrash Qatar by 40-something, but Australian sporting teams have always had a tendency of going a bit over the top in pummelling minnows.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

OT The Fantastic Four animated series looks hella good. What say ye to that?


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## Greg Ostertag! (May 1, 2003)

Tonight, that will be the outstretched arm of anonymously evil USA player.


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## BG7 (Jun 25, 2003)

My channel guide says

10 PM: MLS Soccer
12 AM: ATV Racing Tour
1 AM: Fishing
2 AM: Drag Racing Repeat
3 AM: Drag Racing Repeat
4 AM: Fishin' Hole
4:30 AM: Rods & Wheels

What happened to the game?


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## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

My channel guide has the game starting at 12 am(1 ET). 

I can't believe ESPN won't be televising this game LIVE :curse:


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## Shabadoo (Feb 12, 2005)

Australia certainly doesn’t have their best squad present in Japan, and it really shows. While I guess the same thing can be said about the US, losing a couple of superstars and replacing them with all-stars (or near all-stars) is certainly better than replacing decent players with terrible players- as has happened with us.

We are essentially missing four of our best five players; being Chris Anstey (injury), Matt Nielson (Insurance problems), David Anderson (probably insurance- he signed a new contract I think) and Big Luke Schenscher (trying to make the NBA). While none of those names are likely to strike fear in the Americans or their supporters, it certainly helps to have people who are tall and actually have some motor skills, i.e. the ability to rebound and put the ball in the basket; unlike Russell “I’ve Never Played Basketball Before” Hinder. Anstey has actually developed his skills quite considerably since leaving the NBA, and is actually quite a good player now IMO.

We are also missing Glenn Saville (a jack of all trades swingman), Steven “Saboteur” Markovic (a speedy gunner) and Stephen Black, who is a great perimeter shooter and a reasonable playmaker- a guy I prefer to CJ Bruton, although he has done well this tournament. Add these absentees to Andrew Bogut, who has seemingly forgotten that he’s a centre and has inexplicably been hanging out on the perimeter, and it all adds up to an easy time for Team USA.

In terms of guys to watch for the future, I’d say that Brad Newley and Aaron Bruce have the potential to make the NBA in some capacity. Newley is a decent swingman prospect, possessing reasonable physical attributes; being the right height (6’6”), decent hops and a degree of explosiveness on penetration. His jump shot, while still wavering, should become quite a weapon with seasoning. He is clay waiting to be developed, but will need to improve his offensive awareness and game strategy in order to fit in at a higher level.

“Bruiser” Bruce mimics Bogut, in both appearance and demeanour. He’s a Crocodile Wrestler; willing to dig in amongst the trees and fight for his pie and sauce. Those who watch college basketball may have seen him- he plays for Baylor I believe. He plays with reckless abandon, and is not afraid to take the big shot or go inside in spite of his diminutive frame.

The best players in the tournament for Australia have been CJ Bruton and Sam Mackinnon. Although Bruton was partially responsible for our impressive exhibition of choking against Greece, he has been the most reliable offensive player for us so far. Although he’s far from John Stockton (or even Kirk and Chris) he’s run our offence fairly well- to the point where we are almost unable to score when he is off the court. I’d think that he should be in the NBA on a minimum contract- which is what he was aiming for when he played for Cleveland’s summer league team. What you get is a decent, albeit streaky, perimeter shooter, a good ball-handler, and a decent passer with plenty of experience at high (but not the highest) levels.

Sammy Mack, possibly a recipient of one of Sausage King’s “jobs for the old boys”, has provided some much needed grit and intensity. With Bogut playing more “Priscilla” than “Mad Max”, we’ve needed someone to get the loose balls and sky for the rebounds. Sammy, while now a grizzled (and bearded) veteran, has probably been our best rebounder- at only ~6’6”. He still can’t really shoot, but he isn’t scared to get to the basket on O and D. I think he’s done a bang-up job.

Predictions? Much of our performance here will depend on young Humphrey. If he plays in the same manner as he has been, this will be over before Auntie Deidre brings out the oranges at half-time. If he pulls his finger out, things may be different. 

He needs to go “Chopper” Reid on the Americans; pull out the proverbial gatt and start busting. Choke a couple of them in the opening minute. Get Hinrich in the full-Nelson- take his lunch money. Show Dwight Howard who God really is. Shoot a couple of expletives at the refs that would make Joey Johns blush. Take a couple of the Mitchell Sargent’s at half time, and emerge in a Tony Montana-esque, cocaine-fuelled stupor. In this schizophrenic, Napoleonic state he will uppercut Dwyane Wade Johnny Cage style. Wade won’t be faking any injuries with Bogut in the game- Dwyane’s comical writhing is actually the first sign of his impending death.

“If you can see Andrew Bogut, he can see you. If you can't see Andrew Bogut, you may be only seconds away from death”

Once Bogues has softened em’ up, we’ll unleash our secret weapon, and it’ll be over before the cheese and biscuits….



















David "The Shermanator" Barlow

But, probably not. Australia’s “B” team isn’t going to cut it against Team USA. Our horrendous perimeter defence will prove ever-so inviting for Carmelo, Wade and Bron. We’re also prone to making junior-varsity style passing and dribbling errors. However, I think that we’ll fight to the end to ensure that things are (fairly) respectable.

Say, USA 110 – AUS 82


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## Unique (Apr 13, 2005)

Here in LA ESPN 2 is showing it live at 10pm.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Well that would be great except that the game starts at 9PM West Coast time

There is an MLS Game on ESPN.I don't know much about it,but I suspect it will take longer than hour to play their soccer game...


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Is there a good gamecast of this anywhere: i.e. yahoo?


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

well it is on LIVE on NBA TV right now. 

is it possible that ESPN2 will have it in an hour? 

that's nuts.

anyway...

here we go.

win or go home.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

USA starts

Paul
Anthony
James
Brand
Battier


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

What did the morons say at the end of Sportscenter when they showed our guys warming up and then said Baseball tonight is next?Espn sucks and that goes double for ESPN2.They can show their stupid MLS game on ESPN classic if anyone cares about it.


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## gamadict (Jul 28, 2002)

The anchor even said it would be on in 5 minutes going into the break, then said it's on at 1 after the break. christ


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

I don't get NBATV and I am not paying another 25bucks a month to get it...Only about one in fifty households does get it...This is reprehensible.


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## gamadict (Jul 28, 2002)

They were advertising this game for 12 for a while, why did they suddenly decide to show a random MLS game instead?


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Diable said:


> I don't get NBATV and I am not paying another 25bucks a month to get it...Only about one in fifty households does get it...This is reprehensible.


 This is bull****: this is a freakin national team game. Somehow they get the WNBA on freakin network TV but we can't get the basketball equivalent of the world cup on?


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

Ozzies (australians) up by one early.

15-14 4:45 1st

bogut looks good. hitting those perimeter shots. even put the ball on the floor - behind the back dribble - and puts up a layup. carrying them. 

lebron and carmelo look particularly disinterested in defense tonight.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

usa out of the timeout has wade, hinrich, anthony, howard and jamison.

immediately the defensive intensity increases.

USA up 21-19 2:40 1st.

it's criminal of espn2 to not air this live, but i have to say, tonight, for the very first time, NBA TV has earned it's keep on my cable bill!


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Howard is the only real interior shotblocker we have: he needs to be in the game a lot.


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## Anima (Jun 3, 2003)

Pioneer10 said:


> Is there a good gamecast of this anywhere: i.e. yahoo?


 The FIBA website is the only place I know which is gamecasting the World Championships.


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## Laker Freak (Jul 1, 2003)

I don't pay for NBA TV but for some reason I'm getting the game for free.

USA up by 17 as Bogut picks up his third foul.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

41-24 USA 5:19 2nd.

joe johnson's hittin' from the outside. 

dwight howard continues to impress.

"the defensive intensity increases with hinrich in the game" - nba tv announcers.

USA only allowed one point so far in the second.

bogut just picked up his THIRD foul.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

The Fiba gamecast sucks: so slow


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Now my gamecast has been jammed at 6:18 for ten minutes...As if I could get more pissed about this ****.


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## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

Coach K takes Paul out when the game's a stalemate, inserts Hinrich and....guess what...USA now has a 30-point lead at the half.

Joe Johnson and Battier are huge for this team.


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## Perfectflaw (Aug 20, 2006)

59-29 at the half,another 2nd quarter explosion. Wade and King throwing dimes out there,glad to see Bosh get some time and play well so far.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

:jawdrop:




USA smothers Australia in the second quarter 32-6. 6 points. 

USA up 59-29 at the half.


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## Gambino (Feb 11, 2004)

That was just beautiful basketball from the US in that 2nd quarter. Joe Johnson was owning them in the 2nd quarter offensively and Kirk Hinrich was owning them at the other end.


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## mizenkay (Dec 29, 2003)

ESPN2 does have the game coming on *right now*.

oh, and the score is still 59-29. LOL.

thanks for playing!


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## Real (Aug 3, 2005)

Let's get it started.


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## VincentVega (Oct 12, 2003)

Carmelo with a great steal, the dish to Paul...who blows the wide open layup and fouls the rebounder.


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## qross1fan (Dec 28, 2004)

So basically is whupping *** this game? Any point in watching it??

Someone tell me how Newley and EB are doing so far


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## Premier (Oct 30, 2003)

So, I'm an hour behind, I guess.

Shane Battier is looking sharp [through the first five or so minutes].


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## Geaux Tigers (Apr 26, 2004)

Andrew Bogut is a beast. I love the way he plays


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## Real (Aug 3, 2005)

Wait a minute, why the hell is ESPN2 broadcasting the game a hour later?

What kind of ****...


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

This sux...I bet Coach K was very unhappy with the defense that EB was playing at the start of this game...He lost Bogut three times and gave up seven points I think.Australia was selfdestructing at the end of the first quarter really.


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## CbobbyB (Feb 16, 2006)




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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Interesting distribution of minutes for the bigs.Howard only got 11 minutes and Bosh got 18 minutes...

Lots of assists 24 from only 41 field goals.That's pretty unusual.


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

Bosh actually looked a lot better then Brand today and Paul was nowhere to be found. It looks like Lebron played more point today then any other player for the US.

US looked to goof off a little too much during the early part of the game I though: better not do that again Spain or Australia

*the is based on my first half analysis


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Bosh finally pulled his head out of his ***. He played really well today.
Chris Paul set the USA record for assists in the WC. Besting Doc Rivers and some other guy.
The Big Three have figured out their roles. Melo is the scorer with the first unit. Lebron is the creator whether Paul is out there or not. And Wade is the Melo of the second unit.

It's funny because Fran was going on and on about how these games were going to be tougher, I think this was one of our easiest wins in the tournament thus far. And now we've got Germany who were lucky to beat Nigeria. Wow did we get a favorable draw. If China upsets Greece we could be talking cake-walk to the final.


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## ChiBron (Jun 24, 2002)

Kinda disappointed by our lack of intensity to start off the game and *HOPEFULLY* we don't do this against the TOP teams we'll be facing soon. Other than that, great performance. Only player who didn't impress was Elton Brand and I'm glad Coach K limited his mins. while going w/ Bosh(amazing what confidence can do). Elton's shot selection has been bothering me for a while and he's isn't giving much on D and boards either. Chris Paul redeemed his poor 1st half w/ a solid 2nd. The break assured a typical defensive performance from Kirk. The Trio was near flawless. Especially LeBron's playmaking. He should play PG full time when Paul isn't on the court and half of that when Paul is.

So what do we need to work on? Better effort/intensity to start off games and more set plays on offense(what's Coach K doing?). If we aren't gonna move the ball around much then better run the pick n roll every possession.

Needs to be said again: FRISCHILLA SUCKS!


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## KingOfTheHeatians (Jul 22, 2005)

I hate Fran Frischilla. Finds a way to put a negative spin on everything we do. It's very annoying. I'm not saying he needs to kiss USA ***. But stop being such a downer. As for the game, I was really, really encouraged by how we played after the first quarter. That second period was just a thing of beauty. We finally stopped taking so many gambles on defense and just played straight up. 

Great to see Bosh playing well. I was worried he would get lost in the shuffle with how he started out. Good to see Battier and JJ stroking the ball from deep. I know LeBron played a solid overall game and made some beautiful passes, but I still would like to see him find some kind of offensive rhythm out there.


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## futuristxen (Jun 26, 2003)

Yeah Fran Frishilla is what we call in the biz a Buzzkill. He makes it hard to enjoy the game as a fan. He has to take a piss on everything. Even after we win the gold, he'll be like "well, it's not 08, this team was built for 08, the olympics will be much harder".

Where's Walton? I miss Walton and all of his crazy facts about diffrent parts of the world and diffrent international players. Fran's expertise was nice at first, but now it's just driving me crazy.


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## Sir Patchwork (Jan 12, 2005)

Funny for as much as Fran nitpicks every little thing that "won't be acceptable against Argentina" he still has USA as his favorite to win the whole thing. Dude is just trying too hard to be a contrarian. 

Good game today. The backcourt and wings are looking good as ever, the big man rotation and consistency still isn't there.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

*T*his game was really too easy once we stopped giving away baskets with defensive breakdowns by the interior players.Elton Brand's defense was quite poor on Bogut at the start of the game,but Australia really never posed much threat and after awhile they started giving us transition oppurtunities.It was really good to see Johnson scoring efficiently in this game.He was really great in the second quarter. Lebron was making plays again after not being as effective as you'd like against Italy.

It's hard for me to believe that we had assists on over half of our field goals and a lot of these came when guys gave up open shots on ball reversal to get point blank shots.Really it would be a huge disappointment if this team didn't make the finals given such a favorable draw.If the Germans beat us I might die of shock to be honest and it's hard to see any of the teams on the other side of the bracket beating us unless we help them out a lot.​

*BOXSCORE*
*ACCUMULATED STATS*​


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## Pioneer10 (Sep 30, 2004)

I wish Duncan was playing. Overall, I love Howard but the way Coach K runs in out of lineups I would have preferred two real centers in there.

Hopefully, Oden will pan out. I'm a bit tired being undersized inside against every single team


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## vi3t_boi11 (Aug 14, 2004)

Good for Bosh, looks like that game against Senegal gave him a major confidence boost


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## Lynx (Mar 6, 2004)

*yawn*

That wasn't even close.


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## Brandname (May 24, 2006)

Sir Patchwork said:


> Funny for as much as Fran nitpicks every little thing that "won't be acceptable against Argentina" he still has USA as his favorite to win the whole thing. *Dude is just trying too hard to be a contrarian*.
> 
> Good game today. The backcourt and wings are looking good as ever, the big man rotation and consistency still isn't there.


That's about the best assessment of his commentary that I've seen. I think he likes the US team more than he lets on (he still has them winning), but he feels like it's somehow fashionable to point out how bad US fundamentals, etc. are. We hear the same thing from so many people (US lacks fundamentals, relies solely on athleticism, etc.), but they're just not true. Our fundamentals are fine. In fact, I'd say the only thing that we're consistently worse in than these teams is pure shooting. Most of these teams' players are just flat out ridiculous shooters. It's the fact that they don't do other things particularly well that they don't make it into the NBA. 

On another note, I've been hearing a lot that Lebron has been quiet or disappointing throughout the tournament/exhibition games. As a fan of his, I think people are looking for the wrong thing. Lebron's role in an offense is not naturally the role he plays in Cleveland. For the Cavs, it feels like he's forced into a lot more scoring than he's comfortable with because there aren't many other capable (consistent) scorers on the team.

On team USA, everyone is a very good or great scorer, so he's diminished his scoring role accordingly. And he looks very comfortable. This was one of his best games for team USA I think, and he only scored 5 points (I think). He only forced one shot (that really bad 3 pointer from the corner), but he was our most effective point guard in this game. He wasn't awarded with nearly as many assists as it seemed he was getting, creating scoring opportunities left and right. I like him in that role more than in a scoring role. He's the best passer on team USA (including Chris Paul). 

I also like the role that Melo and Wade have embraced. Melo has been a pure scorer, which is ultimately something we'll need for a team that is unselfish in general. And Wade has been somewhere in between Melo and Lebron, looking to score but also be a proficient playmaker. 

Even though it wasn't the best competition, I'm sitll much more confident after watching this game. The players are starting to understand where they are most effective in the offense, and we're learning how to put the clamps down on defense to make our run. Good game all around.


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## iloveu (Aug 28, 2004)

Lebron did a great job passing the ball this game. I don't know how Lebron only got credited with 4 assists, it seemed like he had about 4 in the first quarter alone.

Its good to see Bosh look more confident out there. He is capable of being a big part of the team.


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