I've been saying this for YEARS.

Instead of putting together a weak team with the best players in the league

Why not just send the best team in the league to compete internationally?

You win the NBA championship

You go to the Olympics.

Why can't we just let Padre and the Heat wipe the floor with those Euros?

Basketball is TEAM SPORT, dammit.

1000 reasons. Shaq is too busy eating all summer for one. Hey.. what if Dallas won? No Dirk.

They are doing it the right way. What they need is more team players.

Yeah man the players have to go down there thinking pick up game. This is like a world street ball game. My people against yours. It annoys me that the us can't get it together. There is no pride. They feel like they are too good. They are but like everyone says, basketball is a team sport.

The original dream team had some of the 50 greatest players on it. Everyone just went down there and took it to the world. They just played and took what came to them.

Could it be that these current players are just not that good? Back with the dream team those guys were used to scoring 50% from the field or very close to it. Today guys are stars with shooting percentages like 40%.

Even the teams that had DC and Kemp. Those guys went down there and got ignorant. They we're down there clowning those euro guys. Penny and grant hill? Those guys were just as relentless.

The players today like to coast and pick their spots and just isolate. They are more of momentum players or guys that only come on strong if they get their touches. None of these guys can play the team game.

Guys like Bowen and battier are on the new installment over guys like Marion. USA needs role players? How about Bruce Bowen would average 20pts per game if he played in Europe! Battier would average 30pts! At this stage everyone is a role player. They gotta get down and just play ball. What is the coach for? Not to call the plays. Those guys should be focusing on spacing and getting comfortable playing with each other. They just gotta get comfortable with not being the man on every play. Carmelo has to be content with letting for example, Bowen of all people get an open jumper or lead pass instead of Bowen always looking for carmelo.

I will be pissed to say the least if the USA team doesn't destroy these guys.

Posted by Nalod:

We are on the right track. having role players is very important.

Larry Brown was the wrong coach for that group divas. THe World championships with George Karl was a worse disasaster.

If these guys are down with coach K and see the collective glory instead of individual then they will destroy teams. If they fight it, it will be a struggle.

They will also go to far and pass too much at times. Good problem.

Yeah, Primadonnas like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Shawn Marion, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudemire, Richard Jefferson, Allen Iverson, and Emeka Okafor.

What a bunch of sissys!

Gimme a break already Nalod.

Brown sucked at the Olympics regardless of the players.

Brown sucked with the Knicks regardless of the players.

Brown is gone!

Time to stop Brown-Nosing!

oohah

Posted by TRU:

I've been saying this for YEARS.

Instead of putting together a weak team with the best players in the league

Why not just send the best team in the league to compete internationally?

You win the NBA championship

You go to the Olympics.

Why can't we just let Padre and the Heat wipe the floor with those Euros?

Basketball is TEAM SPORT, dammit.

It's not like the World Cup. They play a certain amount of games and you lose once, your out in the playoffs. In American sports, we play a full season and then there's the playoffs that last almost the length of a full season and then you rest. That's the way it is and beside, if the U.S. was represented at full strength (NBA) in World Ternaments' forget it. No one would survive. Can you imagine having Shaq, Duncan and maybe KG at center? Let's not forget the guards in Kobe, Iverson, James and how about all the forewards? Forget it, no one would survive. It really comes down to energy and the fear of injury for our own league to begin with and Stern is very image weary about that already. Besides, we are already playing world basketball! Look at all of the foriegn players we have in the league now! Dirk and so on. I think soccer should be the only world sport and it is.