You would never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER see someone like Stephon Marbury on our team.


Lemme see ...


With international rules, I need a point guard who can create shots for his teammates ... someone who always makes the right decision in the open floor ... someone who consistently makes 20-footers ... someone who doesn't suck defensively ... someone who isn't careless with the ball ... someone who's a proven leader ... someone with a history of raising his game when it matters.


For God's sake, how does Marbury even enter the discussion here? Didn't anyone on the selection committee watch him play for the past eight years? Didn't they learn their lesson from the Baron Davis Disaster two years ago? You need a certain type of point guard for international basketball -- he's the exact opposite in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY!!!!!! Could someone send a memo to Stephon and tell him that the pilot turned off the "Please entertain the fans" sign? We don't need to see alley-oops and pseudo no-looks when you're actually looking. Just lead the team and help us win. Somebody should force him to watch 500 hours of game tapes from the '80's (Stockton, Price, Cheeks, Tiny and everyone else) before the tournament starts. Maybe he'd learn something.


(NOTE: I KEEP USING CAPS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS BECAUSE WE'RE ON OUR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK OF STEPHEN A. SMITH HOSTING "PARDON THE INTERRUPTION." I'M JUST TRYING TO GET MY POINT ACROSS HERE! THE ONLY REASON STEPHON MARBURY IS ON THIS TEAM IS BECAUSE HE'S THE BEST PLAYER ON THE KNICKS, THE MARQUEE FRANCHISE OF THE NBA!!! THAT'S IT!!! THERE IS NO OTHER REASON!!!!! MAYBE HE'S AN ALL-STAR IN THE NBA, BUT FOR INTERNATIONAL PURPOSES, HE'S A BORDERLINE TRAIN WRECK!!!!!)



Larry Brown has his hands full with this All-Star squad.
What point guards would work in his place? Kidd would have been the best; and honestly, Congress should have passed legislation and forced Kidd to play for his country, just because. But he's injured, so it's a moot point. Steve Nash would have been perfect, but he's Canadian. Mike Bibby would have been fine, but he turned us down either because he was afraid of the security in Athens, or because the Maloof Brothers asked him to judge a Wet T-shirt contest at the Palms on Aug. 22. Steve Francis would have been a bigger train wreck than Marbury. As much as I like Chauncey Billups, I'm not sure he's the right fit with the international rules.


So you need to get creative. Screw it. Dwyane Wade should be playing point, anyway -- he's one of the best three players on the team. Iverson could back him up. And as my third guy, I'm going with Kirk Hinrich -- superb defensive player, deadly shooter, probably the most underrated rookie in the league last year, and he wouldn't care if he played five-to-10 minutes a game.



*( i didnt want to make a new thread) http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/040804

What's the score... or a place I can get it?

I don't see any live boxscores online... but the game is being televised live on ESPN.
Germany is up 59-56 in the 3rd. Nowitzki is on fire... and that German juggernaut center plays IMHO quite a bit like Luc Longley.

It's odd... who should be on this Olympic team? Let's put the all-players-that-can-shoot team (who didn't say no...)

C: Duncan / Michael Doleac
PF: KVH / Malone
SF: Big Dog / Marion
SG: Redd / Anthony
PG: Damon Jones / Delk

It's like the more I think about it... how many of the NBAs American superstars are proficient shooters?

Have only been watching since second half.Still few pick and rolls,very little outside shooting,still driving to the hoop and not kicking it out to a free man when the lane is clogged.

Posted by PhilinLA:

Every time a US player fakes one way to go another, he is charged with travelling whether he moved his feet or didn't.

I don't doubt that....NBA officials have stopped calling the traveling violation by the book a long time ago. I bet the international game is called more tightly when it comes to your moving or sliding your pivot foot.

MARBURY!!!

Germany on a fast break, 2 on 2, Marbury comes up with the steal and takes it down for Anthony to tie it up. 2 min left. 72 all.

Marbs and Iverson!

That should be the backcourt when the game is on the line, none of this Wade and Bron crap. They're too young. Anyone remember the 2001 all-star game where Marbs and Iverson led the East back from like 25 down in the 4th?

Fing Euro cameraman pans the crowd with three seconds left and we miss the USA winning shot!!!!!!