Iverson AND Marbury belong there, IMO jefferson does not...replace him with michael redd

I was dissapointed in Marbury. Maybe he was told to pass all the time, but the guy just took it two dribbles past halfcourt and just passed the ball. I didn't see him breaking down the defense or really try to set anyone up for easy baskets. His streak shooting and ability to get to the rim would've been helpful for a team that couldn't score. You've got all one on one players out there anyway. Anyway, you obviously can blame other guys even more. Duncan, despite a great effort on the boards, missed a lot of shots close, missed a few FT's and got called for travels, and loose ball fouls. Odom was playing outstanding as well, but he fouled out and his last foul really put the momentum back with Puerto Rico. Iverson and Lebron just sorta sucked. Jefferson did well when he was slashing but couldn't make a shot or a free throw. Just ridiculous. Wade is the only who really played his game...

if H20 was healthy they could def use him

Someone made this post at another forum and I agree:

'this in the NBA. that makes me so fuking mad. they can't give up 1 month of their fuking long life for their country. what a shame. people r dying in Iraq for us. and they can't even go play for USA under this much security. i am embarassed.'


They all scheduled their Weddings in July & August so that they have an excuse not to play. I feel really bad for Larry Brown. He problably wasn't looking to coach this particular team.

They are all overpaid lazy loosers who don't give a damn about there country, basketball or anything other then the green. This is just a disgrace. Total and absolute disgrace.

All of them, the ones that are on the team don't give a f*uck either, they are playing without any desire. They are just there caue they thought they'd get an easy gold medal.

How about giving the Puerto Rican team some credit. They didn't play scared or tentative. They were aggressive throughout and took it to the US team. Arroyo played great and was easily the best player on the floor. Puerto Rico came out and won that game as a team.

As for the US team, it looks like they have a ton of talent but not the greatest team chemistry. They seem to have too many of the same type of players. Guys who need the ball on offense and don't know exactly what to do when they don't have it. Defensively they don't know how to play with each other yet and may never will in this tournament.

Many of the other teams in the tournament are playing without their best players...

But the thing about basketball is that because it's a team sport, it's not about grabbing all of the best players--- it's about putting together the best team.

Tim Duncan perform at his best if he's not surrounded by players who can hit the outside shot. Surround him with players who can hit jumpers, and he'll be able to carry the team on his back.

The USA team needs some role players around them to keep their defenders honest. Boozer should be a good partner to match pair up with Duncan. Marion would seem to be an idea choice at SF--- he can run the floor, rebound, defend, and hit from outside. The lack of a SG w/ an outside touch is a little disturbing--- tho RJ looks like the best choice at that position (even tho he's technically a SF), since he's used to moving w/o the ball and filling in the gaps.

What I really find surprising is the shooting %, not because it was bad, because I expected it be poor, but NOT THIS BAD. A FG%,FT%, 3pt%, like this just isn't acceptable from pro atheletes. How can you go 3/25 from 3 point land when it's only 20 feet away. I don't expect them to shoot the lights out because they just aren't the type of players to do so, but please be respectable!

Im not going to go down the list of USA players and comment on each one except for Marbury and Duncan.Marbury gets this rap about being selfish and he has been nothing but a team player.Right or wrong he is following his coach's intructions,a hall of fame,NBA champion,Olympic basketball head coach's instructions.Yes he could have played better but at least he wasnt looking to pad his stats first.

I criticized Duncan for missing some easy shots but overall as bad as things are now they would be a hell of alot worse without him on the team.I wish we had a whole team full of Tim Duncans.