Why is it I feel like someone is gonna end up blaming Emeka Okafor for these losses?

Yea, he didn't wave that towel correctly from the bench. He waved using NBA rules, not FIBA. LOL

Definitely agree with Briggs that our depth was not utilized well. Especially Lebron. He was good for 25 mpg backing up the 1-3 spots.

Full court pressure was actually overused. Pepe and Manu beat the press for easy buckets.

Less gambling on defense, especially Iverson. Show strong on screen and rolls and committed rotation on defense.

Other than that, more dunks and 3-pointers would have helped.



[Edited by - codeunknown on 08/27/2004 23:40:29]

Yeah, with a team with as much all-around talent as this, you might put some of the blame on the coaching staff. I think they may have been better off choosing one of the young defense-first coaches (Carlisle or Jeff Van Gundy) to shape up a winning team in a short time.

In addition, I wonder if Larry Brown's relationship w/ Iverson resulted in his overall big minutes. Yeah, he knows what it's like playing under Brown, but at the same time... maybe Brown's system wasn't ideally suited for the talent on this team.

Just like with the NBA season, having a talent like Iverson can be a curse. You're playing a 6' SG. The Sixers have managed to do it over the years because of the excellent defensive ability of Eric Snow, esp. his ability to guard bigger opponents.

While his speed causes mismatches on the offensive end, his presence on defense causes mismatches the other way. They kept talking about Marbury/Wade getting killed by Ginobili--- well, we were outsized in the backcourt, plain and simple. Maybe the size of a Carmelo, Lebron, or Jefferson at SG could have changed the dynamics of the team. The length of these guys should have at least put more defensive pressure on shooters.

These are of course all coach's decisions.

As Doug Collins reported during the game, this is a bad loss for the Americans, but a victory for the rest of the world. What kind of competition is it if the same team always wins?

I think team USA should be ecstatic about winning the bronze, should they manage that. It's a 1-and-done tournament... and in one game, anything can happen.

IMHO NBA playoff series are a little too long--- barring the impact of injuries, the length (and time for adjustments) makes upsets even more improbable.

with this team they were better off with a run and gun coach.

Anyone come to mind?

Don Nelson? Rick Adelman?

Posted by Solace:

It goes both ways; it was coached poorly and was played poorly. Why RJ got so many minutes is a mystery; even the Nets fans were complaining about it. For those who consider RJ a top 5 forward, I think you have to face reality a little bit. He's never even been an all-star; he puts up good stats, mostly on athleticism. James, Carmelo and Okafor all should've gotten some of those minutes. Despite that, with the talent we had, we still should've been able to win. The guys didn't step up, which is disappointing.

This team had flaws from the selection committee to the 12th man, Okafor. When Wade and RJ were on the floor at once, I felt as if we were playing 3 on 5 .