Posted by MaTT4281:

Either a little too late...or 4 years too early.

Wonder what 2008's team will look like.

I'm guessing most of the young guys from this year's team will be back. Hopefully the 2008 team will also have some pure shooters and some very good perimiter defenders. A natural center wouldn't hurt either.

I think Brown's refusal to play the younger players really hurt us. Lebron was our best player at times and he definitely deserved to get over 20 minutes each game. I thought Marbury got enough minutes and he was our best scorer in the past 3 games. I agree that Amare probably should have gotten more minutes than Boozer because he is more of a low post threat and he can block some shots. I also agree that Okafor should have gotten more minutes at the Center position when Duncan was in foul trouble. I think Marion got enough minutes but I would've gave Jefferson less minutes and I would then give those minutes to Melo who was one of our best perimeter shooters.

Posted by Bobby:

after watching the lithuania contest, there are now two types of basketball to be played and i do not care for the game being played on the 3 point line. as a new ruling, they should eliminate the 3 point shot altogether

I like the NBA style of play much more.

it says a lot about the us posting the two highest scoring games of 104 and 102 in the olympics, and we did this without hitting a bunch of threes. this tells me that the international teams still play no defense and even with the zone they can't stop the US... I found it interesting that Duncan, a NBA Superstar player,a great person on and off the court and a usually reserved guy said that he is 95% sure he won't play any more FIBA games... He knows as well as the rest of us that FIBA is BS!!! They did everything they could to make it hard on the US teams and I mean the refs. If scrubs like pepe sanchez gets a thrill with this win, then he needs to enjoy it because that little big nose scrub won't earn a penny playing in the NBA... He can't hack it there....

Posted by BigSm00th:

To play in the NBA, you need to be a better basketball player. You need to be able to defend on the ball, have other skills besides a good jump shot, and need to be able to handle the ball.

I still wish FIBA and the NBA just made a universal game so there were the same rules all around. At least move the 3 point line back, it's almost insulting that the men and women play on the same court. The men are far more physically talented, make them shoot from the NBA distance, not this baby-ish 21 feet or whatever it is. However, I love the trapezoidal lane. It makes big men need to have legitimate skills like passing and a jump shot out to 15'. Also, it opens up the lane for penetrators.

yea the lane is open for penetrators but that is negated because they let the defender stand right under the basket and take offensive fouls, again they are so azz backwards...

I understand this is a long post. But it's my thoughts on US Basketball:

There are so many reasons we lost this competition, it's ridiculous.

To start off, I was watching the medal ceremony with my mother, and she pointed out that team US was standing like a bunch of soar losers, while Italy and Argentina were extremely happy. At first, I was like "Well, these Olympics were a failure for us, in basketball. We were expected to dominate by some. They should be upset." Then I realized, they are representing the United States of America. And they had looks on their faces as if they were little kids, making the dreadful visit to grandmas old cabin in Montana. They looked lazy up there. As if they just wanted to drop dead. I don't know about you, but that's not how I want to be represented. Have some ****ing pride in you and your country. Pick up your shoulders. Say thank you to the people giving you the crown and medal. They were lucky to even get that. Stand up like you are a man, when you are facing the rest of the world. You think all the other bronze medalists were happy when they won the bronze? Most of them weren't, but they took pride in representing themselves and their countries. They didn't look like a bunch of SOAR LOSERS, as my mom said the US basketball players DID. She was absolutely correct.

Secondly, I think we can blame the players, selection committee and the entire United States of America for this, as well. First I will discuss the players:

Yes, they did start coming together, in certain ways, throughout the tourny. But on defense, they still looked lost. I can't believe they didn't even know how to defend a simply pick and screen and roll play. That's how Argentina was getting 70% of their 3 pointers. Screen and roll, top of the key. And then, as if they haven't seen this, in their own league (cause they sure have) they didn't know how to defend the inside out game. Manu, Peppi, and Montecceci were driving to the hoop at will, and Scolli or whatever his name is, did whatever he wanted in the post. The defense collapsed like no other on these players, and they kicked the ball out. We totally underestimated the athleticism of the international competition, as well as the basketball intelligence. We played them, as if we expected them to have bricks on their feel, and giant boulders on their head. Guess what. These are top notch athletes.

Another thing about the players. It's absolutely ridiculous how nobody on our team could hit a jump shot. I could have made that team better, judging by how poor their jump shooting % was. Things need to change with some of these players.

Which leads to the selection committee. What is the excuse for not inviting Michael Redd? And after watching the competitions for the last couple of Summers, why didn't the invite him and/or a guy like, Reggie Miller, Allan Houston, (Despite injuries) Does it really hurt to have vets on your team? Isn't that how championships are built? And why wasn't Ron Artest on the team? Was he not invited, or did he decline? We could have used his defense desperately. Even Bruce Bowen would have helped, b/c he's a great perimeter defender, and a good 3 pt shooter. This is how you build a championship basketball team. You don't always choose the best players. You choose the right ones. Just ask the late Herb Brooks, who was the coach of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team.

And now on to US, the people. Why did the US Selection Committee invite a bunch of athletic freaks. Most of them not being able to make simple Js or LAYUPS (Lamar Odom!!!!!!!!). I think you can blame us. I know most of you personally love the dunks, but I hate to tell you this, but it's true. Dunking is about 0.00001% of the game. It's just a type of way of finishing, and that's it. If you can't hit a layup, but you can jump high enough to dunk the ball, it shows you are a good athlete, but not a good basketball player, plain and simple. Granted, these guys are real good, but they are also fundamentally flawed in some aspects. But back to my point. The USSC possibly selected some of these players, b/c it's based on what the majority of the US population likes to see. High hops. The killer crossovers. You know. The parts of basketball, that again, aren't really that important in the actual game. But since when does the MAJORITY ever know the right thing. I am a firm believer in the power of the minority. Think about it, b/c it's true. There is so much in a game, it's ridiculous. Dunking and crossovers aren't even the icing on the cake. They are the gummy bears that stand on top of the icing, which makes the cake look extra pretty. It's the truth.

Another thing. we can blame our superstars for declining invitations. What gives most of them this right? T-Mac is healthy. So is KG. Do they really really think that their safety is on the line? That Olympic Village is crawling with soldiers, and various security features, making it impossible for terrorists to break through. It's one thing for a guy like Jason Kidd to nurse his wounds or for Kobe to be fending for his OWN freedom, in court. But some of these guys are making up excuses. It's really sad, and gives us a bad name.

In closing, this took a long time for me to post, b/c I am really tired. I just hope this is something we can all learn from. US Basketball has been scarred. It's time we start the healing process, and going back to doing what we should be doing best. Playing basketball.

Are you really allowed to move when set picks in international play or were the refs just not calling it when a pick was moving?

Wasn't Tim Duncan called for a moving pick in the game against Argentina? If that's the case, then that's a tad more understandable, but if someone sets a pick on you, then the pick setters defender is supposed to step out on the shooter, and none of that was happening. I remember one time during the week, they criticized Tim Duncan for not stepping out, on one of those screen and rolls. It's something a big man on defense has to do, ESPECIALLY against international competition.

I don't think Duncan got called for a moving pick it was more of a normal foul. The refs thought he pushed the defender into Iverson. Also something I remember hearing the commentators say before the Argentina game was that there was one ref that officiated every Team USA loss. His name was Zoran Sutulovic, check for yourself.

[Edited by - Clean on 08/29/2004 14:07:44]