On a brighter note, USA Mens Olympic Basketball will lose lol


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97JSULEGEND said:
Panthro the US is not even playing full tilt...They feeling out teams as well...
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I sure hope so but I'm kinda' feeling that there's some "stuff" going on about that squad. I can see it visibly in certain folx faces. Have you noticed how certain americans look after they're fouled hard? :read: Esp that timebomb Westbrook. :read: Love his skills, he's superior. But he has that young male temper he needs to re-channel, somehow, into something positive on the court. :read:
 



I THINK this team is going to lose too. Too much jump shooting too much individual play.

Kobe Westbrook and Harden need to be watching this Olympics at home.
 
Anybody want to put some money up that they won't win the gold?

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number1 said:
I know. I guess all the hate is because of Kobe. lol
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I think there are a lot of people out there who believe the United States is supposed to win every game by 45 points like in 1992, not understanding how improved the international game has become over the last 20 years.

Shoot, the women's team struggled for the first three quarters in their pool play game last night against Croatia. The world is good at basketball now. And we can credit the Dream Team for that.
 
kendrick said:
I think there are a lot of people out there who believe the United States is supposed to win every game by 45 points like in 1992, not understanding how improved the international game has become over the last 20 years.

Shoot, the women's team struggled for the first three quarters in their pool play game last night against Croatia. The world is good at basketball now. And we can credit the Dream Team for that.
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People have overstated how much the international game has improved. Instead of being 45 points better than the rest of the world, we're now 25-30 points better. The gap on the women's side is even bigger. They struggled with Croatia yesterday because they played poorly, not because Croatia played well.
 
JaguarNation99 said:
People have overstated how much the international game has improved. Instead of being 45 points better than the rest of the world, we're now 25-30 points better. The gap on the women's side is even bigger. They struggled with Croatia yesterday because they played poorly, not because Croatia played well.
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Well, I think the invincibility factor on the men's side started to decline during the 2000 Olympics when the team nearly lost to Lithuania in the semis and struggled with France in the Olympic final. The 2002 world championship sixth place showing, the 2004 bronze medal finish in Athens and the 2006 disappointment in the FIBA World Championship with NBA players on those rosters showed that the world can compete with and beat American basketball players.
 
kendrick said:
Well, I think the invincibility factor on the men's side started to decline during the 2000 Olympics when the team nearly lost to Lithuania in the semis and struggled with France in the Olympic final. The 2002 world championship sixth place showing, the 2004 bronze medal finish in Athens and the 2006 disappointment in the FIBA World Championship with NBA players on those rosters showed that the world can compete with and beat American basketball players.
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Yeah, but a lot of that was just sending a bunch of names instead of an actual basketball team. The 2002 and 2004 teams are the best examples of that. Even in those losses, there was never a team that was close to us in actual talent, we just didn't put together good teams.
 
JaguarNation99 said:
People have overstated how much the international game has improved. Instead of being 45 points better than the rest of the world, we're now 25-30 points better. The gap on the women's side is even bigger. They struggled with Croatia yesterday because they played poorly, not because Croatia played well.
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Exactly, and what was shown on the men's side is that we still have to put together a real "team" and not just a bunch of names.
 
JaguarNation99 said:
Yeah, but a lot of that was just sending a bunch of names instead of an actual basketball team. The 2002 and 2004 teams are the best examples of that. Even in those losses, there was never a team that was close to us in actual talent, we just didn't put together good teams.
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That is true. It is why USA Basketball has created a system since the bronze medal finish in Athens that would ensure the group develops some type of continuity with each other, while grasping the international game. If you look at the 2012 roster, a lot of those guys have been part of USA Basketball -- either on the USA select team or national team -- since 2004 playing in the world championships or the Olympics.
 
kendrick said:
That is true. It is why USA Basketball has created a system since the bronze medal finish in Athens that would ensure the group develops some type of continuity with each other, while grasping the international game. If you look at the 2012 roster, a lot of those guys have been part of USA Basketball -- either on the USA select team or national team -- since 2004 playing in the world championships or the Olympics.
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That's part of it, but the other, more important part is picking players that actually fit the international game. There's a reason why Rajon Rondo, one of the 5-7 best players of this past postseason, isn't on the team and no one seems to mind. That 2004 team didn't have a single pure point guard or shooter.
 
I've always said Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant's games fit PERFECTLY into international play.

One thing I like about this US men's team is the versatility. You have several guys out there than can play several positions. Also the pressure we put on the opposing guards and our length on the wings translates into steals and layups. There are no Arvydas Sabonis from 1988 out there in the rest of the world, and we have enough bodies to play the 4 and 5, which is a lot different than playing the 4 and 5 in the NBA.
 



JaguarNation99 said:
That's part of it, but the other, more important part is picking players that actually fit the international game. There's a reason why Rajon Rondo, one of the 5-7 best players of this past postseason, isn't on the team and no one seems to mind. That 2004 team didn't have a single pure point guard or shooter.
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Rondo was one of the PGs who tried out for the 2010 World Championship team but in his words was, "on the bubble" in terms of making the roster. So, he withdrew due to family reasons, he said. The PGs on that roster who played in Turkey were Rose, Westbrook and Billups.
 
kendrick said:
Rondo was one of the PGs who tried out for the 2010 World Championship team but in his words was, "on the bubble" in terms of making the roster. So, he withdrew due to family reasons, he said. The PGs on that roster who played in Turkey were Rose, Westbrook and Billups.
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I know he tried out. Inviting him and Rose, two natural rivals, was a bad idea to begin with, but my point was that Rondo, clearly one of the best PGs in the league, even with the injuries, never got considered and no one batted an eye, for good reason, he's a horrible fit for the international game. That's the difference between the recent teams and the early 2000s teams.
 
JaguarNation99 said:
I know he tried out. Inviting him and Rose, two natural rivals, was a bad idea to begin with, but my point was that Rondo, clearly one of the best PGs in the league, even with the injuries, never got considered and no one batted an eye, for good reason, he's a horrible fit for the international game. That's the difference between the recent teams and the early 2000s teams.
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Oh, it wasn't in USA Basketball's best interest to have a PG on the roster who struggles with his shot from the field and at the foul line.
 
Those pro teams back then were trash compare to the Foreign players out now. Replace the 1992 team with the 2012 team, same results.
JROCK said:
I didn't say anything about "NBA players." I said they played against pros. International players were not as prevalent in the NBA back then. You do know there were other pro leagues in the world? Right? :lol: :emlaugh: And if more people/countries "implored" their pro players to play in the NBA after the dream shocked the world as someone stated (which IMHO is not the exclusive reason) above doesn't that mean there were pro players that had the talent that were not in the NBA back then? Yes? Do you remember why America started using pro players? It's not necessary for you to answer these questions, just stew on it. :lol: :emlaugh:
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GoodFella said:
Those pro teams back then were trash compare to the Foreign players out now. Replace the 1992 team with the 2012 team, same results.
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I vehemently disagree. BTW, even the players on the 2012 team has admitted that they could possibly beat the 1992 dream team once in 10 tries. Sorry, they said it not JROCK.
 
I was glad to see coach K put these so called starting dream team players on the bench today. That was one pitiful display of basketball with sad impulsive 3 point low percentage atrocious playing. It was very hard to watch these starting five disgrace the game. Their personal mission in the next game should be to redeem themselves. The second unit bailed them out today.
 
JROCK said:
I was glad to see coach K put these so called starting dream team players on the bench today. That was one pitiful display of basketball with sad impulsive 3 point low percentage atrocious playing. It was very hard to watch these starting five disgrace the game. Their personal mission in the next game should be to redeem themselves. The second unit bailed them out today.
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Disgraced the game? Bailed them out? Dude, they won by 47. The starting five didn't give a damn bout no Tunisia. Coach K already had it planned to play most of the reserves for large stretches to get them more rythym heading into tougher games. The starting five knew that going in. The starting five played a lot in the five exhibitions and the first game of the olympics. This was basically their "off day". :lol: Ask France with their starting five of NBA players how they liked it, lol!

Avg. margin of victory of damn near 40 points in the first two games (one against pretty good competition in France ) and folks still complaining.
 
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jaydog said:
Disgraced the game? Bailed them out? Dude, they won by 47. The starting five didn't give a damn bout no Tunisia. Coach K already had it planned to play most of the reserves for large stretches to get them more rythym heading into tougher games. The starting five knew that going in. The starting five played a lot in the five exhibitions and the first game of the olympics. This was basically their "off day". :lol: Ask France with their starting five of NBA players how they liked it, lol!

Avg. margin of victory of damn near 40 points in the first two games (one against pretty good competition in France ) and folks still complaining.
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I disagree and stand by my post.
 
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