Future looks golden
There are no more excuses for Uncle Sam’s fellows. It’s gold medal or bust in Beijing for the US men’s national squad, the so-called “Redeem Team.” Anything else will be deemed as a failure, pure and simple.
Yes, the competition is fierce and, frankly, any number of teams could, if things go well, beat the United States. Spain is a force. Russia is a force. Lithuania is a force. Argentina, if Manu Ginobili plays, is a force. Greece is a force. All of those teams but Russia have beaten a US team within the last four years. That’s a US team with NBA players.
But the United States isn’t planning on losing to anyone. It has prepared for this Olympiad unlike any other. The process started three years ago, when Jerry Colangelo was put in charge of developing an Olympic program. In years before, going back to 1992, when NBA players became eligible, USA Basketball, the nation’s governing body, would select a team, have it train for a few weeks and, due mainly to talent alone, would win the gold and not lose any games in the process.
That proved to be the case in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney. But the gold medal in Sydney in 2000 would be the last for the Yanks in major international competition. There was a humiliating sixth-place finish at the 2002 World Championships, the equally humiliating third-place finish in Athens and then, in 2006, a sobering bronze medal at the Worlds in Japan.
The company line now is that the Japan experience, where the US was beaten by Greece (which had no NBA players) in the semifinals, was a blessing in disguise. It forced the US to qualify in 2007 and while that was a foregone conclusion, it enabled Colangelo and his hand-picked coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, to have another summer with the team.
And, the thinking went, with the same team involved over a three-year period with the same coach, the United States would finally be on the same footing with other international teams whose players played together for years. That was the thinking, anyway.
But of The Dandy Dozen who will suit up in Beijing, only six were on the team that went to Japan. All of them, however, save Carlos Boozer, were on the US qualifying team in 2007, but that tournament was hardly a test for the United States. Beijing will be different.
On talent alone, no one can touch the United States’ roster. It has Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Jason Kidd. It’s a star-studded troupe. But stars don’t always shine in these things.
If you’re looking for potential trouble spots, and you know that the other countries are doing just that, you can start in the middle. Dwight Howard is the Yanks’ only true center. What happens if he gets into foul trouble? Given Tim Duncan’s unfortunate experiences in Athens, it seems clear that FIBA referees do not allow the big guys to play the way NBA referees do. Duncan was so incensed by some of the calls that he flat out refused an invitation to play in 2008.
You might ask why, with Bryant and James on the roster, the US felt compelled to have three point guards in Kidd, Chris Paul and Deron Williams, when the only real big man to back up Howard is Chris Bosh, who is a forward. Boozer, who was on the 2004 team, is the only other alternative. The US did have Tyson Chandler on board until he was hurt.
Colangelo has stated many times that the US does need big men. Couldn’t the Yanks have done without Paul or Williams and added someone a little taller? Kevin Garnett comes to mind immediately, but he declined an invitation. But what about someone like Marcus Camby, Emeka Okafor (who was on the 2004 team) or even a young player like LaMarcus Aldridge?
But to be worried about a backup center position indicates just how strong this team is at the other four positions. It has added outside shooting in the persons of Bryant and Michael Redd. That was a big missing ingredient in Athens. Aside from Howard, who can be downright brutal at the line, the US has much better free-throw shooters. That, too, was a problem in Athens, as the US shot a woeful 67 percent from the line.
The US team also had trouble defending the more experienced national teams, whose players had been together for years and who, for the most part, see playing for the Motherland as the ultimate honor. If that were true in the United States, Garnett and Duncan would be on board. But it simply isn’t for many NBA players.
To borrow an oft-used phrase of Larry Brown’s, the non-US teams also seem to play the right way. They pass. They set screens. They help on defense. You can watch a series of non-US games at any Olympics or World Championships and never see a dunk. The US is gradually coming around to recognizing that – at both ends. And, let’s not forget, the non-US teams also are more accustomed to international rules. It’s always strange to see someone swat the ball off the rim in a game. The NBA impulse is to yell “goaltending” and NBA players’ built-in tendencies are to not swat the ball for that very reason. They’re coming around on that, too, but it’s an adjustment after playing under one set of rules for your entire life.
But aside from its talent, the biggest advantage the United States might have is its determination to right the international ship. Krzyzewski has gone overboard in praising opponents, reminding one and all that the US cannot take anyone lightly. It’s hard to envision how that message has not gotten through to the players. There may be a breather in the first round – Angola comes to mind - but after that, it’s going to be cutthroat competition the rest of the way. There can be no surprises any more.
That said, the US was cut down by Greece in 2006 because of an inability to stop a high pick-and-roll for about a six-minute stretch. That was the only loss of the tournament for the Yanks but, in this kind of draw, if you have to lose, it’s as important when you lose.
With the quirky Olympic format, one bad day could doom the Yanks, as it did for Spain in 2004, when Pau Gasol and friends went through the first round undefeated and then lost to the US in the first round of medal play. That would be the only loss for Spain in Athens – the Spanish had the best record of any team - yet they ended up finishing seventh. The US team which lost thrice, got a bronze. Italy, which lost thrice, got the silver. Argentina, which lost twice, got the gold. Go figure.
This United States team, however, has had its eyes set on Beijing gold for three years. Unlike most countries, the United States values the Olympic experience over the World Championships, where the field is bigger and better. The setback in Japan hurt, but it would be a major wound if something similar happened in Beijing. That, clearly, is not a part of plan.
pdubsux4life Said,
July 30, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
Team full of superstars but no chemistry. I think USA team needs to send the Celtics, the team of only americans. That way, we will win for sure.
Jojo Said,
July 30, 2008 @ 11:30 pm
Kevin Garnett is too busy celebrating his championship, don’t bother counting him in.
Supercigas Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 1:20 am
Americans have to understand that they are nor superior anymore, everybody talks about how they changed their attitude to preparation, but as I see it, they are walking around media all day with their USA jerseys on, signing autographs, shooting comercials and talking about how Olympic gold is more important than NBA championship, and they had only one friendly against Canada and maybe three or four practices before going to Macao. While other teams, with or without NBA players, are training hard since begining of June. Also it is highlighted that this team was preparing to Olympics for three years now, but look at teams like Spain, Greece, Argentina and, of course, Lithuania, some of these guys were playing together for ten or more years, since their U-16, U-18, U-20 etc. days. Each summer same group gathers with one object only: to make their country proud. Each year only couple of new guys breaks into rotation, keeping the core of the team the same for a long time. And it is not a question of “is it more important than the NBA championship?”. There is no question at all. They’re doing it for their country, while team USA are doing it just to make NBA look good in the eyes of the world again. And that’s why they’ll fail again. There will be this one game, where they will be too overconfident, and they will become a laughingstock of all world once again.
P.S. Don’t get me wrong, I love NBA players… when they play in the NBA, but at international level it’s a different story.
b Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 6:39 am
the U.S will not win. The u.s keeps coming up with tired excuses over and over again. You can’t give the international rules as aan excuse becasue in the end its basketball. Everybody plays with it. If they have a problem with that then they shouldn’t have college bball and nba so different to everything else. EUROPE OVER ENTERTAINMENT. They have the best talent, but never the best team. Ego’s are way to high. deflate it son. i’m sick of hearing about excuses year after year after year. 3 tournaments and even more excuses. don’t say olympics are more valued than world champs just cos they didnt win two times in a row. the ex yugoslav nationals will dominate in the future like in the past, like they are in the youth scene atm. Michael Beasly and Derrick Rose aint got nothing on them. im out like Nijo getting back on D
Ed Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 8:49 am
Kevin Garnett has already played for the US in the Olympics–in fact, he was on the last US Olympic basketball team to win a gold medal in 2000.
Pietro Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 9:22 am
There’s no way US is going to lose this tile. It took 6 years of hulìmiliation (but in 2000 they nearly lost to Lithuania) to understand what they needed to do. The problem will be the future: once the Redeem Team will win the gold medal they won’t be available anymore for international competition. I don’t know if the next generation of superstars (Paul, Williams, Beasley) will be good enough to dominate.
yelito Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 9:27 am
And the guy who wrote the article forgot to mention how an average Puerto Rican team beat the crap out of the US Team in the first game in Athens. Bottom line is the world is not scared of the US anymore, not in politics, not in economics and not in sports. We think the universe revolves around us ( USA ), but is not even close to that. I root for the US in any sport in the Olympics but basketball, NBA players are full of them self.
David Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 9:32 am
I never understood in 2006 why Bruce Bowen was cut form the team at the last minute in favor of Shane Battier. Then, as you mentioned, we got our butts kicked by not being able to defend the high pick and roll, which Bowen does very well. If Popovitch were the coach, that never would have happened.
AB_40 Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 9:51 am
better preperation then any other team? man you got your info wrong haha.
They still can’t guard the pick&roll. The other team how bad they have been turkey and canada grabbed more offensive boards then team usa. I thinkt their ‘road to redemption’ (still laughing about that name haha) is gonna be a lot tougher then they thought. Oh and coach K still doesn’t have a solid rotation. Especialy who the seccond point is going to be williams or paul. They say no ego’s so why is kobe the one who goes one on one everytime he touches the ball in a half court set?
The top field of basketball is getting bigger and bigger. Fundamentals are being thought everywhere you can see that in Iran beating serbia yesterday in the diamond ball. The world is changing and it isn’t catching up to the US anymore it’s on their level or almost and going over if the americans don’t change…
Celtics247.com » Blog Archive » Today’s Links 7/31 Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 10:12 am
[...] Herald Source within NBA: Luol Deng, Bulls agree to new deal Celtics Blog Translating for Paul Pierce Rockets snag league’s craziest third banana Bob Cousy turns 80 LOY’s Place Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Yao is worried edition ESPN Play by play for Turkey vs USA game Team USA adjusting to Asia just fine so far NBA’s top trios Red’s Army Lakers fans need a little refresher Our system is broken USA Today Charitable Gomes secures future with young Wolves Star Tribune Gomes deal completes Wolves’ priority list Bleacher Report Boston Celtics: From zeros to heroes Who is next to get moved this summer? Slam The latest absolutely critical USA basketball patriotism portraits The Sports Brief NBA mid-summer report: Atlantic Division Detroit Free Press Michael Curry won’t make much of a difference NBADraft.net The superstar theory revisited and supercharged part I Lex Nihil Novi Celtics draft Ainge in second round Chances of signing Ainge appear slim Fred Roberts on the Ainge pick The truth and his ego Orlando Sentinel Artest going to Houston creates a KG-Pierce-Allen like dynamic? Sports Watchers Top 5 players in the NBA entering the 08-09 season TrueHoop A Rocket test for Ron Artest The mind games of Bill Russell Eric Musselman’s Basketball Notebook End of the multi-sport athlete Sporting News Ron Artest completes the Rockets Hoopshype Future looks golden [...]
HumphreyBogart Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 12:01 pm
First, Bruce Bowen is too dirty for international games. I don’t think he would arrive to the end of any international game without being ejected.
Second, USA have a problem with center position. While Dwight is on the floor, with his poor free throw percentage, the other team only have to make personal faults to him. If all teams do that, the day that long shooting percentages fall USA will lose. And playing eight games in a few days it’s very possible.
Seanye09 Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 12:40 pm
The real problem is that Olympics really is an after thought to the NBA season the olympics dosent make or break anyone’s carrer nor does it give anyone a contract raise its just not as important to the NBA players as it is to the rest of the world!…..In addition to the fact that we are playing a completley diffrent game the lane, the ball, that sorry mid range jump shot they call a three, terrible officials who really have no governing body so its really easy for them to screw you!…We are playing their game…Have them play americain rules and see how far they get. Have them play 82 games plus play-offs and lets see how fired up they are to play in the olympics!
frank B Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
The USA is going to take the gold this year. Kobe Bryant told coach K that he wants to concentrate on being a defensive stopper. J Kidd and Kobe in the backcourt have some of the best chemistry together I have ever seen in basketball. Anyone who watched Kobe shut down Leandro Barbosa last year and the number of steals and the amount of disruption he and Kidd caused game after game after game will confident of our guard’s ability to dominate the game.
The US excels on generating offense on defense and the fast breaks that result often finish with a Lebron James exclamation point which is pretty exciting stuff.
I have to agree that our biggest weaknesses are in the front court where Carmelo Anthony will probably play power forward. He can score but he can’t really defend and we’ll see if he is effective rebounding. Dwight Howard is indeed our only legitimate center and one does have to wonder how in the entire USA we can only come up with one center.
The USA wants to create disorder with the guards leading the charge. We will have trouble against teams with strong guards who can handle the pressure defense because it is not clear to me that we will have a strong half court defense with James, Anthony and Howard as our back line.
Our outside shooting might be a little shaky and might be a factor if we face a lot of zone defenses. Kobe, Kidd, Wade and James are inconsistent outside shooters at best so if I was an international couch I would pack the lane and make the US hit their jumpshots. Of course Paul, Redd, and Williams are decent jumpshooters and if you are wondering why we didn’t select more bigs, I think at least one reason was to make sure the team had some outside shooting.
I for one can’t forgot how when John Thompson was coaching the US team we literally did not have one guy who could hit an outside shot. I think Colangelo remembers this major problem and tried to fix it by selecting more perimeter oriented players.
bballer Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 2:03 pm
people, don’t get it twisted. the nba had not sent its best young players to the olympics since 2000. larry brown screwed up the 2004 team and that 2002 world championship team was filled with 2nd tier players, thinking that they just had to show up to win. 2006 was the beginning of the turnaround. winning gold would raise the profile of the us team in china, allowing the players to make more in endorsements. this reason alone is why guys like kobe, lebron and wade will stop at nothing to win it all. the battle is for 2, 3 and 4th, not gold. get over your nba bashing and american hating ways. this team is just superior. spain and argentina is too old. it will be the us, russia, spain and argentina in that order.
rojobilbao Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 2:16 pm
Spain it´s the real problem to the US team. A lot of talent, chemistry and expierence. Pau Gasol it´s the best player, but not the only star.
Dick Hurtin from Beaton Said,
July 31, 2008 @ 3:07 pm
CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,CB4,
Aaron Kyle Said,
August 1, 2008 @ 12:02 am
The non-dream team is a joke. USA basketball is a joke. If anyone watched the two games versus canada & turkey, the “redeem” team has a LONG way to go. Can we get a clean board? Keep our player in front of us on d? Guard the pick roll? Understand help principles? Run a half court set that uses more than two passes? Can we run the ball through the post? I can go on and on…The turkey game showed glaring weaknesses that the top team will exploit. We cant play run-n-gun..I thought Coach K was better than this..The team looks like its coached by Doug Moe or Don Nelson. From the average eye, we look great. The dunks and alley-oops are nice, but where is the discipline. Im a huge Kobe fan, but when is he gonna snap. He is the only player on the roster that his nba team actually runs a continuity offense. He might be a hog, but at least the lakers move the ball. Im nervous, cause nobody on the team understands how to move on offense without the ball…and thats kinda important. Coach K, this is the world tournament, not an aau las vegas tournament….
weaponjay Said,
August 1, 2008 @ 3:13 am
if you will look at the recent tune up game between US and Turkey in Macau as an example you will see that the US defeated them by outscoring them and not necessarily defending well. this worked well for US in the past but not anymore because there are now teams that can score just as well. no matter how much they blame “chemistry” and outside shooting for their previous humiliations the point is team USA doesn’t have enough defenders on their team. Bowen or Battier or Prince doesn’t matter because if you will notice there is always only one legitimate defender on the team and they are seldom used. the above mentioned players are picked just to “show” that team USA now give added emphasis on defense. camby, artest, josh smith, gerald wallace, james posey just to name a few can greatly help with team defense and wont necessarily alter the offensive scheme of the team.
dj hott Said,
August 1, 2008 @ 9:40 am
usa vs usa best not on the team
g-b.davis g-d.rose b.roy
g-r.allen g-joe jonson fc-l.aldrige
f-p.pierce f-k.durant
f-k.garnett f-al jefferson
c-a.stoudemire c-chandler
after olympics, all world vs usa
g-t.parker g-s.nash b.diaw
g-ginobuli g-l.barbosa a.nocioni
f-turkolu f-stojakovic
ftd.nowitzki f-m.okur
c-duncan c-ilgauskus
happydays Said,
August 1, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
Greece and, specially, Spain are the teams that can beat USA. Great talents (Pau & Marc Gasol, Rudy, Calderon, Navarro, RICKY…) in all positions, very intelligents players and so great competitors. Nice olimpics, guys.
TheNegation Said,
August 2, 2008 @ 7:50 am
I need nit say more. It will all boil down to Argentina Vs. USA in the finals. I’m from the Philippine islands, so I love US basketball. But you can’t just help but admire the toughness the Argentines bring to the tabe. Take a look at the collection of scrappy players team Argentina has……You’ve got Luis Scola, Nocioni, and of course Manu! All these players can wreak havok on both ends of the floor!!
I used to root for the Argentines back in 2004, and I predicted it right! They won the gold. But this time around, I say that team USA takes the gold in the bag this time. You heard it here. But I’m not counting the Argentines out of this one. If you were to place odds, I’d give it a 50-50…Pretty good match up, this one is.
cskanu Said,
August 2, 2008 @ 8:30 am
Aaron Kyle has it right. While there is immense talent on this USA team, there are clear scenarios where they could lose. A team that denies them all those transition dunks, takes care of the ball, makes their shots and forces the NBA’ers to go 1 on 1 in the half court is lurking out there.
Canada went through this in Hockey. It took us a long time to figure out how to win on the International scene. I’m not sure the USA has it right yet!
Joe Said,
August 2, 2008 @ 8:40 am
Seanye09 you know nothing about european basketball, do you? You say, let them play 82 games plus play offs, lol. How many practises nba players have through season. European players “die” on court in every practise, every day. 2 games and 5 practises per week.
As for the rules, this is getting old. You can either win it, or not. And it seems… not. If you go to win teams like Greece by trying to score more points, you will lose. The Greeks will lock your stars on defense and let only one score, like they did in 2006. And you know whats the best part? Teams like Greece (not Spain) don’t care to win you in group stage, cause their players know that the tournament starts at quarterfinals. So, noone will show you their real face at group stage. How good is your scouting? And i dont mean if you can see plays, i mean if your players can get the proper practise to face such plays. Different every 2 days. Against the best players in the world. Ah, i forgot… against the best non-NBA players int he world. Isnt that what you are talking about every time you lose a tournament? That you still have NBA?
I think Greece will win the Olympics, as they are the best team, with 11 players playing for each other, Spain and US will fight with Lithuania, Argentina and Germany for the other 2 medals. Russians dont have a chance, keep this word. They will play for 5-8 places for sure.
Joe
zorzzz Said,
August 4, 2008 @ 1:41 am
Watch out…Greece is coming. Full roster+ intelligence vs. Best talent in the world. Defence and teamwork ALWAYS wins.
shaun Said,
August 4, 2008 @ 10:50 am
Duncan played for the US. He isn’t an international anymore.
Charles Penson Said,
August 5, 2008 @ 9:48 am
Why are so many USA sports talk radio and ESPN sports guys so negative toward the basketball team. The basketball team is playing team ball exhibiting great leadership from Jason Kidd and Kobe and have for a change a great coach in coach K. Larry Brown was a disaster as a coach and created all kinds of chaos and many players behind the scene it seemed as if he(Brown) wanted to sabotage their efforts to lose. This time around at least coach K. knows how to implement a system to get the best out of his talent. None of this nonsense/drama chaos Brown brought to the table. amen. If only sports talk radio haters and ESPN haters could come on board and appreciate the guys committment to bring home the GOLD!!! I really wonder what the negative agenda is all about?!!!!
The Dream Team 3.0 » Larry Diamond Sports Said,
August 5, 2008 @ 6:23 pm
[...] HoopsHype:Future Looks Golden for USA Team [...]
aiyo Said,
August 8, 2008 @ 6:01 am
kevin garnet, ray allen, pierce, duncan, baron davis, iverson, tracy mcgrady , vince carter all r missing from the team if usa hopes to win a gold medal it wont be in the hands of wade or carmello nor lebron but i do like the addition of kobe but they should put the elite against the elite in the world those i mentioned not playing for team usa r great individual scorers n individual defensive players so if team usa wont win a gold medal this yr go figure whats the missing players is it better to have wade carmello n lebron or iverson tracymcgrade n kevin garnet on the team which brings much mental toughness their lacking so far n experience
aiyo Said,
August 8, 2008 @ 6:09 am
mental toughness is what team usa is lacking the international players r taking them out their comfort zone try that on vince n watch him encore n jump over a 7 foot center n bring fear to them hahaha
bballer Said,
August 18, 2008 @ 11:14 am
so when the us wins, will everyone change their tune and apologize?
Ron Said,
August 29, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
2012 Team USA Starting five:
Paul. Wade. LeBron. Amare. Dwight.
Reserves:
Kobe (he’ll be 34 by then). Deron Williams. Greg Oden. Brandon Roy. Rudy Gay. Josh Smith. Monta Ellis.