United States Men's National Basketball team
- Thread starter MrFedEx503
- Start date
I could see that, possibly...except I think Kidd is on the team due to the inexperience of Paul and Williams in international play.
Experience always helps...but I don't think you can justify an all-star game performance as reason to put someone on an olympic team. Roy's play throughout the season is a better example...
Experience always helps...but I don't think you can justify an all-star game performance as reason to put someone on an olympic team. Roy's play throughout the season is a better example...
I'd say...Roy isn't in the same league as Williams or Paul (yet), and Kidd is/was (?) a superior talent who's on his way back down, yet his experience and toughness are what put him on this team. < Justifying it...I suppose.
I wouldn't have a problem with Roy on the team...just maybe ''next time''...
I wouldn't have a problem with Roy on the team...just maybe ''next time''...
You can't be serious.
Taken from a great article, IMO, on espn.com:
The danger in taking only three big men is obvious: Foul trouble and/or injuries would leave the Americans vulnerable under the boards against any opponent with size, even though Team USA's plan calls for Anthony to get the bulk of the minutes at the 4 spot.
Think about it: If you are the coach of Upper Moldovistan and you need to devise a plan to defeat Goliath, you open your Coaching 101 textbook and decide to send two 7-footers to the offensive boards every possession while having the three other players drop back to defend against the fast break. The second thing you tell your 7-footers is to draw fouls against Howard, Boozer and Bosh, even if it calls for flopping. If you can make offensive rebounding and second-chance points the key statistics, half the battle is already won.
When Team USA lost to Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championship in Japan, the Greeks' size and girth were huge factors. The Americans had trouble defending Greece's high pick-and-roll, on which the picker was continually able to get himself matched against a far smaller defender and then attack the basket before a help defender could arrive. And when the help came too early, someone was left open at the 3-point line.
Another point: FIBA basketball tends to be far more physical than NBA basketball, although the Americans historically tend to run into the arbitrary referee who chooses to call things tight in the paint. (Tim Duncan watched much of the 2004 Olympics from the bench in Athens for this very reason.)
FIBA rules also call for players to be disqualified after their fifth foul (rather than their sixth, as is the case in the NBA), and technical fouls count against a player's personal foul limit. (Memo to Howard: If you don't agree with that third foul you'll draw in the first quarter against Russia-Lithuania-Spain-Argentina, keep your mouth shut. If you don't, it'll be your fourth.)
You're supposed to protect yourself against those potential troubles through depth, but the Americans aren't.
Four years ago, the Americans didn't send any pure shooters to Athens, so everyone played 40 minutes of zone against them, and they lost three times.
The members of Team USA's brain trust made it easy then for the rest of the world to devise a defensive game plan, and they're doing it again by being too biased toward trying to impose their will and exploit their advantages in speed and athleticism.
Taken from a great article, IMO, on espn.com:
The danger in taking only three big men is obvious: Foul trouble and/or injuries would leave the Americans vulnerable under the boards against any opponent with size, even though Team USA's plan calls for Anthony to get the bulk of the minutes at the 4 spot.
Think about it: If you are the coach of Upper Moldovistan and you need to devise a plan to defeat Goliath, you open your Coaching 101 textbook and decide to send two 7-footers to the offensive boards every possession while having the three other players drop back to defend against the fast break. The second thing you tell your 7-footers is to draw fouls against Howard, Boozer and Bosh, even if it calls for flopping. If you can make offensive rebounding and second-chance points the key statistics, half the battle is already won.
When Team USA lost to Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championship in Japan, the Greeks' size and girth were huge factors. The Americans had trouble defending Greece's high pick-and-roll, on which the picker was continually able to get himself matched against a far smaller defender and then attack the basket before a help defender could arrive. And when the help came too early, someone was left open at the 3-point line.
Another point: FIBA basketball tends to be far more physical than NBA basketball, although the Americans historically tend to run into the arbitrary referee who chooses to call things tight in the paint. (Tim Duncan watched much of the 2004 Olympics from the bench in Athens for this very reason.)
FIBA rules also call for players to be disqualified after their fifth foul (rather than their sixth, as is the case in the NBA), and technical fouls count against a player's personal foul limit. (Memo to Howard: If you don't agree with that third foul you'll draw in the first quarter against Russia-Lithuania-Spain-Argentina, keep your mouth shut. If you don't, it'll be your fourth.)
You're supposed to protect yourself against those potential troubles through depth, but the Americans aren't.
Four years ago, the Americans didn't send any pure shooters to Athens, so everyone played 40 minutes of zone against them, and they lost three times.
The members of Team USA's brain trust made it easy then for the rest of the world to devise a defensive game plan, and they're doing it again by being too biased toward trying to impose their will and exploit their advantages in speed and athleticism.