US is 3-0 on its pretournament warm-ups though the barely beat Brazil and now Anthony injured his knee diving for a loose ball.

I'm not sure the revamped US team will win it, but I expect a better showing than what we have been doing lately in international competition. Judging by the Brazil game we need to do a better job on the boards.

*Edit*

I hate that you can't edit the title of your post

I like the squad that has been chosen for the WC and the Olympics. I like that they were finally smart enough to pick some role players who will provide the intangibles instead of just picking NBA All-Stars. Guys like Shane Battier, Joe Johnson, Kirk Heinrich are going to help defensively and can shoot the jumper which is something that is crucial in international hoops.

They will win. Coach K will have those guys playing like a team. And with Lebron and D Wade leading the team they will roll. Not as easily as if Kobe had played, but they'll still win.

With Coach K leading the charge, they have a coach that every player respects, and if they show disrespect, there are alot more players willing to take there spot.

I think the USA is the favorite, but I am concerned. I was waiting for the Brazil game to see exactly what type of progress the US team was making. Puerto Rico is weak (its only important because they beat us last time). China is weak too (and they didnt even have their 2 best players). But Brazil is a quality club and a better test. USA passed but barely.

Coach K is smart and plans to run the other team of the floor with his superior athletes, but the opposing coaches are no dumbies. They'll likely try to slow the game down, control the boards, zone against us, and run at opportunity. The Brazil game highlited one of my worries: rebounding from down low. On paper our low post rebounding looks good, but some of the big men for the good foreign teams are very capable veterns. And I think our big guys are having trouble getting position because they're chasing the other teams bigs on the perimeter. But Coach K is doing a better job than Brown did last time. He should make progress in the trouble areas.

That said expect some more close games. There's a good 5 or 6 teams that arent much worse talent wise than we are. And those teams playing together for years helps close that talent gap. I think we ended up getting lucky by being in one of the weaker brackets and we should cruise through the opening round. But after that the games will be competitive.

talent wise.. i dont think theres another team close to the United States. Anyways that doesnt mean much in one game. A team can easily slow the game down and control the boards (we have no center)

Well the US cut Bruce Bowen. Now I'm not a big Bowen fan but this does concern me a little. I'm concerned because it appears the US is still ignoring its trouble spots. In 2004, they lacked 3 point shooting and good team players. So they end up cutting a good team guy and their best 3-point shooter? Not enough star power I guess. They only have 2 legit 3-point guys on the squad: Battier and Hinrich. Past that the 3-point shooting isnt pretty.

IMO, the US is way overconfident with their current 3-point shoooting percentage. If you look at their numbers, they were red hot from the arc. No way they keep that up. Several very poor shooters were in the zone and you know they'll cool off. They only had one so-so 3-point performance and not coincedentaly it came against the only good team they played in Brazil. And they barely won. (Forget about Lithuania being really good this year. Their retooling. Still ok but not great.)

Now I'm still predicting a US victory. Coach K isnt as crazy as Brown and that should be all the edge we need. But expect at least one real close game. It all depends on who we have to face in the medal rounds. Spain and Argentina are the scariest teams.

China goes down like a hooker in times square.

As much as it pains me to say it (grr) K is a phenomenal coach. As to the three point question, Melo has got good range, plus the international three point line is closer, so it's like a mid range for guys like lebron and wade. That should be a nod to the U.S. Im thinkin, barring any catcalysmic circumstance or shitty luck, the red white and blue will take down the gold.

Italy was giving the US problems until Anthony and Wade went off in the second half.

Speaking of which, I'm trying to figure out when Anthony became such a go to guy when he isn't the best player on the team.

Bill Simmons' take on it:


Q: Why do you think the U.S. Dream Team is headed for disaster at the upcoming World Championships?
--Geoff, Austin, Texas



SG: I don't like the team they picked or the style of play they're using. It's that simple. We just spent the last two years babbling on and on about what kind of formula works for international play -- slash-and-kick, shooters spreading the court, everything centering around the point guard -- and they decided to build the team around 'Melo/LeBron/Wade (all of whom have games more suited for the NBA), a pressure defense that any good international team will gleefully pick apart, and a coach from a college that everybody in America hates. Subconsciously, we'll all be rooting against the U.S. because of all the Coack K shots on the sidelines. I just think the whole process was inane. We're going to lose to Brazil, Spain or Argentina. I'm telling you.

Argentina looks damn good. I think they will take it down. They got Ginobli, Nocioni, Delfino all NBA guys, and they are all team players and can drain that closer 3 point line.

I cant say Bill Simmons is wrong. Argentina and Spain are high caliber clubs. I'll have to wait and see how the backets pan out. If we have to play both, that could be a problem. Like I said earlier, the USAs opening bracket was very weak. Only Italy scared me and thats just because they're mad 3-point bombers. If teams like that get hot, watch out. They're just now about to enter the tough games.

As for Anthony being the go to guy, I'm suprised as well. But when I thought about it, Carmelo is really one of the few guys on the teams who isnt exactly known as a passer. So I dont think the other guys are seeking him out. He's just more likely to shoot once he gets the ball. In the Italy game was a special case though. Even Wade said he's never seen him that hot before. He was 5-7 from the 3-point line! This is a guy with a career NBA 3-point percentage of 28% that we're talking about.

Seriously, this team is hot right now. If they go cold against the wrong team, look out.

Wow I just went and checked how the later matches will fall out. Is there some massive conspiracy to give us the easiest path possible?

I was thinking it was a combination of him trying to prove himself with Wade and LeBron on the team and that he probably has more experience in this type of setting with his college experience compared to LeBron's.

How can we get beat by a team running the same play every single time - that's pathetic

Then again our team had no plays

It didn't help that any shot Greece threw up on the rare occasion Team USA was actually playing any defense rattled its way in.

20 3-pointers?????? goddddd dayyyyumm MOVE THAT 3-POINT LINE BACK!!!!

whatever. we could put together 12 competitive US teams. in a one and done against opponents who have been playing together for a long time stuff happens.

i dont think you would find too many greeks who would seriously make the argument that Greece is > USA in basketball.

This is just something to keep the sports columnists in business...

ESPN is broadcasting the game now for those that want to catch it.

Well the US finally shot their expected percentage from the 3-point line against another team that happened to be on fire. Like someone said above, in a one-and-done anything can happen, but I would like think that our overall talent should negate that. People are going to try and find a silver lining here but I dont there is any. Losing in one world tourney you can call it a fluke. Losing in 3 tournaments in a row and you have problems. I've said it before, this team isnt all that different from the last one. We still dont get it.

BIG CONCERN - the Broze is NOT a given. They still have to beat Argentina to win it. They better not come home empty handed.

Well the US did beat Argentina (who was ice cold from the 3-point line). Thank God our team actually came home with something. I'll give the team credit for coming out and playing well after a tough loss to Greece the day before. However we still have a long way to go before the Olympics in 2008.

BTW, the injury to Gasol totally sucks for Spain. They should be the favorite, but without Gasol, I would have to take Greece.

in basketball chemistry matters. thats why the Heat didnt come around til the end of the season....why the spurs are so good year in and out (same basic team year in year out).....and on and on.

in these tournaments the US is always going to be behind the eight ball in terms of chemistry which is a huge factor. they can negate that with their talent in most cases but if the other team gets hot anything can happen. the rest of the world has caught up enough talent wise to use that chemistry advantage well.

still lets really not freak out here. The US is still the best basketball nation by leaps and bounds. We could field 10-15 teams with just US players that would all have a realistic shot at gold. We are at a huge disadvantage in these tournaments because a team like Greece with no Nba players gets to practice and play together all the time. deep breaths....its not a big deal.

Well I was dead wrong about the Final. Spain ended up dominating Greece without Gasol. Amazing.

A couple of things on the US team now that this thing is over:

1. I think I way over estimated our talent/athleticism edge. I think we still have an edge there, but its a very small one. The foreign teams have plently of guys that are very close athletically to our players and have excellent pass/dribble/shoot fundamentals.

2. While the foreign teams do play with better team chemistry, I think we are giving way too much credit to the "playing together for a long time." A lot of the good teams have NBA players, and everyone else on those teams has obligations to their European pro team. So guys like Dirk, Gasol, and Ginobli only get to practice with their national team for part of the Summer. Thats really not that long.

3. To go along with the point above, I think the bigger component is that the foreign teams have more of a team identity. They know who they are and what they are suppose to do. It doesnt matter if Dirk or Gasol hasnt played with the team in a while. Everyone on the squad knows who the main guy is and what they are suppose to do in a supporting role. On the US team we dont have that. On this team we have LeBron, Carmelo, and Wade (I expect to Kobe to join them in 2008). All of these players have basically the same role and there just isnt enough basketball for these guys. We also had some young post players that seemed like they had no idea what their role was.

4. Stop the tryout crap. We have plenty of tape on our own players and see them play all the time. Pick a team and few alternates and be done with it. Tryouts for players we know this well are ridiculous.

I don't think we used our big guys enough agaisnt Greece. I would have been playing Brand and Howard a lot more. Other countries have caught up to an extent in athletisim at the perimeter positions, but we have guys in the middle who are freaks of nature, and they were underutilized.

the biggest problem is we didnt have the upper echleon front court freaks.

I have seen a lot of comments in this thread about things we could have done better.....WE STILL DONT BRING OUR BEST 10 GUYS!!!! THATS THE BIGGEST REASON WE LOSE!!!!!!


What if our frontcourt was Shaq and Duncan? Or Garnett and Duncan? Is that something you might be interested in?

If our starting lineup was Paul, Wade, Lebron, Garnett and Duncan we would never lose. Ever.

I disagree - the problem isn't talent - none of those greece guys could play one on one with anyone on our team

The problem with that team and i could tell from watching 30 seconds is that they had no offense other than bring the ball down the court and try to throw and ally oop or a cool pass or jump over someone

The international rules favor three point shooting and we still haven't figured that out yet

and still what would shaq and duncan do about the fact that Greece ran the same play 150 times to get an open three and none of our coaching geniuses could do anything to stop it

The US is still too arrogant to play solid fundamental ball and wipe the floor with these guys

Actually Duncan is a pretty good pick and roll defender, Brand isn't bad at it either because he faced it a lot in college. We are trying to force the NBA game on international rules, and we should be adapting to that type of play instead. I have no doubt if we built a team with those rules in mind we could wipe the floor with anyone, we just don't do it.

I think having Anthony get so much playing time was not the best choice in the world. He is a poor defender at best and he was way to trigger happy the whole tournament, he was a black hole for the ball, if he got it, he shot it.

duncan and garnett are two of the best pick and roll defenders in the game. they are also two of the fiercest competitors. 3 pt shooting could be countered by them completely dominating the post. I like Elton Brand but he is not in duncan or garnett's league. Duncan and Garnett are both unselfish and pass well so they would fit into the international game fine.

the fact is we havent taken our "A" team since 1992 and our "B" team isnt good enough for dominance anymore. (because of issues like chemistry, the world catching up...etc...)

haha, american elitist threads are always funny

I'm agreeing with a lot of what yall have to say.

I didnt really like our group of post players. Brand, Howard, and Bosh just arent suited for international play. Garnett, Odom, and Marion would be much better. They have good all around games and know how to work without the ball. Plus all are vetern players. I think Howards and Boshs lack of experience was a factor. Both Odom and Marion should be on the 2008 squad. Amare might join them, but I'm not sure his game is well suited either.

Shaq would be great to have, but he would basically have the same problem Duncan had in 2004. If your perimeter defense sucks your big man is going to be in foul trouble and riding the pine. Brown was putting Marbury and Iverson out there together (as baffeling as that seems). Coach K was putting Carmelo and LeBron out there together (neither of which is know for D). You can pick up the slack with one poor perimeter defender, but its extremely tough with 2.

Slightly off the subject, but this always amazes me. Back in 1998 there was labor dispute and NBA players rufused to go to the World Championships. So USA basketball got together a bunch of CBA players to play the games. The international talent wasnt the level it is now, but that US team was certainly an underdog. However that team lost only 2 games by a total of 4 points, brought home the Bronze, and came damn close to getting to the Gold Medal game. That team should be considered a success. The diference was in team selection and preperation. USA basketball focused on putting together the best TEAM they possibly could because they knew they would not have superior talent. They spent a lot of time choosing a group of players that would work well together. Then they spent a lot of time actually preparing the team to play. In other words they treated it like a real basketball tournament. It just amazes me that USA basketball doesnt look at what happened that year and exactly what it did right!

Shaq not so good at the pick and roll ten years ago - god only knows now

the guy they need to (bribe/extort/whatever) and get him playing is Garnett.

pick and roll defense is no problem since he is quick for a big man and has a ten foot wingspan.

plus his unselfish game translates perfectly to international ball.

they could put any 4 reasonable NBA stars around him and they win the gold.

I totally agree with keith crime