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8/23/2007 1:01:35 AM

Quote :

"right... but are you telling me the overall theme of the last 2 or 3 USA teams were not focusing on having superior 1-on-1 talent and trying to exploit that? [rest of argument pointless]"

I am not. I am telling you that your portrayal of how the team now is playing, how they have to play, and how they have played in the past is caricatured.

See twista's posts for a more accurate portrayal of what happened and why it happened.

8/23/2007 1:26:58 AM

Defense is a bigger issue than people seem to think. Last year, we lost to Greece solely because we couldn't gaurd a pick and roll/pop. I'm not sure if this is because te weren't use to big men that could shoot or if we weren't being coached properly. The entire second half of that game we were continously beaten by a screen and roll up top. You would have thought NBA caliber players would know how to hedge or rotate properly from the wing.

8/23/2007 3:34:28 AM

2 REASONS WHY THIS TEAM IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN PREVIOUS YEARS



1. KOBE




2. BRYANT

8/23/2007 12:54:05 PM

^^a lot of that is again team chemistry i think

you've got to play with your teammates for awhile and be comfortable calling out switches and knowing that the switch will happen...i think the longer this team plays together, the better the defense will get

8/23/2007 1:00:41 PM

I think the fact that we have sucked pretty badly the past few years in itself will be a big help. The players are probably finally realizing they arent so much better that they dont have to try. Also I think the fact we kinda became the laughing stock of the world for a while will push these guys to have a little pride and get the job done. It is the same kinda as if in a world cup we went in and took out teams like argentina and brazil, the rest of the world would look at them and be like WTF this is the USA we are talking about seriously. Football and basketball are pretty much considered "our" sports so we are expected to be the best in the world.

8/23/2007 1:16:15 PM

Why was Venezuela trying to play pressure man to man against us?

The Kidd-Kobe-LeBron-Melo-Howard lineup looked pretty solid, and I think will be our core group. It was also interesting to see Vasquez (Maryland PG) out there.

8/23/2007 2:20:28 PM

i am watching the venezuela game now

how does chandler get so many rebounds in the nba? i swear in this game it seems like his hands are allergic to the basketball. he has more fumbles tonight than TA.

8/24/2007 9:17:27 PM

these are real shows they're putting on, but they're not playing basketball.

when they play a team that is good enough that they can't do off the backboard alley oops every time down, i'll get optimistic.

8/24/2007 9:21:07 PM

Quote :

"2 REASONS WHY THIS TEAM IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN PREVIOUS YEARS 1. KOBE 2. BRYANT "

are you seriously leaving out Jason Kidd? Say what you want, but he makes shit happen

8/24/2007 10:38:37 PM

^hahah, try watching the games.


Anyway, they are replaying the game vs the virgin islands. Trivia: Frank Elegar for the Drexel Dragons is the starting center for the virgin islands.

He owned us during our game vs them.

8/25/2007 1:35:46 AM

Attn Bill Walton: 44-15 is not an "incalculable margin"

8/25/2007 2:03:28 AM

^ he's just trying to be funny, by saying he can't do the math. He said the same thing the other night.

8/25/2007 2:41:27 AM

USA (3-0) vs Brazil (3-0) tonight at 9!

8/26/2007 5:16:21 PM

ESPN2

8/26/2007 8:55:20 PM

Tell me this isn't being delayed for women's basketball

this last 40 seconds will last forever

8/26/2007 9:00:35 PM

i love me some women's basketball =/

8/26/2007 9:06:56 PM

why are WNBA games even broadcast on ESPN?

they are not entertaining, nor are they sports

8/26/2007 9:08:02 PM

They're packaged with the NBA contract.

Can we hit some open 3s, please?

[Edited on August 26, 2007 at 9:09 PM. Reason : ]

8/26/2007 9:08:53 PM

i understand we like to dunk, but for fuck's sake slow it down.

8/26/2007 9:09:47 PM

There's really no reason to slow it down unless they start forcing turnovers.

Speed and athleticism is a huge advantage for us.

8/26/2007 9:10:59 PM

daaaaaaaamn

I like having Chauncey out there

8/26/2007 9:22:18 PM

this is so fucking sloppy.

8/26/2007 9:23:53 PM

Shit, Tayshaun's down

we definitely need to work on the post on both sides of the ball...giving up easy layups and settling for long shots on the other end

8/26/2007 9:24:50 PM

this rim rule is goddamn ridiculous. they might as well just put their hand up through the bottom of the basket and knock them out.

plz2playdefense usa.

8/26/2007 9:26:49 PM

brazil is running some good plays. they seem to be cutting faster than our guys can react

8/26/2007 9:27:56 PM

So far we seem to be having a lot of the same problems our Olympic teams have become known for

too much standing around on offense, letting someone take it 1-on-1, and not playing strong defense.

The only real change seems to be that at least this year we have shooters.

8/26/2007 9:34:30 PM

this is terrible fucking basketball.

8/26/2007 9:35:03 PM

Brazil is exploiting K's denial defense. When we deny the wings, they just dribble penetrate in the space that is created. Their guards are just as fast as ours, if not faster.

Our size has not come in to play. Lebron James should not be fading away on those post ups.

Back to normal, hitting some 3s

[Edited on August 26, 2007 at 9:47 PM. Reason : jkl]

8/26/2007 9:41:24 PM

Quote :

"Lebron James should not be fading away on those post ups."

It's not a new thing, though. Even in the NBA, one of his major issues is using fades or long shots instead of going strong to the basket.

8/26/2007 9:47:31 PM

i think if we start playing with some damn heart, we're unstopable

i think you can see the frustration of the players after the 1st quarter, and they are starting to push harder and show more emotion in the 2nd, hopefully coach k gets them fired up during halftime

8/26/2007 9:49:25 PM

^something about this explanation is incredibly lame

8/26/2007 9:54:30 PM

hhahaha better shooting 2 with JJ redick

8/26/2007 9:59:25 PM

Quote :

"something about this explanation is incredibly lame"

it's like in elementary school when they teach you that we won the american revolution b/c our soldiers were fighting for their own land.

8/26/2007 10:04:39 PM

can someone explain to me why we have a different team than last year?

some of these guys are old, will they be around for the next big thing. Olympics I guess?

also:

Quote :

"ESPN360.com is free to fans that get high-speed broadband service from an ESPN-affiliated provider. To request permanent FREE access to ESPN360.com, enter your zip code below and click on submit to fill out a form to send a note to your Internet Service Provider. "

I'm using roadrunner in Raleigh. any way around this?



[Edited on August 26, 2007 at 10:25 PM. Reason : a]

8/26/2007 10:19:18 PM

simply with Kobe being on the team, they get the greatest player and competitor there is in basketball.

that makes everyone else want to step up there game.

======> gold is coming back to us baby!

8/26/2007 10:28:03 PM

^^who is old? only kidd. Pretty sure everyone will be here in 08 for olympics, plus dwayne wade should be ready to go

[Edited on August 26, 2007 at 10:41 PM. Reason : s]

8/26/2007 10:41:05 PM

ok Kidd then, is he gonna play in the Olympics? he seems to be a huge part of our team now

[Edited on August 26, 2007 at 10:42 PM. Reason : a]

8/26/2007 10:41:58 PM

This whole team was selected with the Olympics in mind, Kidd included.

8/26/2007 10:48:58 PM

'08 Olympics the team will pretty much be the same except you will have:


wade instead of deron williams

and

bosh instead of chandler

8/26/2007 11:15:02 PM

Starting Lineup:

guards: kidd and wade

forwards: kobe and lebron

center: amare


bring em on!

8/26/2007 11:53:50 PM

^melo will be starting, he's consistently our top scorer and he does it playing off the ball...wade will probably have to be the 6th man.

8/27/2007 12:20:25 AM

yeah more like

guards: kidd and kobe

forwards: lebron and carmelo

center: amare

=the same lineup now

8/27/2007 12:37:00 AM

I hate the BS goaltending is allowed off the rim/backboard rule in international basketball. You can't even bank layups safely!

8/27/2007 4:29:59 AM

you can't bank layups in the nba either

rember tayshaun owing reggie a few years ago in the playoffs??

8/27/2007 8:12:37 AM

Amare wont start

the starting lineup for the olympics will be the same as now

kidd
kobe
lebron
melo
howard

8/27/2007 11:51:48 AM

yeah my bad forgot to edit out amare in my copy/paste

8/27/2007 11:56:33 AM

so let's say wade was fully healthy now. would he still be coming off the bench? if so, how can anyone still say he is equal or better than Kobe?

8/27/2007 1:53:08 PM

Kobe is way more advanced than wade on both ends of the floor

Kobe's the best that there is right now and i dont think anyone can argue that

I wouldnt put Wade in my top 5 right now either

Kobe
Lebron
Melo
Nash
Duncan

8/27/2007 3:07:35 PM

^
Nash?
Duncan?

Are we still talking Team USA?

8/27/2007 3:24:14 PM