probably coincidence that the coach of this team is not an NBA "coach".

7/20/2008 3:26:59 PM

you make it sound like we havent even been competitive, or that our NBA teams in the 90s didnt completely annihilate teams until, surprise, the international competition got a lot better

7/20/2008 3:37:26 PM

nah the 90's nba was a totally different animal.

right now the nba is barely a step above the globetrotters, while international leagues play, surprise, real basketball.

7/20/2008 3:52:18 PM

yeah in the 90s it was jordan playing 1 on 1 ball against scrubs and teams putting up 125 points a game, now its a team game with defense that stresses spacing and ball movement...oh yeah and in the 90s not many players had tattoos...thats a very important difference

7/20/2008 4:17:58 PM

don't turn this into 'if you don't like the nba it's b/c you're a racist' like you do everytime someone brings that league up.

7/20/2008 4:25:54 PM

well you're saying its not real basketball...its clear you really don't know what you're talking about

the main reason Team USA hasn't been beating people by >= 37 points like the first dream team or >= 27 points like the 2nd dream team did in every game, is because the international game is leaps and bounds better than it was 16 years ago...other reasons are because we havent been sending our best players, and because many of the top players in the NBA nowadays arent American (Nash, Dirk, Ginboli, Parker, etc)

7/20/2008 4:28:15 PM

If you think the USA is going to steamroll the competition you have lost your mind.

And if you think Carmelo shouldn't be on the team that shows how little you know about our team.

He was the best player on the court in the World Championships.

He is the only guy on the team who knows how to get easy baskets by moving without the ball and he has international three point range.

If he doesn't lead the team in scoring he will be #2.

7/20/2008 5:03:23 PM

Basketball is the new soccer. The nba is still elite talent and at a higher level than the 90s right now. The rest of the world has just gotten THAT much better..as state.

Everyone knows melo is talented but the kid has no heart. When things get tough he's gonna be the first to give up. He gave up in a playoff game and then admitted it to the media as if it were cute. If you think he is better than Lebron I can understand why you think USA will have trouble.

Quote :

"If you think the USA is going to steamroll the competition you have lost your mind."

They will and I will bump this like a sick beat as soon as it happens.

Gold medal team USA#1... aka THE RUNNERS

7/20/2008 11:05:31 PM

You are an idiot.

The USA will be lucky to take gold. They will have to play really well to win it all.


Carmelo is probably the one guy on the team who comes into the games without a question mark. He is a guaranteed baller.

7/20/2008 11:14:04 PM

Quote :

"right now the nba is barely a step above the globetrotters"

seriously? you can't actually believe this

7/21/2008 1:00:24 AM

i'm pretty sure Kobe is a guaranteed baller...that Lebron guy isn't bad either

7/21/2008 1:01:56 AM

Lebron isn't all that in international play. They won't call the foul when he drives to the basket and gets bumped. He doesn't have the midrange game and he doesn't finish his drives frequently enough to be an elite scorer in international play.

Kobe has question marks with his attitude and health. Other than that, yes he's pretty reliable. He should come in with a chip on his shoulder too.

Carmelo is the irreplaceable member of the team though. If you replace Kobe with Wade & Redd we don't lose THAT much.

When you replace Melo with Boozer/Prince we lose a lot.

7/21/2008 9:23:45 AM

I still dont understand why we don't have another really good shooter on the team instead of Wade. b/c like others have said, 70% of his game is getting bullshit calls, then needing a wheelchair for a shoulder injury.

7/21/2008 9:31:09 AM

^Redd anyone??

7/21/2008 9:58:09 AM

nm.

[Edited on July 21, 2008 at 10:42 AM. Reason : this is about team usa, not the nba.]

7/21/2008 10:41:56 AM

^^that's why I said another really good shooter.

7/21/2008 11:07:09 AM

Quote :

""right now the nba is barely a step above the globetrotters""

I LOLed....

I am not as much of a NBA fan now as I was in the 90's, but I think team USA has the best quality players they could get (from those that actually wanted to be on the team). I think Team USA has the team to bounce the Olympics with a margin >=10 points in every game. I think the hunger is back with this group, and the team has some true beast on the court.

I am not a Mello fan, but in the WC he did play very well and consistent. I wonder about his heart as well, but I think with the competitiveness of the other ballers, he will step up.

The rest of world has definitely got loads better, and have a better shooting, passing, all round technique for the game, but IMO the guys reppin' USA have quality and skill-set that may be unmatched this year.


III

[Edited on July 21, 2008 at 11:11 AM. Reason : I would like to see ANOTHER shooter and Big Man though.]

7/21/2008 11:11:15 AM

I do miss when the NBA had a lot of specialists. There was no room for someone who is a homeless man's Scottie Pippen, like Devean George is.

7/21/2008 11:17:26 AM

I think Lebron will be better this summer than the last couple, just considering that he played a much more aggressive game in the NBA this season. Still, it's true that's he not going to get all the calls that he should, so he'll have to be able to finish if he's going to help out.

I'm not too worried about our outside shooting--Paul, Kobe, and Deron can all hit from that range; so can Kidd if he gets hot (although we certainly wouldn't count on him as a marksman). If I were going to make a roster change, I'd drop Wade and find another big.

And yeah, Carmelo's a complete badass in international play.

7/21/2008 1:22:16 PM

I'd drop Wade and Kidd and add someone like Kapono to shoot and Al Jefferson for post play. Kidd is a good PG, but what Williams and Paul did to him when he was with the Mavs was just wrong.

7/21/2008 1:31:25 PM

not calls that he should get. calls that he would get in the nba.

7/21/2008 1:31:52 PM

It's a mix. We got screwed on some calls in Korea because it seemed like the refs didn't believe certain plays were possible--like guys taking two steps toward the basket getting called for travelling because they didn't think someone could move that far as fast as they did.

7/21/2008 1:37:20 PM

simonn probably thinks the 1972 USA v USSR game was fairly officiated

7/21/2008 2:18:06 PM

Quote :

"so can Kidd if he gets hot "

I don't think Kidd has every gotten hot in his entire NBA career.

7/21/2008 3:05:59 PM

I love that people believe that the best players always win. Basketball is one of the most team dominated sports and it takes more than good players to win at the Olympic level.
One or two major players makes you good, but when you add those NBA players to teams that have been together for years...

and this made me LAUGH OUT LOUD

Quote :

"or hell even add an Erick Dampier or Chris Kaman to the mix"

Ericka? Seriously? you wrote that and meant it?
hahahahahah
I'd rather have BRANDON BASS

7/21/2008 6:02:08 PM

Quote :

"simonn probably thinks the 1972 USA v USSR game was fairly officiated"

it's just me and tommy burleson.

7/21/2008 8:08:46 PM

^^add either one, we need some front court depth...plus nobody is going to just push Dampier around, dude is a beast physically...and he'll get you 10 and 10 with some blocks...and it appears Germany stole my idea about Kaman...he'll be playing with Dirk this year

7/21/2008 8:12:18 PM

7/22/2008 12:31:03 AM

you guys are underestimating Prince I think.

he's certainly one of the most versatile on the team behind Melo

7/22/2008 1:08:16 AM

^^Kobe likes what he sees.

7/22/2008 9:38:46 AM

Dampier will get you 10 and 10 in the Olympics?
He can't get 10 and 10 against the Hawks

7/22/2008 6:03:21 PM

^^^^mmmm tasty

7/22/2008 7:53:44 PM

7/22/2008 8:15:53 PM

Quote :

"he's certainly one of the most versatile on the team behind Melo"

Defense is part of versatility

7/22/2008 9:29:12 PM

7/22/2008 10:04:44 PM

He MIGHT be referring to Melo not playing defense...which makes it funny to say that Prince is very versatile..just like Melo.

7/22/2008 10:18:37 PM

The bottom line is price can't shoot, foreigners play zone

7/22/2008 11:13:52 PM

he's not a bad shooter at all

7/22/2008 11:15:14 PM

^^PRINCE.

And as mentioned above...he can shoot. (anyone remember him going off against UNC about 6 years ago?? he hit like 7 first half threes, and the last one he basically took one dribble over half court and drained one. that was A W E S O M E)

7/22/2008 11:39:49 PM

he's versatile because he can play almost any position out there within reason and he can guard just about anyone and shut them down as well

Melo can do a lot of the same minus the D of course, how could you not understand what I meant by that? ridiculous

and yes, Prince is a good shooter, you all must not watch many pistons games, he's prolly their most consistent player on both ends of the court night in night out

7/22/2008 11:42:07 PM

^http://youtube.com/watch?v=2EzOesUowIg

7/22/2008 11:42:44 PM

ballin

7/23/2008 12:16:00 AM

Prince can shoot but it just doesn't usually go in.

He is a guy who loses his confidence very quickly offensively and has 4-5 game stretches where he hits absolutely nothing from the perimeter.

He's a great player in the NBA but not a reliable shooter on a big stage like this.

7/23/2008 9:15:08 AM

Apparently Atsur is running point for Turkey this year.

7/23/2008 9:18:55 AM

Lebron tweaked his ankle today

7/23/2008 10:07:19 AM

^^he played with them in the 2006 world championships as well

7/23/2008 1:58:54 PM

At least we can say a former nc state player is going to start on the olympic team.

7/24/2008 8:11:20 PM

I love USA basketball and I love money.


Either I get pissed when we lose or I make money when we lose.

What should i do?

7/24/2008 10:57:32 PM

Is it still 3-1 ?

I'll lay 1000 if you lay 1000

We can become the biggest Argentina fans in America

7/24/2008 11:00:57 PM

I've decided I just can't do it.

I can bet against State.

I can bet against the Panthers.

But I can't bet against the USA basketball team.

I love it too much.

This team needs to fucking win. This will be the closest our generation ever gets to the 1980 Olympic team.

I know that sounds stupid since they are "3:1" favorites but in reality they aren't even half that.

I want these motherfuckers to win though I just hate foreigners and I love basketball.

7/25/2008 12:27:12 AM