Quote :

"i love cheering for underdogs and am not the most patriotic person in the world."

are you even an American citizen?

7/13/2012 12:09:11 AM

^^^meniscus tear
That's a severe injury. If he dunks half of the total amount, he should be fine.

7/13/2012 5:31:04 AM

Quote :

"That's a severe injury"

Except not really. You can play on a meniscus tear.

7/13/2012 7:43:24 AM

Quote :

"i love cheering for underdogs and am not the most patriotic person in the world. fuck spain though. they already win everything. not really an underdog in the sports world."

What? What exactly does Spain win besides soccer and maybe tennis? The US is the ONLY country with which you can make a stupid blanket statement like "they already win everything".





[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 9:08 AM. Reason : df]

7/13/2012 9:08:34 AM

OK. Things may change. 30 years ago, my aunt stopped her athletic career because of this.

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 9:09 AM. Reason : make it clear]

7/13/2012 9:08:46 AM

7/13/2012 9:14:28 AM

I think the 92 team would beat this current team 8/10 times. Now if this team had a healthy Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin it might be a different story.

7/13/2012 9:18:55 AM

It really depends on the argument.

Are we saying which team was better relative to their ERA?

OR which team would win if they played heads up.

Obviously athletes evolve over time. In simple sports like track, swimming, etc this is very obvious to measure. An athlete who dominated in 1996 like Michael Johnson would not dominate in 2012.

Similarly, no one is arguing that Michael Jordan or Hakeem Olajuwon wouldn't have been good nba players in 2012 but its a fair argument to say Danny schayes would have struggled making a roster.

If we go even further back a guy like Bob Cousy maybe doesn't make it to the NBDL or possibly even a major conference in the NCAA.


I think we have to give the benefit of the doubt to the 2012 team, but it certainly wouldn't be lopsided and that's a tribute to how truly great that 1992 team really was. I mean clearly John Stockton can play on the same court as Andre Igoudala.

So based on eras I'm taking the 1992 team by a slight margin (though the statistical analysis on it is very interesting), but based on reality the 2012 team would probably win.

I mean let's get real here, Bernie Kosar wouldn't be an all pro in 2012 and Sandy Koufax would be lucky to pitch for some D1 teams.

7/13/2012 9:34:19 AM

Pride should be reserved for something you achieve or obtain on your own, not something that happens by accident of birth. Being American isn't a skill... it's a fucking genetic accident. You wouldn't say I'm proud to be 5'11"; I'm proud to have a pre-disposition for colon cancer.

7/13/2012 10:11:50 AM

You can obtain a nationality

You can also retain one

You're always going to be 5'7", though

7/13/2012 10:13:29 AM

there eras arent that far apart, its not like the rules of the game have changed. I have no doubt that Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, etc. in their primes would all be all-stars today

7/13/2012 10:14:33 AM

Quote :

"What? What exactly does Spain win besides soccer and maybe tennis? The US is the ONLY country with which you can make a stupid blanket statement like "they already win everything"."

soccer IS everything.

7/13/2012 10:15:34 AM

Agreed,The truly elite players of their era are not that much different than the great players of the next era.

That's why the 1992 team could definitely compete with the 2012 team whereas the 9th man for the '92 Kings probably couldn't make a roster today.

One other important factor to consider though is that the 1992 team was a little past their prime. The team was obviously going to win so they sent ambassadors like Bird and Magic along. Obviously those guys couldn't compete against a 23 year old Kevin Durant.

The rest of the team was late 20's and early 30's and may have looked quite a bit less polished against the 2012 teams athleticism. They would have had an advantage in experience though, which clearly matters in basketball.

Kobe is really the only "ambassador" on this team, the rest of the team is made up of legit all stars.

7/13/2012 10:29:28 AM

Experience is very important in basketball. A large part of basketball is fouls and how to get fouls and free throws.
It's why we seldom see a younger team beat an old team in NBA finals.

I'm curious who is good at basketball on this board. Obviously many of you have much more basketball knowledge than me.

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 10:48 AM. Reason : add another note]

7/13/2012 10:46:36 AM

Anthony Davis as Christian Laettner.

7/13/2012 10:52:29 AM

But Anthony is already graduating, not a college kid anymore. USA really needs him because few players play in the low post in this team when Griffin is out.

7/13/2012 10:55:49 AM

Laettner was 22 and Davis is 19. But Davis is a phenom with raw athleticism which makes him more useful on this type of team than a polished player like laettner with clear inferior skillset to ewing and olajuwon

7/13/2012 11:20:51 AM

Quote :

"But Anthony is already graduating"

Has to be some kind of record to get a degree after one year of college

7/13/2012 11:25:36 AM

^^Your words are so diverse.

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 11:26 AM. Reason : make it clear]

7/13/2012 11:25:45 AM

Quote :

"no one is arguing that Michael Jordan or Hakeem Olajuwon wouldn't have been good nba players in 2012"

well good, because they would both still be the best at their position if you move them to 2012.

7/13/2012 11:49:44 AM

But LBJ is better than PFs of D1.

7/13/2012 11:53:37 AM

So, they asked Larry Bird as to whether the Olympic team could beat the dream team.

Quote :

"They probably could. I haven't played in 20 years, and we are all old now"

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 12:11 PM. Reason : Dream team would dominate this team. I dont think this team could win a single game.]

7/13/2012 12:11:00 PM

^ I like Larry.

1992 vs. 2012? So Tyson Chandler is the guy covering the middle against Patrick Ewing and David Robinson? Yeah...if Chandler gets in foul trouble who becomes defensive big man in the paint?

Listened to some of Van Pelt's show yesterday to hear about Penn State, and they discussed this a bit talking about which players they'd remove from 1992 and 2012 if you combined them. And they talked to Drexler as the 2nd or 3rd guy to remove from '92, and Van Pelt said "okay, but even Drexler, his position on that team being #10 or so is Andre Iguodala in 2012".

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 12:18 PM. Reason : .]

7/13/2012 12:13:17 PM

yo face, Hakeem Olajuwon is Nigerian dude, he wasn't on the 92 Dream Team

7/13/2012 12:25:41 PM

He was on the 96 team for sure..

7/13/2012 1:01:57 PM

shit he was wasnt he, wtf

Quote :

"Olajuwon was ineligible for selection to the "Dream Team" as he hadn't become a US citizen.[48] Olajuwon became a naturalized American citizen on April 2, 1993.[48] For the 1996 Olympics, he received a FIBA exemption and was eligible to play"

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 1:16 PM. Reason : 93]

7/13/2012 1:14:13 PM

Quote :

"I think the 92 team would beat this current team 8/10 times. Now if this team had a healthy Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Blake Griffin it might be a different story."

even at 100% Blake Griffin would be a non-factor against the Dream Team

dude is still learning how to play the game

7/13/2012 1:28:12 PM

the Kobe/Kyrie video is my new favorite thing

7/13/2012 3:36:19 PM

Kobe is always trying to compete with MJ, in every aspect. Rings, MVPs, role in the national team...

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 3:48 PM. Reason : grammar]

7/13/2012 3:48:17 PM

my two favorite things about the video:

1) Kobe is rocking the exact same goatee Jordan had on the 92 Dream Team

and

2) Kyrie did the unthinkable by making Kobe come across as likable

7/13/2012 4:05:55 PM

7/13/2012 4:08:58 PM

People don't like Kobe?

7/13/2012 4:16:45 PM

I've never been a fan

always thought he was a fake motherfucker

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 4:24 PM. Reason : or that he's always tried way too hard]

7/13/2012 4:23:33 PM

I've always liked him. Didn't he lead the league in jersey sales several years?

7/13/2012 4:27:07 PM

pretty sure a majority of those sales are from overseas as he's absolutely huge internationally

7/13/2012 4:29:37 PM

I remember reading a list a while back that broke it down geographically. I remember he lead in US sales a couple times. Who cares.

7/13/2012 4:31:30 PM

That's a surprising opinion. I always thought Kobe was the realest dude in the league. Even Kyrie in that video comes across like he's trying way too hard to look like he's boyz with Kobe.

[Edited on July 13, 2012 at 5:48 PM. Reason : 2]

7/13/2012 5:39:39 PM

I used to hate Kobe

Now I just respect his game

plus it turned out Shaq was also a big asshole, so their rift wasn't all Kobe's fault

7/13/2012 5:46:28 PM

I like him. He's much more handsome than LBJ or Durant.

7/13/2012 5:47:33 PM

~

7/13/2012 9:37:31 PM

I clicked on this thinking "I bet saps hates bball, lemme see what he posted"

not sure what to think now.

7/13/2012 9:54:09 PM

Normally I don't care to read about all the olympic village orgy stories because its just too bland and void of detail. But getting an interview with Hope Solo talked about getting banged out is pretty quality. GG ESPN

7/14/2012 2:51:31 PM

exhibition game vs Brazil @ 8pm.

Led by Leandro Barbosa, Varejao, Nene, and Tiago Splitter.. how many points do you expect for Brazil to lose by? Despite the reasonably skilled frontcourt, they still probably can't keep up with our scoring.

I am guessing 14 at the half, 26 for the game. Hoping for a somewhat competitive game.

7/16/2012 1:50:23 PM

^Do you play bb?

7/16/2012 5:14:00 PM

obama in the house

7/16/2012 8:08:48 PM

Should he interesting to see how we fare against superstars like Splitter and Nene. Games like this where we will really regret not having Steimsma on the roster.

7/16/2012 8:12:26 PM

durant needs to be starting instead of melo

7/16/2012 8:15:21 PM

Kobe like a boss

(drains a 3, ties his shoe)

[Edited on July 16, 2012 at 8:46 PM. Reason : lol Obama checking out Kobe's ass on the replay]

7/16/2012 8:44:55 PM

Strugglin'

7/16/2012 8:53:44 PM

Only 5 pts lead for the first half. Are they nervous b/c of the president's presence?

7/16/2012 9:05:01 PM