Ooops, We Did It Again

And poor free throw shooting.

And a series of really bad fouls.

(And I'm guessing coach K's half-time speech was less than inspiring too.)

We should bar them from the country for a month.

I didn't see it - choosing instead to stay up late and watch the Agassi match (great, great match, BTW) - but I suppose we can now quit all the heralding of Jerry Colangelo and Coach K as doing everything "the right way" to win in international ball. Again with the poor shooting! When will we learn that we need to have great shooters out there? How many on our team were among the top-50 3-point shooters in the NBA? ONE!

Here's an idea - take the top American NBA 3-point shooters (by %) over the past three years. Give spots to at least 3 of the top 10. I have no idea who that would bring in, but it would sure be better than 32% from three (after 25% against Germany). 59% from the line don't help either.

Nonetheless, I guess the problem in this game was defense - letting the Greeks shoot 63%? Perhaps that will get better as the guys play more together. The only question is whether the team will stay together as a team or will suffer from the same problem as last time - different guys moving in and out of the roster.

In the end, though, we'll really only compete to our fullest potential when our guys play the same game as the countries day-in-day-out. I really don't understand why we can't just conform our rules to the international rules.

I'm not sure which is more disturbing to me -- US Basketball losing yet again or agreeing with everything that Al says.

In the end, though, we'll really only compete to our fullest potential when our guys play the same game as the countries day-in-day-out. I really don't understand why we can't just conform our rules to the international rules.

Because their rules suck, maybe? I like our game, and if theirs is a game that doesn't favor players like LeBron and the like, I don't want that game to spread. That said, no way do we lose if Kobe's playing. (No, I didn't watch the game.)

The decline of American sports under George Bush has become a national disgrace.

It's all about the dunking, eh, SCMT?

FYI, this post is showing up in the "Non-sports" feed.

maybe we should consider that one game does not indicate that USA basketball is in tatters or something. teams have bad games sometimes. also, tons of these teams (like PR for example) seem to get really amped for the game against the US and play very very well. yeah, we should probably be good enough that we can never lose a game, but thats a very tall order. To be so good that having a bad game while another team has a good game has no effect on your ability to win is pretty insanely hard.

but yea we should learn how ot guard the pick and roll.

I couldn't watch it, but the main problem seems to have been poor defense (I know USA played at a fast pace, but 101 points!!). It's not so surprising really, because USA defense was relatively mediocre (easily the worst among the final four teams), depended heavily on forcing turnovers (something harder to do against the better teams) and was very vulnerable to the pick and roll. To get an idea of how was Team USA defense performing, before this morning games, USA was giving up 11 points more per 100 possesions than Argentina (the top ranked defensive team). And by the way, the same thing happened in Athens; very good offense, poor defense.

BTW, I realize that criticizing player selection can be a scape goat - there surely may be more important problems elsewhere. But given the inherent limitations of playing a different game than the FIBA game, it's probably the place to start any criticism. Given the defensive problems in the last game, might a rethinking of cutting Bowen be in order? Would Bowen have covered the pick and roll better than whoever was out there?

Also - re my criticism re 3-point shooting above: does anyone remember why Rip Hamilton, Michael Redd and Ray Allen weren't on the team?

I'm definitely with Carlos, on the main problem being defense, though I didn't see the game either. Greece shot something like 65% from the floor, and only had 12 turnovers. It's almost impossible to beat anyone when your defense is that ineffective.

The fact that the Greeks' big guy went six for seven in the third quarter surely didn't help either. Chris Bosh is a great player, but he just doesn't have the mass to play Shaq or that Greek titan (whose name I would butcher if I tried). He's not that much shorter than those guys, but being outweighed by 100 or 150 pounds matters. It sounds strange, but the U.S. needs to get bigger in the middle.

But if Kobe could have played, that might have made the difference. He's very good in the clutch, unshakeable at the line, and a much better three-pointer shooter than Wade, Anthony, or James.

Why did Elton Brand play so much? That big Greek giant, who happened to be slower than George Meurasan, took Brand to school. I thought Dwight Howard (Orlando is going to be a playoff team this year for sure) should have played much more than he did

The bigger problem for the US is team D. It seemed like the Greeks were just running your basic weave and ending up with layup and open jumpers. Pro ball isn't really about man-to-man d, it's about position and rotating, something the US cannot do apparently.

Of course there is also the pull up jumpers with no passing problem. It's fine in the NBA to go 5-22 and have 20+ points, but it doesnt really work in international play.

Short repeat of what others have said. Main problem was clearly defense.

"Seemingly the main problem was poor three point shooting."

How could everyone not have watched the thing? God invented the Tivo just for this reason.

And, yes, the problem was clearly indeed on the defensive end, not the offensive end.

We almost lost to a far inferior Italian team in a similar game before the elimination round, but Carmelo single-handedly rescued Team USA in that game with 29 points in the second half.

Carmelo was merely very good, instead of insanely great, in the second half against Greece.

-----

The goat was clearly Kirk Heinrich. Team USA was up by 12 when Heinrich proceeded to tunrover the ball, fouled a 3 pt shooter on the other end, turned over the ball again, missed a defensive assignment, and a minute or two later Team USA was down by 5. It was a surreal performance.

Both Heinrich and Paul weren't the PG this team needed - someone who can play defense against bigger players and knock down the open 3.

Watching Team USA defend the pick and roll was like watching my Sixers defend the pick and roll this past season.

If you can't stop that particular move, you're not going to win a whole lot of games.

How could everyone not have watched the thing? God invented the Tivo just for this reason.

Of course. But not everyone has two hours between waking up and going to work to watch the semifinals!

If you can't stop that particular move, you're not going to win a whole lot of games.

Again, they cut the guy best suited to defending the pick & roll. Not smart.

The rest of the world is too good for the US NOT to be sending the best possible team to international competition. Although we'd probably lose just a touch of atheleticism, there are a number of guys out there who would have made the team better and should have replaced some of our weaker players: Duncan, Kidd, Hamilton, Billups, Arenas, Pierce, Kobe (is he injured or something?), Iverson. I was watching the TiVo'd game against Germany last night and thought "we actually could put together a team USA that would be better than the one we've got on the floor even leaving all these guys home."

Maybe we should just get used to the idea that, for various reasons, mostly owing to pro vs. international competition conflicts (ie., money), the USA is now a middling power in world basketball play. Also, I've never been a fan of the following idea, but maybe after all we should consider sending the NBA champs to the worlds or the Olympics. I've generally tended to be of the opinion that the level of talent wouldn't be high enough, but who knows? I'm willing to try anything.

"not everyone has two hours between waking up and going to work to watch the semifinals!"

Your priorities are obviously not in order. Either cut down on sleep or work.

How can you get through the egg course, the pancake course, and the fresh fruit course in under two hours while still having time to linger over your coffee? You must just skim your way through the NYTimes.

And by fast forwarding through the commercials and halftime, you can make it through a FIBA game in an hour and ten minutes.

The Argentina/Spain game was really fantastic.

But what the hell was the Argentine coach thinking at the end? He intentionally fouled Spain with the game tied and about 20 seconds left. Spain made one of the foul shots, and that was the final point of the game. Weird. You'd get laughed out of the NBA if you did that.

-----

And the irony is that while the US was always likely to lose to the Argentina/Spain winner, but with Gasol getting injured, the US would actually have a decent shot at beating Spain if they'd taken down Greece.

How can you get through the egg course, the pancake course, and the fresh fruit course in under two hours while still having time to linger over your coffee? You must just skim your way through the NYTimes.

All that's a given. I just don't have time to appropriately savor all those courses, linger with my coffee while reading Maureen Dowd's erudition AND watch a two hour game.

Anyway, I bet that the US beats Argentina. Both teams are disappointed by the outcome of the semis (not just the US), and beating the US won't be quite as much of a thrill for Argentina after they've already done it last time. Just a hunch.

The big ugly Greek center is Sofoklis Schortsianitis. Greece was also playing without its best player, Nikos Zisis.

I remember watching the first "dream team." They'd get in a little "trouble" (i.e. less than a double-digit lead) and they'd put in Charles Barkley. 5 minutes later they'd have a double-digit lead again. Is there anybody who plays defense and rebounds like that in the NBA now?

Oh, well--too bad. Maybe we'll win next time.

The two obvious problems are the ones mentioned by many above. No strong outside shooting especially for a 3-pt line that is shorter than the NBA. Lebron and Wade may make the ESPN highlight reel, but they lack fundamental skills such as the ability to hit a 17 foot jump shot reliably. Second they can't play decent straight-up defense. Coach K installed his pressure system, but the second you get by that line of defense it is easy buckets. You need to be able to stay on the outside shooters and not collapse on people driving to the hole. And the way to prevent people from driving to the hole is have guards who can play defense. Another missed opportunity.

I missed the Greece game, but I did see the USA take on Slovenia earlier in the tournament. And even there, it was obvious that the Americans were very vulnerable to the high pick-and-roll play. Each time Slovenia ran it, both defenders would follow the ball, and rotation from the baseline was always late to arrive.

One difference between Slovenia and a team like Greece is that the latter team finds the big man when he's open; Slovenia only sometimes made the entry pass, and only sometimes capitalized on it.

Even though I'm a Spurs Fan and I was rooting for Bowen all the way I'm not sure if he could have single handedly raised the bar. The spurs play a fairly good team defensive game which allows Bruce to be the pesky bastard that he is.
That being said, damn, if the US team could have used Bruce's defense and his trademark corner three, maybe not enough to win, but it would have been a much different game.

Rip and Allen declined, Billups and Redd had other committments. Duncan, AI, and Pierce have all anchored losing teams. Arenas wouldn't have made this team appreciably better. Bowen would not have made a difference, unless he can cover the man cutting off the pick and also the roller all at the same time. Really, of the players who would have agreed to play, only Kobe would have made a difference, simply by being able to get hot more or less at will in ways that Wade simply can't.

With respect to the three point issue, the international line is only marginally longer than the college line. Damn near everyone on the US roster can hit from that distance, which doesn't preclude bad shooting nights. Also, playing together very little makes it tougher to shoot well because there isn't the time to work on good sets and also people tend to overthink rather than react. Ditto on defense, which is where this team was shredded. Pressure is fine with weakside help and rotations. There was very little help or rotations on this team because no one knew where they were supposed to be; and, since this team is supposed to be together from now through 2008, that should get better.

I'm sure it's been suggested before but I'd think we'd fare better at these events if we would just send a TEAM instead of an all star squad. Just send the NBA champs and replace whoever their foreigners are with suitable replacements. They would already be able to run plays and play team defense. I can't imagine this ever happening but I would think we'd be much more successful than trying to create a team out of a bunch of guys who are used to being the star.

This team showed a lot of character in coming back and beating Argentina. A good sign for the Olympics. They are committed to getting better. I don't think there's a "refusal to accept roles" problem here.

Damn near everyone on the US roster can hit from that distance, which doesn't preclude bad shooting nights.

Hmmm, have you watched an NBA game recently?

Anyway, I bet that the US beats Argentina.

As I said. We'll be OK. Just need to keep the team together to learn a bit more team defense.

"falling instead to . . . Greece."
do i detect arrogance and ignorance?

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