Will Team USA win gold??

[edabomb]

What do you lot reckon?? I'm leaning towards no. They just look so average, I have no idea how they can turn it round in such a short period of time.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

I really dont know at the moment.

Im still thinking yes...but they'd have to sit down and talk things out..and leave the ego's at the door. As long as they get thier attitude right, I think they can still win.

 

[McLovin]

NO NO NO!!!! they rely to heavily on Tim(othy) Duncan. Other teams are aware of the fact that team USA cant shoot from beyond the 3 point area and are playing a colapsing defence that can easily block up the paint...

 

[pug306]

Team USA need a miracle to win the Gold,
even though they have the players,
they don't have a team.

 

[Mighty Tiger]

No simply because AI won't be good enough because of his style of play compared to the world game

 

[aqua_duck]

No, they can'tsink the 3,simpleas that. LeBron James, forsomeone so highly regarded he has a terrible jumper. They really needed someone like ray allen or michael redd or even allen houston.

 

[El Coconuto]

Yeah, I still don't understand why Michael Redd isn't there? Absolutely stupid.

Anyways, I still think that so long as they make the quarter finals they'll give it a fair shake. It's better to get the bad games out early then it is late. Here's how I see it;

- If Duncan starts shooting a little more often and stops being called for soft fouls, they'll go well regardless of the perimeter hopelessness.

- If Allen Iverson continues to warm up from the three-point area, they'll go well as well.

- If LeBron James, Richardson Jefferson and Stephon Marbury keep popping treys, they may as well pack up and get ready for next season. None of these guys can shoot. LeBron is not a shooting guard, he is a point guard. And why is Jefferson getting so many minutes ahead of Carmelo? I just don't get it.

 

[McLovin]

Hes getting more minutes because the coach doesnt think Carmelo has the right attitude towards being an olympian. Remember when he turned up to a meeting late?? that doesnt tell the coach that he wants to play so why should he play for him??

 

[El Coconuto]

For starters, Lebron James and Emeka Okafor both turned up to a meeting late and how much court time have they been docked? F*ck all!

Secondly, what happened when Philly benched Iverson last season? Loss after loss after damn loss. What happened when Tracy McGrady was benched? Same deal, except he even put on an injury by the end of it all because he was so sh*tted off with the organisation.

And lastly, when your team gets their arses handed to them by Puerto Rico and let a late lead slip against Lithuania, what harm could there be in trying something different? You know, something that might actually work! This is basketball, not politics.

It's quite simple, Jefferson can't shoot and was only put on the team in the first place because it originally had Jason Kidd on it, of whom Jefferson would feed off. But Kidd didn't come and Jefferson is just another American example of 'Athletic Guys Who Will Never Adapt to the International Game'.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

Melo shits all over Jefferson. From a great distance might I add.

 

[CanadianSteve]

I saw Larry Brown interviewed on tv, and he said he stuck with Jefferson through his bad shooting because he feels RJ is his best perimeter defender. And Jefferson did hit a couple of big 3s in the second half of the Lithuania game.

But it's true, the team has a crying need for a couple of outside shooters. Rip Hamilton would have been great, but he turned it down and so did Ray Allen. I also think Mike Bibby would have been great, a point guard who can hit the jumper more consistently than Marbury or Iverson. But I think he said no as well.

 

[Sharkman]

They wont win when they dont play d and cant hit 15-20 ft jump shots. Thing is, Duncan shoots form 15 ft easy, they need to get him out and draw out some defenders from the lane.

Actually, they can all pretty much shoot OK, but their nerves are shot to bits. I hope they lose, because theres no way anyone in the world gets within 30 of them with a squad like this:

Kidd
Kobe
Garnett
Duncan
Shaq
(*so long as Shaq & Kobe could co exist)

The only difference in 92 was you sit the entire 12, there were easy another two squads you could have picked that would have blitzed the world. This time round your b- squad gets ripped.

 

[edabomb]

I recently bought the Ultimate Jordan DVD set. Looking at the 1992 Olympics highlights was insane. Bird, Johnson, Jordan, Barkley and Ewing were the starting 5 if I remember correctly. I really wish we had a gallery of stars like that in todays NBA. 3 out of the 5 revolutionised their positions, and on the bench I think Pippen went some way towards doing it aswell in the post-Bird era. I hold the original Dream Team along with the '94 Raiders as the best sporting team I've ever seen.

 

[pug306]

Back in '92 the NBA hadn't become highlight reel city :lol: :lol: :lol:
Those players knew how to play the game right,
most plays were designed around the post or getting quality looks at the basket from mid range, unless you had a quality 3pt threat,
there were hardly any one on one, clear out plays called,
unless it was a side that contained a certain M.Jordan (even though he bought into the triangle to win)

Even so, put another quality centre on the squad, not just Duncan with a decent outside threat (Michael Redd possible) & I'll say this team would be much improved. Even the Spurs don't play Duncan at Centre :roll:

 

[Jonotallica]

I don't think they'll get the gold, but I haven't ruled them out altogther. It's impossible to count out a team that has that much talent in the lineup. All they need is one player to heat up and drain some jumpers, and it's a different team. Even Odum could heat up from the perimeter. It doesn't look likely but I wouldn't count them out just yet. They have been improving every game.

I'd like to see Spain win the gold, but Argentina and Lithuania also look very dangerous.

First hurdle for USA is to beat Spain (who is currently undefeated and won Pool A) in the quarter final.

 

[Bobby DIGital]

Well they beat Spain

They wont lose another game.

 

[El Coconuto]

When pride is on the line, Team USA always steps up to the plate. I feel good to have been one of the people to vote 'yes' on this poll.

Note: That is said with foot firmly in mouth

 

[edabomb]

They looked good against Spain aswell. If they have a guard like Marbury shooting well they shouldn't lose another game.

 

[pug306]

The outside shooting arrived,
they hit their free throws down the stretch,
the US looked a whole lot better.

Yes, with pride on the line they stepped up,
but will the outside shooting go AWOL again :shock:

they also need to get there head around the FIBA rule book,
another game with a lopsided foul count,
this time they got away with it....................

 

[CanadianSteve]

I voted yes too, and feel better about it now. Marbury spent 90 minutes shooting by himself on an off-day. He and others should have tried that before.