Grey Ghost

Grey Ghost

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

USA Basketball

I think I'm like the rest of Basketball America when I say, I don't just want these world championships and the next Olympics. I want to go 10 years without losing. Yes, the world is catching us. No, the world hasn't caught us, not completely.

We are still deeper, by far, than any other team in this tournament. That alone spells championship. Who are the best non-Americans in this tournament? Dirk, Yao, Ginobli, Tony Parker, and take your pick on the 5th guy. Only Dirk would replace any starter on the U.S. team. Don't say Yao, please. I'll take Dwight Howard over Yao, D-Wade over Ginobli, Chris Paul over Parker, and Carmelo over all the 5th guys. That leaves Lebron and Dirk. Did I say Dirk would replace? I meant might. I would imagine one day you'll see a team that can go 10 deep with the U.S.. That team is not now in Japan.

The international players are evidence of how the world is closing the gap through their developmental programs. Bottom line, right now the world shoots the ball better than we do. Shooting is a lost art in this country. It's a failure of a generation of basketball instruction. I don't mean shoe teams and AAU. I mean at the youngest levels we are doing a poor job of teaching the game. That's a post for another day.

That said, it's still not enough. Our athleticism should be enough to take any shooter off his game. Argentina and Spain wait in the next, the hardest, part of the tournament. I still like U.S., and if we have any kind of chance to, I hope we run it up in the title game.

Flip Side/Devil's Advocate
We are playing a ton of pressure. When the pressure's beat, you get mismatches and open looks. If you can knock down those looks, you can win. That simple, and already said, the world can shoot.
I understand what we're trying to do. Get a deep rotation going. Keep 'em happy. Wear other teams down. And that's what's been happening.
I see spells where we overplay the man & the ball. Some of those times I think we're better off sticking with the primary responsibility, and forcing bad shots. I know it's an art. It's like playing with the volume from song to song. I just wouldn't want to let anybody get on any kind of run, and subsequently let them build any kind of confidence.

Quick Hitters
-Kudos to ESPN for choosing Fran Fraschilla over Bill Walton. Fraschilla's been excellent with the background on the individual players, and his insights on the international style of play. I'll take a down-played insider like Fraschilla or a Hubie Brown any day. All Walton does is say nothing forcefully.

-Another kudos to Shane Battier taking a charge, on a big guy no less, today against Italy within a step from the rim. He's been in the league long enough to think he can never get a charge that close to the bucket. Just overcoming that NBA halo rule in your memory was enough. Then to take it on a 5 man was decidedly un-NBA. I wasn't sure when they made the team if he wasn't a Duke payback to Coach K. An unselfish, sacrifice play like that shows you why.

-O.K., as I reread the top of this post the 5th international guy would be Paul Gasol. Sorry NeckBeard, I forgot about you. I'd still take Carmelo.

-Speaking of Carmelo. LeBron's already recognized as the anointed one, D-Wade's got a ring, and neither has been the best player on this team. Carmelo has been, hands down, the go-to-guy/mvp of this team. When they've needed a bucket...o.k. the few times they've needed a bucket, he's their guy. They talk about these 3 as the new golden age of the sport. That seems fair. Basketball more than any other sports thrives on its superstars. It certainly seems as if the baton has been ably passed to a new generation.

-How about the chippiness of the Italians? Kind of sets the Zidane thing in a new light. Me, I'd like to see us take the roster to 15 guys. You only need 10 for the regular rotation. Those last 5 we'd keep for , not so much a goon squad, let's call it an insane squad. I'd take Ron Artest, Rodman, Barkley, maybe just some roid-ripped wrestler, and, you know what, we'll take the Zidane guy. You want to get chippy? O.K., Guess who we're putting in? It would be worth it just to see faces when they look back at the table. You won't need them more than a couple possessions. Just a reminder to the world that in addition to basketball, we still lead in reckless behavior.

-O.K., more on the 5 best international players. Wrote most of this post yesterday between the actual broadcast and the replay last night. When I saw the replay ESPN had a graphic with those 5 players that I did not see in the original broadcast, so credit where credit is due. It's not like coming up with those 5, running ESPN, or writing in this silly little blog is rocket science. ESPN shows dominoes tournaments and I mock everything in this vacuum.

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