Disappointment, USA

To say the very least, the performance of the USA National Basketball team has been quite the disappoint to me and many Americans. While at work we always listen to Jim Rome on the radio, and his analysis of why they're bad is completely opposite of what's actually happening. First off, he keeps claiming that they dont want to share the ball, apparently he hasnt actually watched the games, where the USA has mainly struggled because it plays the game like an All-Star game where everybody tries to make the extra pass and the pretty play when the actual advantage this team should bring is their ability to go one on one and take it to those foreign bastards. Although I will always support my boy Lebron over Melo, I do have to say that Melo has been one of the most effective players on the court because he does something that the other guys dont seem interested in doing - he shoots the fucking ball!

This is one of the reasons that I think that Larry Brown is actually the wrong kind of coach for this kind of team. If he were coaching a bunch of veterans like he thought he was going to, he'd be a great person to walk the sideline, but as it is his "play the game the right way" bullshit doesn't do a lot of good when you're coaching a bunch of 20 year olds...they've had success their whole lives taking over the game, and that's exactly what they need to do in these international games. Screw passing the ball around and trying to find holes in the zones (which all the international teams will play against), put some fucking pressure on the other team and draw some fouls, cause I'm sorry to say that there is just no way we can assume we'll get the ball down to Tim Duncan every time.

Secondly, Rome's been harping on them for not playing any D. Try and play some defense when the guy your guarding is shooting threes from 20 feet out, it's a little more difficult. For any of you out there that don't know the international line is only 20'6, while the NBA line is 23'9. Quite a difference. You may be saying, 'well that should be our advantage then,' but it just doesnt work that way. Threes from this distance are like free throws for these foreign guys. Actually, think of it like this, say you shot 100 free throws a day from 15 feet, then played a court where you had to shoot from 14 feet - sure, it'd be shorter, but those thousands of shots from 15 feet wouldnt help you out to much. This is the problem the NBA players face - they just dont have any need to shoot from this distance in an NBA game, it just about never comes up, 90% of shots are 15 feet and in or behind the 3-pt line. To complicate matters this short line has allowed the foreigners to field teams where every man on the court can comfortably shoot from this distance, putting all those Carlos Boozers and the like in a tough position defensively. Basically, I think it might be time for the USA to change their style in picking the team (AKA, ask Redd to play, not Emeka Okafor, who cares how big we are? Okafor never sees the floor anyway).

The only solace I can find in all this is the secure knowledge that had all the players played that said they would originally, these last few games would have been 30 point blowouts. People find it hard to believe, but there really is that much difference between player 12 and player 24 in the NBA, a huge difference. We get caught up in statistics and dont see a huge advantage, but it always exists. For instance, many players can score as much as Tracy McGrady for a given period of time or number of games, but the difference is that the only thing stopping him is himself. Same for Kobe Bryant, there is simply no way to deny them their shot attempts, they're just too good. Lebron James will be there in a year or two also, but he simply isnt right now. Also, you put a KG out there, and he'll absolutely shut down any player on those foreign teams, from the shooting gaurd to the centers.

Anyway, I think by the time the real Olympics start this team will be better. Will they win Gold? I couldnt tell you. Will they get scared a lot by inferior teams? Most definately.