So who was cheering for the Men's b-ball team...

[nogoodnick]

ESPN.com Page 2's Bill Simmons Ideal Dream Team:

Starters Duncan, Odom, Hamilton, Redd, Wade.

Bench: Brad Miller, Tayshaun Prince, Iverson, Lebron, Amare, Cardinal, Battier, Hoiberg

 

This Dream Team is doomed

[Guest Smark-Raving Mad]

I respect the guys that are on the team for being there, but they have to do more than that.

 

I think their mentality is that they're good guys just for showing up, and now that they're in Athens, whatever happens happens.

 

That's bullshit. I don't know how you can just stand there and take that raping from Puerto Rico like that. Play some defense!

 

I'm still rooting for them, though.

[Vern Gagne]

ESPN.com Page 2's Bill Simmons Ideal Dream Team:

Starters Duncan, Odom, Hamilton, Redd, Wade.

Bench: Brad Miller, Tayshaun Prince, Iverson, Lebron, Amare, Cardinal, Battier, Hoiberg

 

This Dream Team is doomed

That teams lack an experienced PG. A true court leader.

 

One interesting idea i saw on OTL is having the NCAA champion compete. It's amateur or just finished players, but if all the red tape can be removed. I think it's worth a risk to try it in the upcoming years.

 

Puerto Rico=USA II

[ant_7000]

Well, if they selected Post players and shooters instead of Wing/slashers players they would be in better shape. Stern was so quick to invite 3 rookies to promote the future of the NBA. Arroyo shook the shit out of Amare Stoudimire with that pass fake was cool.

[Agent_Bond34]

Is Emeka Okafor going to be used at all in this tournament?

[The Czech Republic]

The answer is "Larry Brown"

[Chuck Woolery]

America v. Australia, in what should be a battle for the ages, is on at 7:30 this morning on either Bravo or USA network. Can the United States pull out another breathtaking victory?

 

... God, I hope so. Go team go.

[Guest Vitamin X]

The answer is "Larry Brown"

I thought it was Allen Iverson?

[Alro]

Dream Team most unpopular athletes in Olympics

 

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The U.S. men's basketball team is getting slammed from all sides.

 

 

These Dream Team impostors are jeered in Athens bars by Americans, booed in the arena by Greeks and the rest of the world, despised back home by people fed up watching their selfish ways on TV.

 

------

 

This article pretty much sums up how I feel about the Dream Team and the NBA as a whole.

[alfdogg]

My dad saw an interview with LeBron James after the Australia game in which he said "I like being on a team where I don't have to score all the time."

[AlwaysPissedOff]

I don't think professionla athletes belong in the olympics anyway. Maybe it's'll make some people realize that this is a TEAM sport. It can't always be 1-on-1 with dunking all the time.

Yeah, because all the other countries in the world don't use their own pros, right?

 

 

So naive.

[Lt. Al Giardello]

Anyone watch the game againest the Aussie's?

 

LeBron was unstoppable.

 

He really is the next big thing.

[Brett Favre]

LeBron is so fast and so big. He's like a taller Ray Lewis playing basketball.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Dream Team most unpopular athletes in Olympics

 

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- The U.S. men's basketball team is getting slammed from all sides.

 

 

These Dream Team impostors are jeered in Athens bars by Americans, booed in the arena by Greeks and the rest of the world, despised back home by people fed up watching their selfish ways on TV.

 

------

 

This article pretty much sums up how I feel about the Dream Team and the NBA as a whole.

Yeah, how can you NOT take people like this serously:

 

From Dean H. in Puyallup, Wash.: ``THESE ... NBA PLAYERS are an EMBARASMENT (sic) TO OUR COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!

 

We're mad and we're not going to take it anymore!

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

The funny thing is that back before 1992, we were one of the countries that voted against using professionals.

[bobobrazil1984]

the only reason i want to really see them win is because Larry Brown doesn't deserve this travashamockery.

[razazteca]

Loss number 2 came at the hands of the Donnie Nelson coached team of Lithavania. The big play that won the game for them was the 3 point shot that got fouled.

[Art Sandusky]

A loss to Lithuania isn't so bad, since they've been Bronze medalists the last couple of Olympics I think. They have a good team every go-around.

[The Czech Republic]

Just throwing it out...how do you think we'd fare if we sent Coach K and the Blue Devils to the Olympics?

 

EDIT: Or should I say, throwing it DOWN. YOu see, my avatar is Bill Walton.

[The Electrifyer]

To Larry Brown: PLAY LEBRON FRICKIN JAMES MORE.

[The Czech Republic]

Kind of off topic, but does anyone have the exact quote from Bob Costas on Oedipus in the Parade of Nations? It was something like "And here's Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother, a situation which all too often does not turn out very well."

[Kurt Angle Mark]

My feelings on what is wrong with the NBA is clearly stated by this SI.com article by Jack McCallum

 

Sarunas Jasikevicius was too small or too slow or too earthbound or too something when he came out of Maryland several years ago. That's what the pro scouts thought anyway. So despite his reputation for being one of the best pure shooters in college basketball, he was not drafted by the NBA.

 

So there he was Saturday night, emerging from Lithuania's 94-90 victory over the United States as the best player on the floor. Jasikevicius whizzed no-look passes past the ears of his defenders (the word is used loosely in the case of Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury), yo-yo dribbled his way into the lane, and, finally, hit seven 3-pointers, including a gut-busting four-point play down the stretch. When he finished, his 28 points were better than the collective efforts of America's three point guards (Iverson, Marbury and Dwayne Wade) and he would have collected far more than four assists had his teammates been able to finish on several of his pinpoint passes.

 

I'm not suggesting that the presence of Jasikevicius on an NBA team would turn it into a instant contender, nor am I suggesting that he would torch Iverson on a nightly basis. (Marbury is another matter.) But the fact that a guard almost unknown in America could outshine NBA superstars speaks volumes about the differences in the makeup of these international teams and the way the global style works against an American team selected from an NBA pool.

 

Jasikevicius is a shooter; Iverson and Marbury are scorers. Jasikevicius is proficient in using screen-setting teammates to free himself; Iverson and Marbury break defenders down off the dribble. Jasikevicius knows how to get into seams and move the ball against a zone; Iverson and Marbury are clueless about how to play against anything but a man-to-man, where quickness and shake-and-bake moves will win the day. This Olympic tournament means everything to Jasikevicius; Iverson and Marbury make their name, and their endorsement money, in the NBA.

 

If there was ever a wakeup call for American basketball, Saturday night was it. The Americans played well and lost simply because Lithuania was better, mostly because a guy with an unpronounceable name was unstoppable. The game made me think of something Kevin McHale, the general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves, told me a while back. McHale said he gets reports from his scouts all the time that say, "We've got to draft this kid. He can jump out of the gym and he's incredibly quick," and McHale will ask them: "Yes, but can they play basketball? Can they shoot? Can they dribble?"

 

In our compulsion to look for athletes, we've forgotten about basketball players. A very good one beat the U.S. on Saturday night.

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

That sounds familiar. Moneyball isn't just for baseball. The NBA could use a healthy dose as well.

[the max]

I've always liked McHale. He seemed to have his head on straight right up until that illegal contract a few years ago. He makes an excellent point about finding people who actually know the game. Kev played with, and won with, one of the best pure basketball players in the history of the game.

[Brett Favre]

Would the Detroit Pistons be considered a "Moneyball" type of team?

[EVIL~! alkeiper]

Would the Detroit Pistons be considered a "Moneyball" type of team?

Its hard to say. I'm not quite sure what an NBA Moneyball team would do, other than draft college players. Moneyball is all about inefficiencies in the market. If teams are overpaying for offense and underpaying for defense, than yes they are.

[The Czech Republic]

Is there Moneypuck? New Jersey seems to be one.

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

I officially am wondering what the hell Larry Brown is doing. Lebron James goes nuts and shows that despite not being able to shoot worth a damn, he can still run a team off the court if given the chance and yet, he barely gets in against Lithuania.

 

It may be time to end AI and Marbury as the back court. Iverson is fine, he's played well and has provided good shooting, but Marbury has shown no signs of life yet and after a 2 for 14 outing, it's probably time to give James or at least the tough minded Dwayne Wade a shot as a starter.

 

I also think they should take a gamble with more Amare Stoudemire. He's actually got a pretty fundamentally sound game for a big man, in that he never falls in love with fade away jumpers, he's all about attacking the rim and finishing strong. And unlike other explosive leapers, Amare's also pretty damn built and can muscle a lot of the foreign guys around if he needs to. Couldn't hurt at this point.