FanNation - The Republic of Sport

They need to get better at free throw shooting, and need to turn it over and execut on offense better to win gold in Beijing.

Another solid blog to start this group out. I agree with you about LeBron, Carmelo and Wade to say that. I consider Wade not a cocky guy, but I guess the Olympics changes everything. Personally, I think the starting lineup should be:

Chris Paul- He plays DEFENSE
Kobe Bryant- See above, and he's, well, Kobe
LeBron- Any explination needed?
Carmelo- I still don't know how he does it, but he kills in International stuff. Plus, it's not like they'd be losing his defense playing him here because he doesn't play any anyway.
Dwight Howard- Close between him and Bosh, but Howard is a little better all around, I think.

The first four guys of the bench would be:
Wade- Can run point or play 2, he's pretty good, too.
Bosh- One of the most underrated guys in the NBA, immediate help down low.
Redd- Can stretch defenses and change the pace right away.
Prince- Frustrate the offense early and let team USA take advantage.

I'd let Williams and Kidd come in when the US has the momentum, not to start it. In my opinion, I think that Kidd is better when he can go with the pace and change it how HE wants to, rather than having to set it up a certain way. Plus, I know I'm not many, but I'd rather have Paul running it to start off the game than J-Kidd.

Chris Paul USUALLY plays defense. His D in these exhibitions hasn't been very good, in my opinion.

Dwight Howard is definitely the man that needs to start, but his free throw shooting is atrocious. 0-for-6 today.

I like your ideas, but I think Deron Williams should be one of the first off the bench if the other team is playing a zone. He's very good at attacking the zone. Just watch the game against Russia.

Do you not want Boozer to get any PT though? haha. And Kidd gives a nice veteran leadership to set the tone. Besides, he's never lost a game in international play. That has to account for something.

Really? Haha, oops. I'll admit I've only seen parts of two games rather than watching all four games. So I guess I could be wrong.

Lol, I forgot about Boozer. I agree with you about Kidd being a good presence, and he should play. But I think you have to look at the concept of "team", and I don't think that Kidd playing right away makes as much of a difference as some other guys do. I know this isn't so relevant right now, but in the Western Conference playoffs (a pretty big stage), Paul killed Kidd.

Yes, he did, but you have to admit that Kidd is definitely more familiar with international play than Paul or Williams.

But I understand what you're saying. I'm looking at it as Coach K picking leadership over talent for the point guard position right now though.

Hey, if USA comes out swinging next game, I'm not worried by this. You ever hear about the original Dream Team's wake-up call?

Yes, I have, Cheez, but the game before this was awfully close late in the game as well. How many times do they need to be woken up?

The game looked REALLY sloppish.........too many turnovers for USA. I'm just concerned they won't be able to run their half-court offense against Greece and Spain......Good blog as always GOAT.

Those two %s tell the entire story:

- "16.7% from deep" ---> and "deep" in the Olympics is like a long 2-pointer in the NBA!

- "60.6% from the line" ---> and they call it the "charity stripe", hey?

On the other hand, maybe this is a much-needed wake-up call.

They'll be fine in the Olympics....






....or else.

Thanks, Denis. I dig the Hyperdunks in your profile picture. You're completely right in saying that the game was sloppy. Too many turnovers, a lot of missed shots, etc.

Hyped, those numbers stood out to me as well, which is why I made a point of it to put them in the blog.

Cheez, let's just hope it won't be the second part of your comment.

I agree with you, they need to improve from beyond the arc, maybe more minutes to Michael Redd, or getting their core to be more efficient, and run the half court better.
Good blog!