A Hoops Junkie's News

Welcome to the Final Four in Beijing, Redeem Team.

The semifinals for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Mens Basketball tournament are set, and the U.S. is only one win away from being guarenteed a medal. But in their way, they have Argentina, and even if they beat the gold medal winner from Athens, they may have to face Spain, who won the FIBA 2006 World Championships.

The road to redemption is nearing a happy ending for the U.S. squad. After a very disappointing bronze medal in 2004, and another bronze in the 2006 World Championships, the U.S. began it's path to international basketball glory with a win at the FIBA Americas Championship just one year ago.

Better Shot at the Gold?

Most of you would agree that LeBron James provides a better chance than Tyler Hansbrough at winning a Gold Medal in the Olympics. Kobe Bryant gives U.S.A. a better chance to contend than Stephen Curry. Dwight Howard gives more ability in the games than Luke Harangody.

Most of you probably also know that for a very long time, U.S.A. was a roster filled of college players. Some of these guys went on to long, storied careers in the NBA. But before that, these college players made up all of Team U.S.A. and they were very succesful in the Olympics.

Notice my reluctancy to call the Olympic basketball team from the United States of America, Team U.S.A.? Well, that's because I don't really consider them all that much of a team. In all honesty, I don't think that they have been a true "team" for a long time. Ever since the NBA players were allowed to play, it has been superstars, superstars, and more superstars. For a long time, the U.S. simply had the best players. The best players generally win games. But there was something else to this; those guys wanted to win, and they cared about playing together. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Hakeem; they all cared about winning a Gold medal more than themselves. Stephon Marbury, Lamar Odom, Carmelo Anthony; you all can make the judgement for yourself.

At least now, Team U.S.A. is starting to look more like a team. They have "role" players such as Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, and Carlos Boozer. But they're also loaded with superstars. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, etc. So after watching the U.S.A.-China game today, I can view them more as a team than as I did in 2004. 2004, the year that NBA scrub Carlos Arroyo took out an entire team of American players.

Well, I've been thinking, and I think that a team of college players would provide a good shot to win a Gold medal. Why? These guys are young and full of energy. They have never played on an international stage before, so you know they'd give it there all. They aren't making money (well, officially), so they would be in it to win it. And they aren't yet NBA players, so they still value the concept of team. Anyway, I'll let you guys voice your opinions while I give my team of college players to make a run at the Gold.

Darren Collison

 

Every good team needs a point guard, and this team is no exception. Collison can score, pass, play defense, run an offense, he can do it all. People often forget about how good this guy is. He has been overshadowed by Aaron Afflalo, Russel Westbrook, Kevin Love, etc. But throughout all of the great players that Collison has played with at UCLA, he still has managed to get his. He has upped his scoring every year. He has a very good assist-to-turnover ratio. He averages 2.6 rebounds, which is very good for a point guard. He gets steals, he knocks down threes, he's clutch. Collison can lead Team USA, and lead them in the charge for the Gold. 

Stephen Curry

 

To win an Olympic Gold, you need to have someone who can score. And I think we would all agree that if someone knows how to score, it's Curry. To give you an idea of some of what he was able to accompish (great wording by me, right?), I'll say some of his scoring totals. 24 against North Carolina, 29 at North Carolina State, 20 against Duke, 15 at UCLA. Still not impressed? In the NCAA Tournament, he went for 40 against Gonzaga, 30 against Georgetown, 33 against Wisconsin, and 25 against Kansas. What do all four of those teams have in common? They all are known to play some type of good, frustrating defense. He can score, we know that. He's a good rebounder for his size, and averages nearly 5 a game. He gets steals, assists, and doesn't turn over the ball much. He can penetrate, finish, knock down shots, everything. The scorer for Team U.S.A. is Curry.

Antonio Anderson

 

Another key to winning a Gold medal is defense. Whenever the United States has been succesful in the Olympics, it has been in large part to defense. Anderson is one of the better defenders in the country, and was a key reason that Memphis went to the NCAA Championship Game. Without him, I really think that Rose, Douglas-Roberts and company wouldn't have gone as far as they did. He can score when he needs to, going in double-digit's 18 times last year. He can both pass, and rebound. But his key component is on the other side of the ball, where he can guard three positions. In the NCAA Tournament alone, he frusturated JaMont Gordon, Raymar Morgan, Drew Neitzel, A.J. Abrams, Russell Westbrook, Josh Shipp, Brandon Rush, the list goes on and on. But those are a few of the big name college players that Anderson played good defense against. He's always on you, he's constantly frustrating people, and he plays a ton of minutes to keep it going. Anderson is the key defensive player for Team U.S.A. and will make a big impact.

Tyler Smith

Team USA 87, Australia 76

The best test Team USA would face during their exhibition schedule would come in the final game. The Aussies held them to the fewest points of any team so far playing without their star big man, Andrew Bogut, who was out with an ankle injury. The Americans shot an abysmal 16.7% from deep while Australia made 40% of their attempts from three-point range.

The Achilles' heel of USA has to be their free throw shooting, which could hurt them in the Olympics against good teams such as Spain. They shot only 60.6% from the line today and Dwight Howard alone went 0-for-6 from the free throw line.

Who's Left on the Market?

So far, it's been quite an epic offseason full of free agent signings and surprises, but some players have really decided where they are headed next season. Here are the top remaining restricted and unrestricted free agents.


Restricted Free Agents:


Josh Smith:


At this point of the free agent market, Josh Smith and the Atlanta Hawks haven't come to terms on the right deal, so, in result, they are pushing for a sign-and-trade out of Atlanta. Some teams that have drawn interest are the Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks, or even the Los Angeles Lakers. However, sign-and-trades are very difficult to pull off these days.

Josh Smith seems to be, by most teams, a future All-Star forward. His best assests are probably his defensive skills, acknowledged mostly by his blocking repertoire, his freakish athleticism, and his versatility, meaning he can do it all! He is on the verge of soon becoming the NBA's most talented weak-side shot-blocker as well.

Now, I have a couple of trades in mind, and first off, I would like to say that whoever made that Smith-to-LA rumor up is crazy. I don't think that Los Angeles would ever pull that off. Anyway, I could see Atlanta trading Josh Smith and his approximate $12 million contract, Solomon Jones, Speedy Claxton, along with his horrible contract, and Dallas' 2009 1st Round Pick for Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse, Brandon Bass, Eddie Jones, and cash.

NBA Offseason Free Agency moves and Trades so far

Okay in this blog I'm going to discuss some of the big moves made this offseason. So let's get started.

Elton Brand signs 5 year 80 million dollar contract with the 76ers.

This deal makes the 76ers a contender in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers add a career 20 and 10 player. To go along with his offensvie sill, he is also a very solid defensive player. This is something the 76ers were missing last season. That dominate post player, and with that they might could have knocked off the Pistons last season. Last season Brand only played in 8 games, but I don't see his health being an issue. The previous three seasons he averaged 80 games per season. This is a great sign for the 76ers. To me this puts them to a top 4 or 5 team in the East.