USA vs Puerto Rico bball / FIBA WC

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Spencer, Aug 3, 2006.

  1. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    Jul 1, 2005
    First game under coach K.

    Tonight ESPN2 10est

    I look forward to seeing a real team and hopefully some domination.

    {PF: modified to extend scope of topic}
     
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  2. ChicagoTom

    ChicagoTom Administrator

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    I am with you Spence! Go Stars and Stripes.....and no I am not talking about Dennis Connor's ship from the America's Cup in the late 80's!!
     
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  3. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    Good game tonight a +40 point win against the 11th ranked team in the world. Close for a while but PR have no depth. Starting line up of D Wade, Carmelo, Lebron, Chris Bosh, and Chris Paul. Gotta love it. I like how we've assembled a young eager and talented team. Basically a U23 team. Cut the fat like Iverson out.

    Unbelievable athleticism, you have to wonder what if Dwayne Wade had become a footy player....
     
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  4. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    World Championships start August 19th and run to September 3rd. 24 team tournament.
    USA in Group D w/
    China
    Italy
    Puerto Rico
    Senegal (hay maybe Diop can play!)
    Slovakia
    top four advance

    http://www.fiba.com/pages/en/events/blo ... undID=3507

    It seems Basketball is the 2nd sport of Southern Europe while Hockey is the second or in some cases first sport of Northern Europe.
     
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  5. kwdawson

    kwdawson New Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    They looked good once they started to play defence. Paul is a superstar, Carmelo look much better than last season with Denver, Lebron and Wade are as expected amazing. The only lineup change I would make is Elton Brand for Chris Bosh.
     
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  6. kwdawson

    kwdawson New Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    Team USA avoided the early upset Saturday by rallying for a 111-100 victory over Puerto Rico in the World Championships.
     
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  7. ChicagoTom

    ChicagoTom Administrator

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    This is good news. I am hoping the US can bring the Gold home. Not a great start, but a win nonetheless will work for me. Let's see what happens tomorrow morning against China.
     
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  8. kwdawson

    kwdawson New Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    I just finished watching US beat China, they had their best game this morning. Wade, Paul and Howard had good games. The final score was 121-90.
     
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  9. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    They look good, should cruise through the group. Though Italy could give them a decent game.
     
    #9
  10. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    Jul 1, 2005
    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    USA starts the round of 16 tommorow against Australia. Looks like we'll have to play Germany in the quaters which will be a though game. Take a look at the roster disparity in this match up.

    Australia
    http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/06_wcm ... 7&langID=1

    USA
    http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/06_wcm ... 7&langID=1

    Not to get ahead of myself but I think we can handle the Italian 2nd division, and Australian leauge players they have to throw at us. To their credit they've produced one NBA player. Australia seems to be at least respectible in every sport and excel in others.
     
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  11. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    btw game is tommorow night at llpm CDT on ESPN2
     
    #11
  12. kwdawson

    kwdawson New Member

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    Watch the first half then went to bed because it was a blowout. Next up is Germany which should be a good game.
     
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  13. pettyfog

    pettyfog Well-Known Member

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    Jan 4, 2005
    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    Watching USA / Ger as I write

    Too bad this isnt getting more interest. What a dream team! Probably the best collection of coach and players ever in Int'l competition.

    But I have to admit that I only watch -or think about it- when it replaces Mike and Mike..
     
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  14. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    I enjoy watching it before I go to the gym in the mornings, as I did this morning, but I bemoan the lack of skills on a lot of our players. Nobody in the world can touch us in athleticism, but we don't teach the game anymore. We're really good at long bombs and dunks, but where's the in-between game? The original squad had one great and one pretty good perimeter defender. They sent the great one home.

    We may win this tourney, but until b-ball in the country gets out of the street and back into the gym, we're going to be embarrassed in international competition by nations where the fundamentals are taught, and stressed, on a daily basis.
     
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  15. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    The arrogance of some of the sports writers is simply amazing. I just saw Skip Bailess on ESPN2 say that Germany was made up of Dirk Nowinzki and four guys from Beer Fest. Also implied that Greece is crap because they have no NBA players. In doing so he completely devalued the accomplishments of the US team. Do the guys never learn anything? Do they really believe that every good player that exists plays in the NBA. Are they completely unaware that other good leagues do exist?

    Its like if the English press mocked Brazil or Italy because none of their players are in the EPL.
     
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  16. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    Re: RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    Have to disagree with you no this one Don. I'd like to equate the way we play basketball to the way Brazil plays soccer. Not to structured or over thought. Our guys play just as they've always played the game and they have fun when their doing it. The players on this team have superior skill and flair to any players in the world just like Brazil does in soccer. Really the last thing I want to do is put a leash on these guys.

    The street produces better players then the structured gyms in the suburbs where systematic basketball is preached. Here our best athletes cut their teeth on the streets of Chicago, New York, Atlanta, ect. just as in Brazil they do it Rio, Sao Paulo, Porto Alegre.
     
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  17. HatterDon

    HatterDon Moderator

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    RE: Re: RE: USA vs Puerto Rico bball

    I like the analogy, Spence, but the facts don't bear it out. We've been embarrassed in the last few international tourneys by taking the flash players with the big names. The fact is that, even in the United States, the game is being taken over by players who cut their teeth on fundamentals. Even Manu Ginobili, a guy who looks like he's making it up as he goes along, got his chops by living in the gym.

    I agree with you about the suburban gyms and the white bread they can produce, but that's basically because our b-ball coaching skills have also deteriorated. Nobody teaches at the college level and very few do at the high school level.
     
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  18. ChicagoTom

    ChicagoTom Administrator

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    While I agree that the media can be really thoughtless regarding International teams other than the US, I think the above comment from Spencer is not a fair comparison.

    The bottom line is this....players all over the world want and strive to play in the NBA. One can say that the Euroleague is a great league, which to some extents is, but I am sure if you asked most every player in that league if he would rather be playing in the NBA, he would say he wants to. That is not to say these leagues do not produce some good players, but I would guess most of them want to eventually come to the NBA for the fame and fortune.

    That being said, the Premiership is not the only lucrative league that features world class players. Spain, Germany, Italy are among the European leagues that offer great competition and wages comparable to that of England.

    The NBA is easily the most lucrative and attractive league in the world and also features the most amount of talented players from all parts of the world. It is the basketball superpower and always will be.

    On to HatterDon's comments, I could not agree with you more. The fundamentals of the game are getting lost in the shuffle of AndOne crap like dunking, showboating and the mid-range jump shot. We do have some players that have great all-around games, but in general, the basic principles of the game are not being emphasized to kids at a young age and they are not developing the necessary skills to be successful.

    This in turn is why you have seen the emergence of the foreign/European players over the past decade. Players from abroad can shoot, pass and are fundamentally sound. While some of them are projects, if you watch the FIBA World Championships, the teams may not have the same amount of talent as the US, but they play the game the right way. They pass well, shoot well, defend well and do the things needed for their respective teams to win. Until the US gets back to the basics, they will be pushed and pushed by these teams and will eventually trail these countries.
     
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  19. Spencer

    Spencer Active Member

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    I see what your saying the NBA is the undisputed number one league in the world where as there our three to five top leagues in the world of soccer. Then again how are we to be completely sure. The Miami Heat would probably beat the champions of the Italian, Greek, Spanish, German, and Russian Leagues but we'll never know.

    Obviously yes you need a certain amount of system to win in these international tournaments. But I'm comfortable with the balance coach K has struck. Today it was the second half defense that won the US the game.

    I do think we have all around players. I'm far from a basketball expert but guys like Wade, Anthony, Lebron, all strike me as all around players. They can do many of the things guys like Nash and Genoble can do as well as have flair.
     
    #19
  20. ChicagoTom

    ChicagoTom Administrator

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    Spencer, it is not so much the NBA players I am referring to. Yes, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony are great all-around players. But, if you watch games of grade school, high school and even college players, the style of play and lack of fundamentals in these contests can be sad to watch.

    Also, almost every single player drafted in the NBA over the last few seasons has been drafted not on talent, but on potential. Teams are drafting projects because the players do not have the basic skills of shooting, passing and defending. Fortunately for these youngsters, NBA teams are willing to spend millions on them to try and develop this talent. It may or may not develop, but it takes good coaching from NBA teams to turn the potential of a player into a good player in this league.

    That is not to say there are not some talented players, but the game has become a me show rather than a team show.

    I love the NBA and I love basketball probably more than even soccer. I watch the NBA and all kinds of basketball throughout the year. The game is changing and I do not think it is necessarily changing for the better. With as many kids playing the game of basketball here in the States, we should be developing some more fundamentally sound players than we are. Whether in the inner-city or in the middle of a corn field, fundamentals have to be addressed at all levels of basketball for this country to enjoy success year in and year out.
     
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