U.S.A. Olympic Basketball Team

So this looks to be possibly the next dream team? What do ya'll think?

Originally posted by JohnLennonForever
So this looks to be possibly the next dream team? What do ya'll think?

Why isn't there a single Celtic on the team?

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?id=3457058

They should go farther than the last team. Anything is better than the embarrassment of losing to Puerto Rico and Lithuania with the amount of talent we put on the floor. I would say the best thing about this team is Coach K is leading it.

However, Wade is coming off a knee injury and I'm not convinced Kobe is a great teammate.

The biggest thing to overcome from the last olympics is playing as a team. I think Coach K is one of only a few who can accomplish this with this group of players.

np

You hit the nail on the head, playing as a team. I don't know why they don't take our best team (the Celtics) and let them play.

It would be no contest.

The team has only one legit center though Howard is a great one. And only two power forwards. If they face a team that can bang inside and get some of the big men in foul trouble, they'll have to rely on jump shots and that's always dicey. Prince seems out of place on this squad and his spot should have gone to a big man.

I think that the US feels it has the best athletes as basketball player in the world and after last time wants more outside that inside game.

Originally posted by no1marauder
The team has only one legit center though Howard is a great one. And only two power forwards. If they face a team that can bang inside and get some of the big men in foul trouble, they'll have to rely on jump shots and that's always dicey. Prince seems out of place on this squad and his spot should have gone to a big man.

I think Prince is a great addition to the squad because he is a great defensive player. He may not be as good a scorer but basketball is not only about scoring.

Originally posted by no1marauder
The team has only one legit center though Howard is a great one. And only two power forwards. If they face a team that can bang inside and get some of the big men in foul trouble, they'll have to rely on jump shots and that's always dicey. Prince seems out of place on this squad and his spot should have gone to a big man.

This is my concern as well. Rather than Prince, I think Wade and Paul are out of place. Why do we need that many guards? What is that three point guards and three shooting guards? I would gladly give up Wade or Paul for Tyson Chandler.

Originally posted by JohnLennonForever
So this looks to be possibly the next dream team? What do ya'll think?

I think it's cheap to put professionals in an amateur competition.

Originally posted by GalaxyShield
Why isn't there a single Celtic on the team?

Because they have been building the team a long time before the 2008 Finals and none of the Celtics made the cut. Anyways, compare the USA starters to the Celtics starters.

PG - Jason Kidd, Rajon Rondo Adv. USA
SG - Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen Adv. USA
SF - LeBron James, Paul Pierce Adv. USA
PF - Carmelo Anthony, KG Adv. Celtics
C - Dwight Howard, Kendrick Perkins Adv. USA

Originally posted by neonpeon41
However, Wade is coming off a knee injury and I'm not convinced Kobe is a great teammate.

Yea, I am skeptical about Wade too, but about Kobe, apparently you didn't watch the FIBAs Americas tournament last year, Kobe sacrificed his offense and focused solely on defending the opposing team's best man. So yes, he is a good teammate. Expect a lot of Kobe to LeBron alley oops this August.

Originally posted by AThousandYoung
I think it's cheap to put professionals in an amateur competition.

What do you mean an amateur competition? Are you saying that other nations don't have professionals on their teams?

Originally posted by MoneyManMike
What do you mean an amateur competition? Are you saying that other nations don't have professionals on their teams?

Never mind, I don't know much about the issue. It looks like the amateur only ideal might have been a bad one and was dropped in 1970.

Originally posted by MoneyManMike
This is my concern as well. Rather than Prince, I think Wade and Paul are out of place. Why do we need that many guards? What is that three point guards and three shooting guards? I would gladly give up Wade or Paul for Tyson Chandler.

Don't start this BS again. There's no way Paul could be left off the team if he wanted to play. And Wade is a much better player than Prince who won't play if the games are on the line. Tyson Chandler would have been a good pick over Prince.

How do you Laker feel about Kobe's decision to have surgery AFTER the Olympics which will probably mean he'll miss the start of the Laker season?

Originally posted by no1marauder
The team has only one legit center though Howard is a great one. And only two power forwards. If they face a team that can bang inside and get some of the big men in foul trouble, they'll have to rely on jump shots and that's always dicey. Prince seems out of place on this squad and his spot should have gone to a big man.

Prince is on the team because we need great perimeter defenders and he is one of the best. International big men shoot really well (as opposed to banging down low) and thus we need more 4's to cover them. Duncan was on the team in 2004 and he was at a disadvantage. This team has been upgraded with shooters (Redd) and defenders (Prince), and is loaded at point (Kidd, Paul, and Williams). If they don't win gold we never will.