2012 Olympic Team

[g-money]

The USA looks good but this is a pretty good game. The USA up up by 7 with 1:20 left in the 3rd.

Wow - this was definitely a wake-up call for team USA, and by extension, for me as a fan! Before I make any more claims about the 2012 team being better than the '92 vintage, let's make sure we actually win the gold medal first.

This is not to say that we played all that horribly - I think there's a lot to be said for the ROW catching up too. Plus the officiating was terrible, but I suppose that's how it will be throughout the Games.

If there's a bright side, it's that Coach K will have no trouble imparting a sense of urgency to Team USA from here on out.

[theAlaskanBear]

Wow - this was definitely a wake-up call for team USA, and by extension, for me as a fan! Before I make any more claims about the 2012 team being better than the '92 vintage, let's make sure we actually win the gold medal first.

This is not to say that we played all that horribly - I think there's a lot to be said for the ROW catching up too. Plus the officiating was terrible, but I suppose that's how it will be throughout the Games.

If there's a bright side, it's that Coach K will have no trouble imparting a sense of urgency to Team USA from here on out.

I watched almost all of the game. I have extreme misgivings about starting Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony in the same lineup. No ball movement, bricks aplenty.

[Greg_Newton]

I watched almost all of the game. I have extreme misgivings about starting Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony in the same lineup. No ball movement, bricks aplenty.

Definitely agree, although I really liked Kobe's defensive energy and toughness in spurts; I wonder if we could see him settle into more of a defensive specialist role as the team evolves. But yeah, I'm not sure that Westbrook and Iguodala aren't better than Paul and Anthony for this team. No point in becoming a larger-scale New York Knicks, with great players who don't really complement each other.

Plus, they've got the best athletes and slashers in the world; they've got to attack the basket and stop jacking up threes. They've shot FIFTY-SEVEN threes in their first two games (made nineteen), and few of them have been drive-and-kick, open looks. Plus, it's not like we're a great offensive rebounding team if we're off.

We've seen how that movie ends more than a few times down here...

[theAlaskanBear]

Definitely agree, although I really liked Kobe's defensive energy and toughness in spurts; I wonder if we could see him settle into more of a defensive specialist role as the team evolves. But yeah, I'm not sure that Westbrook and Iguodala aren't better than Paul and Anthony for this team. No point in becoming a larger-scale New York Knicks, with great players who don't really complement each other.

Plus, they've got the best athletes and slashers in the world; they've got to attack the basket and stop jacking up threes. They've shot FIFTY-SEVEN threes in their first two games (made nineteen), and few of them have been drive-and-kick, open looks. Plus, it's not like we're a great offensive rebounding team if we're off.

We've seen how that movie ends more than a few times down here...

Agreed, and the play of USA was in stark contrast to the beautiful passing of Brazil (minus the segment of turnovers and the USA run)

[BD80]

Brazil always gives the US trouble.

Coach K is not displaying all of his weapons, just working on basic sets and basic defense.

The US guys have only been shooting the international ball for about a week now, the shooting will get better. They have the green light primarily to get them used to shooting threes with the new ball, and to give the team a feeling for rebounding with the spacing Coach K is looking for.

The team will improve over the next couple of weeks.

Durant with defer less and less to Kobe and LeBron.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Definitely agree, although I really liked Kobe's defensive energy and toughness in spurts; I wonder if we could see him settle into more of a defensive specialist role as the team evolves. But yeah, I'm not sure that Westbrook and Iguodala aren't better than Paul and Anthony for this team. No point in becoming a larger-scale New York Knicks, with great players who don't really complement each other.

Plus, they've got the best athletes and slashers in the world; they've got to attack the basket and stop jacking up threes. They've shot FIFTY-SEVEN threes in their first two games (made nineteen), and few of them have been drive-and-kick, open looks. Plus, it's not like we're a great offensive rebounding team if we're off.

We've seen how that movie ends more than a few times down here...

We may have a higher chance of seeing Harrison Barnes in an All-Star uniform this year...

Coach K has preached to everyone to be themselves, and you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Kobe is a great two way player, but he will not sacrifice his offense for more intense defense. It's not going to happen.

[Billy Dat]

I really enjoyed watching the game, here are my primary takeaways:

-Brazil is definitely a medal favorite, I think they are every bit as good as banged-up Spain, old Argentina and France. So, that wasn't a chump team we were playing. They have been together since early June and Team USA has been together for less than 2 weeks, and has only been practicing at full strength for a few days. The difference showed mostly on offense where Brazil was running some nice continuity sets and the US was relying on outside jumpers sans ball movement to start the game.

-I think Team USA was knocked back early by Brazil's toughness and physicality. The US is not yet used to the way the FIBA game is officialted and they were letting Brazil punk them around for the whole first quarter. In the second quarter, Team USA started playing hard and physical and it made a huge difference. I think we can play that hard nosed FIBA game very well, especially Lebron. He can basically lower his shoulder and bull his way to the basket whenever he wants. When he started to do that, it paid off big time. Our guards also started really ripping at the ball and hand checking and it made a big difference. We need to continue to ugly it up because I think, despite our lack of size, that our guys, save maybe Durant, are just as strong as our opponents.

-We can get suckered into being a jump shooting team because all of our guys feel like they can hit that shot. We'll get better at attacking the basket as we get more reps. With 3 upcoming friendlies, including Spain and Argentina, we'll be ready for the real games.

-Brazil's front line of Varejao, Splitter and Nene is comparable in size to Spain's frontline, and they are not much worse in skill. I think that was a solid test for us and I think we passed. We aren't going to outrebound them, but we need to make it very hard for them to get the ball, we need to strip them when they catch it, and we can't give them a lot of offensive rebounds. On offense, we've got to attack attack attack, especially in transition.

-We know that K always wants to get to a point where the players basically coach themselves, ala Shane running some of the huddles later in his Senior Year. I think he does that with Team USA to its maximum. When they were getting beat in Q1, he wasn't jumping up and down, he basically looks for them to self police with him providing suggestions.

-I am sure K is dying to get out of America. The training camp to date, as I have said before, has been a huge circus. Yesterday, for example, he heads into the locker room after an up and down first half and has to deal with the POTUS walking in and glad handing. Obviously, that's a unique distraction, but that's what Team USA training camp has been, one enormous distraction - every practice attended by 100-200 people, ceremonies, interviews, armed forces meet-and-greets, etc. Maybe that's the way the pros like to roll and anything else would be boring for them, but it seems like they need some more time to just have regular practices and gell a little more.

[Lar77]

I really enjoyed watching the game, here are my primary takeaways:

-Brazil is definitely a medal favorite, I think they are every bit as good as banged-up Spain, old Argentina and France. So, that wasn't a chump team we were playing. They have been together since early June and Team USA has been together for less than 2 weeks, and has only been practicing at full strength for a few days. The difference showed mostly on offense where Brazil was running some nice continuity sets and the US was relying on outside jumpers sans ball movement to start the game.

-I think Team USA was knocked back early by Brazil's toughness and physicality. The US is not yet used to the way the FIBA game is officialted and they were letting Brazil punk them around for the whole first quarter. In the second quarter, Team USA started playing hard and physical and it made a huge difference. I think we can play that hard nosed FIBA game very well, especially Lebron. He can basically lower his shoulder and bull his way to the basket whenever he wants. When he started to do that, it paid off big time. Our guards also started really ripping at the ball and hand checking and it made a big difference. We need to continue to ugly it up because I think, despite our lack of size, that our guys, save maybe Durant, are just as strong as our opponents.

-We can get suckered into being a jump shooting team because all of our guys feel like they can hit that shot. We'll get better at attacking the basket as we get more reps. With 3 upcoming friendlies, including Spain and Argentina, we'll be ready for the real games.

-Brazil's front line of Varejao, Splitter and Nene is comparable in size to Spain's frontline, and they are not much worse in skill. I think that was a solid test for us and I think we passed. We aren't going to outrebound them, but we need to make it very hard for them to get the ball, we need to strip them when they catch it, and we can't give them a lot of offensive rebounds. On offense, we've got to attack attack attack, especially in transition.

-We know that K always wants to get to a point where the players basically coach themselves, ala Shane running some of the huddles later in his Senior Year. I think he does that with Team USA to its maximum. When they were getting beat in Q1, he wasn't jumping up and down, he basically looks for them to self police with him providing suggestions.

-I am sure K is dying to get out of America. The training camp to date, as I have said before, has been a huge circus. Yesterday, for example, he heads into the locker room after an up and down first half and has to deal with the POTUS walking in and glad handing. Obviously, that's a unique distraction, but that's what Team USA training camp has been, one enormous distraction - every practice attended by 100-200 people, ceremonies, interviews, armed forces meet-and-greets, etc. Maybe that's the way the pros like to roll and anything else would be boring for them, but it seems like they need some more time to just have regular practices and gell a little more.

Like all your observations, especially the last one (although there will still be enormous distractions overseas).

[CDu]

Definitely agree, although I really liked Kobe's defensive energy and toughness in spurts; I wonder if we could see him settle into more of a defensive specialist role as the team evolves. But yeah, I'm not sure that Westbrook and Iguodala aren't better than Paul and Anthony for this team. No point in becoming a larger-scale New York Knicks, with great players who don't really complement each other.

Plus, they've got the best athletes and slashers in the world; they've got to attack the basket and stop jacking up threes. They've shot FIFTY-SEVEN threes in their first two games (made nineteen), and few of them have been drive-and-kick, open looks. Plus, it's not like we're a great offensive rebounding team if we're off.

We've seen how that movie ends more than a few times down here...

The only swap I'd consider would be Durant over Anthony. I don't think Westbrook is an upgrade over Paul. Paul is better off the pick and roll, and he's a better passer. But ultimately I think you'll see Paul/Bryant/James/Anthony/Chandler. They have the most FIBA experience, and I think they actually complement each other fairly well (2 shooters, 2 attackers, one post). Westbrook and Durant would lead the second unit.

The jumpshots are a function of (a) practicing with the new line and (b) accepting the reality that FIBA opponents really pack in their zone (daring teams to shoot 3s). So getting used to the new line and new defensive strategies is going to be key. It's much harder to slash to the basket in FIBA rules (which allow more physical perimeter play and more compact zones).

[SilkyJ]

The only swap I'd consider would be Durant over Anthony. I don't think Westbrook is an upgrade over Paul. Paul is better off the pick and roll, and he's a better passer. But ultimately I think you'll see Paul/Bryant/James/Anthony/Chandler. They have the most FIBA experience, and I think they actually complement each other fairly well (2 shooters, 2 attackers, one post). Westbrook and Durant would lead the second unit.

The jumpshots are a function of (a) practicing with the new line and (b) accepting the reality that FIBA opponents really pack in their zone (daring teams to shoot 3s). So getting used to the new line and new defensive strategies is going to be key. It's much harder to slash to the basket in FIBA rules (which allow more physical perimeter play and more compact zones).

As great of a scorer as Durant is, it seems crazy to me that he wouldn't start over melo. I could buy into the "play westbrook and durant together" thing since they've played together for 3-4 seasons now, but Westbrook doesn't even get that many touches when he's in. He's playing off guard and D-Will is running the 2nd unit.

Then again, Durant's focus on D doesn't seem to be as intense as Melo's, and since scoring isn't really an issue, maybe its best to have him be the spark off the bench.

[flyingdutchdevil]

As great of a scorer as Durant is, it seems crazy to me that he wouldn't start over melo. I could buy into the "play westbrook and durant together" thing since they've played together for 3-4 seasons now, but Westbrook doesn't even get that many touches when he's in. He's playing off guard and D-Will is running the 2nd unit.

Then again, Durant's focus on D doesn't seem to be as intense as Melo's, and since scoring isn't really an issue, maybe its best to have him be the spark off the bench.

Melo is also one of the top rebounders for this team, which is part of the reason that he is starting. With Chandler, Lebron, and Melo, there isn't a necessity to have a true 4 on the court. Melo and Lebron are both big 3s. When they switch, there is rarely a mismatch. Durant can guard the 2 and the 3, but I'm not sure about his ability to guard the 4 (not to mention the 5).

I like Durant coming off the bench in Dwayne Wade fashion. I also really like Melo and Lebron together. My only issue is Bryant, because he has been a black hole the last two games on offense. This team looks ball movement, but I haven't seen much of that from him.

[mapei]

I attended the game last night and thought there were times when Brazil was literally running circles around the US. We had no cohesion/chemistry by comparison, although we did have the best athlete in LeBron, which ultimately proved enough. Other than LJ and our tight second-quarter D, which in style reminded me of the best Duke defensive teams, there wasn't much to feel good about. Kobe's D was also good, I guess, and CP had good moments on both sides of the ball.

No way I would start Westbrook over Chris Paul based on last night (admittedly just one piece of evidence). Melo vs Durant is a closer question - they do bring different things to the table, and maybe KD is redundant if LeBron and Kobe are both in the game for scoring. Chandler was no match for Brazil's bigs, but it was even worse when Kevin Love was in.

At first I was ready to make a case for this team over the original Dream Team, based on the fact that this year's best three players are every bit as good as, and maybe even collectively better than, that year's best three. But after that the case gets much harder to make.

[COYS]

I attended the game last night and thought there were times when Brazil was literally running circles around the US. We had no cohesion/chemistry by comparison, although we did have the best athlete in LeBron, which ultimately proved enough. Other than LJ and our tight second-quarter D, which in style reminded me of the best Duke defensive teams, there wasn't much to feel good about. Kobe's D was also good, I guess, and CP had good moments on both sides of the ball.

No way I would start Westbrook over Chris Paul based on last night (admittedly just one piece of evidence). Melo vs Durant is a closer question - they do bring different things to the table, and maybe KD is redundant if LeBron and Kobe are both in the game for scoring. Chandler was no match for Brazil's bigs, but it was even worse when Kevin Love was in.

At first I was ready to make a case for this team over the original Dream Team, based on the fact that this year's best three players are every bit as good as, and maybe even collectively better than, that year's best three. But after that the case gets much harder to make.

I doubt we see much of this, but I'd personally like to see a lineup with Chandler, Melo, James, KD, and Paul. I know Kobe is the grizzled veteran and leader of the team, but I'd be lying if I didn't wonder what the team would look like with Durant essentially playing as a shooting guard. With the slightly limited space of the FIBA court, I'd think his length would counter any quickness issues he'd have guarding opposing 2's. Then, on offense we'd have a guy who is an even more lethal (and by lethal I mean efficient) scorer than Kobe who took over the World Championships two years ago. It's just something I'd be curious to see. The other thing I'd be interested in seeing would be that same lineup with Durant in for Kobe but also put Iggy in for Melo at times. The team would be slightly smaller, but James is fully capable of playing PF. On the other hand, Iggy is an excellent passer and knows his role as a defender. With Paul, Iggy, and Lebron all capable and willing passers, I'd wonder if we'd see better ball movement.

Note that all this isn't to say that I don't believe Kobe shouldn't start or shouldn't play very much, necessarily. He absolutely knocked down some clutch shots in the Gold Medal Game last time around and there's no doubt that having someone in whom the whole team trusts is important. That being said, I still wonder what the other lineups would look like.

I also wish the games were available on replay on ESPN3. The European time zones are going to mess with my basketball watching abilities.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I doubt we see much of this, but I'd personally like to see a lineup with Chandler, Melo, James, KD, and Paul. I know Kobe is the grizzled veteran and leader of the team, but I'd be lying if I didn't wonder what the team would look like with Durant essentially playing as a shooting guard. With the slightly limited space of the FIBA court, I'd think his length would counter any quickness issues he'd have guarding opposing 2's. Then, on offense we'd have a guy who is an even more lethal (and by lethal I mean efficient) scorer than Kobe who took over the World Championships two years ago. It's just something I'd be curious to see. The other thing I'd be interested in seeing would be that same lineup with Durant in for Kobe but also put Iggy in for Melo at times. The team would be slightly smaller, but James is fully capable of playing PF. On the other hand, Iggy is an excellent passer and knows his role as a defender. With Paul, Iggy, and Lebron all capable and willing passers, I'd wonder if we'd see better ball movement.

Note that all this isn't to say that I don't believe Kobe shouldn't start or shouldn't play very much, necessarily. He absolutely knocked down some clutch shots in the Gold Medal Game last time around and there's no doubt that having someone in whom the whole team trusts is important. That being said, I still wonder what the other lineups would look like.

I also wish the games were available on replay on ESPN3. The European time zones are going to mess with my basketball watching abilities.

Yup. That line-up, IMO, is the most potent. There is essentially two of everything in that line-up:

-2 shooters (Paul, Durant)
-2 pure scorers (Melo, Durant)
-2 drivers (Lebron, Melo)
-2 defensive-specialists (Lebron, Chandler)
-2 rebounders (Chandler, 1/2 Lebron, 1/2 Melo)
-2 distributors (Paul, Lebron)
-2 leaders (Paul, Lebron)

Not a bad line-up...

BTW - do not underestimate Melo. He was the best player during the 2006 FIBA Tournament and was fundamental during the last Olympic run. He's instrumental to this team.

[COYS]

Yup. That line-up, IMO, is the most potent. There is essentially two of everything in that line-up:

-2 shooters (Paul, Durant)
-2 pure scorers (Melo, Durant)
-2 drivers (Lebron, Melo)
-2 defensive-specialists (Lebron, Chandler)
-2 rebounders (Chandler, 1/2 Lebron, 1/2 Melo)
-2 distributors (Paul, Lebron)
-2 leaders (Paul, Lebron)

Not a bad line-up...

BTW - do not underestimate Melo. He was the best player during the 2006 FIBA Tournament and was fundamental during the last Olympic run. He's instrumental to this team.

All good points. One last thing that I forgot to mention with this lineup is that it also gives us a tremendous size advantage at the 2 and 3 spots over most teams. Durant would be the best rebounding 2-guard in the tournament, no doubt, while Lebron/Melo will combine to be excellent rebounders at the 3 and 4 spots. Having such a dominant size advantage over teams at the 2 and 3 spots might make our relative lack of size in the post even less relevant.

[mapei]

In a sense, these are nice problems to have - Kobe or Durant off the bench? But my concern is really less about scoring, because despite last night we've got the horses there. And I think we're fine at perimeter D.

What we don't have is good matchups for D and boards in the post. To make another Duke analogy, we don't win in 2010 unless Zoubek becomes a dominant big at the end of the season. I'm not sure Team USA has that guy.

[elvis14]

I think you guys are underestimating Kobe and the effect he can have at both ends of the floor. I know Melo can get hot but I'd try to replace him with Durant before I'd bench Kobe.

[BD80]

Kobe, Melo and Durant aren't exactly interchangeable. Kobe doesn't have the size/strength to guard the 4 that Melo does. Durant has admitted he is a 4 for the team, he may struggle on the blocks, but he certainly has the height and length for it.

Melo and KD are willing to play their roles on the team. Melo is not going to be a prime option on offense, but his presence makes the team very dangerous. Melo's strength will help on the blocks. KD will be the offense when the second team is in. Having the Thunder group come in together as the second team will be a big boost.

[awhom111]

I doubt we see much of this, but I'd personally like to see a lineup with Chandler, Melo, James, KD, and Paul. I know Kobe is the grizzled veteran and leader of the team, but I'd be lying if I didn't wonder what the team would look like with Durant essentially playing as a shooting guard. With the slightly limited space of the FIBA court, I'd think his length would counter any quickness issues he'd have guarding opposing 2's. Then, on offense we'd have a guy who is an even more lethal (and by lethal I mean efficient) scorer than Kobe who took over the World Championships two years ago. It's just something I'd be curious to see. The other thing I'd be interested in seeing would be that same lineup with Durant in for Kobe but also put Iggy in for Melo at times. The team would be slightly smaller, but James is fully capable of playing PF. On the other hand, Iggy is an excellent passer and knows his role as a defender. With Paul, Iggy, and Lebron all capable and willing passers, I'd wonder if we'd see better ball movement.

Note that all this isn't to say that I don't believe Kobe shouldn't start or shouldn't play very much, necessarily. He absolutely knocked down some clutch shots in the Gold Medal Game last time around and there's no doubt that having someone in whom the whole team trusts is important. That being said, I still wonder what the other lineups would look like.

I also wish the games were available on replay on ESPN3. The European time zones are going to mess with my basketball watching abilities.

I believe that the Olympic games will be available on replay on the NBC Olympics site. Their coverage is only starting to become a little more clear. You may need a login from a pay TV subscriber to watch certain things. As for the time zones, the 3 weekday group games are all in the latest timeslot, which means they might not tip off until well after 5:00pm Eastern. The 2 weekend games are earlier in the day, but are not excessively inconvenient, even for those of us on the West Coast. The knockout round games could be a little bit better placed for our convenience though.

[WakeDevil]

http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/07...is-in-trouble/

This American team is structurally flawed, especially with the way Krzyzewski is deploying his players. You have to wonder which player might subjugate his ego and do what Dwyane Wade did in 2008 – volunteer to come of the bench – in order to get some semblance of a well-balanced team on the floor.

One case in point where Krzyzewski is making a rotational mistake is with Kevin Love.

The only natural power forward on the roster, Love logged all of 5 1/2 minutes against Brazil and had zero points and two rebounds. When is the last time you saw a line like that from him? Dude should be logging 30 minutes, starting ahead of Anthony at the 4.

The only center on the roster is Tyson Chandler, as Anthony Davis already has become the 12th man in a rotation that will eventually be shortened to eight or nine. ...

If Coach K ultimately goes with a lineup of Chandler at 5, Love at 4, James at 3, Durant at 2 and Paul/Williams/Westbrook at 1, with Bryant as the Sixth Man, they are golden. But I don’t think he will choose to deploy his weaponry in that manner. He is too stubborn, too schooled in the West Point dogma of using overwhelming force to annihilate the enemy. But if Team USA isn’t forcing turnovers and scoring in transition, it is eminently vulnerable.

Brazil proved Monday night that the Americans are beatable. Obama himself was a witness.

If Krzyzewski deploys his talent in a more conventional way, Team USA should bring home the gold.

But if he sticks with what he went with against Brazil, his team could be in trouble. Remember where you heard that first.