<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">With a new mix of NBA players, Chauncey Billups is confident USA Basketball will again return to dominance on the international stage. Team USA hasn't won a major international competition since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The disappointments have led to a restructuring in order to get longer-term commitments from NBA stars, such as Billups, the former Colorado standout who is among 17 NBA players participating in USA Basketball's mini-training camp today through Sunday in Las Vegas. "I take a lot of pride in being on that team that brings (dominance) back home," said Billups, who didn't compete last year in order to be home for the birth of his daughter. "We have the best players in the world, and we haven't been able to prove that. I'm excited for the opportunity." </div> Source: Denver Post I think it's pretty clear that the U.S. has the best players in the world, but I'm not so sure if the international community realizes that. We keep sending these teams full of b-list stars with no chemistry to get beaten down by countries like Argentina, Spain, etc. To an unknowing international spectator, the U.S. probably appears to be just mediocre in basketball, and that's always bugged me. We're probably more dominant in basketball than any other organized sport (on the international level --- meaning, not including football).
I think it might come down to chemistry more than anything, you cant honestly tell me a team of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson (like we saw at the Olympics) is a B-List team. I dont know what the problem is though, why that team wasnt able to win a gold medal is beyond me. Maybe those guys just arent willing to put the effort in to win
<div class="quote_poster">NTC Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I think it might come down to chemistry more than anything, you cant honestly tell me a team of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson (like we saw at the Olympics) is a B-List team. I dont know what the problem is though, why that team wasnt able to win a gold medal is beyond me. Maybe those guys just arent willing to put the effort in to win </div> Those players are all stars in their own right, but they were still on a largely B-List squad. Anthony, in particular, might not have even made the cut had guys like Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady been on the team. Not to mention that the following players made last year's team - Kirk Hinrich, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, and Brad Miller - all of them are great players, but were they the best that Team USA could have put on the floor? Not by a mile (and that's not even considering Shane Battier, who I excluded just because I'm a huge fan of his). You're right in that it wasn't necessarily the talent but rather the chemistry that wound up killing us, because we were still heads-and-shoulders above every other team talent-wise, but at the end of the day, I think we would have gone undefeated with a lineup of Kidd-Bryant-McGrady-Garnett-Duncan, especially if we had guys like Shaq, Billups, Stoudemire, and maybe even Marion coming off the bench. Kobe alone probably would have kept that squad undefeated. The combination of his talent and his competitive spirit is unrivaled in today's game. Having him on the floor would have brought a whole nother level of intensity to the squad.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Those players are all stars in their own right, but they were still on a largely B-List squad. Anthony, in particular, might not have even made the cut had guys like Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady been on the team. Not to mention that the following players made last year's team - Kirk Hinrich, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, and Brad Miller - all of them are great players, but were they the best that Team USA could have put on the floor? Not by a mile (and that's not even considering Shane Battier, who I excluded just because I'm a huge fan of his). You're right in that it wasn't necessarily the talent but rather the chemistry that wound up killing us, because we were still heads-and-shoulders above every other team talent-wise, but at the end of the day, I think we would have gone undefeated with a lineup of Kidd-Bryant-McGrady-Garnett-Duncan, especially if we had guys like Shaq, Billups, Stoudemire, and maybe even Marion coming off the bench. Kobe alone probably would have kept that squad undefeated. The combination of his talent and his competitive spirit is unrivaled in today's game. Having him on the floor would have brought a whole nother level of intensity to the squad.</div> yeah "Kobe alone" can't even beat the Suns two years in a row, what makes you think Kobe alone can beat the best team in the world not from the U.S.? it's all about chemistry. the reason U.S.A. dominated in the past was the gap in athleticism was so big, now it's not as big at all, so it comes down to chemistry
<div class="quote_poster">NYC_Balla Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">yeah "Kobe alone" can't even beat the Suns two years in a row, what makes you think Kobe alone can beat the best team in the world not from the U.S.? it's all about chemistry. the reason U.S.A. dominated in the past was the gap in athleticism was so big, now it's not as big at all, so it comes down to chemistry</div> He meant Kobe alone from the A-list of players he listed that didn't play/participate in addition to last years team.
I don't think anyone's ever denyied that the US has more talented players than the rest of the world. They might not have brought out their best players each and every year, but they have still had the most talent out of every country in each tournament. I think that 2002 US Team that placed 6th or something might've been the only roster that wasn't head and shoulders above the rest of the field. However, the fact is that these foreign countries put together better teams than the US. Maybe its the way international players have learned the game or the fact that they've built up great chemistry by playing with each other year after year, but in the end they're able to overcome a huge disparity in talent each year.
The way the US handles their strategies and players I'd be surprised if they go far. The European Nationals are much more organized and have better chemistry with one another. It will only get worse from here I'm afraid.
The US definitely doesn't need to send more talent. While some other teams in today's game are getting stronger and might have an NBA star or two, they still don't have even close to the depth the US has as far as talent goes. But it's not how much talent your team has that wins games, it's how good you are as a team, and that's where the US is getting beaten. Sending the most talented roster isn't the answer, loading up on talent can hurt much more than it helps, the answer is sending the best team.
<div class="quote_poster">Stockton Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The US definitely doesn't need to send more talent. While some other teams in today's game are getting stronger and might have an NBA star or two, they still don't have even close to the depth the US has as far as talent goes. But it's not how much talent your team has that wins games, it's how good you are as a team, and that's where the US is getting beaten. Sending the most talented roster isn't the answer, loading up on talent can hurt much more than it helps, the answer is sending the best team.</div> Agreed, and I think Team USA is starting to realize that, hence the addition of Battier, Bowen, etc.; however, they did only lose one game last summer, and it was a close game to Greece where Vasileios Spanoulis went off. Just think of how much better team USA would have done with Bryant and Kidd in the backcourt D'ing up on him. It's still important to have a close-knit team with good chemistry, but if you have the level of talent that this year's squad will have, it's kind of hard to lose basketball games, no matter how bad the chemistry is.
