Tag Archive for 'Team USA'

A little more Olympic follow up

Published
by
Bob
on August 25, 2008
in Lebron and Olympics
. 0 Comments

Team USA is back on top, and now that the Olympics are over, it will be back to NBA related stories, but it’s worth taking a follow up look to tie up some loose ends.  After the game, it was mostly Wade and Kobe but here’s some of what Lebron had to say about the American’s return to the top of the basketball world.

From the Plain Dealer:

“Much respect to Spain, but the U.S. is back on top again,” Cavaliers superstar and Akron native LeBron James said.

“We were asked if we wanted to make a commitment to this,” said James, who had 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. “To do something we have never done before — win a gold medal.”

“We had a game plan, and they countered everything we tried,” James said. “Every possession counted. It will probably go down in history as one of the greatest Olympics games ever.”

“If it wasn’t for the determination and the willpower we had, we would not have gotten this win,” James said. “The biggest thing is that U.S. is back on top again.”

Anyone who missed the game, missed an amazing showing from Rudy Fernandez, just another reason for Blazers fans to be excited about an incoming rookie.

Watch Rudy’s Dunk on Dwight Howard here.

I can help but feel great for Carmelo Anthony.  The guy has constantly been chastised as a player who would never reach his full potential because of his character, or because of the seemingly lethargic way he glides around the court.  He was in Larry Brown’s doghouse in 2004.

But he was absolutely huge in the final two games of this Olympics.  Wade and Kobe are getting the press, but Carmelo took a lot of physical post assignments seriously, and made his baskets at key points to curb the opponents momentum.  This video features Lebron, but Melo seems like the one who is the most spontaneously happy about winning gold.

The NBA has a lot to be excited about.  If anything this year’s Olympics games will just increase the intensity with which these guy’s compete against one another during the NBA season.  Dwayne Wade came away as the real hero, but Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Chris Bosh all had brilliant stretches that left me in awe of their talents. 

From the foreign perspective, it showcased a lot of current or NBA talent flourishing when playing in more traditional team settings instead of the individual showcases that many NBA games tend to become.  I’m excited for the Blazers and the Grizzlies with Fernandez and Marc Gasol coming over, and seeing Juan Carlos Navarro in action made me wonder what might have been.  He certainly looked like much more than just a shooter in the gold medal game.

As for Chris Kaman, I’m glad his Olympic experience ended with bowing out after a woeful showing.  The exuberance you see in the video above is hard to imagine coming from Kaman even if the Germans had won a gold.  How would that be fulfilling to Kaman considering he essentially played the role of a freakishly tall mercenary who signed on last minute?  Team triumphed here, and the Germans saw a little of what contributed to American let downs in previous years firsthand.

Redemption! Team USA wins the Gold.

Published
by
Bob
on August 24, 2008
in Lebron, Olympics and Uncategorized
. 2 Comments

I have to admit.  The beginning of this game had me worried.  Team USA seemed far to anxious to blow this game open.  A couple quick fouls on Lebron and then one by Kobe on a three point attempt saw both players sent to the bench only 4 minutes into the game.   

But the second unit deserve a ton of credit for coming in and calming the team down on offense while keeping up the defensive intensity. Chris Paul immediately made two huge plays on “and ones”, Bosh fought tirelessly for boards and offensive position, and Dwayne Wade made some timely steals and forced the Spaniards to foul.  By the end of the first quarter, the unit of Paul, Bosh, Deron Williams, Dwayne Wade, and Tayshaun Prince took control putting the Americans back up 38-31. Wade had 13 first quarter points.

The second quarter saw the first unit return much more keyed in.  Their shooting continued to be hot from outside, and despite the fact that Carmelo Anthony’s face has been a landing pad for elbows throughout the medal rounds, he kept his composure, and the Americans slowly but surely stopped turning the ball over, fouled less frequently and starting getting some transition buckets off of steals themselves (with Wade, Lebron, and Kobe all getting in on the act).  With four minutes left in the second quarter, Team USA was firmly in control up by 14.

Rudy Fernandez, the Blazers rookie, looked great in the first half going 4 for 5 from the floor, including a perfect 3-3 showing from downtown. Largely due to his play, Spain was able to cut the lead to 8 by halftime trailing 69-61.  As for Dwayne Wade’s statline at half…yeah, nothing spectacular…just 21 points on 7-9 shooting (one of which was a last second heave at the buzzer).  Did I mention 4 steals?

Coming out of the locker room at halftime, I’m always worried.  It has nothing to do with America.  I’ve been trained watching basketball to dread the third.  The Cavs are notorious for choking away leads in the third quarter forcing Lebron to put the team on his back in the fourth.  James made a couple of uncharacteristic turnovers right away, Kobe got tagged with a travel, and next thing you know the Spanish team is down by 4 with Dwight Howard on the foul line.  Not exactly a sure thing.  Those of us watching on the internet feed got to enjoy a string of profanities from Coach K about shitty team defense.

From their we saw a lot of back and forth baskets.  There were some Americans lapses on the defensive end as Juan Carlos Navarro hit some runners, but Carmelo kept Team USA in front forcing a turnover which he converted as well as following up the inevitable Howard missed free throws I referenced above with a putback.  Lebron made two straight big baskets at one point and Wade continues to slash to the rim.  With two minutes left in the third, the Americans led by 10 (86-76).  Carmelo may not dominate the box score tonight, but his baskets came at crucial times.  He hit another three late in the shot clock to get the Americans an 11 point lead.  As the third quarter ended, Navarro hit a runner to cut the margin to 9 and that brought him to 15 points on the night at the end of the third.  The score was 91-82.

The fourth quarter did not start well.  Rudy Fernandez has come out absolutely destroying the USA defense.  He continues to hit his outside shots, and that set up some slashing pick and rolls, one of which ended in a Pau Gasol crush.  With 9 minutes remaining, the lead was 91-89 for Team USA.  Lebron picked up a fourth foul, and the Americans found themselves desperately trying to hold off the Spanish rally.  

Big bucket by Kobe.  Big three by Deron Williams.  Big dunk by Dwight Howard! Don’t look now.  The Americans are back up by nine with 6:30 left.  As Kobe dropped in yet another three pointer (making it 11-22 for Team USA at that point), you could feel it coming.  USA needed to drive a nail into the coffin.  Lebron missed, got his own board and puts it back in.  Was that it?  Nope.  Rudy Fernandez threw a dunk down on Dwight Howard and got the foul.

But the dagger would come, courtesy of Kobe Bryant.  And it came with a pose.  Rudy Fernandez fouled out as Kobe Bryant got him in the air, nailed a three and tagged Fernandez for his fifth foul.  Bryant put a sole finger to his lips as if to hush the crowd.  With three minutes left, Team USA led 108-99 looking like a gold medal is moments away.  Two straight baskets by Spain cut the lead to 4, but Lebron drives the lane  and kicks it to Wade, who hits a three with a scowl on his face.  Points 25…26… and 27.

USA! USA!  The chants started.  The obligatory David Beckham cutaways began.  Gasol was forced to foul Chris Paul in the backcourt.  And then it was just a matter of moments.  Rudy Fernandez was spectacular.  Juan Carlos Navarro had something to prove.  Pau didn’t play soft.  Marc Gasol is a brute who I can’t wait to see in NBA action.   But the best team in the world is once again the United States of America.

As for the statlines, it almost seems wrong to even spend time on this, but Lebron finished with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.  Kobe scored 20 with 6 assists.  Chris Paul added 13 points and 5 assists, and Melo scored 13.  The three-point shooting that past incarnations of Team USA had lived and died by?  Well USA shot 46% from 3 (13-28), while Spain shot 47% (8-17).  This was a great game, and with FIBA making changes that will bring international ball more in line with American basketball, don’t be surprised to see USA repeat in 2012.

Update:  This picture is great.  If I didn’t know better, I’d think Lebron James had a lazy eye. 

 

Team USA and Lebron advance to Gold Medal Game

Published
by
Bob
on August 22, 2008
in Lebron, Olympics and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

“That’s it Kobe. That’s it Kobe. Play ball.”

That what you heard from Lebron James standing across form Kobe Bryant at the foul at the 3 minute mark of the first quarter when Kobe was at the line shouting with what I can only assume was Luis Scola or any other Argentinean who had rubbed him wrong, saying something close to “I’m gonna show you some english”.  At that point the game was close.

The Argentineans came out rubbing guys on screens, shoving guys just to disrupt inbounds plays, and just being the general nuisances you would expect from a team led by renowned flopper Manu Ginobli (who made a brief appearance in the first half and then was not seen again). The Americans weathered the initial emotional burst of the Argentineans to blow open the lead with some timely steals, some transition baskets, and then a barrage of three pointers, many of which came as the result of crisp passes around the perimeter. By the end of the first quarter, the team lead 30-11.

But from there, foul trouble towards the end of the first half saw the lead trimmed all the way to 6 (46-40) before getting three free throws to end the first half in the lead 49-40. The Americans outside shooting went cold and the Argentineans went to the line A LOT and got some effective low post scoring.

The second half started out completely differently. Some of Lebron. Some of Carmelo. Some of Kobe. And a lot less shooting from deep. The Americans blew the lead back open, picking up a flagrant foul and a technical foul on Andres Nocioni in the process.

At one point Lebron had two three-pointers, and a slashing left handed layup in succession to finish second on the team in scoring with 15 points. That went along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists, but the player of the game was Carmelo Anthony, who despite a poor shooting night got to the line for 13 free throws, converting all of them. He finished with 21 points and 4 board. Chris Bosh had a monster game as well scoring 11 points, but adding 10 rebounds (4 offensive).

The Argentineans were clearly frustrated and unable to overcome the loss of Ginobli. Luis Scola played incredibly, finishing with 28 points, but from the middle of the third quarter on, the Americans continued to distance themselves and held off Argentina to win 101-81.

Next up is the rematch with Spain.

Lebron love approaches disgusting levels…. even for me.

Published
by
Bob
on August 21, 2008
in Lebron and Olympics
. 2 Comments

I love Lebron.  Maybe too much so.  But today is one of those days where I sit back and say “No wonder so many other NBA fans hate the guy”.

Any Cavs fan understands how sickening it is to constantly hear “Kobe is the best player in basketball” or “Lebron will never be as good as Kobe because Kobe has three rings” because we see night in and night out what Lebron will do in an effort to win. 

Personally, I don’t think there is a better player in the league than Lebron James.  But I haven’t written word one on that this summer, because I’m not debating the MVP award.  The fact that there is room to debate the issue of who’s better is the conclusion as far as I’m concerned.  It depends on who you ask.  Can’t we just agree to leave it at that… at least during the Olympics?

There’s a complex we have as a society where athletes need to constantly be paralled by those who came before them.  Rather than just admiring greatness, the general douchery of respective team’s fanbase turns every achievement or failure into a “see i told you so” moment.  Kobe scoring 81 points in a game was amazing, but accompanying that story were two adjacent stories.  One was focused on the fact that the Lakers still barely won that game against Toronto (the Kobe hater perspective).  The other was discrediting Wilt’s accomplishment of 100 points in a game as far less impressive because the competition was inferior (the Kobe lover perspective). 

The Olympics have been no different, except when everyone, whether a Kobe or Lebron fan, should seemingly be rooting for their shared success, the collective “fan clubs” for #24 and #23 (or rather #10 and #6) are still trying to make their cases in the “who’s the best player in the world?” debate.

I posted about my general disgust towards homerish fans and people who feel the need to discredit greatness simply because it does not exist on their team just two short days ago, but it’s worth revisiting, because it seems Henry Abbott over at True Hoop may be feeling that exact same way with the onslaught of media who have been hugging the nuts of Lebron James and his unselfish play as of late.  He writes:

The only question I really have is, will LeBron James stop telling us how selfless he is (Thamel quotes him saying “I’m probably the ultimate team player. I’ll sacrifice whatever for the success of the team.”) long enough for us to give him the Selfless Player of the Summer award?

The quote Henry refers too is one from today’s piece by Pete Thamel in the New York Times.  Here is some of what he had to say:

With his persistent vocal leadership, his rugged rebounding and his ability to drive to the hoop at will, James has outplayed Bryant. James has better statistics, has played multiple positions, and has emerged as the team’s leader.

While Bryant has not played poorly, he has continued to play as if he were on his N.B.A. team instead of adapting and adjusting to his Olympic teammates. James has stood out precisely because he has blended in so well.

“I knew it had to come from someone,” James said of his leadership role. “It doesn’t matter how good individuals are, if you don’t have a leader, it’s not going to be right. I took that responsibility from Day 1, saying I’m going to be the vocal leader and I’m going to be the leader of this team.”

Bryant, meanwhile, has looked a bit lost. Although taking 16-foot fadeaways or pull-up 3-pointers in transition instead of passing to Luke Walton or Trevor Ariza may be a smart play in the N.B.A., taking those shots rather than passing to Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony with Team USA is not always wise.

Jesus Christ.  Kobe scored 25 points, seemingly found his rhythm and what follows is that?  It’s no wonder the guy has a chip on his shoulder.  And as much as I can’t stand listening to some of the ignorant comments made by Lakers fan on sports radio out here in LA, I almost feel sympathetic towards them. 

It’s the same reason Cavs fans hate the national media by and large.  Because no matter what Lebron does or says that would indicate he’s happy in Cleveland, the items that get talked about and get mainstream run are the write ups about him leaving (or in Kobe’s case about him being selfish). 

Passionate fans who follow every news tidbit see the stories.  They see the whole scope.  They see every innocuous comment Lebron makes about how much he loves playing in Cleveland and they watch it run in the Plains Dealer or Beacon Journal and nowhere else.  Then they see the “I love Madison Square Garden” comment picked up all over the country by writers desperately trying to appeal to a larger audience than just simply the Cleveland faithful.

Everyone (myself included) loves the allure of a good hypothetical debate like “who is better?” or “why would Lebron leave?” or “how good would player A be with player B” when it’s done in a balanced context.  Far too often though, the people in charge of writing those articles have some serious biases or overlook the stories that might refute their ill-informed horseshit.  That just causes distrust and division.

I don’t know even know where I’m going with this post.  I’m actually defending Bryant, which despite having no ill will towards him as a player, I swore I would leave for those Lakers fans who irritate the shit out of me.

Bill Livingston piled on too in the Plains Dealer:

What has happened at the Beijing Olympics is the beginning of James’ Most Valuable Player campaign for 2008-09. He always could pass. He always could attack the basket more relentlessly than anyone. The Cavaliers forward’s emergence as a devastating defender completes the picture.

Kobe Bryant is still the top lockdown defender on what seems to be an unbeatable American team. But Bryant’s forced shots on offense and poor 3-point shooting keep him from being more than the third-best player on the team so far, behind James and Dwyane Wade.

(All you Kobephiles, please take your place for the official protest in the line to the left, the one that appears to contain the population of China.)

So I guess I have nothing else to say on the subject other than the obvious.  Lebron is great.  Kobe is great.  Can we just root for the gold and put off all this pissing match garbage until after the season begins?

Sporting News: Lebron is the world’s best basketball player.

Published
by
Bob
on August 19, 2008
in Lebron and Olympics
. 4 Comments

I’m not going to editorialize on the merits of Lebron vs. Kobe or Lebron vs. Wade.  They’re all great.  But Sean Deveney of Sporting News wrote an article focusing on how dominating Lebron James has been during Team USA’s Olympic performance thus far.  It’s worth a read, especially if you live in Los Angeles and are subjected to Lakers fans who make comments like you’ll hear in the audio below. 

One of these was lifted from the Lakers Radio Network during the post-game call in show.  The other is a parody songed penned by yours truly featuring my rap skills and audio I pulled from LA sports talk radio station KLAC.  The show in questions features two pandering homers and former Laker Mychal Thompson, whose the only host sounding remotely objective in this whole stupid “Kobe is better than Lebron” debate: 

 
icon for podpress  Lamar Odom is Better Than Garnett [0:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 
icon for podpress  Lebron James sucks says LA Talk Radio (KLAC) [2:22m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m getting sidetracked.  Let me return from my inferiority complex and get back on point.  Lebron has played great.  His defense has been great.  Maybe that will put to rest some of the holdover criticism from his rookie year, but probably not on the radio airwaves of Los Angeles.  Here’s some of the more flattering excerpts from the Sporting News piece:

He’s the leader. He’s the one whose voice is heard when a teammate commits a defensive breakdown. There’s a sense on this team that you don’t want to disappoint James. “He’s definitely the vocal leader of our team, the guy that brings energy every day,” Williams said. “Not just [on the court]. You don’t see the stuff behind the scenes. He’s a great teammate, a great guy to have in the locker room and keeps us focused.”

If this edition of Team USA is called an unselfish bunch, that’s because James is so unselfish. If it’s called a tough, focused defensive team, that’s because James is so tough and focused. If he’s aggressive, they’re aggressive. “We know when he’s aggressive it puts the rest of us in an aggressive mode,” Paul said. “He’s the one starting out who really gets us going. When he picks it up, everyone usually follows.”

It’s chuckle-worthy that, in the pre-Olympic exhibition games, coach/analyst Fran Fraschilla called Anthony the best international player in the world. It’s obvious where Fraschilla was coming from. Anthony can shoot from the perimeter, score inside and has the size to be an international power forward. But if we’ve learned anything from Team USA’s first five games of these Olympics, it’s that the all-around ability and consistency of James — at both ends of the floor, whether dunking or passing or rebounding or stepping into the passing lanes — makes him, by far, the world’s best international player.

Team USA’s outside shooting has been inconsistent. Its rebounding and free-throw shooting only so-so. Kobe Bryant has struggled with his shot. But the team has gotten incredible play from James, every night. Just peek at the Olympic stat leaders. James ranks in the Top 10 in scoring, at 15.8 per game, despite taking just 10.2 shots per game. He is fifth in assists (4.4) and third in assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s tied for fourth in blocks (1.4) and tied for third in steals (2.4). He’s got just about every category covered. One exception? Minutes. He’s tied for 34th there, which makes his presence all over the leaderboards even more impressive.

“This is what he’s been dreaming of, to get the chance to play in the Olympics, go out there and lead a team, and he’s doing a great job of that,” Howard said. “He’s been very consistent every night on the defensive end and on the offensive end. I really appreciate the way he leads the team. He makes everybody around him better.”

Put all of that together — offense, defense, consistency, leadership — and Howard’s right. James is doing a great job. He’s doing the best job in the world, in fact.