USA v. Puerto Rico on ESPN2 right now, for any of you still up.
USA starting to pull away a little before half, although PR has put up a good fight. That's no surprise though since they embarassed us two years ago.
Ravenous
08-20-06, 02:14 AM
Looks like youre the only one watching :lol:
I wanted to watch but forgot to set my VCR. Do you know if theyre showing the Argentina games? THOSE I want to see. If theyre not showing, are team USA scheduled to play them? I want to catch that!
LaxBandit
08-20-06, 09:49 AM
World Championships Schedule/US TV:
http://www.usabasketball.com/seniormen/2006/06_mwc_schedule.html
Another TV schedule: http://www.nba.com/wbc06/schedule.html
(I think the FOX means that one of your local FOX Sports stations may pickup coverage of that particular game.)
Next United States game - Tuesday morning vs Slovenia - 6:30 am ET - LIVE on ESPN2.
Ravenous, NBATV will be showing some of the Argentina games prelim round games either LIVE or on Tape Delay. Argentina doesn't play the United States in the prelim rounds as they are in different groups. In fact, unless Argentina or the United States stumble in their prelim round play (both not finish in first place in their groups) - they won't have the chance to face each other until the championship game on Sunday, Sept 3. (LIVE on ESPN2 at 6:30 am ET)
LB...
SuperBatMan
08-20-06, 10:00 AM
Yeah, I was just about to post that TV schedule.
Just got done watching the first half of the USA/China game, and it's 63-38 at the half. China playing man-to-man is killing them.
If a team plays zone and can limit the fast breaks, they could give the USA a tough game. Puerto Rico played zone and only lost by 11. Playing zone will be the key.
bigsoos
08-20-06, 07:36 PM
Just watched a lil of the USA/China game from my DVR. I think that the commentators had it right about China playing man-to-man defense, they were just using this game as a tune-up game. Glad to see Yao back out on the court.
MrX
09-01-06, 10:08 AM
I love watching Coach K fail:lol:
Hey K, t's called a pick and roll. They've been using it in basketball since the beginning of the game. You might want to consider working on defending it, as Greece just used it for the 659th consecutive trip down the floor.
Hiro11
09-01-06, 12:22 PM
Outside shooting? Never heard of it.
Zone d? Huh?
Foul shots? You want me to practice what?
Passing? Ball handling?
I wanted to believe this team was different , but after this game, it's clear it was the same.
Red Dog
09-01-06, 12:49 PM
Outside shooting? Never heard of it.
Zone d? Huh?
Foul shots? You want me to practice what?
Passing? Ball handling?
I wanted to believe this team was different , but after this game, it's clear it was the same.
I've said for years. The US players don't know how to play the game of basketball. Once they get used to whatever the game played in the NBA is, they've forgetten basketball.
bigsoos
09-01-06, 12:53 PM
To be fair, its also hard to play well as a team if you don't spend enough time playing together. Most of these European teams have been playing together for years right?
MrX
09-01-06, 01:00 PM
I've said for years. The US players don't know how to play the game of basketball. Once they get used to whatever the game played in the NBA is, they've forgetten basketball.
You can't put it all on the NBA. This starts as a kid when they are playing AAU ball with "coaches" that are more interested in trying to make a dime off the kids then coaching them. Then they move on to college where the NCAA limits the time they can get actual coaching and seems more interested in going after mascots that people may find offensive and how much coin they can make off their next TV contract then doing some crazy like improving the quality of the game.
The Euros get actual coaching when they're young.
MrX
09-01-06, 01:05 PM
To be fair, its also hard to play well as a team if you don't spend enough time playing together. Most of these European teams have been playing together for years right?
International players are leaps and bounds better than NBA players when it comes to fundamnetals as was demonstarted by the Greek team pick and rolling the US to death.
The international teams are also attracting more athletic players so the US can't go out and press them anymore into turnovers and dunks like they did in the past.
Quake1028
09-01-06, 01:12 PM
But he is right, they do play together a lot more and a lot longer than the US teams do.
bigsoos
09-01-06, 01:26 PM
I loved how the commentators always rip the FIBA officials too :)
Josh H
09-01-06, 01:48 PM
It's a combination of all the above.
In the U.S the best players don't get good coaching compared to Euro's, as they are just being hoared by AAU coaches, agents etc. Then so many of them skipped college, or now only stay a year with the new rule, and go straight to the NBA where fundamental basketball isn't really played to the degree it is overseas or even in college here.
Add in that the Euro teams play together for years and develop chemistry, and it's no surprise that we can't get the gold, and likely won't even get bronze this time.
B.A.
09-01-06, 02:14 PM
I finally saw some stats from the game. Even though the Greeks shot over 60%, the US really lost the game at the foul line, 20-34. -ohbfrank-
MrX
09-01-06, 02:19 PM
This probably would have been a good game to have Bruce Bowen instead of K's boytoy Battier
bigsoos
09-01-06, 02:31 PM
Battier is a younger version of Bowen. He shot 3's better too.
B.A.
09-01-06, 02:32 PM
This probably would have been a good game to have Bruce Bowen instead of K's boytoy BattierBattier plays team basketball. That's what they needed. Bowen would have been a good addition, too. Or anyone else who can play defense and shoot the three lights out for that matter.
Jeremy517
09-01-06, 02:42 PM
This probably would have been a good game to have Bruce Bowen instead of K's boytoy Battier
Battier was the only one trying to set screens away from the ball. He's one of the few who actually tried to play team ball. If you're going to dump anyone, dump Antawn Jamison.
I don't know if Bowen would have helped though. He wouldn't have been the one to cover the roll part of the pick-n-roll.
tofu
09-01-06, 04:27 PM
I finally saw some stats from the game. Even though the Greeks shot over 60%, the US really lost the game at the foul line, 20-34. -ohbfrank-
There's no excuse for that. They should have at least hit 8 more free throws.
SuperBatMan
09-01-06, 06:03 PM
Another problem was no real center.
Howard will be a beast in a couple of years, but he's 20 years old, 2 years in the NBA, and his first international experience. They needed a veteran big man on the team.
Quake1028
09-01-06, 06:50 PM
Yeah, it didn't help that arguably the two best players in the world (Duncan and Bryant) were missing from the team. Would have helped out the defense a ton.
fumanstan
09-01-06, 07:21 PM
It's a combination of all the above.
In the U.S the best players don't get good coaching compared to Euro's, as they are just being hoared by AAU coaches, agents etc. Then so many of them skipped college, or now only stay a year with the new rule, and go straight to the NBA where fundamental basketball isn't really played to the degree it is overseas or even in college here.
Add in that the Euro teams play together for years and develop chemistry, and it's no surprise that we can't get the gold, and likely won't even get bronze this time.
It's definitely a combination of everything mentioned. Just because people have a dislike of the current NBA game doesn't mean that it's the cause of Team USA's weak performance.
I agree with some of the sports sites that have also mentioned the lack of a big man on the team. Elton Brand seems severely underused.
Josh H
09-01-06, 09:14 PM
It's definitely a combination of everything mentioned. Just because people have a dislike of the current NBA game doesn't mean that it's the cause of Team USA's weak performance.
It's not the cause, but it is a big part of it. Ghetto street ball doesn't win against fundamental team basketball. And the NBA is heavier on the former than the later these days.
Quake1028
09-02-06, 10:35 AM
Bronze Medal Game spoiler:
US beats Argentina 96-81 to win the Bronze. Good for them. Hopefully they can keep the core of this team together and win the Gold at the '08 Summer Games.
Jericho
09-02-06, 11:13 AM
Bronze Medal Game spoiler:
US beats Argentina 96-81 to win the Bronze. Good for them. Hopefully they can keep the core of this team together and win the Gold at the '08 Summer Games.
All those experts that said the U.S. couldn't beat Argentina were wrong I suppose. :) Of course they said nothing about Greece...
MrX
09-02-06, 11:46 AM
That should shut Manu up for atleast 2 years
SiberianLlama
09-03-06, 12:23 AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that all the players on the US team signed a 3 year commitment to the US National team. If that's the case, they'll be able to practice together a lot more and the US, as a team, will only get better.
As much as I wanted the US to win the gold in this tournament, I didn't think it likely. The other AAA teams like Greece, Spain, Argentina, and even Italy, have been playing together for years. They know each other and can play a truly complete game. The US on the other hand, individually, has better athletes than any other team, but we don't play that well together. Before this tournament, this line-up of players had never played together in an international game before. I think we did ok, considering.
I have to give a major thumbs up though to the people who set-up this team. It's put together much more like the other international teams and if we can do this good, after only playing 7-8 games together, think how much better we'll be by the time 2008 rolls around...
MrX
09-03-06, 12:33 AM
They have to play together next year to qualify for the Olympics. I don't know if that team will be the same team as this one, but if they have no backouts, the Olympic team will be a lot different.
MrX
09-03-06, 12:39 AM
Team USA pays for Coach K's idiotic decision
Web Posted: 09/01/2006 10:24 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
According to a reliable USA Basketball snoop, Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski decided the final roster spot for the FIBA World Championships was center Brad Miller instead of Spurs' forward Bruce Bowen.
Bowen supposedly got the ax because Coach K wanted one more big man for the tournament in Japan and because Miller had shot the ball better from 3-point range in exhibition games in Asia.
Hindsight, of course, is flawless, but in light of Team USA's 101-95 loss to Greece on Friday, that was an idiotic decision because Coach K did not see fit to even play Miller in the game that ended America's dream of regaining the top spot in world basketball.
Among the 24-man cadre from which the USA roster was filled, Bowen was the only member of the NBA's first-team All-Defensive unit available to play in Japan. Kobe Bryant, the only other member of the group who has made an All-Defense first team, was injured.
So think about it. One of the premier defensive players in the world was not good enough for a team that stressed defense. Krzyzewski had insisted it was Priority No.1.
Greece won Friday's game by running the same play, a high pick and roll, over and over and over.
John Stockton and Karl Malone never ran it better.
And Krzyzewski never made the right adjustment to stop it.
How stubborn do you have to be to not try a little zone defense when you're being eaten alive by a pick and roll?
Krzyzewski said something else after the first day of training camp that was both surprising and unsettling. He said he had been greatly impressed by Joe Johnson; that before seeing him in practice he didn't know how good Johnson was.
It was the first clue that the accomplished college coach needed someone to clue him in about the NBA personnel on his roster.
Team USA's head coach needs to know his own personnel better than Krzyzewski did during the FIBA tournament.
Bowen discovered that Coach K was clueless about his own defensive versatility when the coach questioned Bowen's ability to defend Puerto Rican point guard Carlos Arroyo in an exhibition game. Bowen suggested he consult assistant coach Mike D'Antoni, well aware the Phoenix Suns head coach had seen Bowen defending Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and, occasionally, Steve Nash.
After Friday's loss Krzyzewski said Team USA needed to learn the international game better.
Perhaps D'Antoni, who coached in Italy for eight years and obviously knows NBA personnel better than Krzyzewski, would have been a better choice for head coach.
Now the U.S. has to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in the Tournament of the Americas next summer in Venezuela. I wonder how many of the 12 who have to play for the bronze medal, instead of gold, in Japan, are going to want to spend another long summer overseas.
Bowen promises he will be back in the cadre when it convenes for practice next summer.
Perhaps his defensive prowess won't be wasted then.
Of course a San Antonio paper is complaining on behalf of Bowen.
SuperBatMan
09-03-06, 11:17 AM
So somebody finally has the balls to blast Coach K for being an over-rated coach. It's about time. It seems like that's against the law by any other media person, especially on ESPN.
bigsoos
09-03-06, 11:27 AM
Brad Miller over Bowen isnt a bad decision when you have Battier.
Brad Miller over Arenas is another story. Team USA could have definitely used Arenas' long ball range and accuracy.
MrX
09-03-06, 12:43 PM
Gold Medal Game Result
Spain, without Gasol, blows out Greece 70-47
dx23
09-03-06, 01:42 PM
Brad Miller over Bowen isnt a bad decision when you have Battier.
Brad Miller over Arenas is another story. Team USA could have definitely used Arenas' long ball range and accuracy.
Arenas was injured. That is the reason he wasn't in this team.
edytwinky
09-03-06, 01:54 PM
Everything would be so much easier if the team who won the NBA finals represented the U.S.
MrX
09-03-06, 02:57 PM
Everything would be so much easier if the team who won the NBA finals represented the U.S.
Problem there is Shaq wouldn't play if you took the Heat and if a team like the Spurs wins it, their starting backcourt would be playing for France and Argentina.
Jericho
09-03-06, 03:02 PM
Everything would be so much easier if the team who won the NBA finals represented the U.S.
The refs can't represent the United States. Oh wait, you meant the Heat. Well Dwayne Wade was there. And I don't recall anyone else being on that team as Dwayne Wade is god and he won the NBA title by himself. :)
MrX
09-03-06, 03:04 PM
Carmello was the only memeber of the USA squad named to the All-Tournament Team.
Ravenous
09-03-06, 03:19 PM
Well shit, I was going for Argentina all the way.
Im american and love USA, but I HATE alot of the usa players. Plus when they rid of Bowen and have a dickhead for a coach, I really wanted to see them lose.
I like how they talked shit about the refs, but they were still better than USA refs. The refs for FIBA just seemed dumb... USA refs just seem bought. Yea I said it! :D
edytwinky
09-03-06, 05:03 PM
There are still just too many stars on the team. Not enough roleplayers like the aforementioned Bruce Bowen. We don't need an all-star team. Let me retract that statement, we can't win with an all-star team.
Kerborus
09-04-06, 09:17 AM
All this team was missing was 'Mr. Big Shot', Chauncey Billups. :D
astrochimp
09-04-06, 09:26 AM
Bosh shoulda played more.
MrX
09-04-06, 05:55 PM
Chris Sheridan has an article on ESPN talking about the future of the USA roster.
Said Kobe, Amare, Billups. Redd, Marion, and Pierce will all have a spot if they want it next year.
The only locks are Lebron, Carmello, Wade, Howard, and Brand.
Arenas and Bowen may have burnt too many bridges with their whining and it probably hurt Bosh as well.
Ravenous
09-05-06, 02:07 PM
Chris Sheridan has an article on ESPN talking about the future of the USA roster.
Said Kobe, Amare, Billups. Redd, Marion, and Pierce will all have a spot if they want it next year.
The only locks are Lebron, Carmello, Wade, Howard, and Brand.
Arenas and Bowen may have burnt too many bridges with their whining and it probably hurt Bosh as well.
Bowen whined?
Im in San Antonio and I didnt hear shit. Last I heard he was on vacation and didnt comment. What did you hear?
MrX
09-05-06, 02:11 PM
I know he ripped on K in the media for K saying he questioned his abilty to guard someone like Carlos Delfino.
El Scorcho
09-05-06, 02:28 PM
The biggest fault was still getting a college coach to coach a team of NBA stars. I would have loved to see Pappovich (sp?) coach this team.
cdollaz
09-05-06, 02:42 PM
Chris Sheridan has an article on ESPN talking about the future of the USA roster.
Said Kobe, Amare, Billups. Redd, Marion, and Pierce will all have a spot if they want it next year.
The only locks are Lebron, Carmello, Wade, Howard, and Brand.
Arenas and Bowen may have burnt too many bridges with their whining and it probably hurt Bosh as well.
Pierce? Ugh. I thought they were trying to get rid of me-first players.
cdollaz
09-05-06, 02:43 PM
Also, it's pretty damn weak if they players on this current team are booted for other players. They have put the time in and they should get the first chance to play for the team.
MrX
09-05-06, 02:48 PM
The biggest fault was still getting a college coach to coach a team of NBA stars. I would have loved to see Pappovich (sp?) coach this team.
The best choice was sitting next to K. D’Antoni has experience with the international game from his time coaching in Italy and he knows the players much better than K does.
tofu
09-05-06, 04:35 PM
The problem with Coach K is that he seems to like to let his players play out their problems and doesn't just tell them to change their defensive formations. That always has seemed to be the major cause for when Duke suffers a close loss, because Coach K didn't coach them.
paulringodaman
09-05-06, 04:45 PM
Although I am Greek, I am very glad Greece lost. My parents have satellite TV with 5 Greek channels, and each one was going crazy after they beat USA. But they were extrapolating it and saying how much Greece is better than USA as countries!!! Thank God they lost!!!
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