This topic contains 23 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by 
- AuthorPosts
- Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 8:25am #10926
valentineI truly believe that USA could’ve won GOLD in the 2004 OLYMPICS…But to me they made several mistakes….
1st…..THE TEAM…
Lebron, Duncan,Wade,Carmelo,Iverson,Boozer,Stoudemire,Lamar Odom, Richard Jefferson,Shawn Marion,Stephon Marbury and Okafor…..Who ever chose this team, picked players that were finishers..The team had no reliable outside shooters…No true point guard…And only 1 center..That was Duncan…without him i think they would’ve won only 3 games..
2nd..THE COACH….Larry Brown is 1 of the best coaches in league history..But they should’ve chosen someone that knew international basketball….For 1 thing he didnt prepare his players for international style of play..Plus he did a bad job of managing minutes and using his strengths..With all the great finishers on the team.. Brown should’ve ran more and played an up-tempo game..Or dumped the ball inside to Duncan & Amare more often….
3rd..LACK OF OUTSIDE SHOOTING.AND ROLE PLAYERS…The team should’ve chosen some reliable outside shooters..Guys like Rip Hamilton or Brent Barry and Mike Miller ..Role players like Ron Artest or Sam Cassell
4th…LACK OF PREPARATION…..Most International Teams play together for years & year after year..The USA only had 2 weeks to put together a team..Putting together a team of All-Stars that might have trouble coming together as 1 and adjusting to not being the number 1 option on the team…And most of the players weren’t use to international rules
5th…TEAM PLAYED NO DEFENSE…..They made journeyman bench player Carlos Arroyo look like a Hall of Famer..ENUFF SAID
6th..SAFETY & SECURITY…After 9/11 the world became aware of terrorists and their attacks…And with the game being playing in a foreign country..Several top players were concern about their safety..All-Stars like McGrady, Chris Webber,Paul Pierce,Reggie Miller & Mike Bibby refused to go there…
7th…NO POINT GUARD..Even though Iverson & Marbury had played point guard..They were shoot 1st point guards..On a collection of all-star type players u need pass 1st guards that would keep players happy..Why didnt they add a college point guard future All-Stars Chris Paul or Deron Williams?
8th..STARS INJURED..The majority of the superstars who had participated in international games turned down invitations becuz of injuries….Players like..Shaq,Karl Malone & Jermaine O’Neal & Jason Kidd..While players like Garnett, Ray Allen & Vince Carter turned down invites ,becuz they were getting married that summer…
9th..LEBRON, CARMELO & WADE…Should’ve been giving more playing time…These 3 emerging superstars had just finished sensational rookie campaigns..Today some might say they’re 3 of the best 4 players in the league..Anthony was the team leading scorer and dominated the preliminary rounds..But coach Brown sat him during the olympics.Brown gave those minutes to veterans Jefferson & Odom..When they could’ve used Melo’s all around offensive game…Lebron was the best passer & playmaker on the team..There were some games during the olympics that Lebron dominated in the 1st half of some games..But for some strange reason..Coach Brown didnt let him play in the 2nd half…The team seem to play together when he was on the floor..While Wade was given a few more minutes than lebron & melo he didnt have the complete all around game that he does now…..
10..KOBE DIDN’T PLAY..The team could’ve used his competitive spirit ..But Kobe had his trial for sexual assault that same month..0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 8:30am #236904
Dhamp2ParticipantThe big flaw was that USA didn’t have a true point guard. Also, remember that forieign teams and players know each other’s style because they’ve played together for years. They eventually caught up to USA basketball. You could notice it in the 92 Olympics. The U.S.A. has the most talent in the world, but it takes time to gel.
Dhamp2….the greatest basketball mind in the world. Next to Hubie Brown anyway.
1. Throw back Scoonie Penn
2. How the heck does Steve Nash Have 2 MVPs and Kobe 1. That’s the biggest conspiracy in NBA history.
3. If you wasn’t on the Wesley Johson bangwagon this time last year (when I brought him to this Website and dubbed him a lottery pick) please don’t jump on it.
4. Dr. J was the first Michael Jordan0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 8:35am #236905
quincey hodgesthe main reason is like ya’ll said..the other teams played with each others for years and have alot more time to prepare
0- Posted on: Thu, 05/12/2016 - 5:19pm #1061731
European BasketballerParticipantExcept that other teams besides Spain and Argentina don’t play for years together and that actually the teams from Europe always have much less time to prepare than USA does.
0 - Posted on: Thu, 05/12/2016 - 5:19pm #1061609
European BasketballerParticipantExcept that other teams besides Spain and Argentina don’t play for years together and that actually the teams from Europe always have much less time to prepare than USA does.
0
- Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 8:53am #236908
Michael.S.ParticipantI agree Dhamp and rudeboy. And ill add that the 2004 team was really lacking starpower. LeBron was a monster even than, so was AI and Duncan,maybe even Melo. Where’s the Kobes thr Mcgradys and the Carters? They had 6plus role players on a damn USA team.
0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 9:09am #236909
RUDEBOYMIKENIKE..KOBE had his trial that summer..mcgrady was worried about safety..a majority of star players were worried about security over there..so they didnt go…garnett & vince were getting married that summer..not to each other though..lol…..shaq was hurt….
0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 9:32am #236911
JoeWolf1Kobe’s trial wasn’t the reason he didn’t play in the Olympics that year, declined playing every time he was asked until 2008 when Colangelo wanted to actually build a team for the Olympics rather than pile together a group of top players. I think the fact that Team USA kept losing probably played a part in Kobe’s decision to play in 08 also.
0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 11:35am #236942
marcusfizer21ParticipantGood List rudeboy… and to me personally, Emeka Okafor and Richard Jefferson should NOT be in that team…
0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 12:41pm #236955
llperezkobe’s trial is what kept him out of the 2004 olympics. He had accepted the spot the previous summer, but that went up in smoke. As for the team losing, you guys all nailed it. No pg, lack of time to train together, Richard Jefferson was awful at shooting and Larry Brown was still giving him all the minutes on the perimter.
0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 12:54pm #236957
bobbybParticipantthat was the biggest embarassment getting beat by Lithuania, and they were shorthanded also.
0 - Posted on: Wed, 12/09/2009 - 12:59pm #236959
OrangeJuiceJonesParticipantDue to the fact that the International 3 point line is shorter than the NBA 3 point line, they didn’t really feel a need to put real shooters on that team. Boy, were they wrong. I mean, don’t you think a top-level NBA shooter would knock down open 20 foot jumpers like layups?
0 - Posted on: Tue, 05/10/2016 - 8:20pm #1061159
kumarsandeepParticipant - Posted on: Tue, 05/10/2016 - 8:20pm #1061037
kumarsandeepParticipant - Posted on: Wed, 05/11/2016 - 9:26pm #1061450
StraightOuttaMyMineParticipant2016 is in the Bag!!!
0 - Posted on: Wed, 05/11/2016 - 9:26pm #1061327
StraightOuttaMyMineParticipant2016 is in the Bag!!!
0 - Posted on: Wed, 05/11/2016 - 9:26pm #1061452
StraightOuttaMyMineParticipant2016 is in the Bag!!!
0 - Posted on: Wed, 05/11/2016 - 9:26pm #1061329
StraightOuttaMyMineParticipant2016 is in the Bag!!!
0- Posted on: Wed, 05/11/2016 - 9:29pm #1061454
Hype MachineIf the Boomers were at full strength, they’d win gold. But because we’re missing key players and dealing with injuries, we’ll probably settle for silver.
0 - Posted on: Wed, 05/11/2016 - 9:29pm #1061331
Hype MachineIf the Boomers were at full strength, they’d win gold. But because we’re missing key players and dealing with injuries, we’ll probably settle for silver.
0
- Posted on: Thu, 05/12/2016 - 5:03am #1061489
ItsVictorOladipoParticipantQuite simply, lack of talent had alot to do with it. If I had to rank the top 6 American players in the league at the team it would probably have went something like this:
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan
Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O’Neal
Jason Kidd
Tracy McGrady
If I had to rank the top 6 American defensive players in the world at the time it probably would have looked like this:
Ron Artest
Tim Duncan
Ben Wallace
Kevin Garnett
Bruce Bowen
Doug Christie
If I had to name the top American outside shooters in the world at the time it would have probably had Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Michael Finley, and Allan Houston at the top.
Out of all the 14 players I just named, Duncan was the only one that played on the Olympic team.
0 - Posted on: Thu, 05/12/2016 - 5:03am #1061367
ItsVictorOladipoParticipantQuite simply, lack of talent had alot to do with it. If I had to rank the top 6 American players in the league at the team it would probably have went something like this:
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan
Kobe Bryant
Shaquille O’Neal
Jason Kidd
Tracy McGrady
If I had to rank the top 6 American defensive players in the world at the time it probably would have looked like this:
Ron Artest
Tim Duncan
Ben Wallace
Kevin Garnett
Bruce Bowen
Doug Christie
If I had to name the top American outside shooters in the world at the time it would have probably had Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Michael Finley, and Allan Houston at the top.
Out of all the 14 players I just named, Duncan was the only one that played on the Olympic team.
0 - Posted on: Thu, 05/12/2016 - 5:15pm #1061728
European BasketballerParticipantRUDEBOY: "4th…LACK OF PREPARATION…..Most International Teams play together for years & year after year..The USA only had 2 weeks to put together a team..Putting together a team of All-Stars that might have trouble coming together as 1 and adjusting to not being the number 1 option on the team…And most of the players weren’t use to international rules."
That is not true. This is a myth that US sports media always makes up and Americans just believe it. In fact, other than maybe Spain or Argentina, most teams are regularly changing all the time, with most of them changing over a lot every single summer.
It’s simply not true, and just another stupid myth from US sports media morons.
0 - Posted on: Thu, 05/12/2016 - 5:15pm #1061605
European BasketballerParticipantRUDEBOY: "4th…LACK OF PREPARATION…..Most International Teams play together for years & year after year..The USA only had 2 weeks to put together a team..Putting together a team of All-Stars that might have trouble coming together as 1 and adjusting to not being the number 1 option on the team…And most of the players weren’t use to international rules."
That is not true. This is a myth that US sports media always makes up and Americans just believe it. In fact, other than maybe Spain or Argentina, most teams are regularly changing all the time, with most of them changing over a lot every single summer.
It’s simply not true, and just another stupid myth from US sports media morons.
0 - AuthorPosts
| You must be logged in to reply to this topic. | Login |