USA - Team USA: no doubt

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The Olympic Games are officially underway in Beijing following the opening ceremonies, and I am looking forward to the coming competition on the basketball court. I have no doubt that the US women will win gold, as they are clearly the dominant force in women’s basketball internationally. They are deep, talented, and very well experienced in FIBA style basketball since many of the top American females play overseas in the WNBA offseason.

As for the men’s team, for some reason it seems to be the fashionable thing to doubt their ability to win in these Olympic Games. The “experts” are holding on to the images of failure in the last FIBA World Championships and the last Summer Olympiad, and some of them sound absolutely giddy about the chances that Team USA will not be able to win gold. The constant negativity of the punditry seems to me to be almost politically motivated, because the attitude feels like an extension of the media attitude about American foreign policy (the Ugly Americans, America is a bully, etc.) that has been transferred to the sporting world.

However, when the talk actually turns to the team, the arguments used to break this group down fall flat. There seem to be several arguments that the naysayers like to use, mainly about the physical nature of the games, the lack of familiarity with FIBA rules, the makeup of the team, an alleged lack of shooting ability, and a lack of commitment to the team. All of the arguments may sound plausible, but when you look at them closer they just don’t stand up to real scrutiny.

First, the pundits keep bringing up the physical nature of the international game, and the implication is that Team USA does not have the players to withstand that style of play. Now, I remember in years past Team USA was criticized for bringing too many big men to the Games; the talk was all about how international big men weren’t so much physical as they were versatile, and that versatility was going to kill the US. So this team has brought one true thumper in the middle, Dwight Howard, and suddenly Team USA isn’t prepared for the physical nature of the game? Has anyone seen LeBron James lately? I mean, dude is 6’8 and 260 pounds…and he’s a wing! And Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Carlos Boozer aren’t exactly little guys; heck even Kobe Bryant at 6’8, 225-230lbs can certainly hold his own with the international guards that will have to match up with him! Somehow I just don’t see how Team USA is about to go get pushed around by every team they face up against.

Then people like to talk about the lack of familiarity with the FIBA game the players supposedly have. I will tackle this and the commitment issue together, because they actually go hand in glove. The players on this team have competed together for the last 3 years in international competition, because that was the requirement that Jerry Colangelo demanded of players who wanted to be a part of USA Basketball. These guys have played in pre-Olympic tournaments together, they have given up the last three off seasons to get ready for this one tournament, and playing in those tournaments has gotten them more comfortable with FIBA rules. Just watching the exhibition games you could see how much more comfortable the team was with the way the game is played, with how officials make calls, and how well they were able to translate their style of play to an international style. And don’t forget, for some of these guys this isn’t their first Olympic rodeo; they have been through the fire of Olympic play and know what to expect when the Games start.

The last arguments also go together, since people look at the makeup of the team and swear there is not enough outside shooting on the squad. They look at the last tune up game against Australia where the team shot something like 3-18 from three point range and say that is the way the team is going to shoot for the real Games. What they do is ignore the fact that in the two previous tune up games Team USA hit about 60%(+) from the 3-point line; now I don’t expect them to shoot that well for the entire Olympics, but I would wager that they will shoot way better than 3-18! Look at the players on the team and find me the weak link: Carmelo, Kidd, Wade, Kobe, CP3, Deron, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, and King James. The only player in that group that I would have any trepidation about their shooting from the FIBA distance would be Jason Kidd. Now, if the line were at the NBA distance of 23’9 shooting may be a problem, but the just over 20 foot distance in FIBA play doesn’t pose that great a problem to the players on this team. Am I to believe that Kobe Bryant can’t hit that jumper all day, even with a man in his face? Is it so hard to believe that Carmelo Anthony is going to struggle from that shorter distance? I don’t think so!

This team is constructed to win a gold medal, and I have no doubt about that at all. The team is versatile, with players who have shown their commitment to the team by giving up their off time for the past three years to prepare for these Olympic Games, and the players are strong enough to stand up to the suddenly famed physicality of the international game. And all the doubters will be proven wrong when this team stands at the top of the medal podium, with the Star Spangled Banner being played, and the gold medals being placed around their necks. They are going to take back what they feel is ours as a Nation, and I have no doubt they will do it.