Official game thread USA vs. Austrailia

[OCinBuffalo]

I have made my position on the NBA clear. I won't pay attention until the gold returns to the place it should never leave.

 

That said, it doesn't mean I won't watch the game this morning, as I have watched all the games so far. I will watch them work get the gold, and if they do, then I will watch them in the NBA again.

 

Need to see some good defense from this team. No let-downs. This is game 7, one or done. Australia gave them a pretty good game last time they played. But, I expect our guys to wail on them the way they have played so far. I don't care what the score is as long as we don't see sloppiness or showboating that misses the basket.

 

USA!

[LongLiveRalph]

I have made my position on the NBA clear. I won't pay attention until the gold returns to the place it should never leave.

 

That said, it doesn't mean I won't watch the game this morning, as I have watched all the games so far. I will watch them work get the gold, and if they do, then I will watch them in the NBA again.

 

Need to see some good defense from this team. No let-downs. This is game 7, one or done. Australia gave them a pretty good game last time they played. But, I expect our guys to wail on them the way they have played so far. I don't care what the score is as long as we don't see sloppiness or showboating that misses the basket.

 

USA!

 

USA's defense and running game has been inspired and a joy to watch. However, every game they win, they're supposed to win. I think this team realizes that they have achieved nothing thus far, other than winning their group. But I don't see them losing. Hell, if they continue to play on the defensive end like they have, I don't see any team in the world that can stay within 15-20 points of them.

 

It's been great to see some of the NBA pros dealing with the fawning Chinese crowds to attend some of the other events, and really take in the Olympic experience. It has to be helpful to realize they are all a part of a "bigger" Team USA.

 

Also, your stance on not watching the NBA if the USA doesn't have the gold is pretty retarded. Where do you think the best players on the foreign teams play????

[OCinBuffalo]

USA's defense and running game has been inspired and a joy to watch. However, every game they win, they're supposed to win. I think this team realizes that they have achieved nothing thus far, other than winning their group. But I don't see them losing. Hell, if they continue to play on the defensive end like they have, I don't see any team in the world that can stay within 15-20 points of them.

 

It's been great to see some of the NBA pros dealing with the fawning Chinese crowds to attend some of the other events, and really take in the Olympic experience. It has to be helpful to realize they are all a part of a "bigger" Team USA.

 

Also, your stance on not watching the NBA if the USA doesn't have the gold is pretty retarded. Where do you think the best players on the foreign teams play????

I agree and I love watching good basketball. I hate watching selfish street ball.

 

To answer your question: Where do the supposed super-hyped, all-time great(but only 23 years old) best players in the NBA come from??? The simple fact is that everything I have seen heard this time is a complete departure from the last eight years. The results are obvious, and happening, again, as I write. It's 14-5. And it's 14-5 because these guys are playing D and attacking the basket as a ....TEAM!

 

Team basketball is the most fun to watch, and I guarantee you will see an improvement in team concepts throughout the NBA from here on out.

[OCinBuffalo]

55-43. hmmm. 3 of 13 from the arc and 10 of 20 from the line at the half. Kobe cannot hit a three this game. But we are up by 12.

 

If this was 2004 we'd be losing this game. However, it's not, it's 2008 and our guys are playing good team d, getting the rebounds on both ends, and outworking them. Without our defense, this would be a vastly different game.

 

We aren't getting much help from the refs either. I can't stand these "international rules". Basically means you can bring in a goon and have him hack our star players and goal tend all game.

 

It will be interesting to see what happens after halftime, apparently last time they played these guys came out and ran 13-2 on us. That would not be good.

[LongLiveRalph]

I agree and I love watching good basketball. I hate watching selfish street ball.

 

To answer your question: Where do the supposed super-hyped, all-time great(but only 23 years old) best players in the NBA come from??? The simple fact is that everything I have seen heard this time is a complete departure from the last eight years. The results are obvious, and happening, again, as I write. It's 14-5. And it's 14-5 because these guys are playing D and attacking the basket as a ....TEAM!

 

Team basketball is the most fun to watch, and I guarantee you will see an improvement in team concepts throughout the NBA from here on out.

 

yes, I hear you...You will get no argument from me that the NBA from 1998-2006 saw a major letdown in style of play, and attitude of player.

 

However, this past season, you had the champion Celtics playing some of the best team ball in a decade, with 3 bonafide superstars all taking "lesser" stats for the good of the team. The team they beat in the finals, the Lakers, traded for Spaniard Pau Gasol and ran their triangle offense to perfection. The ball movement, the off-the-ball motion, were all beautiful things. And if a play breaks down with 8 seconds on the shot clock, you always have Kobe Bryant. The Spurs and the Pistons are fixtures in their respective conference finals, and they are known for playing some of the best "team" basketball in the league. The Hornets were a revelation this past season, with Chris Paul scoring 18 points and 15 assists every game. He was incredible to watch.

 

Overall, just because Sportscenter shows some 19-year old dunking and thumping his chest, doesn't mean that's all the league is about. LeBron James is basically a one-man show in Cleveland, and he still averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, playing a fantastic all-around game.

 

The 1-year college rule should help the NBA...At a minimum, it forces kids out of mom's house for a year and allows them to mature, while teaching them some fundamental basketball skills. It's good for the NBA. There were 6 or 7 years where the top-15 draft picks were high schoolers and foreign players who nobody had ever heard of. There was nothing to relate to. Add to that the "highlight reel" mentality, and the Pistons-Pacers crowd fight, and it just turned a lot of people off.

 

If you haven't watched in a while, tune back in to the NBA. The teams playing the "right way" are the teams that are winning.

[LongLiveRalph]

We aren't getting much help from the refs either. I can't stand these "international rules". Basically means you can bring in a goon and have him hack our star players and goal tend all game.

 

This is a MAJOR difference in this USA team also. The nature of the international game allows a lot of physical play on the perimeter. The stars don't get the "hand check" call that the NBA refs baby them with. In previous competitions, they would get visably disrupted by this, argue with the refs, and get thrown off their game. This year, they are simply accepting the rule differences, rather than fighting them.

[OCinBuffalo]

yes, I hear you...You will get no argument from me that the NBA from 1998-2006 saw a major letdown in style of play, and attitude of player.

 

However, this past season, you had the champion Celtics playing some of the best team ball in a decade, with 3 bonafide superstars all taking "lesser" stats for the good of the team. The team they beat in the finals, the Lakers, traded for Spaniard Pau Gasol and ran their triangle offense to perfection. The ball movement, the off-the-ball motion, were all beautiful things. And if a play breaks down with 8 seconds on the shot clock, you always have Kobe Bryant. The Spurs and the Pistons are fixtures in their respective conference finals, and they are known for playing some of the best "team" basketball in the league. The Hornets were a revelation this past season, with Chris Paul scoring 18 points and 15 assists every game. He was incredible to watch.

 

Overall, just because Sportscenter shows some 19-year old dunking and thumping his chest, doesn't mean that's all the league is about. LeBron James is basically a one-man show in Cleveland, and he still averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists, playing a fantastic all-around game.

 

The 1-year college rule should help the NBA...At a minimum, it forces kids out of mom's house for a year and allows them to mature, while teaching them some fundamental basketball skills. It's good for the NBA. There were 6 or 7 years where the top-15 draft picks were high schoolers and foreign players who nobody had ever heard of. There was nothing to relate to. Add to that the "highlight reel" mentality, and the Pistons-Pacers crowd fight, and it just turned a lot of people off.

 

If you haven't watched in a while, tune back in to the NBA. The teams playing the "right way" are the teams that are winning.

I used to go to sixers games all the time. I like the NBA, but you said it = things got really crappy, really quick, and I think nothing demonstrated that better than losing the Olympics. That, and you have players not spending any time learning how to play team basketball in college anymore, as you did with the players on the original dream team. This why bringing in a great defensive coach like Coach K was a master stroke, and nobody in the NBA wold dare mess with him.

 

Oh, well, then again, three awesome individual plays in a row and now we are up by 18!

 

Edit: Doh! two more and now its 23

[DPR4444]

has Australia scored in the 2nd half?

[OCinBuffalo]

has Australia scored in the 2nd half?

it was 34-18 USA in the third quarter.

 

The lead is 31 now. Suddenly Kobe found the range on 3 pointers and between that and the dribble penetration, it's been a blowout since the last shot of the first half.

[LongLiveRalph]

I like the NBA, but you said it = things got really crappy, really quick, and I think nothing demonstrated that better than losing the Olympics.

 

"Only" winning the bronze in '04 was certainly a wake-up call, but that also wasn't the top US National team. The Olympics became a burden, not an honor to play. Before the Athens games, 14 players turned down invitations to compete. You had a bunch of young guys who practiced together about a dozen times, and then tried to beat international professionals who had been playing together for 5+ years. It was clearly obvious that the USA couldn't bring 3rd and 4th-tier players and waltz through the competition. It was going to take our best, playing our best.

 

This year, you have the best players (only Duncan and Garnett turned down invites) and they are playing inspired and motivated ball. The only way they lose is if they somehow decide to shoot only 3-pointers and make about 5% of them. If they continue to play defense and rebound with intensity like they have been, their fast break game alone should lead them to a fairly easy gold medal.

[OCinBuffalo]

"Only" winning the bronze in '04 was certainly a wake-up call, but that also wasn't the top US National team. The Olympics became a burden, not an honor to play. Before the Athens games, 14 players turned down invitations to compete. You had a bunch of young guys who practiced together about a dozen times, and then tried to beat international professionals who had been playing together for 5+ years. It was clearly obvious that the USA couldn't bring 3rd and 4th-tier players and waltz through the competition. It was going to take our best, playing our best.

Do you think Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, or Magic Johnson would dream of turning down an invitation to compete? They most certainly would not. The fact that 14 players did in 04 merely underscores my point. If the NBA can't be bothered to play when we need them, I can't be bothered to watch them when they "feel like it". I am very aware of the guys that did show up and they did a good job, but my beef is not with them, it's with the NBA on the whole. If the NBA, or it's players, want to take our money, the least the can do is show up and play for the country once every four years. A point which was not lost on the NBA executives, hence the results we are seeing now.

 

My other point is: how "great" are you if you turn down an invitation, any invitation, to play on the world stage? All we had been told is how "great" the players were from 2000 on. Well, you're not great if you get beat, and you're a candy-ass if you don't even bother to show up. Which makes any claim the NBA made about the "greatness" of it's product laughable. After 2004, I'd rather watch re-runs of the Bulls and see some truly great players play. But, I guarantee nobody is laughing now, not me, and certainly not the rest of the world.

This year, you have the best players (only Duncan and Garnett turned down invites) and they are playing inspired and motivated ball. The only way they lose is if they somehow decide to shoot only 3-pointers and make about 5% of them. If they continue to play defense and rebound with intensity like they have been, their fast break game alone should lead them to a fairly easy gold medal.

Yes, and I bet Duncan and Garnett are sorry now. I will give Duncan a pass because of what happened last time around. If somebody is hurt or trying to recover from injury, I can also see letting somebody else who is 100% go in their place.

 

The big difference in this team? Respect. Respect for themselves, each other, their team, what's on the front of their jersey, the other teams, the game in general. Subjecting what's on the back of their jersey to whatever role Coach K needs them to play, going out there and doing that job to the best of their considerable ability, and then doing even more than they are asked(Bosh rebounding, Wade's d and passing) while staying within that role = devastating, and wildly entertaining.

 

That's why we are winning games by 30. Sure the rest of the world has gotten better, but, when the USA truly plays as a team(really in anything, not just sports) we can usually expect a lot of ass to get kicked. What I am seeing is the best "college team" ever assembled. They look like the old Bulls(but better), who also found a way to play as a team, and excelled in their individual roles.

 

Edit: Oh, and how much do you wanna bet we see a significant increase in the quality of the NBA in general after these games? These guys are almost certainly going to want to feel the way they feel right now, all the time.

[HopsGuy]

The Aussies were getting a bit chippy at the end of the game. Carlos Boozer had to give a hard foul in the lane on Matt Nielsen. The Aussie tried to stare him down, but that was a joke. I could almost hear Boozer saying, "Why don't you go buy yourself a chin?" Here's a picture (Nielsen is on the right).

 

The game on now is Argentina vs. Greece. The soccer mentality is showing through as these guys are flopping all over the place. When they do get around to playing basketball, it's not bad. Either team could probably stay within 20 of the US with some helpful officiating.