Juror 12
Years ago
USA Olympics Team Review
Seeing as I do not watch any NBA games I really enjoyed the chance to see the US play the last couple of weeks. The only knowledge I had about how these guys played was gained by reading ESPN, Hoops and checking their stats and boxscores during the NBA season. So here are my thoughts after actually seeing them play (all be it in a different team and context to the NBA):
LeBron: I'll ignore all of the off court stuff and the on court ego and just concentrate on his game. I have never seen anyone as strong as him going to the hoop. Guys just seam to bounce off him - and if even if they hang on to him he continues on as if they are not even there. I can see why he is so unstoppable in the NBA style of game. I don't think his game is particularly suited to the international rules and style tho.
Howard: I was less than impressed with him after the way people talk about him in the NBA. He seems to drift in and out of games a lot (mentally) and has limited moves. I didn't watch a game in which he didn't commit at keast one stupid and unnecessary foul.
Bosh: He surprised me and I was more impressed with him than Howard. I had no idea he was such a beanpole - that really works against him when guarding the big guys (now I know why Toronto made the O'Neal trade).
Wade: He seems to cop so much flack on here but he was the guy who impressed me the most. He plays the international style extremely well - mainly due to his excellent movement without the ball. He plays so much better when he doesn't constantly have the ball in his hands trying to force plays.
Kobe: Seemed to struggle without always having the ball in his hands. He made some big shots when it mattered but he seemed to be an extremely inconsistent shooter for such a star (same for LeBron).
Paul and Williams: I can see why these two guys are stars of their teams. Both see the floor well, pass well, pentetrate well and shoot well. It would've been hard not running the team for 90% of a game (like they are used to) but these guys adapted to their roles really well.
Kidd: He didn't seem to contribute much in terms of making plays but I think he was a good inclusion simply because he appears to be well respected among the team. Anyone see when he threw Melo away from a potential scuffle? That's why he was in the team. Plus he is 43-0 now?
Melo: I like his game not his attitude/demeanor. I think he could punish guys in the low post a bit more than he does but it may have been hard in this team and with all of the zome they faced.
Prince: I actually think that the USA would've been better off playing Prince instead of LeBron simply because he fits the need/role better. They didn't need more socrers/stars. They needed a more consistent shooter and a more reliable defender. For me Prince does both of those things better than LeBron. You'd never pick him before LeBron in any other circumstances - but I think Prince complements the other guys (Wade, Kobe, Melo etc) in this team better than LeBron.
Redd and Boozer - Didn't really see enough of them to comment but I got the impression that Redd is lazy and Boozer is a pretty solid worker.
Anyone else have any thoughts or comments?