Will USA hoops bring back gold?

One, I don't think Yao will be ready to play. He wants to badly of course, but I'm doubtful.

Two, Germany won't make a ripple, even if they qualify. Dirk is the only threat the DBB have in any phase of the game. Unless you count Chris Kaman.

USA over the Argies for gold. Almost all of the good young players finally got shamed into coming out for the Olympics this time. Anything less than gold will be fail of the highest order of magnitude.

 

You mean there are Olympic sports besides gymnastics and beach volleyball? [/NBCexecutive]

 

Yeah, since Duncan and Amare Stoudemire opted not to play, someone like Tyson Chandler or Marcus Camby would have made the U.S. deeper up front.

 

You forgot the third Olympic sport.

Sappy-feature-tear-jerking.

 

I agree. And also because this roster appears overloaded at guards and one big man short. If, god forbid, Howard or Bosh get injured then they're really gonna have a hole in the middle. Doesn't make much sense to have only a couple guys who can play the 5 while keeping Kidd, Wade, Paul, Williams, Kobe AND Redd. There's not gonna be nearly enough backcourt time available to keep all those guards happy. They'd have been better off dropping one of those guys and adding some size.

 

I wouldn't be opposed to dropping Kidd. I suppose he does bring veteran leadership, but he should be third on the depth chart at PG. How many good post players are there in the international game, though? I haven't actually looked at the rosters, but Gasol and Yao immediately come to mind. If memory serves, international losses have come from being beaten by better shooting, perimeter teams, not by being bludgeoned down low.

 

If it came down to dumping either Kidd or Wade, I'd keep Kidd, partly because as good as Paul and Williams are, I'm not quite ready to hand the keys completely to two PGs that young. Also, when you have Kobe, Redd and LeBron, I don't think you need Wade and his banged-up body. I'd replace Wade with another big man, not so much because I'm worried about low-post defense, but because I want to make sure the U.S. can control the boards and get out and run. If Howard, Bosh or Boozer gets into foul trouble -- and this being international ball, you know they will -- it's going to make it harder for the U.S. to push the ball, which they absolutely must do.

 

Yep, that's almost always the problem in US international losses.

They'll be fine in low-post scoring, with the three post players, plus LeBron and Wade do a lot of their scoring from inside as well. As long as they have guys with speed and wingspan who can defend the 3 and force turnovers and misses, offense will take care of itself.

 

This has probably been said before, but I think America's best chance is to send the Celtics to China. I know it's not realistic, but Boston would fair quite well in the Olympics if it played the kind of defense it did in the finals. And then there are no team chemistry issues, and you don't have to deal with a bunch of All-Stars commanding the ball.

 

You're right, I think, but can you imagine making that post two years ago?