Get Those Stakes Up Higher

Team USA closed out the Tournament of the Americas this weekend in typically impressive fashion, thrashing Puerto Rico and Argentina to capture the gold and clinch a berth in the Beijing Olympics. No one can deny that this tournament was an unqualified success for the team, but, as I said last week, it became clear after just a few games that these games represent nothing more than a step on the road to the real goal: dominating the field next summer. As such, I’d like to focus on what comes next for Team USA, and what this tournament taught us about their chances in Beijing.

I have never been a big fan of Mike Krzyzewski, but he has done a terrific job with this team and program. While his attention to chemistry and overall player happiness has probably made an important difference in the locker room, I think his most important contribution has been to define the team’s system according to its biggest advantage. Other countries might be able to teach their players to shoot, defend, and play intelligently, but, until soccer becomes less popular around the world, Team USA will always have better athletes than the competition. As such, Coach K created an offensive system in which his players have freedom to improvise and a pressure defense predicated on forcing turnovers and getting out in transition. (Honestly, if I’d watched one of these games without knowing the coach, I’d have assumed this was a Don Nelson team) Given the personnel, this system is a perfect fit and a tremendous improvement over Larry Brown’s micromanaged garbage or the more structured system that Gregg Popovich almost certainly would have used. Barring historically terrible injury problems over the next few months, this is the system that Team USA needs to use for the foreseeable future.


That system should also determine any personnel changes that Colangelo, Krzyzewski, et al make before Beijing. In a general sense, this roster needs to serve as the base; they’ve proven that they deserve the chance to go for the gold. Several injured players, though, will certainly want to join the group, so I might as well address them now. In terms of skills, Dwyane Wade is a terrific fit for this team outside of his inconsistent jumper, but I’m not sure he’s selfless enough to be happy as a reserve. Regardless, Wade is making this team if healthy; I imagine he’ll take the place of Deron Williams or Mike Miller.

Chris Bosh probably would have started for this team if he hadn’t developed plantar fasciitis, so we must pencil him in for a roster spot, as well. Bosh could take Dwight Howard’s place in the starting lineup quite easily—the only possible issue would be that Bosh likes to handle the ball more often than Howard. At any rate, out goes Tyson Chandler. So far, so good.

Things get a little more difficult when Chris Paul enters the picture. The CP3/Deron debate is a tough one—Williams has the playoff experience and size, but Paul can probably run this type of offense more effectively. I don’t have a clear preference in this debate, although I’m a bigger fan of Chris Paul. However, I’m not sure Team USA even needs three point guards; with everyone on the roster playing a lot of minutes, Deron played a lot of time at off-guard, suggesting that a third PG would be unnecessary when rotations tighten up against better competition. If Colangelo wants to bring only two PGs to Beijing, then Wade will take Deron’s place and stand as the de facto emergency point.


Whatever decision the braintrust makes on the point guard situation will affect what happens at other positions. Carter and I are both fans of replacing Mike Miller with Kevin Durant, whose rookie year should determine his chances of making the roster. However, established players like Elton Brand might want to return to the team, which becomes an issue if Wade replaces Miller instead of Deron. Yet Brand does not quite fit with the super-athletic big men currently on the roster, so his inclusion would force a potentially damaging change to the system. Ditto Tim Duncan. On the other hand, Colangelo would have to think long and hard about bringing in Kevin Garnett, if he wants to play. Of course, that would create issues regarding who to drop, with that player likely being Tayshaun Prince or one of the young bigs.

As you can see, too many changes to the roster could create a mess. I think the smartest decision will be to bring in Wade, Bosh, and Durant at the expense of Deron, Chandler, and Miller, given the need to bring in athletic, young players who should get along with everyone involved. It might seem silly to predict roster choices a year early, but these are kinds of decision Colangelo et al. will need to make if they want to maintain this team’s greatness. Creating a collection of superstars might not always work, but, as this team has shown, creating a collection of superstars that complement each other works.



During this tournament, many have said that things will get tougher when Team USA plays teams like Argentina and Spain when they have all their players. That’s true, but let’s make some things very clear. Team USA doesn’t have all its players either (Wade and Bosh, at the very least, are improvements), although the differences between the missing players and their replacements are not as steep as those on the foreign teams. More importantly, we must remember that Team USA did not play its demolition crew starting lineup as much as other teams played their starters. Against better teams, the first unit will likely play more, allowing for more chances to dominate. Team USA will face stiffer competition, but let’s not act as if they can’t adjust to that situation. Adding all the factors together, I just don’t see this team losing in Beijing.

Random notes: Given that no one in this country cares about international basketball more than the NBA, Kobe’s happiness and LeBron’s jumper could end up being the most important stories from this tournament. If Kobe gets frustrated when he realizes that the situation in LA can’t compare to his time with this team, it’s entirely possible that he’ll force a trade for real (i.e. not rescind that demand immediately) and alter the championship landscape. LeBron, on the other hand, will become one of the best players of all-time once he develops a consistent jumper. If his play in this tournament is any evidence, that could happen at age 22—a situation without precedent. … I was shocked when Jason Kidd scored seven early points against Puerto Rico. Then I remembered that he’s Jason Kidd. It’s amazing how this team has freed up players to focus on what they’re best at, and it’s been a thrill to watch. … The referees called Saturday’s game as poorly as humanly possible. … Team USA shot 47% from long-range for the tournament. At first glance, that would seem to be a case of everyone getting hot at the same time, but I think that’s just what happens when the best players in the world shoot everything in rhythm.

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride

I thought I was done with the Team USA recaps until the championship game, but watching the Argentina game tonight pulled me back in. Yes, the margin (91-76) was closer than it has been, but this team is so much fun that I can’t stop watching and enjoying them. I’ve seen every minute of Team USA’s games in this tournament and wouldn’t have it any other way. At the risk of sounding too much like Bill Walton, an overpowering positive life force pervades everything they do on the court. As such, this recap won’t focus entirely on the strategic intricacies of the game; honestly, I just want to talk about some of my favorite things from the night. Hopefully some of you will have some to add, as well.

After LeBron’s perfect game against Uruguay, I assumed Kobe, arguably the proudest player in the league, would try his best to take back some of the spotlight. For the first few minutes, he did exactly that, scoring 15 in the first quarter. The best part of his early performance, though, was that he didn’t seem to be doing it primarily out of anger, although I’m sure there was some of that. It all came naturally. Kobe genuinely seems to love playing on this team, and it shows in most everything he does on the court. This is the highpoint of his post-Shaq career, and he knows it. Let’s remember to think about the good times when he submarines the Lakers in training camp.

LeBron was obviously phenomenal last night, but one play from tonight stood out to me almost as much as anything he did versus Uruguay. In the middle of the 3rd, LeBron thundered through the lane and scored a basket, only to be called for a highly questionable charge. On the next USA possession, LeBron picked up a loose ball, instantly barreled through a few Argentineans, checked an off-balance Luis Scola in the hip hard (he took his time getting up), and scored for an and-one. It was a truly great play, and, along with his improved shooting, evidence that LBJ might be growing up some. Of course, let’s see what I think about that after he hosts SNL in a few weeks.


Scola played limited minutes due to early foul trouble and the blowout, but I saw enough to know the Spurs made a mistake in trading him to a divisional rival. I watched a bit of Scola earlier in the tournament, although that didn’t quite prepare me for how well he matched up against the legitimate NBA post defenders on Team USA. The Rockets have to be thrilled; he should be a great fit opposite Yao. The high/low could be a really effective weapon for them, although those guys are talented enough to make just about anything work. Trading Scola wasn’t the worst idea for the Spurs simply because they don’t need him, but why trade him to a team in the West that needed just a few more pieces to be really dangerous? Big up yourself, Daryl Morey.


The 4th quarter featured perhaps my favorite moment from the entire tournament: Kidd’s attempted backboard pass to LeBron ... on the run ... from the right wing. It was an absolutely perfect pass; if LBJ had caught it cleanly and thrown it down, we’d be watching it for the next half-century. No one but Kidd could make that play half-work, and the fact that even tried it explains exactly why I’ve loved watching these games. They’ve been better than any All-Star Game I’ve seen.

And now, some extremely important off-the-court news. Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Jeremy Pond (who wears an eye patch!) has reported (towards the bottom of that page) that Amare and LeBron partied with UFC superstar Chuck Liddell, Ron Jeremy, and master illusionist Criss Angel last Saturday (via AZ SportsHub). I could really care less about Liddell, and Jeremy is pretty much established as a hanger-on at this point, but Criss Angel was partying with two of the best players in the NBA. I don’t know how many of you watch Mindfreak—it is truly the most ridiculous show ever—but this surprised me even more than the time he teleported into an armored truck. Who let him hang out with that group? Did he hypnotize them or something?


Shockingly, it gets even better. Angel’s chief rival, David Blaine, has also been hanging around the team, although Captain Jeremy Pond’s notes make it seem like no one’s let him in on the inner circle fun. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this whole situation for the last hour or two, and all I can picture is Angel pulling quarters out of Amare’s ear band-aid while Blaine sulks in the corner. My mind is officially blown.

Random notes: Someone with more internet talent than myself really needs to put that Kidd pass on YouTube. If you do it, I’ll be in your debt forever. … I could really care less about Ginobili, Oberto, and Hermann being out for this tournament, but I’m very upset about not having Pepe Sanchez around. It’s been too long since I’ve seen one of my favorite college point guards of all-time. … Argentina’s jerseys—particularly the road ones—are so bad that even Oregon would reject them.

Our Energy Would Simply Prevail

After winning by a paltry 27 points on Monday against Mexico, Team USA got back on track and downed Puerto Rico 117-78 in front of another shamefully small crowd in Las Vegas. Given Puerto Rico’s recent success against its imperial overlord, a thumping of this magnitude bodes well for the continued improvement of what looks like the obvious favorite to take the gold in Beijing. The first quarter brought some troubles, but Team USA rebounded to make the second half inconsequential yet again.

In the first quarter, Team USA seemed to carry a hangover from the Mexico game. At the offensive end, there was a noticeable lack of ball movement and a willingness to take threes, while the team’s play at the other end featured poor help defense and a generally poor effort. Puerto Rico didn’t look particularly wonderful, though, and the Americans were able to create an impressive 24-15 lead by the end of the quarter. You really can’t argue with that margin, but, for a team with this kind of talent, domination needs to be obvious to even the most ignorant viewer.

The second quarter brought exactly that kind of performance, with Team USA outscoring PR 35-12. The offensive difference, as it has been throughout the whole tournament, was the team’s excellent ball movement. The Puerto Rican zone held up decently in the first quarter, but it got thrown around like a village baseball in the second. Of course, it became much easier to beat the zone once Team USA got out in transition more often, something they can do quite easily because of their tournament-long commitment to defense and phenomenal depth. A team like PR, which only has a few legitimate players, can’t hope to maintain their level of intensity when that handful of guys has to play nearly every minute of the game if they want any chance of winning. As they have done in every game, Team USA turned the entire second half into extended garbage time.

LeBron continues to be one of the most impressive players on the team. During the Mexico game, Bill Walton made the thoroughly ludicrous observation that Kobe and LBJ have not adapted to the international game as quickly as Carmelo, which is incredibly weird to hear coming from someone who excelled at so many things in addition to scoring. LeBron has obviously impressed in the scoring column, but his commitment to defense and unselfish play have made him seem like a much more integral part of the team than Carmelo. His performance in this tournament makes Cleveland’s inability to give him help even more frustrating. Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse: Danny Ferry’s lollygagging on signing Pavlovic and Varejao or the fact that bringing back those two players would give the Cavs the same roster they had last season.


Amare Stoudemire hit a three during Team USA’s big run, which has me incredibly conflicted. On one hand, it’s hard to get upset with someone for improving his game, particularly when that player had a reputation for being all athleticism, no skill. However, Amare should not be spending his time on the perimeter; his talents and situation with the Suns require him to be a force inside. The 12-footer he developed last season is a perfect move for him, and there’s no reason for him to venture out farther when his team already has several excellent three-point shooters. If Amare’s not careful, the Shawn Kemp comparisons could become all too real.

Team USA trotted out a zone for a good portion of the second half, and, once again, the results were poor at best. I know that the international game in many ways promotes the use of zones, but a team with shot blockers like Howard, Amare, and Chandler (plus Bosh when he gets healthy) should focus on shoring up its help defense. Flexibility can be nice—I’m just not sure it’s warranted in this case.


Throughout the Tournament of the Americas, we’ve been noting some of Bill Walton’s weirdest comments. Up until now, I’d considered them to be nothing more than his way of bringing some bizarre perspective to the game, but some of Walton’s remarks in this game have me fearing for his sanity. Late in the game, Walton quoted full passages from Phil Jackson’s book Sacred Hoops as if it were a Ginsberg poem. The passages had some connection to the game in that they were about Jackson’s time in Puerto Rico, but Walton took up at least three possessions with his dramatic reading. The sad thing is that, while his insistence on quoting Jackson was incredibly odd, he immediately followed it up with an even crazier comment. After finishing his speech, Walton told partner Al Saunders that “for every 100 Americans, there are 90 guns in this country.” Huh? Again, that came right after he quoted Phil Jackson’s experiences in Puerto Rico at length. Let’s make sure someone’s watching Bill, okay?

Only for Those with True Grit

So much for my comment yesterday that nobody would come within 30 of Team USA. The Americans had another successful game, topping Mexico 127-100, but were unable to create a mindblowing lead due to the Mexicans’ tenacity and confidence. The final result was never in doubt, but this game said a lot about Team USA’s players and tendencies.

The epic first quarter (45-23 in ten minutes!) had the look of most of our outings in this tournament, with excellent ball movement, ridiculous alley-oops, and all the other details that signify full-scale annihilation. I was all set to write an entire post about how these games have ceased to resemble competitive basketball and that they’re really just superior all-star games in which the incredible plays arise from real situations instead of a desperate entertainer’s desire to “put on a show.”


Shreds of that concept showed up throughout the rest of the game, but Mexico announced that they weren’t going to quit with a terrific second quarter in which they actually out-scored Team USA 28-20. The Mexicans weren’t able to top Team USA in any other quarter, but any time things looked seemed to be on the verge of getting out of hand Romel Beck, Anthony Pedroza, Adam Parada, or Victor Mariscal made make a basket or two to keep the deficit in the teens or 20s. The outcome was never in question, but Mexico’s performance was easily the most impressive of any of Team USA’s opponents in this tournament. The simple facts that they never gave up, executed their cuts extremely well, and got into triple digits say a lot about their resolve and the coaching of Nolan Richardson. Honestly, if they had some legitimate players in the paint, I think they could have made this a real game.

While Mexico deserves the bulk of the credit for their play, Team USA should also shoulder some blame for failing to turn this game into an epic blowout. Given the success Kobe’s had defensively during this tourney, it seems weird to criticize his play at that end tonight. However, he let his inability to shut down Romel Beck affect his play offensively, resulting in the return of some of Kobe’s worse tendencies. Instead of playing the selfless team basketball that’s typified his play with Team USA, Kobe forced some questionable shots and drives. Some of those plays worked because, you know, he’s Kobe Bryant, but you would have thought he were playing with Sasha Vujacic instead of LeBron James. It’ll be interesting to see how he responds against Puerto Rico.


Coach K’s decision to start Chauncey Billups in place of Jason Kidd made absolutely no sense to me. I understand that Kidd needs more rest than any other player on the team, but he hasn’t played a great deal of minutes in this tournament in the first place, and it’s not as if the coaches can’t limit his minutes in the second half. The first quarter was obviously a success with Billups running with the first team, but things didn’t really get kicking until Kidd entered the game. Additionally, Billups had some trouble keeping Team USA from getting three-happy during some of their worst stretches. Kidd fits with that main lineup quite perfectly; his lack of a need to shoot works beautifully with three guys (plus Howard) who can finish easily. Billups, on the other hand, spends more time dribbling and fits much better with the second team, where his shooting makes him a nice addition to a lineup without great creative ability. Placing Billups on the first team gives Team USA two great lineups instead of one phenomenal lineup and one very good one.

Dwight Howard had yet another tremendous game, scoring 19 points on 9/10 shooting (I’m pretty sure all but one of those attempts was a dunk). Howard obviously won’t have the opportunity to be the fifth option in Orlando, but watching him with players of this caliber suggests that the Rashard Lewis signing will help him a great deal. Yes, the Magic overpaid a limited player, but Rashard’s scoring ability should take some pressure off of Howard, allowing him to freelance in a way he’s never experienced. Now, if only they could trade Jameer Nelson for Kidd.


Other notes on the game: FIBA rules continue to boggle the mind. Why do teams not get to carry over victories to Round Two involving teams that did not make that round? Aren't they completely different rounds with completely different consequences and situations? Teams shouldn’t be punished for beating the teams they were scheduled to play. I’m starting to think the FIBA bigwigs consult a Ouija board whenever they meet. … Mike Miller has turned into the Mark Madsen of Team USA. He could challenge Sarunas Jasikevicius’s 2007 record for “most times shown after a teammate’s dunk.” … Not Walton’s best game, but he still had some amazing moments. For instance, his love for the Baja Peninsula made it clear that it’s his favorite place to get stoned in Mexico. The highlight of the day, however, was his reference to “UCLA legend Lorenzo Mata.” I know that he uses that term for anyone with even a tangential relationship to the school, but I never expected to hear that phrase in my life.

Won't Be Long Now Before They Tear Us to Shreds

Team USA kept rocking and rolling through the weekend, destroying Canada 113-63 on Saturday and mauling Brazil, the second-best team in the tournament, 113-76 on Sunday night. At this point, it’s clear that no one will come within 30 of the Americans at this tournament, and it’s not even worth pretending otherwise. In a way, this team is now a lot like next year’s Mavs: having established that they’ll be a favorite in the Olympics, Team USA now must focus everything they have on attaining the gold. It might seem silly for the team to focus on something that’s now a year away, but they need to take this tournament for what it is—a bunch of games against inferior, half-strength competition.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the weekend’s games didn’t teach us some important lessons about international and NBA ball. These games didn’t look quite as one-sided as those against Venezuela and US Virgin Islands, but the United States’ ability to dominate shows exactly how much deeper and more talented they are in comparison to the other teams in this tournament. It’s tempting to say that Argentina or Spain could come close to matching the USA at full strength, but Walton’s comments throughout the game today about how no other players in this tournament could even think about trying out for Team USA (Leandro would make the Select Team, though) speaks volumes about the talent gap around the world. Even a team like Brazil, which rotated well on defense for much of the first half and hit some tough shots, still couldn’t make it anything less than a blowout heading into the locker room at the break.

In the Brazil game, many players on both sides took advantage of the curious FIBA rule allowing players to interfere with the ball once it has touched the rim, a rule that both Carter and I find amazingly stupid. For one thing, it seemed to have been concocted by a bunch of stoned FIBA higher-ups playing NBA Jam in their basements. (Note: This scenario could also explain why it’s easier to make threes on the international court.) I know that game wins at life, but did they ever consider how this rule would affect the game? On a very basic level, the Americans will have even more of an advantage if we ever learn how to adjust to the ridiculous rule. Will anyone be able to out-jump Bosh, Amare, or Howard for a tip-in or block (or would it be a rebound?) off the rim? Carter only half-jokingly believes that Coach K should designate the center as a put-back and rejection man on every possession. On offense, his sole responsibility would be to stand at the elbow and swoop in for follow-dunks, while his defensive job would be to stand under the basket and swat everything up court as if he were making an outlet pass.


Much of Team USA’s success against Brazil can be attributed to Kobe Bryant’s typically excellent defense on Leandro Barbosa, who scored just four points (1/7 FG) after being the leading scorer for the tournament in his first three games. Everyone knows that Kobe wants to take the best perimeter player on the opposing team, but his performance here suggests that Phil Jackson made a mistake in not putting Kobe on Leandro during Barbosa’s full-scale demolition of the Lakers in the playoffs. To be sure, Leandro can take on a less noticeable role on a team with Nash, Marion, and Amare than he can on a team like Brazil, causing Phil to have to weigh his options in terms of where to put his best perimeter defender. However, putting that man on Raja Bell seems like a poor choice when a lightning fast guy like Leandro is embarrassing your team in every conceivable way. That would create an issue with regards to putting Jordan Farmar on the much bigger Bell, but I’ll take my chances with the less explosive player.

Dwyane Wade attended Saturday’s game against Canada in a bright red Team USA shirt, bringing to mind questions of exactly how he’ll fit in on this team. The starting lineup has been phenomenally successful and shouldn’t be broken up under any circumstances, which will likely force Wade to the bench. On a purely strategic level, that move would make a great deal of sense; Wade could man the two, allowing Coach K to quit using the bizarre Billups/Deron backcourt. However, Dwyane is far from selfless (we think he idolizes Marlo Stanfield—check the unnecessary lollipop in this Barkley ad) and might not take too kindly to being demoted to the second unit. This probably won’t be a huge deal, but it’s something to watch out for next year.



Way back in July, we said that LeBron might not be the best fit on this team. Well, we couldn’t have been more wrong. For my money, he’s been the third-best player on the team behind Kobe and Kidd (yeah, Melo has scored, but I’ll take LeBron). No small forward in this tournament can match up with his size, and even if that player did exist, Lebron would just drive past him for easy buckets. Most importantly, LBJ’s been able to incorporate himself into the team style with remarkable ease; his trademark 15-second hold-and-chuck isolation plays have been noticeably absent. That shouldn’t really be surprising, though, considering everyone compared him to Magic more often than they compared him to MJ. No team could ever have the talent of this team in the NBA, but LeBron’s performance just goes to show that the surrounding “talent” and system in Cleveland have significantly affected his style of play for the worse. We’ve said it before, but it deserves to be said as many times as possible: Mike Brown is making a serious, serious mistake in not letting LeBron run. Sasha Pavlovic and Tits Gibson aren’t the best wingmen around, but an open court talent of LeBron’s caliber only comes around once per generation.

Assorted notes: Bill Walton toned things down a bit in Thursday’s game, but this weekend had some amazing highlights. They included: an extended endorsement of Festival Express, a documentary about the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and a bunch of other like-minded bands touring around Canada; an explanation of the origin of Brazil’s name; enough praise for Oscar Schmidt to make 50 million Brazilians blush; and a discussion of Nova Scotia’s odd time zone. … The Spurs should be really happy with their pick of Tiago Splitter, who looked very quick for a big man. He could probably contribute this year, if necessary. I’m sure the Spurs will gladly keep him in Spain, though. … Team USA had some rebounding issues against the bigger Brazilian frontline of Nene and Splitter, although some of those troubles could be explained by the lack of effort that attends a commanding lead. … Brazil pressed for one possession, which might be the stupidest idea in the history of basketball. Kobe hit an easy three on the play. … I can’t imagine “Cuarenta Minutos de Infierno” will have much success against a team with significantly more athleticism. Here’s hoping we can score 150 points.

A Gross Physical Salute

Despite the massive margin of victory (according to the broadcast the second largest in FIBA history after the legendary Cuba thrashing of '92 ), tonight's game against the Virgin Islands wasn't nearly as exciting as yesterday's Venezuela contest. A lot of that can be attributed to a lackluster second quarter in which a disturbingly bad team actually outscored Team USA. Granted, it's hard to stay motivated when you've jumped out to an awesome 42-13 lead after the 1st quarter, but it's exactly that type of foot-to-jugular mentality that makes these blowouts worth watching. Because the Virgin Islands managed to be even worse than Venezuela, this game didn't uncover anything earth-shattering about Team USA and their readiness for top-level competition. Nevertheless, there were still a few issues worth discussing. (Note: this is another TK/CB joint production.)

Hey Vegas, you want a team in your city? How 'bout you start by by filling the stands when your own personal All Star wrecking crew comes to town. Forget the Donaghy stuff, that kind of underappreciation of the opportunity to watch some of the finest talents in the world worries me way more. Are these tickets dramatically overpriced or something? I can't imagine turnout being this pathetic if it had been in Venezuela. About 100 fans in the upper-deck of an 18,000-seat arena is pathetic.


At this point there's not much left to be said about Kobe. MJD summed it up perfectly in his recap of the Venezuela game: "Kobe Bryant is in [sic] the floor with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwight Howard, three of the ten most physically gifted basketball players on the planet ... and Kobe's standing out head and shoulders above them." One thing that did stand out tonight that I was too jaw-droppingly impressed/amused to notice yesterday is how freaking happy he looks. And who could blame him? First off, he can't possibly do any wrong in this situation. It doesn't matter if he wants to play the facilitator or dominate the scoring, either way he'll look awesome. For practically the only time in his career, during the next few weeks his chorus of critics won't be able to say shit about him. More importantly though, he's getting to remember what it's like to play with real players. Although the powers that be probably mandated it, Kobe seems to genuinely like chilling with LeBron and Melo on the bench in a buddy-buddy kind of way I'm not used to seeing from him. Leaving this environment for the glamorous world of Larry Turner and Coby Karl is going to hurt. The first time Sasha goes to high-five him, Kobe might have to resist punching him in the face.


The Kidd/Bynum fiasco has to sting more than ever. Anyone who continues trying to defend Kupchak (or lil' Buss or big Buss or whoever) needs to stop rationalizing already. I don't care what system you're running, Kidd will work in it. I don't care how good Bynum's going to be someday, he's never going to average a triple-double for a playoff series. Kidd clearly made the very conscious decision to avoid dribbling whenever possible, which I never realized would make basketball that much more thrilling. At one point he tried to touch-pass a steal. His half court bounce-pass through three defenders was about as cool a way to commit a turnover as possible. I wasn't sure which was more shocking: that he actually took a shot, or that he dribbled four times on the same possession. We already mentioned some of this last time, but he's been brilliant enough that further analysis was needed.


The intensity of the second unit just isn't the same as that of the first. A lot of that's probably because Kobe sets an impossible standard, but Tayshaun really needs to take it upon himself to be the guy who sets the tone by playing harder than everybody. If they're going to insist on playing the Billups/Redd/Miller/Tayshaun lineup, there's really no need for him to be taking shots. He should be focusing on hustling his ass off on both ends making things happen, which for now doesn't seem to be happening. Also, we touched last time on our displeasure with Miller filling what we see to be Durant's spot, but this game strengthened our feeling that Redd can be both the designated shooter and a multi-faceted player at both ends. Miller can't.


On the Virgin Islands side of things, there's really not much to say other than that they looked really, really bad. Not that it would have helped any, but it's still a shame about Raja's surgery because I was really looking forward to the role-player-as-franchise-star experiment. Honestly, even as a pre-college UCLA fan, I (Ty) couldn't get excited about Jim Harrick on the sidelines. I will say, though, that it's unconscionable that he couldn't figure out a way to get the O'Bannons and Tyus Edney on the team.

Random non-USA notes: Be sure to check out the Painted Area's recaps of the Mexico-Puerto Rico game, the Canada-Brazil game, and the Uruguay-Panama game from Wednesday. His knowledge of the international game is kind of absurd. ... Mexico forcing 27 turnovers (11 against NBA PGs) sounds pretty hellish to me. ... Jose Juan Barea getting suspended for two games for cursing is bullshit, especially in a tournament this short. ... People need to stop talking about Varejao's absence from Brazil as though it's a huge deal. This team has Nene, Splitter, Barbosa, and plenty of other capable players. ... Argentina-Puerto Rico could be a good game tomorrow, especially now that Mexico's shenanigans have put Puerto Rico's back against the wall.

Now This Was a Superior Machine

Team USA blew out Venezuela 112-69 Wednesday night in their opener to the Tournament of the Americas, but the margin of victory and box score do not begin to explain the important on-court issues and great moments that populated this contest. With that in mind, here’s Plissken’s rundown of what transpired on the court and in the broadcast. (Note: I don't want to take all the credit for this one; Carter and I worked on this post together.)

In our breakdown of the Team USA scrimmage last month, we talked at length about the intensity that Kobe brought to the proceedings, and nothing seems to have changed with regards to his mindset over the last few weeks. From the opening tip, it became clear that he’s taking this competition more seriously than just about everyone else involved (at least among those on Team USA). Honestly, he’s like the guy who takes your pickup game way too seriously and Ds up everyone hard, except he’s also the best player in the world. Kobe terrorized Venezuelan standout Greivis Vasquez on defense throughout the first half, easily justifying his request to guard the opponent’s best scorer in every game. Maryland’s Vasquez isn’t an NBA player yet, but he didn’t notch a triple-double in the ACC as a freshman by mistake. Kobe effectively bottled up the player most capable of embarrassing this team, which, for an outfit that's struggled with that recently, is nothing to sneeze at. It’s also worth mentioning that Kobe brought his Pilates instructor to Vegas with him, suggesting that he’ll unveil his most impressive shit in the fall.



Kobe’s contributions show up in the box score, but those of the game's second-most impressive player do not. Jason Kidd attempted no shots, dished four assists, grabbed three rebounds, and probably didn’t even hold the ball for more than 90 seconds combined, but he completely controlled the game’s tempo with a number of full court outlet passes off of both makes and misses. Without having looked at game tape, Kidd never seemed to hold the ball for more than one second; he had every move planned out well in advance of the defense. He’d be the perfect point guard for this team even if Nash were American, because no one can control tempo like him without dribbling. On a team with so many talented scorers, his skills cannot be talked about enough.

The backup point guard situation is a little less defined. We both believe that Kirk Hinrich should have made the team ahead of Billups; Hinrich’s a better defender right now and not too much worse of a distributor or shooter. Additionally, Billup’s greatest asset, his size, is essentially a non-issue on a team with Kidd and Deron Williams. Billups didn’t play poorly on Wednesday, but it’s frustrating to see him get minutes at Deron’s expense.

Another curious roster choice involves the decision to keep both Mike Miller and Michael Redd. The primary reason that this choice should be questioned is that the international line is close enough that players like Carmelo Anthony (who doesn’t exactly light things up from outside in the NBA) can become solid shooters. Three-point shooting was more of an issue when Melo, LBJ, and Dwyane comprised the primary wing rotation, but substituting a terrific shooter like Kobe for Wade nearly solves that issue. At that point, the decision becomes one of whether to keep Miller or Redd. For the sake of argument, let us assume now that Miller is the better shooter of the two. Even under these circumstances, Miller still misses shots (six misses from outside today), and it’s not like Redd is too far behind him. Additionally, Redd has a much more well-rounded offensive game than Miller, particularly off-the-dribble. Why not keep Redd, who’s still a terrific shooter, and put Kevin Durant in Mike Miller’s place? Lord knows Durant can get hot from long-range, and his complete offensive game and defensive length make him an asset at both ends of the court.


The shooter situation seems even weirder given that Miller and Redd play together on Team USA’s thoroughly bizarre second unit. The Billups/Miller/Redd backcourt is theoretically a zone-busting one, but they played very tentatively today. You can kill a zone by hitting outside shots, but stagnancy isn’t the best way to get those looks—penetration gets the defenders moving, thereby causing the zone to become frenzied and late-to-recover. I’m all for creating cohesive first and second units due to the fact that these players mostly haven’t played with each other before, but those units need to make more sense. However, it’s likely that the second unit will seem like a better five against a team with a quality zone—Venezuela played one of the most porous ones I’ve seen in quite some time.

In the frontcourt, all this talk about the injury to Chris Bosh potentially leaving the team dangerously thin inside looks like hogwash. It's an unfortunate injury, to be sure, and he would have been unbelievably awesome, but we still have Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire—uh, and Tyson Chandler, if Coach K ever decides to use him for more than mop-up duty in the fourth quarter. Let’s be real here: we're honestly worried about not sizing up against Samuel Dalembert? Nene and Tiago Splitter are solid, no doubt, but I think I'll take my chances with the manfreaks.


We were a bit worried that Kobe, Melo, and LeBron would have trouble meshing, but one look at them on the break completely ended that fear. Watching those three work together with Kidd makes the situations in LA and Cleveland that much more difficult to take. It’s ridiculous that Mike Brown won’t let loose the best open-court player in the league (ever?), and Kobe would do wonders with competent finishers.

Bill Walton can be a polarizing figure in the booth, but only the biggest Dead hater would give him poor marks for his work on Wednesday. Some of the highlights: opening the game with a detailed explanation of the origins of Venezuela’s name; not knowing what a fade haircut is (“so you go in and ask for a fade?”); comparing LeBron’s best dunk to Angel Falls, the largest waterfall in the world (and in Venezuela); telling us not to underestimate the importance of Scot Pollard in Boston; and, my personal favorite, praising Hugo Chavez for educating poor Venezuelans. Can you imagine Mark Jackson talking about how Hugo Chavez doesn’t govern “the right way”?



Before we leave you, some assorted thoughts from the game: Outside of Walton, the best broadcast moment came during halftime, when they showed part of a Coach K pep talk. The reactions said it all. Kobe was way more interested than everyone else, Carmelo looked like he realized exactly why he left college, Chandler looked like he knew why he never went, Amare didn’t seem to understand how anyone could take it seriously, LeBron chewed on his lip and seemed to be thinking about his favorite SNL sketch ideas, and Mike Miller looked furious that anyone would condescend to him like that. … Given his strength, there’s no reason for Carmelo to get blocked inside as often as he did. Missing five “twos” against a defense that awful is uncalled for. … Someone will burn the USA zone very badly at some point during this tournament or next year’s Olympics. On one possession, two Venezuelans made three consecutive passes to each other and beat the zone easily. … After about a quarter-and-a-half, Hector Romero, who looks vaguely like Etan Thomas, clearly decided he’d had enough of the blowout and started focusing on nothing but trying to block every shot. He was our favorite player on Venezuela.

Look at All the Beautiful Honeys Here

Hours away from a reprieve from the dog days of basketballess summer, we here at Plissken are stoked to be able to talk about some games that didn't happen 30 years ago. There have been some good articles about Team USA's strategic concerns and roster issues around the internets. Kurt has had some quality work both at FB&G and at Ballhype on the U.S.'s need to focus on defense, and the Painted Area has been all over the topic with a great roundup of Olympic qualifying news and a look at the complexities of Team USA's defensive issues. Sheridan, as usual, has been pretty solid covering the news surrounding the team and the tournament. However, some important plotlines have gone underreported, so I've decided to take it upon myself to take a look at a few to watch.

Luis Scola: Making Spurs fans bitter and Rockets fans stoked
With his in-the-NBA countrymen out of the picture, Scola should have a chance to shine as a leader for Argentina, the Group A-favorites. When you have the greatest power of forward of all time and four recent championships it's probably hard to get too concerned with losing a 27-year-old prospect that's logged no time in the NBA, but if Scola lays waste to Group A you have to imagine some people in San Antonio start to feel a bit worse about handing a quality big man to a close division rival for nothing. Because of the rock-steadiness of Duncan, Houston's gain might be much more interesting than San Antonio's loss in this case. Even though it's being discussed, people probably aren't talking enough about just how much the Rockets improved themselves this offseason. The next couple weeks might help demonstrate that.

Raja Bell: Franchise Player
The U.S. Virgin Islands should provide a fascinating case study for what happens when you hand the keys to a team over to a guy who typically acts as a defensive and 3-point specialist. I'm not sure how this will factor into the role player discussion, but, regardless of that, I'm interested in seeing what Raja will be like as a primary option. The slight chance of a Kobe/Raja altercation on Thursday might pique your interest, or maybe you want to see Barbosa and Bell face-off on Saturday. Whatever the case, you know Raja has some kind of superstar-level flop up his sleeve for the occasion.



Jose Juan Barea: Fast as All Hell
Watching Barea run circles around everyone was one of the highlights of Summer League. I actually think losing Daniel Santiago, their starting center, might not be such a bad thing for Puerto Rico in the end, or at least for the people watching them play--anything that pushes a team towards embracing its identity is alright in my book. The pair of Barea and Arroyo should be as exciting to watch as any non-American duo.

Levon Kendall: Cool as Ice
The Canadian made a lot of noise on the international scene two years ago when he scored 40 in an upset victory over the United States. Of course, that game existed in print more than in any other form, so when college fans watched Pitt the next season, they were in for quite the shock: a white man with a Vanilla Ice haircut who's better at the nitty-gritty things than at scoring. With Nash and Magloire out of the tournament, the Canada will rely on Kendall for a healthy chunk of their scoring, giving him the chance to establish himself as a true international-ball idiot savant with a few huge games. Word to your mother. --TK


Cuarenta Minutos de Infierno
If you want to overachieve, having Nolan Richardson as your coach can't hurt. When run properly, his fast-paced system is probably as able to pull off an upset as any, so if you want the big money bet, Mexico might not be a bad choice. Tonight's match up with Puerto Rico is probably one of the non-U.S. games I'll be most interested in watching, mostly because I want to see a) how well Mexico can put on the pressure and b) how well Puerto Rico's guards respond to it.

We Watch the Fireworks That Frighten Babies

I realize that Donaghy is by far the story of the offseason so far and as a basketball blog we're probably legally required to weigh in on it in some way, but the truth is we mostly share Jones's and Shoals's indifference. We'll probably join the fray once the league's reaction necessitates it, but for now a ref making extra cash by calling some games a little tighter just isn't that interesting as a basketball fan. As someone fascinated by corruption and seediness, this story intrigues me a little, but only in ways tangentially related to the sport (at least until it's revealed that Uncle Wes is involved). What interests us much more for now is Team USA's fairly meaningless summer scrimmage. Here are some of our observations:

While it could have devolved into a less-watched All-Star Game, the fact that roster spots are up for grabs made Sunday's game significantly less like an exhibition game. Sure the play was sloppy at times and defense never seemed like that big a deal, but it never became the failed ally-oop fiesta we're used to seeing each February. Kidd agrees that league's finest managed to kick it up a notch for the event.



The biggest story of the game for me was definitely Durant. Playing with the best talents in the game, he didn’t look out of place at all. His offensive moves look entirely too polished for a guy that's not even really a rookie yet. His follow-up dunk made a joke out of anyone worried about the effect of his bench press on his offensive game. The footwork (and everything else) on his fastbreak spin move/baby hook was unreal (0:58 on the highlights). Luckily for the Sonics, who are otherwise bereft of scorers, he should have no trouble scoring immediately. He might have to average in the mid-20s out of pure necessity. We're growing increasingly annoyed by the Green pick; Yi would have fit much better with Durant. On D, Durant's length and speed should cause problems right away. Rebounding is the one area where his lack of strength will really hurt him early on, but he will definitely improve with time.

At this point Kobe's will to win is just absurd. Because I don't want to seem like any more of a Laker-homer than I have to, I'll quote my L.A.-hating colleague Ty: "He's clearly the best player in the NBA." I do believe his intensity and inability to ease up even in friendly scrimmages will be one of the key differences for this national team. He's one of the few guys who takes All-Star games completely seriously simply because he doesn't know any other way to play. He should have a field day from the international 3, and when he commits to being the best on-ball defender out there, he absolutely can be. I will say that off-ball on both ends of the court he generally looked sloppy and disinterested. If he’s guarding a 3-pt specialist like Mike Miller he can’t get lazy and sag. Similarly, on offense he continues to look way too prone to just stand around when the ball's not in his hands.


If Kobe's desire isn't enough to make the difference between this team and previous years, Kidd's presence could. He’s the perfect guy to unselfishly set up all the athletic youngsters for tremendous plays and keep all the egos happy. It'll be interesting to see if they carry three point guards. Kidd and Deron or Kidd and Paul could probably handle things just fine, but it'd be tough to narrow it down to two. Chauncey has no business here. If they want a combo guard, Arenas is really the only option.

Other random thoughts on rounding out the roster: After witnessing JJ Redick "perform," Colangelo should have informed Coach K that he has lost all roster-related decision-making power. And you thought Laettner was out of place in 92. . . . Should be interesting to see if they end up taking Michael Redd or Mike Miller as the three-point specialist. Miller played better yesterday, and I'm not sure he wouldn't be a better choice anyway because he's less likely to think himself a star. (Note: That point's entirely related to Redd making max money and has nothing to do with race.) . . . Chris Bosh needs to play a lot; his athleticism and skill set bring a combination that no one can match up with. Toronto will be in heavy rotation on the Plissken League Pass next winter. . . . Tyson Chandler is perfect for this team; they need to keep him on board for sure as the only guy who seems truly committed to rebounding.

How perfect Chandler is for this team brings us to our final point: how unnecessary LeBron is on this roster. Between Kidd's passing, Wade's slashing, Kobe and Melo's everything else, his skill set is pretty well represented already. His inability to consistently hit jumpers makes him a liability against zones, and with Kobe owning the first-option title he loses a lot of his value. His athletic ability is still unbelievable, but when every NBA wing can outrun and outjump every foreign wing, we don't see his edge there being that significant. There's no way Colangelo would ever have the guts to cut America's Chosen One, but this roster needs more guys like Chandler and Miller who can be effective without dominating the possession.


In the end, this scrimmage doesn't say a ton about the team's ability to win on the international stage. They didn't play a ton of zone, and when they did it wasn't exactly inspired. It's going to take a close game against foreign competition to see what this team's made of.

At least everyone knows who'll take the last shot.