Three Reasons Why I Think USA Basketball Is Not Ready

Team USA made it into the round of 16 today by beating Slovenia 114 to 95, but the score was much closer than this. This same team beat Puerto Rico by 11 points and blew out a weak Chinese team that has horrible guard play by a final score of 121-90.

So why am I suggesting that Team USA is not ready to win the World Championships? Because unlike every other person who thinks this team is built for success, I think this team is another glorified All-Star Team that is not ready to win.

Before I start the list, you have to understand the tendencies of international rules basketball. The elite teams have good guards who can penetrate and shoot the three pointer. Big guys in FIBA basketball are not as important as they are in the NBAÂ…Ask Tim Duncan about that. The team with the most experience is probably going to beat a team with less experience 90 percent of the timeÂ…Ask the USA when they faced Argentina in the Olympics. Here is the list.

1. Lebron, Wade and Melo: Coach K has made these three the centerpiece of Team USA for the next decade or so but right now, they are not ready. These three are the future for everything NBA, marketing, playing, sales, etc. What Coach K failed to recognize is that these three players are horrible defenders. If you have been watching the games, the Big 3 have not been able to guard any of the mediocre guards. Players like Beno Udrih and Carlos Arroyo were getting into the lane quicker than a new celebrity into Paris Hilton. In addition to that, the Big 3 have been good in the half-court but when they play a tougher defense like Spain or Argentina, they will have to trust their jump shot more than trying to over power a defender with their athleticism. Eventually these three will become good defenders but right now they are one of the reasons why Team USA is not ready.
2. Role Players: Coach K put a premium on role players going into the “training camp” but now I only see three legit role players, Shane Battier, Kirk Heinrich and Chris Paul. Antwan Jamison has not been playing enough in close situations to count as a role player. Joe Johnson at times has looked like the best player. Look at the other rosters for elite teams in the tournament, most of them have one superstar and four role players who can flourish at anytime. When you have up to four superstars on the floor at the same time, no coaching will stop their instincts of taking over. When four players want to take over at the same time in a close game, that team is not going to win. The perfect starting lineup would have included both Shane Battier and Bruce Bowen, LeBron, Wade and Dwight Howard. In my opinion, the reason why Coach K cut Bruce Bown for the World Games is because he did not score enough points.
   
3. Experience: By experience, I mean on the court with each other and with the FIBA rules. The FIBA game is much different from the NBA. Its on a court that features a shorter three-point line, the officials allow rough play, unlike the NBA where a whistle is blown every five seconds, and a big guy is not effective unless he plays like Dirk or Pau Gasol. After watching the first three games, the USA has not been able to guard anyone or use their set plays. The USA really gets going when the other team makes costly turnovers and the USA runs out for a dunk. When the USA faces a team like Argentina, their team defense will be exploited more than anything.

This USA team has a lot of potential but right now the team is in the baby stages of something big. This concept of keeping guys around for every summer is going to backfire on Team USA. I will not be surprised if a prominent player drops out because he wants to stay fresh for the NBA season. Remember, at the end of the day, the players get their checks from the NBA.

The days of the Dream Team are long gone. When the Dream Team dominated in 1992 and 1996, other teams were afraid of them. I have heard stories where opposing players would go up to the Dream Team and ask for autographs before the games. When you have a team that consisted of MJ, Magic and Bird, that team CAN meet up a day before the tournament and win. Those players were good defenders and had another level to the game that Lebron, Melo and Wade have not achieved just yet. Yes, Wade dominated the NBA Finals, but tell that to Manu Ginobli, a player who also dominated the NBA Finals the year his team won. So far, Puerto Rico and Slovenia gave USA their biggest test because they have good guard play. If these teams did not make bad turnovers in the second and third quarter, they would have won the game. When the USA faces the elite teams that do not make costly turnovers, they are going to be in a for a rude awakening.

Thoughts on Everything

· ASTROS

o The Astros just lost another one but don’t worry! The Astros went 4 for 9 in their latest home stand and now head to the road for 11 games against Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. This is the big road trip the Astros need to dominate if they want to become contenders for the Wild Card and the NL Central.

o After this road trip, the schedule gets incredibly hard for the Astros. They start the month against the Mets, get a little Cardinals and throw in some Phillies to top it off. Oh and if the Reds are still in the Wild Card hunt, they also get a three game set against them. Time to make a move now!

· Texans

o The Texans looked good in their first pre-season game but I still need to see them against other teams’ first team defense before I can jump on the bandwagon.

o After covering weeks of training camp, I have found some guys I like to root for. Please join me as I root for these guys

§ Antwan Peek: Talking to Peek, I have concluded that he is the nicest 250lb man. Peek is coming off a sub par season and is ready to become a monster on defense. He has been working his tail off in the off-season and has said all the right things for a player who is ready to have a break out season.

§ Morlon Greenwood: This linebacker lead the Texans last year in tackles with 112 and also added 2 sacks and 2 fumbles. He is a humble player who plays with an edge. Greenwood is ready to show that he can flourish in the 4-3 defense.

§ Ephraim Salaam: You probably have not heard of him because he is an O-line man. These guys don’t get attention because well, they don’t make big plays since they don’t get the ball. Salaam is a great person to talk to and brings experience to much scrutinized O-Line. Salaam has worked with Coach Kubiak before so he knows the system that will help the Texans win some more games.

· Longhorns Football

o Ranked no.1 going into the season…as I told my friend Ian Harris, host of “Simply Sports” (Simplysportstalk.com), Vince Young brings a lot to this team. Here is the exact quote of what I told him.

§ Vince Young is so good that his residue from last season is going to take UT back to the promise land. Vince is a GOD! God's dont need to know how to spell or add, just win games.

o Hook Em!

X- FREAKING GAMES!!!

I am a fan of the X-games. No clever introduction for this entry, I love the X-games. I stayed up every night this week to watch almost every event. I count down the days of my summer until the X-games start. I watched the first X-games when I was about 10 years old. After watching, I went out and bought a skateboard. I never mastered the board because of my fear of breaking bones against concrete. Because of my love of the X-games, I want to give some quick thoughts on the X-games.

Amazing Athletes

Allen Iverson is a warrior. He goes in against men twice his size and keeps playing every night. The athletes in the X-games make Allen Iverson and Bret Favre look like T-mac. These athletes risk LIFE every time they attempt a jump. For example, right now I’m watching the Skateboard big air. Sorry, BIG AIR! These skateboarders are taking off a ramp that is six floors up at an almost 90-degree angle. After they take off, they do some insane trick over a gap that is about 60 feet wide. Wait, there is more. After you land, you go up on another ramp and fly about 25 feet without any safety nets. These athletes are brave. These guys define superb athletes. They play hurt, change their sport and do it for the love of the sport.

If the Big Air example did not convince you that these guys are athletes, maybe this one will. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iFrKpR6QOA) Travis Pastrana landed the first double back flip in the history of the motocross best trick competition. If you have not seen a motocross bike, look at the picture. The bikes weight between 200 and 250 pounds. Pastrana, and every other rider, go 30 feet in the air with a 200 pound bike over them or under them. One wrong move and that bike can land on them or they can fly off the bike onto concrete hard dirt. Look at this picture; I know its going to send chills down your back.

Sure, these guys aren’t competing against a defense or a blitz package, but they are against other riders and death.

Growth of the Game
I’m not going to pull up TV ratings or anything like that to talk about this point. When the X-games first started back in 1995, most people thought it would fail. ESPN took a bold risk of putting the sport on mainstream cable even though most consider it illegal and for punks. Even though ESPN has grown to a powerful media conglomerate that can support any type of programming it wants, it does not have to support the X-games. Any business will pull the plug on something that will not make them money. The X-games has grown into the premier extreme sports competition in the world. During the first X-games I remember only a few events were on TV. Now, every event is on and ESPN has even started to put some on pay-per-view. Yes, people are willing to pay to watch the X-games.

The X-games started to become accepted in mainstream media when Tony Hawk landed the first ever 900 during the skateboard best trick competition. After that, ESPN held the games in major cities but never the home of extreme sports, LA. When the X-games went to LA in 2003, the ratings were off the charts for ESPN. I was in LA a few days before the X-games started in 2003. I have never seen so many people excited about a sport that should have been dead by now.

Athletes and Drugs

Extreme sports athletes have a stereotype surrounding them that all of them are dopeheads. I mean yes, you have to be high on something to do some of the crazy things they do but in reality they are not all crackheads. Here is a test for you doubters. NAME FIVE EXTREME ATHLETES WHO HAVE BEEN IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW FOR DRUGS. GO! GIVE UP? Now, name five NBA players. How about five NFL players? I bet you can name more than five for both sports. I’m sure some of those athletes light up a joint once in a while, just like athltes in every other league, but at least they aren’t stupid about it. I can’t name one extreme sports athlete who was an addict or pulled a Damon Stoudemire. Drugs in sports is as common as an NBA player having more than four unknown kids on each coast.

I love watching these athletes pull amazing tricks even though it could mean the end of their career or life. I respect extreme sports athletes. I respect ESPN for staying with the X-games and helping it become the monster that it is today. Only 364 days until the X-games kicks off again.