Brazil x US (Nen

[FAH1223]

Nene looked fine... if he has a foot issue, it wasn't there today. He had a couple good moves with his feet and looked explosive on his one finish where faked and got Kobe up in the air with a dunk.

+1

To me the story is the US team is no Dream Team. They might come back with a silver or worse because they have no inside team. I didn't see Davis, but I think they could have used a burly, nasty guy off the bench behind Chandler. Cousins IMO might be a better fit than Harden on this team.

they're playing LeBron and Carmelo at C... its crazy. They definitely needed Cousins over one of the guards.

[dobrojim]

was at the game last night

Nene did reasonably well. FIBA play is more physical IMO than NBA as
there was copious slapping/hacking and bumping that IS generally [delete not]
called in the NBA. As a result, I thought Nene should have gotten a couple
more calls that he didn't. But he looked solid.

Re the Not-quite dream team, they're no 92 Dream Team. Not even close IMO.
As Mike Wise noted in his column today, the 92 Dreamers were never down 8 to
Brazil.

We have one C, Chandler, who is solid defensively but nothing special beyond that.
Kobe and Melo, 2 notorious chuckers, both start. At least Kobe will get after it defensively.
We don't really have a lot of bangers with Chandler and Love forming the gist of that
contribution. Durant and Harden, who didn't play much, represent the core of our
outside shooting threat. I leaving out Deron Will, CP3 and Westbrook from my list
of shooters not that they aren't capable, but more because night in night out, you
can't be too sure if that part of their game will be there.

I didn't find them nearly as impressive as I would have thought. Garcia for Brazil
looked good repeatedly hitting 3s with an unorthodox shooting form. Nene as I
mentioned above, looked solid, as did the other NBA players on Brazil, SideShow Bob
and Splitter (and Barbosa).

I really wonder at this point whether they can win it all. LaBron was dominant and
he may be enough by himself as long as he gets some help from Durant and they play
nasty D. Otherwise, I dunno.

The women completely destroyed Brazil. If that's any indication, they'll win gold.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

They won't win gold IMO. Argentina and Spain both can beat them.

Spain is going to win the gold IMO. They have both Gasol brothers, Serge Ibaka, Felipe Reyes and Victor Claver up front. Their captain is Juan Carlos Navarro. They have Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, Sergio Rodrigues. Every player has won a FIBA gold at some level.

I expect Spain will beat the US because they will swing the ball, work the ball inside, control the tempo, hit threes, defend threes, and they won't try to beat guys one-on-one like he US. I think they will possibly beat the US by a pretty big amount, too. Those threes the US shot vs Brazil won't cut it against Spain.

Arrogant dudes like Kobe are going to need to be on the bench IMO for the us to win. If I had to call it today, I predict Kobe gets humbled by Pao Gasol in the Olympic Finals. Ibaka is going to also get revenge against Lebron.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

http://www.ibtimes.com/sportsnet/nba/20 ... ew_452.htm

The link contains some good information on Spain, France, Argentina, and Brazil Olympic teams.

Argentina is a scary bunch. In the 2002 World Championships they became the first team to ever beat Team USA, since they started playing with NBA players. Argentina won gold during the 2004 Olympics in Greece. They are looking to win their second gold in the last three summer Olympics. Argentina took home the bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Argentina is the most experienced team in the field and it could be a huge X-factor for this group. Manu Ginobli, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni, and Pablo Prigioni lead the way for Argentina. Pablo Prigioni is one of the best kept secrets in the world. The New York Knicks recently signed Prigioni to a one-year contract.

I think Argentina is a bit old, but they can still upset the US because they know how to play together and they can get Chandler in foul trouble.

France is banking on three guys: Tony Parker, Nicolas Batum, and Boris Diaw. Tony Parker is coming off his best season. He had a such a good season Chris Brown started inviting him to party with his crew. Next time he might remember to wear sun glasses. Batum signed a four-year $46 million offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves, showing the type of talent he has. Boris Diaw proved he still has some gas left in the tank when he signed with the San Antonio Spurs after being released by the Charlotte Bobcats last season. Ronny Turiaf, Kevin Seraphin, and Mickael Gelabale are all capable players to make an impact during the London games. Just imagine if France had Joakim Noah, Mickael Pietrus, Ian Mahinmi, and Rodrigue Beaubois to go with these other six.

If not for the injuries, France would be a solid bet to give the US a very hard game. I don't think this US team is nearly as good as they seem to think they are. Love cannot defend. Kobe is in decline and in denial. Harden is not experienced in international play. Westbrook is a jacker. Paul has been injured and turned the ball over uncharacteristically in the playoffs. The best backcourt players are out injured in Billups and Wade. They have no inside game.

Like I said in the post above, I expect Spain will win the gold.

[TGW]

They won't win gold IMO. Argentina and Spain both can beat them.

Spain is going to win the gold IMO. They have both Gasol brothers, Serge Ibaka, Felipe Reyes and Victor Claver up front. Their captain is Juan Carlos Navarro. They have Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, Sergio Rodrigues. Every player has won a FIBA gold at some level.

I expect Spain will beat the US because they will swing the ball, work the ball inside, control the tempo, hit threes, defend threes, and they won't try to beat guys one-on-one like he US. I think they will possibly beat the US by a pretty big amount, too. Those threes the US shot vs Brazil won't cut it against Spain.

Arrogant dudes like Kobe are going to need to be on the bench IMO for the us to win. If I had to call it today, I predict Kobe gets humbled by Pao Gasol in the Olympic Finals. Ibaka is going to also get revenge against Lebron.

I'd love to make a bet with you CCJ. Really, I would.

[Kanyewest]

I was thinking yesterday while this Olympic was down by 8 to 10 points, I was wondering if the dream team even faced a team as good as the Brazilian team in the 1992 Olympics, which is just a sleeper team for the Olympics. While the dominance of the 1992 dream team was impressive, every US Olympic team going forward is going to face much stiffer competition.

That being said, the current 2012 dream team is not as good primarily due to the lack of quality bigs (although it is interesting to note that LeBron could have been the biggest guy on the court in terms of mass in an imaginary matchup). I agree with CCJ that teams with size could give the US problems. Then again, I really don't think the US was playing anywhere close to it's potential against Brazil but it only takes one game for the US not to get gold.

[Higga]

USA will win the gold, but it won't be easy. Spain gave them a hell of a game in 08 and they're probably better now while we're worse. I still got faith in the Yanks though.

[dobrojim]

I expect the US should still be favored, but they better come loaded for
bear each and every game. Otherwise, they could definitely be taken out.
And yes, Kanye, the competition is WAY better than it was in 92. That's part
of the reason it's going to be so hard. Also agree they didn't play especially
well against Brazil.

As loaded as the current team is, even with all the injuries, at best many
of the players are HoF level and probably not quite All-Time Greats like the
core of the 92 team.

[Nivek]

No question that the level of play has risen worldwide. That said, the 1992 team was still better than this squad -- not just because the bigs are better (which they clearly are), but because they're better really at every spot.

Mike & Mike asked an interesting question this morning: Who from this year's team would make the 1992 team? (Of course, they screwed the pooch when it came to answering it, but I wouldn't have expected anything different from those guys.)

These are the guys I would add:

- Lebron
- Durant
- Paul

Taking off an aging/stiff-backed Larry Bird, Christian Laettner, and then probably Chris Mullin (though I'd hate to lose Mullin's shooting). Arguably, you could take off Magic, who was 32 and a year retired from the NBA at that point. Maybe Drexler? Nah, stick with Mullin -- Durant more than makes up for any lost shooting.

But, I wouldn't drop Stockton for Westbrook or Deron Williams. No way I'd drop Drexler for Harden. Or Kobe, who's been overrated for years now. There's no one I'd cut from the 1992 team for Carmelo.

[Nivek]

Anyway, I expect USA to win the gold, but like others I don't think it'll be easy. Competition is tougher, and it's a flawed roster, in part because of injuries.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

They won't win gold IMO. Argentina and Spain both can beat them.

Spain is going to win the gold IMO. They have both Gasol brothers, Serge Ibaka, Felipe Reyes and Victor Claver up front. Their captain is Juan Carlos Navarro. They have Rudy Fernandez, Jose Calderon, Sergio Rodrigues. Every player has won a FIBA gold at some level.

I expect Spain will beat the US because they will swing the ball, work the ball inside, control the tempo, hit threes, defend threes, and they won't try to beat guys one-on-one like he US. I think they will possibly beat the US by a pretty big amount, too. Those threes the US shot vs Brazil won't cut it against Spain.

Arrogant dudes like Kobe are going to need to be on the bench IMO for the us to win. If I had to call it today, I predict Kobe gets humbled by Pao Gasol in the Olympic Finals. Ibaka is going to also get revenge against Lebron.

I'd love to make a bet with you CCJ. Really, I would.

My son jokes with me that I am generally wrong when I make pronouncements like that. TGW, I won't even bet on this one. I am just saying I think Spain will win. Team USA can play stifling defense when they feel like it. They do have the best one-on-one scorers. So, nah, man, I'm not even confident in what I just wrote.

USA is the favorite, but I like Spain.

Their is no "I" in team. I think the US is going to have a hard time passing the ball, and the way they will need to go is to defend and to defer to Lebron and Carmelo, and that will get them in trouble.

[MikeTheKid]

I was in Section 217 who else was there?

[Kanyewest]

No question that the level of play has risen worldwide. That said, the 1992 team was still better than this squad -- not just because the bigs are better (which they clearly are), but because they're better really at every spot.

Mike & Mike asked an interesting question this morning: Who from this year's team would make the 1992 team? (Of course, they screwed the pooch when it came to answering it, but I wouldn't have expected anything different from those guys.)

These are the guys I would add:

- Lebron
- Durant
- Paul

Taking off an aging/stiff-backed Larry Bird, Christian Laettner, and then probably Chris Mullin (though I'd hate to lose Mullin's shooting). Arguably, you could take off Magic, who was 32 and a year retired from the NBA at that point. Maybe Drexler? Nah, stick with Mullin -- Durant more than makes up for any lost shooting.

But, I wouldn't drop Stockton for Westbrook or Deron Williams. No way I'd drop Drexler for Harden. Or Kobe, who's been overrated for years now. There's no one I'd cut from the 1992 team for Carmelo.

I'm not sure if Stockton makes the team simply because he was injured at the time and wasn't 100%.

BTW, I wonder if the lockout shortened season hurt the potential 2012 US team roster with guys like Howard, Rose, and Wade.

Let's not forget Chris Bosh who has more rings than Barkely, Ewing, Malone, and Stockton combined