Another (ill-fated?) All-Star USA Basketball Team
Steve Rawlins
Posted on: 29 July 2008 - 13:06
Basketball
Remember in 2004 when the USA basketball team lost to Greece, who didn’t have a single NBA player on board? Yeah, well so do a couple of young NBA players who warmed the benches while they watched their team mates turn ice cold on the court.
Olympic underachievers
When you look back, it seems ridiculous that LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony – the superstars of Cleveland, Miami and Denver respectively, did not play a single minute during the 38 days they were in Athens on Olympic duty. Then again, it’s even more ridiculous that the USA went out in the 2004 semis with the sheer number of highlight reel players they had on the team besides those three. Stephon Marbury. Allen Iverson. Richard Jefferson. Shawn Marion. It’s the kind of line up that fantasy NBA players have fantasies over. And that team lost to Puerto Rico?
I don’t want to talk down Puerto Rico’s rich tapestry of Olympic basketball success – but come on – AI and Marbury in the back court? How do you screw that up?
Bad chemistry
Actually, that particular pairing was one of the bigger “bad chemistry” screw-ups of the tournament, and just another testament to the fact that no matter how good each individual basketball player is, sticking 5 superstars together on a court and saying “go kill” does not guarantee you the W. Just look at the New York Knicks last season. Awesome players, sucky team. It was almost embarrassing to watch them towards the end, as Madison Square Garden resounded with boos from the home fans.
Guaranteeing the victory
So on to 2008 – and look! Another roster jammed with talented “phenoms”. But… haven’t we seen this before? Bronze at Athens, sixth in 2002? Now team USA has a line up filled with even more MVPs. No Championship winning Boston Celtics, but Kidd and Kobe in the backcourt, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, Michael Redd, and Mike Krzyzewski calling the shots… Is this going to be another bad chemistry mix? What’s so special about 2008? Well, first of all, LeBron James has already “guaranteed” that team USA is going to win Gold in Beijing. Enough said.
Don’t upset LeBron!
I must have missed the press conference where he expressed similar hopes for the Cavaliers in O8/09, but hell, if King James says it, I believe it. I remember watching LeBron play in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre last year. The Cavs were having a horrible game and looked set to post a loss to the Raptors, until mid way through the third quarter when the girlfriend of Chris Bosh, Toronto’s franchise player, decided to taunt LeBron after a missed lay-up. What does LeBron do? He scores 24 single handed points in the forth quarter, brings the Cavs back from a double digit deficit and beats the Raptors. As he walked off the court he told Bosh’s girlfriend “It's your fault. It's your fault.”
Bring on Beijing
If charisma is what’s needed to pull a team of big egos together then LeBron James could be the man for the job, so long as his ankle stays healthy. He says he can’t remember where his Bronze Olympic medal from 2004 is – he doesn’t care. It’s all about game one against China with Houston’s Yao Ming and New Jersey’s new signing, Yi Jianlian, on August 10th.