Greece beats USA Basketball team, 101-95

[Burma Jones]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-BKO-Worlds-Greece-US.html?hp&ex=1157169600&en=71272e7744801df5&ei=5094&partner=homepage


Greece has no NBA players, yet still beat the US team.

Well, at least the USA players are fabulously wealthy, so that makes them better regardless of who actually wins some kid's game, right?

I can't help but think the sort of arrogance that has resulted in losses in Baseball and Basketball international tournaments is a metaphor for our arrogant ineptitude that insures losses wherever the Chimp's gang puts its hands.

[northzax]

1. they are better players

Greece just has a better team, on this given day. Basketball is a team sport, where a well oiled machine of second rank players can defeat a menagerie of the top talent. The difference is that the Greeks, mainly because they DON'T have any NBA players, can spend much more time together, they play together over several years, learning to work as a team. the US has implemented this routine now (the players signed on through the Beijing Olympics) and we should see improvement in that vein.

[erpowers]

2. Bad Teams

It seems that USA Basketball just keeps putting bad teams together. No matter how much the leaders of Team USA claims they are trying to put the best team together and not looking to put a promoting team together I think they are putting a promotion team together. If you look at the Greek team it seems that everyone scored and had a pretty good part in the game. With Team USA it seems that Wade, Anthony, and James were the main ones allowed to score. To be fair to those three guys maybe they were the only one who could score. However, since the team only shot for 39 percent it seems that they also struggled. The Greeks shot for about 60-70%. I think that is unheard of in American basketball, at least now.

To some degree I think USA Basketball need to at least start listening to people like Oscar Robinson, Magic Johnson, and Bill Russell. Beyond that I think one of those guys should be put in charge of USA Basketball. Robinson, Johnson, and Russell along with others have stated that the NBA and USA Basketball needs to stop focusing on the dunk so much and get back to teaching fundamentals. Many former basketball players point out that the current group of NBA players do not know how to catch a pass, pivot, or even shoot. Many sports writers and former NBA players have pointed out that in the international game even the big men are just as skilled as the guards in the American game. Foreign big men seem to be able to dribble, pass, and shoot. That does not seem to be the case in American basketball.

[jakefrep]

3. There's nothing wrong with team USA...

...that can't be fixed through a steadier diet of international play. And it won't hurt anything that the roster (and the coach) is going to be more or less intact through the 2008 Olympics. For once, USA Basketball has a coherent plan for the national team beyond merely being a marketing exercise for the NBA.

[nickgutierrez]

5. Bulls-eye.

They need an out-and-out shooter, but that's really about it. The fact that this roster is staying intact is a very good sign, since it allows them to get to know each others' styles a bit better. That's really all they need, to be honest.

[erpowers]

4. Spanoulis

Greece's guard Vassilis Spanoulis will be playing for the Houston Rockets this coming season. That seems to boad well for the Rockets. So technically the Greeks have one NBA player on their team.