Team USA Preview

August 4, 2008   ·   Paul Raymond   ·   Jump to comments

This is going to be the first in a two part series. Today we’ll look at the USA Men’s Basketball team, the strengths, the weaknesses and are they truly good enough to take home the gold. Later this week, we’ll take a look at how this team stacks up against the other professional teams that we’ve sent to the Olympics. There is no doubt, this is the best team we’ve put out there in many years but there are still holes and plenty that can go wrong. First we’ll look at the strengths.

First there is the big dog, Kobe Bryant. He is without a doubt the best player competing in the men’s tournament. He’s a scorer, he’s a passer, he’s a defender and most importantly a leader. I’m no Kobe fan, never have been, but even the haters have to admit he’s the best of the group. In exhibition contests, he’s been whatever the team has needed him to be. Against Turkey, his shots weren’t falling so he became the floor general dishing out 7 assists and being a complete menace on the defensive end tallying 5 steals. Against Lithuania, he played an all around game albeit with a little bit of foul trouble. Against Russia, he did what he does best, SCORE! The team had its first struggle and Kobe does what he does best when his team struggles, he took over the game, scoring 19 points in 28 minutes.

Lebron James. Some think he’s the next Jordan better then Kobe. Well he’s amazing but not that far yet. For this tournament thou, he can play a very close second to Kobe. If anything Lebron may be leaned on more as he should be a match-up problem for almost every team. With his size, speed and strength there aren’t going to be many small forwards that will be able to play with him. The exhibitions so far have proved that as he’s averaging 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 assists. When the team goes to their small lineup with James playing the 4, he should blow by almost any big man (when the zone is not in effect of course).

Point guard play. The point guard play on this team should be absolutely stellar. The starter and maybe not for long is Jason Kidd, with Deron Williams and Chris Paul backing him up. One problem with Team USA has been decision making and with these guys teaming up with Kobe there should be no shortage of good calls on the offensive end. In exhibitions contests the trio has combined for 51 assists to just 20 turnovers, surprisingly the veteran Kidd has tallied over a third of those turnovers. Regardless, the trio brings experience, speed, some defense and even a little bit of offense to the table.

3-point shooting. This has been another weakness of Team USA for a while now. In the past, they have not been able to bury the long ball and make teams relax the zone d. When you think about it, it is pretty said since the international line is a good amount closer then the NBA range. That’s pretty much solved now thou as you have Dwayne Wade and Michael Redd, all specialists who have been lights out in exhibition contests so far. Combining them with Carmelo Anthony, Kobe and James gives this team an added dimension they haven’t had in a while, teams will have to RESPECT the long ball this time around. The team has been shooting 47% from behind the arc after 4 games.

Athleticism. This is a very athletic team especially down low. They’re anchored in the post by Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh that should split time at the center position. Howard when thy go with a normal lineup, and Bosh when they go with the smaller speed game. The team also has bit players like Tayshaun Prince and Carlos Boozer that should help when these two need a quick breather, but neither should be counted on to really provide much punch anywhere. If anything they are just solid players that can help out for a few minutes at a time. Regardless the athleticism of the big guys will give this team many more options on the fast break, and on the offensive end period.

As you see this team has many strengths, with all they have going for them it would be tough to bet against them winning the gold. But then again, wasn’t it tough to bet against them at Athens too? Despite all their strengths, this team also has a good amount of weaknesses. Let’s take a look.

Interior defense. To me this is a huge weakness. Where is the shot blocker? Where is that guy that is going to scare those pesky Argentinian point guards from driving down the middle? This team lacks a true big man, the one who strikes fear in the paint. This is where someone like a Shaq could of come in handy. The team only has 13 blocks after 4 games, 7 against a Canadian team who didn’t even qualify for Olympics play. They might be able to keep up athletically with someone like a Pau Gasol but NO TEAM will fear our big men.

Lack of depth. Staying with the front court one has to be very concerned with the lack of depth. If management could make one critical flaw in building this team, they sure did with this front court. The team only has four players 6′9 or taller, two of those are Prince and Boozer who are nothing but back-ups, role players. If Bosh and/or Howard get into foul trouble early this team will struggle mightily, especially against the taller European teams. If Bosh and/or Howard gets hurt this team might be officially screwed.

3-point shooting. This team has been built to take advantage of the short international arc and to beat the zone. Unfortunately, that means they will be living and dying by the three. What is going to happen when those shots don’t fall? Will they have the pieces to break the zone? They have the speed but once they go against a team like Argentina, what happens?

Zone offense. Even if the 3 point shots are falling, will this team have enough to beat a solid zone defense? Against Russia, the team shot just over 50% from behind the arc and still struggled. They had to go to a smaller, faster lineup and attempt to break the zone by driving. It worked but again that was against Russia.

Russia gave a blue print on how to beat this team, play solid zone defense, slow the tempo down and keep yourself in the game. For more talented teams like Spain, Greece and China they should be able to follow that format. Will Team USA be able to respond? Personally, I think the Russia game was more alarming then most may think as we do have the best talent on the court. Recent tournaments have proved thou the most talent won’t win the gold.

I think we’ll still win but if any of those teams slow the pace and those three point shots aren’t dropping, then USA will be going home without another gold.

Look out for Part 2 later this week, when we compare this team to all of our professional teams we’ve entered since the original Dream Team back in 1992.

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