Team USA Primer VII: In the Wake of USA-Canada

Photo from Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images.

You've heard what I had to say about last night's affair, so it's time to turn to the rest of the interwebs.

Sheridan hits you in the face with some interesting numbers. Some of them should at least worry you, mildly; good against Canada's one thing, but good against Argentina? That's something else. From ESPN: "The positives that jumped out from the American side of the box score were their 43 points off turnovers, their 66 percent shooting (including 50 percent from 3-point range) their 38-24 edge in rebounding, and their holding the Canadians to just 27 second-half points, including the paltry total of nine in the fourth quarter. They eased off on the three-quarters court pressure after halftime, but they never let up on the intensity in the halfcourt -- something that was evident even on the final play of the game when Carlos Boozer came out and joined Paul in trapping Canada point guard Jermaine Anderson near the scorer's table, forcing the last of Canada's 25 turnovers.

In the third quarter, my tally had the Americans contesting 11 shots (Canada made five) and leaving them uncontested for five attempts (only one of which was made), and in the fourth quarter I had Canada shooting 3-for-7 on uncontested shots and 2-for-8 on contested attempts.

Add it all up, and of Canada's 60 field goal attempts, 25 were uncontested."

25/60 attempts were uncontested? Yikes. I know the American emphasis is on forcing turnovers but that needs to improve dramatically before the US is going to be able to light up a legitimate team.

Still, lest we forget, Team USA still won by 55 while coasting through the 4th and everyone playing a modest amount of playing time. The world will nit-pick this team to death until they win the gold, but sometimes it's hard to argue with that kind of blowout. Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune: "In its last tuneup before China, Krzyzewski's Team USA trampled Canada 120-65, dominating so completely and playing so cohesively that Coach K was hard-pressed to identify any pressing issues. The best he could come up with at the end of the exhibition game was the need to revise his rotations in anticipation of the return of sore-ankled LeBron James. This, fellow countrymen, is what is known as a good problem to have."

The leading-scorer trifecta of Wade, Redd, and Anthony will get a lot of the headlines today, but Kidd, Williams, and Paul deserve a lot of credit for the well-oiled offensive machine that took the floor last night. Mike DeCourcy of SportingNews talks about the true American advantage: "The one advantage American basketball always has enjoyed over the rest of the world is the creative point guard. The game was invented here, and then Bob Cousy reinvented it, and then Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas and John Stockton and Gary Payton reinvented the reinvention. Until Tony Parker came along, there never had been a point guard from beyond these shores who could gain admission to the club of the heavy-hitting point guards -- and even he is more a wizard at opening scoring opportunities for himself. Playing with Tim Duncan, Parker never has averaged seven assists. That's a good half for Paul. So nearly as important as the decision to form a true national team program instead of just a quadrennial pickup team was the move to ensure this team is led by the best candidates at the game's most important position."

LeBron James may be "absolutely" willing to guarantee a gold medal, but for now Carmelo is keeping his mouth shut. From Chris Sheridan at ESPN: "Anthony used the G-word four years ago on the first day of Team USA's training camp in Jacksonville, Fla., prior to the Athens Olympics, infuriating coach Larry Brown and providing bulletin board material for the rest of the basketball universe. The guarantee wasn't fulfilled, and for a time, Anthony even denied making it. But it taught him a lesson about humility and how to watch what he says.

'I said what I said. Yeah, I guaranteed it. USA needed some excitement; there wasn't any excitement about the '04 team,' Anthony told ESPN.com earlier this week. 'But you don't even have to ask the question, this time. I ain't guaranteeing nothing, but we've got a good chance of going over there and bringing the gold medal back.'"

And lastly, an unexpected guarantee from SI's Chris Mannix:

"Gold: Argentina
Silver: Spain
Bronze: USA

I think Rautins said it best Friday night: gone are the days when the U.S. can just assemble an All-Star team and expect to win. USA hoops el jefe Jerry Colangelo has done an admirable job trying to establish continuity with the team. But in the three years he has run the team, only three players -- Anthony, Howard and James -- have played each year.

More than any other competition, Olympic basketball is won through continuity.

'Most of the Olympic teams,' said Rautins, 'have been playing together for a long time. Greece, Spain, Argentina, these teams have ostensibly been playing together since they got their first look at the '92 Dream Team and fell in love with basketball. It doesn't matter what level of talent the U.S. puts on the floor; until the day comes when 12 NBA stars elect to skip three years of their careers to focus exclusively on international competitions, the U.S. will struggle to compete.

That's not naysaying. That's just the harsh reality of a global game."

I don't want to rip someone just for not picking the US, but when you back your opinion with Leo Rautins, you've got a problem. There will certainly be a day where this program (the three-year commitment, multi-week off-season camps, etc.) will fail. It's inevitable. But I'm not so sure this is the year, and I'm not so sure that any part of that prediction is right. Argentina is a good team, and is apparently good enough to win on any given night. But will they really win a head-to-head gold medal match-up against the world's powerhouse in Spain? If you're not picking the USA to win, you should be picking Spain, and if you're not picking Spain, well...you've got some 'splaining to do. The idea that the US will "struggle to compete" against their Olympic competition is absurd, especially given the level of talent and preparation the Americans have put into this. They may not be working for their national team year-round, but top to bottom these players are better than every player they could possibly match up against. What remains to be seen is if this team is better than all others around the globe, and at the very least they're the runner up in my book.