Why This "Dream Team" Should Be Different
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by Ibearg
FSN broadcast the USA Blue v White Scrimmage tonight and as an American it made me feel hopeful that this US squad will be different than the recent ones which were unable to win gold medals. Several things plagued these teams most glaringly was their inability at times to beat zone defenses due to their lack of cohension and shooting. There are several reasons this team should be different. Reason number one that this team should be different is Jason Kidd. He is clearly the best American point guard of this generation. Watching him run the break with Lebron would turn anyone into a basketball fan. It's not only fast breaks where he'll help out the team though, he hit Dwight Howard with great passes into the post even against zone defenses; something the US struggled against in the past. Additionally he is a very good defender who will be able to get into passing lanes and disrupt other teams offense.
Reason number two is Kobe. Say what you want about Kobe as a person, but he is the singularly most talented player in the world. He can score from anywhere on the court, he can find teammates on the break, will work off the ball and defend. Try playing the US team man to man and Kobe will kill you. Play zone and he can pour it in from outside. With teammates like this he also will not be hesitate to pass a criticism that plagues him on the Lakers. Perhaps the biggest thing he brings is competitiveness. Kobe is arguably the most competitive player out there, he's the type that would get pissed off losing a game of checkers.
Reason number 3 is the shooters they have available. their options for shooters include Micheal Redd and Mike Miller give the US much better outside shooting options than they've had in the past. Combine these with Hinrich and Battiers outside shooting and zones should not be as big of a puzzle for this team.
The final reason is simply the growth of the team. Many of the players on this team are very young. Carmelo Anothony (23) was already the best player on the bronze medal winning team from the world championships last summer and has gotten better every year; especially shooting which will allow the rest of his game to shine. Lebron James (22) still has work to do on his jump shot, but it's better than it was. Deron Williams (23) is a better shooter than Chris Paul who he replaced. Chris Bosh (23) came into his own this year with the Raptors and Dwight Howard (21) is getting better every day.
Obviously these guys will win games and do relatively well for most countries, but relatively well is not what the US wants to see. So, while the second half of game was very sloppy, the competitiveness hustle and talent they showed tonight indicate these guys have the makings of a team that can get the US back to the top spot on the medal stand.
