Slaughterhouse
Easy, breezy … ugly for Team V.I.Game 2 of Team USA’s FIBA Americas tournament run — a.k.a. The Slaughtering until further notice — was way less interesting than the opener. While the Venezuela game was a rout, too, it was at least worth watching because it was the first time we’d seen the ‘07 version of the U.S. squad together. Last night, against Team Virgin Islands, it was just a savaging that got boring quickly … Again, Team USA’s defense set the tone; they were up by almost 20 before you knew it simply because Carl Krauser and crew couldn’t even find (let alone make) an open shot inside of 30 feet for long stretches … And again, Kobe was the linchpin on D. Seriously, how frustrating must it be to have a motivated Mamba sticking you? If you can even get the ball in the first place, you either have to start out with your back up against the halfcourt line, or with your back turned to Kobe just to protect the ball. Meanwhile the best player in the world is in your jersey, all arms and quickness … Carmelo (22 pts) came out on fire, sticking a couple treys and dropping 17 points in the first half after scoring 17 total against Venezuela. If he can consistently hit his threes (like that ever happens with Team USA) he’s gonna be a serious problem against any level of international comp. In fact, in the office yesterday the question came up: Is ‘Melo Team USA’s most important player? After Tayshaun Prince, he’s the one guy who can guard opposing power forwards on the perimeter (a necessity in the international game) and his inside-outside offensive arsenal makes him the most versatile scorer on the U.S. roster … LeBron seems to be trying to outdo himself with every dunk in this tournament. The baseline tomahawk was especially nasty … With the game itself putting us to sleep, we started asking random things like:
* “Do Kobe and Mike Miller still have beef?”
* “Is Dwight Howard officially the most unreliable free throw shooter in the League now?”
* “Why is Amare’s ‘earring tape’ in the middle of his ear and not on the lobe?”
* “Do the guys on the U.S. squad clown Mike Redd about his bald spot?”
* “How are Kobe and Jamaal Magloire the same age (29) when one of them plays like he’s 44?”
More interesting for us than USA/Virgin Islands was NBA TV’s replay of a ‘96 Team USA waxing Team China. Check the roster: Barkley, Shaq, Stockton, Pippen, Admiral, Rock Richmond, GP, Penny, Grant Hill, Mailman, Reggie (with ridiculous-looking red goggles) and Hakeem. Watching Penny and Grant in their prime back then and thinking ahead to how they’ll both look this season made us feel old … The Wolves are going to try and grant Juwan Howard’s trade request. You know it’s a very real possibility that Juwan, C-Webb and Jalen could all end up on the same team? That’d be a perfect way for them to go out … We love getting stuff in the mail. Yesterday we got some copies of Digger Phelps‘ new book, Undertaker’s Son. While the title alone is funny enough — imagine looking at Digger’s matching tie/highlighter get-up and humming the Undertaker’s entrance music at the same time — the quote on the cover was hilarious:
Thanks, DonaldWhat are the chances Trump actually read Digger’s book? We’ll say somewhere between “None” and “He doesn’t even know who Digger Phelps is.” … We’re out like Team V.I. …
August 24th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Jules says:
I’m waiting for Redd to finally give it up and go baldheaded.
I bet he holds on for one more season.
Now Manu, on the other hand, probably couldn’t pull that look off. He needs to get himself a can of that spray-on hair, I swear when you watch it in HD you can see him getting balder as the game progresses…
August 24th, 2007 at 10:36 am
Rodnets says:
Congratulations on a cheap win against Virgin Islands. The real Dream Team would have beaten this squad by 90.
Yeah, I remember you guys a couple of years Ago, praising yourself on winning poor teams, and then crying and suffering against the best squads.
I only mention two words Luis Scola. Lets see how Amare manages to contain him.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:12 am
mighty says:
Yes Rodnet, you are so right… this tournament can only give false hopes to the US squad… they shouldnt celebrate too much…
August 24th, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Celts Fan says:
very true mighty and rodnets, but you can only beat who they put in front of you…
August 24th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
dank says:
wow Rodnets, im from Argentina and i love my national squad but did you just seriously say Amare is going to have problems against Luis Scola? i dont even like Amare but i recognize the fact that he’s a BEAST. trust me, with Argentina not being in full force this year, we’re coming out second (brazil doesnt have shit) but dont worry we’ll be ready for Beijing and we’ll be celebrating with that gold in Buenos Aires.
and i love how everyone is already shooting down team USA. im sorry they let you down my american friends, but i think you all forgot that in the previous years, team USA didnt have a guy named Kobe Bryant. and this time they do. thats the answer to everybody’s problems. by the way happy belated birthday to Kobe. good mention of that DIME.
August 24th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
djKianoosh says:
another argentina backer here… please do not get carried away.. scola is nice, yes, but amare is fierce. i know what you want to say.. scola will make some nice plays and will surprise, but amare is not such a horrible defender…
argentina did look good against uruguay though, so maybe at least one team can give team usa a little competition. (team usa will be heavily favored though, for sure)
August 24th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
djKianoosh says:
i actually think melo might guard scola anyway.
August 24th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Celts Fan says:
also dank, the US didn’t have another great player named Jason Kidd (who I still feel is better than Steve Nash and all but 2-3 other PGs that have ever played)
August 24th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
DOC says:
amare will cook scola and as long as we got kobe and kidd I dont give a damn who none of these teams got they’re getting they ass handed to them.
August 24th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
94by50 says:
Rodnets… Luis Scola? Did the Argentinians even medal at the 2006 World Championships? I don’t remember.
I watched that Classic game and it was surreal - the feeling was the exact same here as it was for the Smack Gods. Feeling old sucks.
By the way, I’ve heard no one say anything about the American transition game like they did in that game against China. The announcers then made a point of showing that the US had roughly 100 points in transition. I’ve heard nothing about that with this team… is Coach K just trying to focus on half-court play?
August 25th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Carlosan says:
Melo may be the most potent scorer on this squad what with his inside-outside game but don’t let that scorer’s mentality of his fool you into thinking that he’s the most important. That designation belongs to J Kidd whose leadership, passing and brilliant playmaking skills gets his team going like no other.
August 26th, 2007 at 9:42 am
mrparker says:
of course melo is not Team USA’s most important player. He is a guy with absolutely no other responsibility but to score. Think Isiah Thomas in 88-90 with the Pistons but half a foot taller. Dumars/Kidd and Howard/Rodman will take care of getting the ball back, he only has to focus on putting the ball in the bucket.