RE: JasikeVICIOUS

["Berry, Mark S" <berrym@BATTELLE.ORG>]

Interesting thoughts, Josh. I'm in agreement, although I think there are two
specific problems with the U.S. teams in the Olympics: 

First, the selection process. They send out invitations to the biggest stars
and take the first 12 who accept (granted, they try to fill out the proper
positions). There is no tryout camp, when coaches get to see how these guys
work together. These stars are above that, and if it ever was suggested, no
NBA player would agree. But that is when a good coach can mold a roster the
way it should be molded. The way they do it now, they end up with an
all-star lineup that treats the competition like a series of all-star games.
No one wants to defend--you don't see them selecting all-defensive team
members who can't score, do you?--and everyone wants to shoot. Or, more
accurately, dunk. They think every trip down the floor has to be more
spectacular than the next. When do you think was the last time Vin Baker set
a screen? Or Antonio McDyess? The original (and only) Dream Team was made up
of stars, but they were stars who thought team first--Magic, Bird, Jordan,
even Barkley. Remember, Barkley was the leading scorer on that team, not
Jordan.

Secondly, zone defenses. You just don't see them in the NBA, and these guys
don't know how to adjust. How many ball reversals did you see? Or drives and
dishes? This is how you attack a zone, whether you're Vince Carter of Josh
Ozersky, and whether you're facing Lithuania or Temple. All the athleticism
in the world is useless against a zone if you don't put it to good use,
moving the ball and attacking the soft middle of the zone. Wouldn't a Steve
Kerr or a Hubert Davis seem awfully valuable against a tough zone, if the
rest of the team work to get them open shots. Think you'll ever see a
designated shooter on the U.S. team? You have a better chance of seeing a
breakaway layup.

I'm as patriotic as the next guy, but I love seeing the "dream team" get
challenged like this because it reaffirms everything that's great about
basketball and that gets lost in the NBA marketing machine (and in the heads
of most of our Boston Celtics). Basketball is the ultimate team game, and
the best team can overcome a better collection of players.

Mark