praise_gibbs Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Breaking News for basketball fans. Upset special: Greece stuns U.S. in FIBA semishttp://sports.espn.go.com/oly/wbc2006/news/story?id=2568543 SAITAMA, Japan -- The European champions are playing for a much bigger prize. The best the United States can hope for is yet another bronze medal. Greece used a sizzling stretch of shooting across the middle two quarters to turn a 12-point deficit into a 14-point lead, and beat the Americans 101-95 Friday in the semifinals of the FIBA World Championship. The Greeks (8-0) can add a world title to the European championship they won in 2005 with a victory over either Spain or Argentina in Sunday's gold medal game. Those teams, also undefeated, met in Friday's second game. The Greeks -- with no current NBA players on their roster -- danced in a circle at halfcourt after their victory over an American team put together after a series of recent failures. Done in again by their inept 3-point shooting -- and they weren't much better from the foul line -- the Americans will fall short of a championship in a major international tournament for the third straight time. The U.S. (7-1) will return to the court Saturday against the loser of the Argentina-Spain game, hoping to match the bronze medal it left Athens with in 2004. Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points for the Americans, who couldn't overcome their 32 percent shooting from 3-point range or 59 percent from the foul line. Dwyane Wade added 19 and LeBron James had 17, but the three U.S. captains were unable to avenge their disappointment from Athens. Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press . Again?! I can not understand how Team USA can not win Gold every time. Perhaps, 3 weeks is not enough time to build a solid team? The talent was there whether it be by way of coaches or players--They just choked. :doh: Best case scenario.. We can win Bronze. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Harris Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 oh my......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntotoro Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Is anyone really that shocked? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_Edwards_Fan Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Im not all that diapointed whether they win the bronze. It was well documented that the maingoal of this team was to get them ready for the '08 games (not that they werent trying to win this time). The international game is much different than the nba and our players still have a lot to learn about it. One thing i would love to see is the fiba champ playing an exebition game against a nba team using the US 3 pt line and lane. I think the results would be entirely different that we see in the Fiba game. One of the US biggest problems in this tourny has been defending the three... mainly because that it is so short that even the big men in europe make that part of the game. In the US with the rectangular lane post play is a very important part of the game and in many offenes it is the point of the offense. FIba is a different game and I love the fact that the US team has a bunch of really young players that have now seen this first hand (again for a handful of them) and will now have 2 yrs to learn the differance. I also think it is great that we are actually trying to build a team rather than sending our allstar team over. I think this team could really do something in '08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Again?! I can not understand how Team USA can not win Gold every time. Perhaps, 3 weeks is not enough time to build a solid team? The talent was there whether it be by way of coaches or players--They just choked. :doh:Best case scenario.. We can win Bronze. :doh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: That's absolutely PATHETIC. We can't even win in a sport WE INVENTED. We should really just stop sending teams to things like this and the World Baseball Classic when we can't even win in a sport we invented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Diehard Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Maybe someday they will quit calling the winner of the NBA finals the "World Champs". They aren't the world champs, the team that wins the World Championships are the world champs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanos Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: That's absolutely PATHETIC. We can't even win in a sport WE INVENTED. We should really just stop sending teams to things like this and the World Baseball Classic when we can't even win in a sport we invented. Why is it pathetic? The world is catching up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: That's absolutely PATHETIC. We can't even win in a sport WE INVENTED. We should really just stop sending teams to things like this and the World Baseball Classic when we can't even win in a sport we invented. You should really learn your facts before you try to blast the country you claim to love so much - James Naismith was Canadian. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Diehard Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Why is it pathetic? The world is catching up. Catching up? Catching up to me was when we quit beating people by 30. I'm not sure a 5th place, 3rd place, and now a no better than 3rd place finish is catching up. I think they have caught up. Maybe passed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Diehard Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 You should really learn your facts before you try to blast the country you claim to love so much - James Naismith was Canadian. :doh: I think you should be happy to see that MSF recognizes a Canadian living in America as an American. Afterall, none of us started here right. Since it was a modification of a Native American game, invented in America, I would say it is an American game. Certainly isn't Greek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afparent Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Hate to say it, but this team needs Kobe. Kobe can play mad defense, which if you watch the game was seriously lacking. Nobody is going to stop him either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 I think you should be happy to see that MSF recognizes a Canadian living in America as an American. Afterall, none of us started here right. Since it was a modification of a Native American game, invented in America, I would say it is an American game. Certainly isn't Greek! According to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Naismith It's actually based on a Canadian game called 'ducks on a rock'. Either way, it was invented by a Canadian. Also, I would assume MSF doesn't consider Native Americans 'real' Americans - afterall, they did believe in an almost communist system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksun247 Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 GIl Arenas & Bruce Bowen may have made a difference. Gil for the Offense that was Lacking and Bowen for his defense. Kobe, definitely would have been unstoppable. The US got a little ****Y and a TEAM did what it needed to do to beat them. Besides, TEAMS get up to play the US. We don't get up for anyone. Now, we gotta qualify just so we can make the OLYMPICS. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Diehard Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 According to this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Naismith It's actually based on a Canadian game called 'ducks on a rock'. Either way, it was invented by a Canadian. Also, I would assume MSF doesn't consider Native Americans 'real' Americans - afterall, they did believe in an almost communist system. Well, according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball, "he modified a Native American game and wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto the 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track" Oh well, who you gonna believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Well, according to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball, "he modified a Native American game and wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto the 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track"Oh well, who you gonna believe. I'm going to believe wikipedia. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 This team played just like all the other ones... 1-1 with Lebron, 'Melo, and Wade... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 You should really learn your facts before you try to blast the country you claim to love so much - James Naismith was Canadian. :doh: My mistake, though it does probably explain why I think it's the most ridiculous of the four major sports in the US and why I can't stomach to watch it on any level from high school up. That also gives me and even better reason why we shouldn't be involved in playing basketball. When it was a lousy AMERICAN sport, it at least had some credibility in my mind. Now that it's a lousy CANADIAN sport, it doesn't have any credibility at all. At least hockey, while a Canadian sport, used to have some things going for it (fights, scoring, physical contact). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goaldeje Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Bet the '86 Celtics wouldn't have lost... They don't need Kobe. They needed Bowen, Michael Redd, etc., guys who can shoot the three consistently (just camp Bowen out in a corner, and ask him to play D). Then they need a coach who can make adjustment worth a crap. They killed us on the pick and roll for crying out loud. Call Phil Jackson and ask him how he defended it against Stock-Alone in '97 and '98. Make the friggin adjustment. The fundamental problem is that we seem incapable of adapting to the world's style of play, which is different from ours. The world seems to be stuck in the NBA of the '80s, before MJ. Their passing, team D, and execution are simply better, and will be better than a collection of stars. Yeah, I know Battier made the team. That's great. We need more of him. Guys who can contribute, not star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thanos Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 The team needs to be together longer.Lets not belittle LeBron,Melo, and Wade.They are the future along with Chris Paul.We do not play much international sports from a team perspective like soccer,rugby and cricket.Thus we make assumptions about the worlds skill level.This team has progressed and should be on the podium in China.Coach K made some great moves but he can't make free throws for the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 The reaction to the US team losing is so strange. The world is good at the game of basketball. How many times do they have to win before people stop complaining that their team didn't play well and start recognizing that the other team just simply beat ours. Welcome to global competition where winning is extremely difficult... which makes tournaments much more interesting to watch IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophet Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 I think the point of adding Kobe (like it or not) is that he is the most complete player in the NBA. He does it all. Probably the best way to win is with a "TEAM"... It would be better for them to just send the NBA champion to play the games. I know this can't happen because, I don't think they could send the "nba" championship team every two years.... I'm I wrong about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mass_SkinsFan Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Welcome to global competition where winning is extremely difficult... which makes tournaments much more interesting to watch IMO. Or much LESS interesting for many of the rest of us. I have less than no interest in watching an "American" team play in a sport we're not likely to win the tournament for. It's why I don't watch large parts of the Olympics or other international competitions. In fact, as I've said in the past, why are we bothering to send these teams to competitions they're not likely to win to begin with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rincewind Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Or much LESS interesting for many of the rest of us. I have less than no interest in watching an "American" team play in a sport we're not likely to win the tournament for. It's why I don't watch large parts of the Olympics or other international competitions. In fact, as I've said in the past, why are we bothering to send these teams to competitions they're not likely to win to begin with? I'd find it incredibly boring to only watch tournaments where a certain team was guaranteed to win. That's not competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Destino Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Or much LESS interesting for many of the rest of us. I have less than no interest in watching an "American" team play in a sport we're not likely to win the tournament for. It's why I don't watch large parts of the Olympics or other international competitions. In fact, as I've said in the past, why are we bothering to send these teams to competitions they're not likely to win to begin with? Then you're a front runner, not a sports fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingGibbs Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Way to represent guys. :thumbsup: It just proves once again that the basic fundamentals are coming back to play in basketball. which is why we are seeing more and more European players get drafted so high in the NBA. The "And1" generation better wisen up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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