...I think that despite the loss, many still think that the BEST team USA can truly come up with is still the best in the world...
...the point is, do they really care about proving themselves to the rest of the world via international competitions?
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Originally posted by Maharlika ...the point is, do they really care about proving themselves to the rest of the world via international competitions?
Unless there's a big payday in it for them, no.
American players are better than any other players in the world. If the International Basketball World Championships have taught us anything it's that the American Team is inferior to the rest of the world.
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Originally posted by HighLordDave If the International Basketball World Championships have taught us anything it's that theAmerican Team is inferior to the rest of the world.
...maybe it's high time the Americans show what real team spirit is all about...
...no wonder Dubyah aint getting much support right now from his "teammates" across the Atlantic, except perhaps from Blair.
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I don't mean to hijack a basketball thread and turn it into a political soapbox . . .
. . . but what the hell?
@Maharlika:
Here's the thing: The US is like Shaq. There is nobody who can stand up to him. Nobody. Similary, nobody in the world can stop the United States from exerting its will anywhere in the world at any time. If you guys do something we don't like, we'll send a carrier battlegroup to conduct some maneuvers off your coast, and if things get really bad, you might get a visit from the ready brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division or a SEAL team, and I'm willing to bet that will change your mind.
Like Dubya, American basketball players don't realise that international politics and basketball are team sports because it's a bunch of people in the same boat. While pumping up individual stats and putting together footage for a personal highlight reel is fine as long as they're playing in the NBA (and everyone else is doing the same), American players have forgotten that the World Championships and Olympics are about team play and fundamentals.
I hope that this will be a wake-up call for all of our alleged "superstars" in the NBA who couldn't be bothered to represent their country at the World Championships.
While I'm ranting about basketball:
What the hell is up with Shaq and his toe? Why didn't he have this taken care of the minute the season ended? Don't you think that some of his Laker teammates are a little pissed at him for waiting until the end of the offseason to have this surgery? If I were on a team and someone did this to me, I'd be livid. (Of course, being a 5'5" guy who weighs 150 lbs. wet, I would be livid far, far away from Shaq . . .)
Jesus saves! And takes half damage!
If brute force doesn't work, you're not using enough.
@HLD - now that I know you are only 5'5" your HLD mode intimidation factor is halved.
About Shaq - he only cares about the playoffs - honestly - if he could skip the regular season and be guaranteed that the Lakers make the playoffs - he would do it and then come back only for the playoffs. The regular seaon is such a drag for him. How many times can you run over Danny Fortsen before it gets a bit boring?
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Originally posted by smass @HLD - now that I know you are only 5'5" your HLD mode intimidation factor is halved.
[Intimidation Mode on]Uh, did I say that? I am really 6'7" tall and weigh 295 lbs. That's right, smass, I'm 295 pounds of pure, Asian muscle . . . Grrrrrrr . . . Fear me![/Intimidation Mode off]
Jesus saves! And takes half damage!
If brute force doesn't work, you're not using enough.
Originally posted by smass The regular seaon is such a drag for him.
The regular season is a drag on (most) teams. IMHO the NBA playoff system leads to sloppy teams. All thru the season you are asked to just play good enough to stay within the playoff groups, then you are expected to play to your full strength in the playoffs.
Take the NFL, limited games takes away the 'lay down, we will win tomorrow' factor.
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Its one of the many reasons why I dont like basketball. The game has lost its team sport view. Everybody out there thinks that if they can dunk, then theyll be the star. And thats all they care about.
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Originally posted by Bloodstalker I worry about any sport that would name Iverson a star player and build a team around him.....this is gonna get me flamed
...allow me to join you in taking some of the heat...
...Iverson is such a TALENTED individual player --- smooth and fancy. Being a little more than 6ft tall makes him a lot more endearing in the land of the giants...
...his got heart too, hands down on that, as he strives to play "his best" even if he is your proverbial walking wounded.
Problem is, Iverson begins with the letter "I." It shows in his game. Outside the court, he is a coach's nightmare. Hats off to Larry Brown in retaining his value as a coach regardless of his clashes with this ego-bloated very immature superstar.
I may not pretend that I know Iverson personally but I do get that smart intuition that he is just a kid in a man's body with money available to him that your average "real man" couldn't possibly produce in a lifetime.
Cynics would say that I'm envious just because I don't earn as much as him --- well, to the abyss with the money he's got if what it takes is to be a whimp like him. Take away his money, take away his talent (e.g., a career-ending injury) and what has he got? Nada. Nil. Zilch. Soon. Wala. Nothing.
As far as life is concerned, this person has a lot still of milk to drink and rice to eat.
@HLD: Shaq's prolonged indecision was because of his great fear to have his foot go under the knife. He tried to look for other alternatives and it seems that he's left with no choice.
Indeed, playoff-time is where the money is, and at times teams deliberately don't do their best at the end of the regular season if their slot in the playoffs is secured. This is to avoid injuries that would be detrimental to the coming playoffs. Had the Sixers won their last game against the Bulls to get the better reg-season record against the Lakers, they would have gotten the home court advantage during the '01 Finals. Maybe that could be a factor, but considering the three-game sweep by the Lakers at Philly, then again maybe not.
The Lakers have this bad habit of "switching on and off" as "the need arises" but sooner or later it's gonna get backfired. Horry's buzzer beating trey against the Kings practically saved them from a summer in June.
Question is, folks, can we TRULY blame them all for all these seemingly "heartless" attitude towards the game itself?
"There is no weakness in honest sorrow... only in succumbing to depression over what cannot be changed." --- Alaundo, BG2
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