Nitro Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 Maybe so, but we still won without 2 playing guys who are starting quality players in Rondo and Granger. I'd say this is an impressive win for the US considering the amount of time each squad has been playing with each other. Granger needs to be cut. Everytime I've seen him play on this team he's been absolutely horrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 Granger needs to be cut. Everytime I've seen him play on this team he's been absolutely horrible. His shooting will keep him on the squad. I think the odd man out is gonna be Eric Gordon. Curry proved that he needs to be on this team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted August 22, 2010 Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 His shooting will keep him on the squad. I think the odd man out is gonna be Eric Gordon. Curry proved that he needs to be on this team. Gordon's a better shooter statistically than Granger, though. He's also played much, much better basketball so far this summer than Granger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreusito Posted August 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2010 Very nice game, if we get a rematch it can go either way. I had fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 Granger needs to be cut. Everytime I've seen him play on this team he's been absolutely horrible. Same here. Everytime i've seen granger he was useless. Iggy, Durant, and Gay have all proven to be better SF, but due to Granger's size and the lack of size in the team, i'm pretty sure he's staying. Also, I'd edge Gordon over Curry because his defense is so much better. If you've seen the USA vs. Lithuania game you'd know what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 Finally saw the replay of the game on ESPN2. Some thoughts... -Ricky Rubio impressed me, but he still has some work to do before he could be an elite PG on the NBA level. First off, let me start out with the positives; he has an incredible ability to make any pass on the court with both the right and left hand. He has tremendous court awareness and timing which allows him to see plays before they happen like Kidd and Nash do. His defense surprised me the most as with his long arms and agggressiveness he reminds me of a Rondo-type defender, which is a good thing. Now, my biggest concern with him is also partially what makes him such a good passing PG...he's unselfish to a fault. I don't know if he just doesn't have a scorer's confidence yet, but more than once I saw him pass up easy shots for teammates (with at least one of those passes being swatted out of bounds). He should really take notes on how Steve Nash runs the Phoenix Suns, because as unselfish as he is, he WILL take the clean shot when it presents itself. At the NBA level, an elite PG HAS to be able to call his own number if it's in the best interest of the team. I also question if he's strong and athletic enough to finish at the rim consistently against NBA competition, and his jumper still seems rushed and a bit unpolished (albeit much improved). Overall though, I was really impressed. -Kevin Durant was awesome today. If the US is to go anywhere, they NEED him to be selfish at times and be comfortable as the #1 option. He was playing like the KD that came 2nd in MVP voting last year. Finishing on the break, hitting some long-range jumpers, had that sweet step-back going, etc... One thing that surprised me that I REALLY hope carries over into the next NBA season was his playmaking for other players. He made a few nice passes that got his teammates some open looks. Right now his playmaking is the ONLY thing keeping him out of the top 5 players in the league IMO, and if he uses these games to improve that then all the more power to him. -Lamar Odom should be getting more minutes at Center than I originally presumed Seriously, in FIBA Chandler is a liability offensively and doesn't make nearly enough of an impact on defense as in the NBA. Odom made some great plays today (along with a few horrible jumpers). His rebounding is absolutely key, but I love his versatility on offense at the C position. That play where he took it coast-to-coast off his own rebound is a perfect example. -Our guard play has me a bit worried. Besides that last few minutes of the ball game, Derrick Rose was HORRIBLE. He just doesn't have great pure-PG instincts, his defense was underwhelming and he's not getting to the basket like he should. He really needs to watch video of Dwyane Wade from 2008 and pattern his game off that. Don't over-dribble, make quick decisions and get to the rim at will like he showed he can in the final few minutes against Spain. Curry and Westbrook both have better PG skills, but still not what this team needs. That was blatantly obvious when Rubio was on the floor and running Spain's offense. I really, really wish Rondo would have seen some game-time today because I think he can be that guy. I know he doesn't have a jumper and is prone to making some bad decisions, but he is by far the best playmaker on the team. Hopefully he gets that chance in the next few games. -Andre Iguodala should never, ever should the ball from beyond 5ft from the basket unless there is no one within 10ft of him. He and Odom had some of the most downright ugly misses on jumpers that I've seen in quite awhile. The thing that drives me (and I'm sure Sixers fans) nuts is that he's so good off the dribble because he gets a high percentage shot or collapses the defense and makes the proper pass. He's the LeBron James of this year's squad, a swiss army knife of sorts, but he has to play to his strengths as he can get whatever he wants around the paint. -The defensive intensity needs to stay on high the ENTIRE game. Much like the 2008 team, this squad's biggest strength and advantage is athleticism and length. Sometimes they go on stretches where they just overwhelm the other team with these advantages on the defensive end, just like the 2008 team did. The difference is that the 2008 team (besides being even more gifted) dominated teams with their defense on every single possession. Many times in the Olympics teams couldn't even get the ball past half court before one of the guards picked the pass off. This team needs to have the same tenacity. As good as teams like Spain and Greece are, we can still win the game on the defensive side. We show flashes, but just don't give that defensive effort for the full 40min. If we do this, no team will beat us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenIverson#1fan Posted August 26, 2010 Report Share Posted August 26, 2010 Watching the replay of the game right now and USA is destroying Spain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Swish* Posted August 26, 2010 Report Share Posted August 26, 2010 Watching the replay of the game right now and USA is destroying Spain.Don't worry. Spain will catch up haha sorry for telling you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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