Down with the USA!

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
NBA flunkies. MUHAHAHHA!!!



I actually feel sorta bad for American athletes at some of these types of competitions. I don't imagine they get a lot of sympathy a lot of the time, and have to deal with the added pressure of being American. No problem if you're a marquee athlete -- comes with the territory. But if you're just some poor amateur skeet shooter or some such, I think you have to put up with a lot of shit for being American without any of the real benefits of the American Olympic machine to fall back on.



But on to these NBA flunkies.



That is truly pathetic. It shows how poor the attitude of US basketball players has become, and to a degree, how pointless the pretense of coaching seems to be in the NBA culture.



The rest of the world is catching up, and the US will have to face the same reality as English Soccer, or Canadian Hockey have had to face. Can't show up with the 4th string and expect to walk away with the prize anymore. And it's only going to get harder as time passes.



Maybe this will spark a change in NBA basketball, which has become progressively less watchable the last couple of years.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 24
    American basketball isn't about fundamentals or team play or coaching or officiating anymore, it's all about the show. It is no surprise at all that "teams" are beating our group of street ballers. The fact that they are still referred to as the "Dream Team" is a joke.
  • Reply 2 of 24
    Yeah, it's always fun to watch the Americans get their asses handed to them, but I don't think those twits on the "dream team" represent U.S. basketball.
  • Reply 3 of 24
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    I think the Pistons were interesting 'cause they're one of the only teams with just enough talent to make discipline and coaching worthwhile. Many talentless wrecks, like the Raptors, refuse to play anything resembling a team game. Many talented outfits similarly refuse.



    I've never been a huge fan of American Football, but at least those guys go out and play a team game. I don't care for the grunts of the sport, but there are a few dozen guys on a football team that put their bodies on the line so that the stars/team can score. I never see that in an NBA game anymore. The players only have two speeds, a hip-hop strut, or a mama called me home early skulk.



    Somewhere after the Johnson-Bird-Dumars-Thomas era it al started falling apart. Jordan ascended in the last real era of NBA basketball and retired just as it all started to sour.



    It seems like the game just ain't what it was, and the pomp and stupidity is making its way down to the college and HS ranks too.
  • Reply 4 of 24
    Very interesting observation, Matsu.
  • Reply 5 of 24
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Matsu



    It seems like the game just ain't what it was, and the pomp and stupidity is making its way down to the college and HS ranks too.




    High school and college is actually where most of the stupidity comes from.
  • Reply 6 of 24
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    There really is no occassion to showboat and freewheel in gridiron, aside from an especially jumpy quarterback. But even those are soon brought into line by the other teammates who suffer from their happy feet.
  • Reply 7 of 24
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Is it really coming from College and HS?



    Maybe HS, but college? The coach still has a role in college ball.
  • Reply 8 of 24
    beige_g3beige_g3 Posts: 203member
    The "Dream Team" represents most of what is wrong with America.
  • Reply 9 of 24
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Beige_G3

    The "Dream Team" represents most of what is wrong with America.



    s/America/NBA/



    Don't be that guy.
  • Reply 10 of 24
    gilschgilsch Posts: 1,995member
    Don't be too harsh on the guys. Granted, some of them may not have given it their all, but at least they had the b@lls to accept an invitation to go represent their country when some big names wouldn't.



    Wanna blame someone? Here's a couple things to consider:



    -The selection committee made a big mistake in selecting the players it did. This team was very unbalanced. No consistent outside shooters.

    When you have to depend on Marbury and Iverson for your outside shooting...you have a problem.



    Why the problem if you don't have good outside shooting? International rules allow you to play zone D without having to worry about 3 second violations so it's very difficult to play an inside game against it.



    -For years now, basketball in the US has turned into showmanship. The flashy play, the monster dunk, the one on one street ball style so some of the basics have become secondary.

    Boxing out, finding the open man,freethrow shooting and more importantly the jump shot (especially the midrange jumper) have become secondary to coaches all over the US.



    -The geniuses who thought they could put a team together good enough to win the gold in just a few short weeks. Like the World Championships debacle wasn't enough of a wake up call.
  • Reply 11 of 24
    I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. In the past basketball was a sport dominated by players here in the US but now it's played everywhere and it's played well and you don't have to be _____ to play. Isn't that what we wanted... to bring basketball to the world?



    "White Men Can't Jump?" Maybe not but like Magic Johnson once said... "Yeah, but they can do a lot of other things."



    I guess they can.



  • Reply 12 of 24
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Nice to see you back, matsu.



    I think this is the best thing that could have happened to American basketball, and basketball in general. It's time for people to realize that fundamentals are important, although as so many people complain, the NBA rules do not emphasize what you could consider as strategic ball.



    We saw a similar thing happen in hockey, but Canada and America strated to adjust a bit, and now things are really interesting in hockey. I hope the same can be done for basketball, but I think the American egos are too high to let it happen very quickly even with the loss.
  • Reply 13 of 24
    They won't do it because it goes against their Market A Star philosophy but I like the Olympic style of ball more than the NBA. So much of the NBA now is Iso and Pick and Roll and low block post and hold that there is little flow to the game. I like the international style more.



    Olympic style hockey has an even greater advantage over NHL than the corresponding difference in basketball. I dunno how much of that is the increased nature of the talent but the game is so much faster and more exciting. Obviously it would be a logistical nightmare and maybe they cannot replicate that same game on a daily basis but I think it would be great if they changed the rink sizes. As well as throwing in the 15 second rule.
  • Reply 14 of 24
    splinemodelsplinemodel Posts: 7,311member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ColanderOfDeath

    Olympic style hockey has an even greater advantage over NHL than the corresponding difference in basketball. I dunno how much of that is the increased nature of the talent but the game is so much faster and more exciting. Obviously it would be a logistical nightmare and maybe they cannot replicate that same game on a daily basis but I think it would be great if they changed the rink sizes. As well as throwing in the 15 second rule.



    Olympic hockey has the huge advantage that it's played on a larger rink, so the faster skaters and better passers have a bigger advantage. Plus, there's a lot of national pride at stake, even for the bigger countries -- like Canada -- and everyone seems to play really hard. These days, olympic hockey is about the best hockey you'll see. Some of the Avs-WIngs showdowns in the late 90's came close, though.
  • Reply 15 of 24
    gilschgilsch Posts: 1,995member
    Well, Larry Brown said that the sport should have a universal set of rules. Best of the NBA, best of International. Personally I would love to see that.



    Some Olympic games were very entertaining. I enjoyed the ball movement, the variety of plays, but most of all....the better jump shooting.



    I was watching a couple Lakers-Celtics and Lakers-Sixers games from the 80's( Lakers Complete History on DVD was an x-mas present) and man, what a difference compared to today.

    It seems like almost EVERY player back then could shoot the midrange jumper and that no matter who you were(few exceptions) if you were open you were supposed to shoot it. Great ball movement too.
    Quote:

    "We can't continue to do this with a different set of rules," Brown said. "I would hope that some day we have one set of basketball rules for everybody. Take the best of international rules, the best of the NBA and move forward. I think that's really important for our sport."



    Larry Brown
  • Reply 16 of 24
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Heh, Rick Barry has been ranting about fundamentals and the NBA for the last decade or so. Then again, you're talking about a guy who shot 90% from the line for his career. What the hell does he know? And nobody wants to hire the guy to coach in the NBA...



    It's not the rules. It's the fact that none of these guys can shoot from midrange.
  • Reply 17 of 24
    gilschgilsch Posts: 1,995member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    Heh, Rick Barry has been ranting about fundamentals and the NBA for the last decade or so.



    A lot of people with much better credentials than Barry have been making that point for years...John Wooden being one... and more recently Dean Smith. Maybe we need to get our asses kicked a couple more times in international play before it sinks in with the powers that be.

    Quote:

    Then again, you're talking about a guy who shot 90% from the line for his career. What the hell does he know? And nobody wants to hire the guy to coach in the NBA...



    He was a great freethrow shooter....but you did know he shot his freethrows......underhanded....right? Not sure I wanna see players shooting that way.
  • Reply 18 of 24
    moogsmoogs Posts: 4,296member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Matsu

    But on to these NBA flunkies.



    That is truly pathetic. It shows how poor the attitude of US basketball players has become, and to a degree, how pointless the pretense of coaching seems to be in the NBA culture.



    The rest of the world is catching up, and the US will have to face the same reality as English Soccer, or Canadian Hockey have had to face. Can't show up with the 4th string and expect to walk away with the prize anymore. And it's only going to get harder as time passes.



    Maybe this will spark a change in NBA basketball, which has become progressively less watchable the last couple of years.








    Amen. Other than Duncan and one or two others, what a punch of punks. Like I really want Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury representing the US in an international competition. This wasn't even close to being a "dream team".



    The only one, was the first one IMHO. Nobody could touch those guys not only because of their skills but because they knew how to play team ball and they knew how to lead / take every game seriously. That's why they pounded every team they played. And yes the competition has improved, but that dream team in their prime still would've dominated every team in this year's field.



    Today's NBA crop is truly a bunch of HS and college dropouts who are more interested in being perceived as a bad-ass and getting huge contracts than anything else. The NBA sucks.



  • Reply 19 of 24
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    Olympic hockey rocks! I really think it's the best cure for what ails the NHL -- rink size! They don't have to go full Olympic size Ice, maybe just a 6' wider rink, 3' on each side, one good strong step to blow by the defence. The lost revenue could easily be distributed over the remaining seats in the arena. That, and get rid of the instigator and bring back the real "enforcers" which hockey fans understand is someting different from the "goon"



    Goons just take cheap shots and fight each other these days. An enforcer, a classic, like Semenco, kept the other guys honest, gave the Gretzky's room to skate.
  • Reply 20 of 24
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    I really can't stand the NBA. To me, it's the phoniest superstar bullhit laden ML sport. I'd much rather watch Football, which is still a money machine but a little less so. College sports are much more entertaining, IMO.
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