First Loss for the USA.

mick

Originally posted by A Dutch Ref
I read this:

"Reggie (Miller) brought us together,'' Pierce said. "He said the world is against us. The world, the stands, the refs are all against us. The only thing we can do is go out and play hard the rest of the games and get the gold medal.''

on http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0904/1427403.html

Don't you think that that's a little childish??

ADR

ADR,
No.
I think it is very childish.
... Jock mentality at it's best.
mick

ChuckElias

Originally posted by A Dutch Ref
Don't you think that that's a little childish??

Yes, but so is having 10 guys in their 30's run around in short pants, bouncing a ball 🙂

chuck

theboys

I watched the 2nd half. Because I'm not familiar with the FIBA rules, I can't really comment on the officiating. Didn't seem to affect the game one way or the other.

What I did see was the incredible effectiveness of the Argentinians' offense - spacing, pick and roll, good, crisp passes. Compare that to the NBA-style, one pass, one-on-one, go-to-the-hole style of play. The Argentine team simply outplayed the US in all aspects of the game. Can you say "fundamentals"?

The game continues to point out how far international basketball has come.

ChuckElias

Originally posted by theboys
The game continues to point out how far international basketball has come.

Don't you think that the international game has come so far in large part b/c of the influence of the NBA talent in international competition? Many countries used pro players long before the US ever did; and our college boys stilled whipped their butts. But since the US introduced pro players into the competition, other countries have worked a lot harder to reach the higher "bar" set by the NBA talent. Plus the NBA has brought a lot of talented "foreign" players into the league, making them even better when they go home to play for their own countries. That's the theory I've heard. It seems pretty reasonable.

Chuck

Dan_ref

Originally posted by A Dutch Ref
I read this:

"Reggie (Miller) brought us together,'' Pierce said. "He said the world is against us. The world, the stands, the refs are all against us. The only thing we can do is go out and play hard the rest of the games and get the gold medal.''

on http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0904/1427403.html

Don't you think that that's a little childish??

ADR

Reggie Miller? Childish? Surely we're not thinking of the same Reggie Miller. Are we?? 🙄

hawkk

Well isn't a leader's job to find some way to buck the troops and move forward? Seems to be that Reggie wasn't making excuses -- he didn't say anything to the press, just to his team -- but trying to get them motivated to come back for the next game. I'd call it head games rather than childishness. T'wil be interesting to see if the loss leads to a stronger team going next time.

Danvrapp

How about the great move by Jermaine O'Neal after he had a dunk attempt blocked? I saw this one on SC this morning, and if that were a game where I saw that happen, the player would be politely excused from the remainder of the game. Maybe because it was a bigger stage than a HS game, but I do not believe he was removed from the game. Anyone disagree or agree?

For those of you who didn't see what happened, and Argentine player blocked a dunk attempt by O'Neal, the Argintine player fell to the floor, and O'Neal stepped right on the small of his back - definitely could tell it was no accident!

mick

Originally posted by hawkk
Well isn't a leader's job to find some way to buck the troops and move forward? Seems to be that Reggie wasn't making excuses -- he didn't say anything to the press, just to his team -- but trying to get them motivated to come back for the next game. I'd call it head games rather than childishness. T'wil be interesting to see if the loss leads to a stronger team going next time.

Welcome, hawkk.
I am sure the wake-up alarm is on.
I don't understand why Professionals need that type of fire lit, unless they are not yet real professionals.
mick

A Dutch Ref

I don't understand why they don't just send the Lakers, the Nets, or one of the other great NBA teams??

mick

Originally posted by A Dutch Ref
I don't understand why they don't just send the Lakers, the Nets, or one of the other great NBA teams??

ER

That would be a PR nightmare:
"Lakers beat the World"

JRutledge

Originally posted by A Dutch Ref
I read this:

"Reggie (Miller) brought us together,'' Pierce said. "He said the world is against us. The world, the stands, the refs are all against us. The only thing we can do is go out and play hard the rest of the games and get the gold medal.''

on http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2002/0904/1427403.html

Don't you think that that's a little childish??

ADR

ADR, not only is it childish, but I guess the world told them to get dunked on continuously. I guess the world told them to miss open looks and give easy layups. I will give you one or two points, but not 15!!! If I am not mistaken, Argentina had 4 players that play or will be playing NBA games this season. No Reggie and the other NBA "No Stars" did what they always do, think they can take everyone by their ability alone. That is why they got their *** kicked.

Peace

Dan_ref

Originally posted by hawkk
Well isn't a leader's job to find some way to buck the troops and move forward? Seems to be that Reggie wasn't making excuses -- he didn't say anything to the press, just to his team -- but trying to get them motivated to come back for the next game. I'd call it head games rather than childishness. T'wil be interesting to see if the loss leads to a stronger team going next time.

Welcome to the board hawkk. But I think maybe you've been
watching too many good ole' war movies, like Mick says
true pro's don't need to be bucked up by this silly kind of
"it's us against the world" stuff. They know what has to be
done and they do it, getting the job done is motivation enough.

Dan_ref

Originally posted by mick

Originally posted by A Dutch Ref
I don't understand why they don't just send the Lakers, the Nets, or one of the other great NBA teams??

ER

That would be a PR nightmare:
"Lakers beat the World"

...and this would be worse:

"World beats the Lakers"

ChuckElias

Originally posted by Danvrapp
How about the great move by Jermaine O'Neal after he had a dunk attempt blocked?

I just went and watched the highlights on SportsCenter. It was dumb, but it was just frustration, I think. The announcer said that it was called an intentional foul, and that seems right to me. It was obviously intentional, but it didn't seem like an attempt to injure the other player. Just an immature reaction to not getting his way. And these are the people that "earn" millions of dollars a year. Sigh 🙁

Chuck

zebraman

On any given night...

We beat the Russians in hockey when they were untouchable. Upsets happen against soccer world powers now and then.

The other countries aren't as good as the U.S., but they are close enough that if they play their best and the U.S. underestimates them, we can lose. It isn't that surprising. It will be much more surprising if we fail to win the gold medal now that the wake-up call has been made.

Isn't Jermaine O'Neal still a kid?

rockyroad

Originally posted by A Dutch Ref
I don't understand why they don't just send the Lakers, the Nets, or one of the other great NBA teams??

ER

I'm not sure you should use "Nets" and "great NBA team" in the same sentence...also, O'Neal is - I believe- 24 years old now...so he may act like a child, but he certainly should know better...after listening to him whine for 4 years here in Portland, nothing he does surprises me...didn't see the game, but the local paper here made it sound like the boys got their butts kicked pretty handily...never led...only one tie...down by 20 at two different times...hmmmm...can you see "big-headed"...

theboys

Hey, Chuck.

Interesting theory - never looked at it that way. As I understand it, many European countries have "basketball academies", similar to the prep schools in the US. We in the US are so ignorant of the goings on in the rest of the world. I would like to see an ESPN special on the growth of basketball worldwide, the structure of European leagues, etc, etc.

mick

Originally posted by theboys
Hey, Chuck.

...European countries have "basketball academies"....

Coach,
I bet they look like the YMCA.
mick

mick

Basketball must be a team sport.

zebraman

OK, now I'm surprised. :-)