Latest Usa Stories
Posted: Jul 1st 2008 12:30 AM ET by Will Brinson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: NBA Media Watch, USA Basketball, USA
Lost in all this free agent signing and opting and what not is the fact that
Dwyane Wade is all of sudden blogging for the
Chicago Sun-Times. Wait, wait. Sorry. He's not blogging. He's diary-ing (which,
as Eamonn points out, is similar to Mariotti's "mini-columns" in terms of incorrect nomenclature).
Nothing particularly spicy gets dropped in his first piece, but then again it's an Olympic Diary, so how intense can he get? Still, if Team USA experiences anything turmoil related, struggles or has any
Real World scenarios, maybe we'll get lucky. Until then,
finding out that LeBron is funny will have to do.
We have a team photo shoot Monday in New York and we did some kind of movie shoot in Vegas where we had to take it back to the early 70s with the poses we did. LeBron (James) was joking the whole time. We couldn't even stand in a straight line because LeBron was joking, Carmelo (Anthony) was joking and even Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) cracked a couple of jokes.
Posted: Jun 29th 2008 9:48 AM ET by Tom Ziller (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Magic, NBA Injuries, USA Basketball, Beijing, USA
The small size of the final roster for the U.S. men's basketball team heading into the Olympics
was noted last week, when the line-up became official.
Jerry Colangelo and
Mike Krzyzewski opted to add a extra point guard and a full contingent of wings rather than keep
Tyson Chandler in the mix. The big men?
Chris Bosh,
Carlos Boozer, and
Dwight Howard ...
... who, according to ESPN's Chris Sheridan, is
recovering from a stress fracture in his sternum, and has not been cleared to practice yet. Howard was forced to sit out a one-day mini-camp, but expects to be ready for the start of training camp on July 21. Howard told Sheridan the injury still hurts, but that doctors tell him he'll be OK.
In light of the injury -- which you
know Colangelo and Krzyzewski were aware of when they took Boozer and
Deron Williams over Chandler -- there's a risk of Team USA being left short at some point. But that's nothing new. Coach K
had Chandler on his bench last summer at the Tournament of the Americas in Las Vegas ... and Coach K left Chandler on the bench. The team, replete with wingmen, was still
able to rebound effectively and dominate the competition.
Boozer is an elite rebounder, and Bosh is pretty good in that area. Even if Howard -- the best rebounder in the NBA -- remains too hobbled, the Americans should survive.
Posted: Jun 25th 2008 9:15 AM ET by Randy Kim (RSS feed)
Filed Under: USA Basketball, USA
Based on
user comments in response to the 12 players named to the roster of the 2008 U.S. men's basketball team, it seems that many of you believe one of the following points:
1. Team USA doesn't have enough Celtics
2. Team USA doesn't have enough whites
3. Team USA doesn't have enough big guys
Well, to the first point, based on what USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said during Monday's conference call, Paul Pierce was beset by injuries and Kevin Garnett just wasn't interested. In fact, I believe Colangelo actually used the words, "We never got any positive feedback regarding (Garnett's) interest." (In KG's defense, it's worth noting that he won the gold in 2000 and probably wants to give someone else a shot.)
To the second point, I could be mistaken, but last I checked Rodney White and Jahidi White were no longer in the NBA. So in short, the whole "White" thing seems like a pretty silly point to me and will be disregarded in the future.
The third point, however, is pretty tough to argue with. And while I don't necessarily agree with users that think this team is doomed and won't even reach the semifinals, by no means do I think this team is a lock to win the gold in Beijing.
Posted: Jun 23rd 2008 11:35 AM ET by Randy Kim (RSS feed)
Filed Under: USA Basketball, USA
On Monday, USA Basketball announced its men's roster for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Here's who will represent the U.S. this summer:
Carmelo Anthony (F - Denver Nuggets)
Carlos Boozer (F - Utah Jazz)
Chris Bosh (F - Toronto Raptors)
Kobe Bryant (G - Los Angeles Lakers)
Dwight Howard (F/C - Orlando Magic)
LeBron James (F - Cleveland Cavaliers)
Jason Kidd (G - Dallas Mavericks)
Chris Paul (G - New Orleans Hornets)
Tayshaun Prince (F - Detroit Pistons)
Michael Redd (G - Milwaukee Bucks)
Dwyane Wade (G - Miami Heat)
Deron Williams (G - Utah Jazz)
The biggest surprise is Boozer being taken over
Tyson Chandler. This would've been a small team even with Chandler on board, but now the U.S. only has one legitimate center (Howard). This is obviously a team that's going to press and push the ball up the floor, which is risky but certainly plays to the United States' strengths.
More to come (USAB is holding a conference call at 12:30 PM ET today) but for now, I just wanted to get the official lineup out there.
Posted: Jun 23rd 2008 10:47 AM ET by Tom Ziller (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Heat, NBA Media Watch, Miami, USA Basketball, FIBA, Beijing, USA, Americas
Greg Stoda's Palm Beach Post column headlined "Dwyane Wade Should Not Play in the Olympics" would seem quaint were it not so cynical and headstrong (via TrueHoop). In the piece, Stoda argues that Wade is being selfish for rejoining U.S.A. Basketball this summer, insisting the real motives for his play in Beijing are marketing cash and pride of self. And from the get-go, Stoda tells Wade (bluntly) to decline Jerry Colangelo's invitation.
Color me liberal, but don't you think we ought to let Wade make this decision? The thought of deferring to corporate employer over nation and self is extraordinarily silly; it's Wade's offseason, and so long as his employer has agreed to let him go play basketball and he is healthy enough to do so, why shouldn't he? Why is it assumed -- just because Mickey Arison pays him $14 million a year -- that anything Wade does should be done with Miami on his mind? Wade, of course, performs his end of the bargain during the NBA season.
Yes, he was injured last season. But it was the Heat who -- mired in embarrassing depths -- shut Wade down early. (The team also shut down Udonis Haslem and Shawn Marion, who did not appear a fraction as injured as Wade, and Pat Riley trotted out a parade of D-Leaguers as the losses piled. Go figure.) If Wade is comfortable with his physical condition, and the team is comfortable with his physical condition, there should be no issue.
In spite of this, Stoda goes out of his way to indicate the Heat secretly hate that Wade's going to Beijing, that Wade cares more about promoting "The Wade Corp." than winning gold for the United States, and to generally diminish any sort of patriotism Wade has shown in previous media interviews. Basically, Stoda thinks Wade is a selfish liar, and Stoda thinks he (a columnist for a daily newspaper) knows what's best for a wealthy, 26-year-old man near the top of his profession. Anyone else have a problem with this?
Posted: Apr 26th 2008 12:38 PM ET by Tom Ziller (RSS feed)
Filed Under: USA Basketball, FIBA, USA, China
The draw for the Olympic men's basketball competition in Beijing this summer
was held today, and Team USA ended up in the same group as host China and world champion Spain. Angola -- always
a thorn in Team USA's side -- and two to-be-qualified teams will round out Group B.
The United States' first match will be against China ... which should be
tons of fun for
Yao Ming and his team. (By tons of fun, I mean "none at all.") China will boast two NBA players; Team USA will start at minimum
Jason Kidd,
Kobe Bryant,
LeBron James and
Dwight Howard. Based on the way the United States played in the Tournament of the Americas last summer, staying within 30 points might be a victory for China.
The real test, of course, is Spain. With
Pau Gasol,
Jose Calderon,
Jorge Garbajosa,
Rudy Fernandez, and
Juan Carlos Navarro in tow, the Spaniards are well-placed to compete with Team USA on August 16. (Pau vs. Kobe? Awesome.) Don't sleep on the two "qualifiers" either; the term certainly underrates the teams eligible. Those two squads could be any combination of Greece, Slovenia, Brazil, and Puerto Rico ... several of which have given the United States fits in the past.
In the other group, defending Olympic champ Argentina, Euro champ Russia, and Lithuania will battle with lesser foes Australia and Iran and a qualifier of their own. The top three in each group get out. Getting a top seed within the group seems imperative: the Group B #3 seed likely faces Argentina in the quarters; the #1 likely gets the lesser of Russia and Lithuania (still potent, but not Argentina).
Posted: Apr 12th 2008 10:20 AM ET by Tom Ziller (RSS feed)
Filed Under: NBA Media Watch, Olympics, San Francisco, USA Basketball, USA
There are no videos, there are no pictures. But NBA commissioner
David Stern participated in the Olympic torch relay in San Francisco this week, which is interesting for two reasons. The first, from the
Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin:
My sources informed me - and it was later confirmed by the man himself - that Stern, dressed appropriately in shorts and sneakers, jogged his assigned two blocks on the course that had been altered hours earlier to avoid a potential conflict between protest groups. The very thought of the sweaty, roundish Commish - who tends toward preppy attire when not in a more formal suit - plodding along the streets of The City cracks me up. Had I been warned, I would have staked out a prime viewing spot.
(Weird.) The other thought that comes to mind: Two presidential candidates -- from either side of the aisle -- have either said
they would or
have called on President Bush to no-show the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. (Bush has not made a decision yet.) Meanwhile, the commissioner of basketball in America is not only embracing the Games, but it participating in the highly controversial torch relay. It's probably fair to say standing against the Games is politically safe in the United States right about now; Stern has obvious interests in China beyond Team USA's production this summer, but it's still a fairly risky move.
It remains to be seen, however, how far Stern will thrust his league into the limelight/firing line. Team USA star
Kobe Bryant has come out in
support of aid for Darfur (China's role in Darfur is a serious chit in all these protests) -- can Kobe really be a face of the American Olympic contingent without
some sort of inconsistency? We'll see.
Posted: Feb 26th 2008 4:40 PM ET by Michael David Smith (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Rockets, NBA Injuries, Houston, Olympics, USA, China, Asia
No athlete has ever been more important to a host country's Olympic efforts than
Yao Ming is to the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. Yao isn't just the best player on the Chinese Olympic basketball team; he's the public face of an Olympic Games that China views as an opportunity to change outside perceptions of the world's most populous nation.
So the news today that Yao will
miss the rest of the season with a foot injury has implications far beyond the NBA, and people are already
asking how this injury will affect Yao's ability to play in the Olympics -- or whether he
rushed into season-ending surgery so he'd be healthy in time for the Games. (
Or maybe Yao actually wants to miss the Olympics.)
The Olympic basketball competition begins on August 9, meaning Yao has more than five months to rehabilitate the foot injury and still be able to play. With that time frame, and considering how much the Chinese government wants Yao to be on the floor for the Chinese National Team, the best guess at this point is that he will play. But there are a lot of nervous people in Beijing right now.
