Nick Against the World (71 Viewers)

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
115,992
++ [ originally posted by Sergio ] ++


Oh yeah, Olympic basketball.


Hmmm..........................



I tell you what. I don't blame the players on the US team at all for what happened? How can any American be mad at those guys? THOSE ARE THE ONES WHO SHOWED UP AND WANTED TO PLAY FOR THEIR COUNTRY!!! B]

I blame the USA basketball committee for not selecting the right group of players who fit that international style of packing the Zone defense, clogging the lanes, and making you shoot from outside. Michael Redd, Brent Barry, or Ray Allen would have done wonders for that team.


Know who else I blame??


Sorry Andy, but I blame Larry Brown as well. Know why? How is a team supposed to have a winning attitude when your head coach is complaining about how little time they had to prepare, and complain about how his team wasn't best suited for the olympics.

Here, read this, and you'll see what I mean. I knew this before this article came out, but it only cemented my beliefs from the very beginning. I also gained a ton of respect for Allen Iverson after reading this as well.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer04/basketball/columns/story?id=1870490


Oh, and for the record, a USA team with Shaq, Kobe, T-Mac, Kidd, Garnett, and Vince Carter on it as well as Iverson, Duncan, and Lebron, would have wiped the floor with the rest of the world. Sorry if I sound cocky, but its the truth. However, for whatever reasons, be it legal (Kobe), injury (Kidd), or just being dumbasses, (the rest), it didn't happen.


I don't blame the coach at all, its the players who want their ass cracks filled with money while they lounge around on the Queen Mary 2. I mean what kinda "Dream Team" is that? Its a team that doesn't give a rat's ass about a Gold Medal. The players don't know how to play on the International stage, they have no sense of "real" teamwork which other countries have in abundance, and they have a "vacation-like" attitude when going overseas to Athens. Coach saying they didn't have enough time to prepare? If the players said "jee, we must not be ready to play, oh well", then they are true losers. Sorry, but these NBA players get too much respect IMO, and thats why I have lost interest in the NBA in recent years. And I'm not impressed by Allen "yo I'm a thug n***a" Iverson. I don't care what he says to the press, its what kind of leader he is on the court what matters. He obviously didn't show it in Athens.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
115,992
++ [ originally posted by Sergio ] ++
Look Andy, the game is 19.99.

Its a damn good game for that price.

And BTW, NFL2K5 is actually better than Madden this year.

Price cut or no price cut. take it from me,man. I've been playing football games since Tecmo bowl on the NES back in 1987. And don't say that you have as well, because you were 1 at the time. :D


goddammit, I'm old.
Bah. I only buy EA Sports games. Everytime I buy another brand I get disapointed.

Nah man, you're not old, lets just say you've "been around". :D
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,789
++ [ originally posted by Andy ] ++


I don't blame the coach at all, its the players who want their ass cracks filled with money while they lounge around on the Queen Mary 2. I mean what kinda "Dream Team" is that? Its a team that doesn't give a rat's ass about a Gold Medal. The players don't know how to play on the International stage, they have no sense of "real" teamwork which other countries have in abundance, and they have a "vacation-like" attitude when going overseas to Athens. Coach saying they didn't have enough time to prepare? If the players said "jee, we must not be ready to play, oh well", then they are true losers. Sorry, but these NBA players get too much respect IMO, and thats why I have lost interest in the NBA in recent years. And I'm not impressed by Allen "yo I'm a thug n***a" Iverson. I don't care what he says to the press, its what kind of leader he is on the court what matters. He obviously didn't show it in Athens.
OK, Andy, please put away your Detroit Pistons bias for just one minute.


Umm, do you think the Original dream team hung around in the Olympic Village in '92? guess again, they didn't. Same thing for the '96, and the 2000 team. So that argument is blown out of the water. And yes, I am blaming the coach, and his defeatist, woe-is-me attitude that he brought with him. HE was the one complaining about not having enough practice time, HE was the one complaining about the players that were brought over to Athens. And the funny thing is, HE also had a say in who got sent over, so when blame is to be bandied about concerning the selections, all he has to do is look in the mirror. Again, how can you hate the players when these were the guys that agreed to play for our country in the first place. Just read the articles, Andy, or are you afraid that your precious coach's reputation is going to go downhill? Newsflash, pal, he's pulled this type of crap before, plenty of times. With UCLA, Kansas, Indiana, LA Clippers, Philadelphia. Give it a year, he'll do the same thing to Detroit
 

Torkel

f(s+1)=3((s +1)-1=3s
Jul 12, 2002
3,537
++ [ originally posted by Sergio ] ++
Allright, Torkel.


Follow me to the other sports section.
Man, can't believe I missed that. It was even active up until a few weeks ago...

Anyways, I'm outta here. To little sleep, too much of the republican convention. See 'ya, dudes!


P.S. Iverson rocks. ;) And Andy, why ain't you a Wizards fan? :)
 

gray

Senior Member
Moderator
Apr 22, 2003
30,260
++ [ originally posted by Andy ] ++
Bah. I only buy EA Sports games. Everytime I buy another brand I get disapointed.
Try Konami ;)

btw Serge, a huge welcome back to you brother, even if you're schedule's a bit hectic these days I hope you can just drop in like this every now and then. Great to see you man
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,789
++ [ originally posted by gray ] ++

Try Konami ;)

btw Serge, a huge welcome back to you brother, even if you're schedule's a bit hectic these days I hope you can just drop in like this every now and then. Great to see you man
Thanks, man.

I thought you wuz pizzed at me, cuz youze didn't return my private message, and stuff :D:D
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
115,992
++ [ originally posted by Sergio ] ++


OK, Andy, please put away your Detroit Pistons bias for just one minute.


Umm, do you think the Original dream team hung around in the Olympic Village in '92? guess again, they didn't. Same thing for the '96, and the 2000 team. So that argument is blown out of the water. And yes, I am blaming the coach, and his defeatist, woe-is-me attitude that he brought with him. HE was the one complaining about not having enough practice time, HE was the one complaining about the players that were brought over to Athens. And the funny thing is, HE also had a say in who got sent over, so when blame is to be bandied about concerning the selections, all he has to do is look in the mirror. Again, how can you hate the players when these were the guys that agreed to play for our country in the first place. Just read the articles, Andy, or are you afraid that your precious coach's reputation is going to go downhill? Newsflash, pal, he's pulled this type of crap before, plenty of times. With UCLA, Kansas, Indiana, LA Clippers, Philadelphia. Give it a year, he'll do the same thing to Detroit
Frankly I don't care if his reputation goes down hill. Actually, I hope all of the NBA goes down hill someday, along with the joke sports of Baseball and Nascar. I hate it when people read too much into press interviews, no matter who they are from, because its all garbage. I just don't think that if the coach says something negative in the press, doesn't give the players an excuse for their play. Coaches say dumb stuff all the time, but it shouldn't affect the players unless they are personally attacked. It is Brown's fault about the selection thing, but thats all.
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
115,992
++ [ originally posted by gray ] ++

Try Konami ;)

btw Serge, a huge welcome back to you brother, even if you're schedule's a bit hectic these days I hope you can just drop in like this every now and then. Great to see you man
Same here :)
 

Bjerknes

"Top Economist"
Mar 16, 2004
115,992
++ [ originally posted by Torkel ] ++

Man, can't believe I missed that. It was even active up until a few weeks ago...

Anyways, I'm outta here. To little sleep, too much of the republican convention. See 'ya, dudes!


P.S. Iverson rocks. ;) And Andy, why ain't you a Wizards fan? :)
Iverson is overrated. I'm not a Wizards fan because they suck. Well, actually I'm not really considered an NBA fan, just a college B-ball fan. :)
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,789
++ [ originally posted by Andy ] ++


Frankly I don't care if his reputation goes down hill. Actually, I hope all of the NBA goes down hill someday, along with the joke sports of Baseball and Nascar. I hate it when people read too much into press interviews, no matter who they are from, because its all garbage. I just don't think that if the coach says something negative in the press, doesn't give the players an excuse for their play. Coaches say dumb stuff all the time, but it shouldn't affect the players unless they are personally attacked. It is Brown's fault about the selection thing, but thats all.

Andy, baseball is great, and its a far more international sport than you would believe. Then again, we are at least a full generation apart in terms of age, so that's cool. But, I love baseball, its in my blood, its what I played when I was younger up until I was 14, and I'll always love it. I've played 4 organized sports through youth, high school, and college, and I still say that the hardest thing I've ever had to do was face a left handed pitcher who was hitting 93mph on the gun with a split-fingered fastball.
 

gray

Senior Member
Moderator
Apr 22, 2003
30,260
++ [ originally posted by Sergio ] ++
Thanks, man.

I thought you wuz pizzed at me, cuz youze didn't return my private message, and stuff :D:D
Really? Sorry about that man, I'm in and out at these forums cos I check them out every now and then at uni for like 2 minutes, and I always say "Okay, I gotta reply to Serge's PM when I get home", but I'm so bad when it comes to remembering anything :wallbang:
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,789
++ [ originally posted by Andy ] ++


Iverson is overrated. I'm not a Wizards fan because they suck. Well, actually I'm not really considered an NBA fan, just a college B-ball fan. :)

Kentucky Wildcats, brutha.


Kentucky Wildcats.



"We Are (clap clap) UK (clap clap), We Are (clap clap) UK (clap clap)"
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,789
++ [ originally posted by gray ] ++

Really? Sorry about that man, I'm in and out at these forums cos I check them out every now and then at uni for like 2 minutes, and I always say "Okay, I gotta reply to Serge's PM when I get home", but I'm so bad when it comes to remembering anything :wallbang:

Yeah, well you're just a dickhead, so I shouldn't have expected anything less:D
 

Zlatan

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2003
23,049
IMO, the NBA has went the wrong direction and slowed it's progress. It's still the best league out there, but it's progressing at 5 mph, while the rest are catching up at 60. The USA brought the wrong team and the wrong play to the Olympic games. They really needed some 3 point shooters. Why not bring Reggie, he might be old, but I'm sure he could still sink 3s, especially as the European 3 is 3 feet closer to the basket. Europeans are by far the superior in that area. 8 out of the top 10 3 point shooters in the NBA are foreigners. The best 3 point shooter in the Dream Team (Iverson) isnt even among the first 50 in the NBA. The european players are more allround players than the Americans. There isnt a single player in the Lithuanian team that cant shoot a 3 if neccessary, be he a gard, forward or center. They also have much better passing skills, and I dont mean the Jason Williams no-look-behind-the-back-with-my-elbow kinda passing, but regular, passing play, circeling the ball around the arc, waiting for an open man, finding space for the 3... in short, playing like a team. the NBA is mostly about isolation plays, you give the ball to T-Mac or KG and let him do something. You got 2 guys working the ball, and the other 3 hitting on the cheerleaders. That shit dont work in the Olympic, unless you have a by far superior team, which they didnt this year. Also, the refs in the NBA have become too lenient towards the players because of entertainment value, dont call travelling on dunks, dont call offensive fouls on dunks, etc. But FIBA res call it by the book, no ifs or buts.
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,789
++ [ originally posted by Zlatan ] ++
IMO, the NBA has went the wrong direction and slowed it's progress. It's still the best league out there, but it's progressing at 5 mph, while the rest are catching up at 60. The USA brought the wrong team and the wrong play to the Olympic games. They really needed some 3 point shooters. Why not bring Reggie, he might be old, but I'm sure he could still sink 3s, especially as the European 3 is 3 feet closer to the basket. Europeans are by far the superior in that area. 8 out of the top 10 3 point shooters in the NBA are foreigners. The best 3 point shooter in the Dream Team (Iverson) isnt even among the first 50 in the NBA. The european players are more allround players than the Americans. There isnt a single player in the Lithuanian team that cant shoot a 3 if neccessary, be he a gard, forward or center. They also have much better passing skills, and I dont mean the Jason Williams no-look-behind-the-back-with-my-elbow kinda passing, but regular, passing play, circeling the ball around the arc, waiting for an open man, finding space for the 3... in short, playing like a team. the NBA is mostly about isolation plays, you give the ball to T-Mac or KG and let him do something. You got 2 guys working the ball, and the other 3 hitting on the cheerleaders. That shit dont work in the Olympic, unless you have a by far superior team, which they didnt this year. Also, the refs in the NBA have become too lenient towards the players because of entertainment value, dont call travelling on dunks, dont call offensive fouls on dunks, etc. But FIBA res call it by the book, no ifs or buts.
I agree with you on this. However, what would have happened to Lithuania if 6 of their best players decided not to play? Would they have come close? Would Argentina? Very unlikely. that's why I don't consider this team a failure, to be honest. And I also don't buy into that "they didn't care" crap either. could there have possibly been any more pressure on these guys to win the gold?

The first dream team had everything you could want. Size (Ewing, Robinson), Speed (Jordan, Drexler) Shooting (Bird, Stockton) rebounding (Barkley, Malone) Passing (Magic) that team had it all. No other team even comes close in comparison. But the other thing to understand, is that those players were brought up in a different time, when fundamentals were still important in the NBA game, which leads me to my very unpopular but also very accurate conclusion regarding the NBA and its declinging skill.





Michael Jordan single handedly ruined the NBA game. And he didn't even mean to.
 

KB824

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2003
31,789
++ [ originally posted by Zlatan ] ++
P.S. Artest would foul out two minutes into the warmup.

Having Artest play even 10 minutes a game, even if he fouls out, is better than having Okaefor in there, doing nothing.
 

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