COLOGNE, Germany -- The U.S. men's Olympic team did more than merely lose.
It was embarrassed and exposed in its most lopsided defeat since adding NBA
players in 1992.
Losing an exhibition game for the first time when using NBA players, the
Americans were completely outclassed by lightly regarded Italy, never even
making it close in the fourth quarter of a 95-78 upset Tuesday.
"This is a wakeup call for us," Philadelphia 76ers star Allen Iverson said.
"I think we need something like this to understand it's not going to be
easy."
The Americans were sloppy with the ball and couldn't handle Italy's zone
defenses and 3-point shooting. Italy not only made 15 from behind the arc
but also showed superior ball movement and poise in shocking the Americans作者: Lap Hui 時間: 2004-8-4 11:23 AM
My point of view on the US team.
1)Lack of true shooters like Reggie or Peja
AI, Starbury, Wade, LB and Melo basically have the same type of game. If the other team got figure out how to stop AI, the rest should probably stuck too.
2)No true center
Only Duncan is a 7 footer, but C is not his natural position,and now he is forced to play 5, this has completely changed his game. No one gonna help him out down low, and he will much draw all the focus.
3)the rest is not the go-to-guy in their NBA team.
Marion, Odom, Boozer, Jefferson, Stoudemire aren't either the go-to-guy, none of team score 20+ point per game.
4)As Brown said, they have no Defense= no heart to play.
In conclusion, I think this team is an incomplete team. Cannot imagine how good a team can be without a center and a shooter.
