FYI …

http://khandorssportsblog.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/ranking-jose-calderon-as-a-point-guard/

Feel free to provide your feedback.

Isn’t it better to put the game with a 30pt margin and THEN rest the best players? And why is it needed to rotate everyone to keep them happy? If they focused on winning instead of the superstars egos, they would hardly lose a game at all, with all the talent pool available…

That’s the difference… Every european team has players who are happy to represent their country and don’t get mad if they only play 5 min a game… they still give max effort. I don’t see that in this US team…

10. About Mike Miller… Miller is the kind of guy I would never take as a coach, never liked him. I don’t care he shoots well the ball, ball movement, spacing and defense is much more needed than a shooter.

19 and 20. Australia upseting USA talks more about USA than Australia. As cofident as USA team walked into the court against Australia, Angola would also upset them. The point is that USA didn’t play at his best and changed their chip pretty late. Confidence is a double-edged sword.

25. Zone defense makes you vulnerable rebounding if players are not very used to do it because while playing zone you don’t have a man assigned to you and close to your body to protect the rebound and catch it. You gotta practice it a lot.

I read someone saying that coach K tried to structure a lot players minutes so to have them all happy. I think thats an error of the coach. It’s important to have a role for every player but they must earn it in the game. Plans are made to be changed and no game is suposed to be the same.

That ”rule” that the starting five might be the same that starts the 3rd quarter is just stupid. Want to be on the court? Earn it.

At his size (i.e. height & weight) and with his athleticism (i.e. horizontal and vertical quickness & explosive power), intensity, multi-dimensional skill level, and basketball IQ, Kobe Bryant is the No. 1 Player in the world today … and, Lebron James is #2.

In the end though…everything evens out as far as strength of schedules go. No complaints from me. Christman Day games will be interesting.

Lebron needs to start paying attention. He gets lost too often. How easy is it to cut and backdoor him? I’d rather not see his athletic ability recover for a block. I want him to treat it like it’s Sunday afternoon in L.A. and Kobe is on the other end. He pay attention alot more then.

I think it might be a good idea for USA to play more zone. It’ll keep their rebounders in position and their athleticism would be a strength if they rotate properly.
On offense, they need to play better against the zone. kobe loves the foul line shot. He should be flashing there, or LeBron. Stop this penetration and kick stuff. They need to pass. Inside out. Work the middle.