Well the USA cruised along early this morning and beat Slovenia pretty easily, moving their record to 3-0 so far in the preliminary round. They will take on Italy, who is also 3-0, tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM central time.
One thing that I wanted to take the time to address today was the issue of Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups, and Michael Redd possibly taking spots on the team for the '08 Olympics. I read Sam Amico's thoughts on it a couple of weeks ago on ProBasketballNews.com and watched Ric Bucher from ESPN the magazine on ESPN News today talk about it. I decided it was my turn to weigh in on the subject.
A lot of people seem concerned that this current Team USA has great chemistry and adding one or all of those players to the roster will take away players who fit into the current team concept. I can understand where these guys are coming from, but I believe having any of them will make this team better. Bucher himself stated that his main concern with Team USA thus far is their ability to win close games, which they haven't had to deal with yet. If it becomes apparent that this team can't win close games in international competition, why would you not want Billups, whose nickname is "Mr. Big Shot", and Kobe Bryant, the most stone-cold killer in the NBA on the team?
I have in the past be a huge critic of Kobe Bryant, mainly because my Spurs couldn't seem to get past his Lakers for several years. But I don't think there should be any argument about his potential placement on the team. Kobe Bryant is the fiercest competitor the NBA has seen since Michael Jordan. I honestly don't see anybody in the NBA who comes close to his tenacity and mental toughness. Does he go overboard sometimes? Yes, but so did Jordan. Is he selfish? He can be, but I don't think that he has even been in a situation that he would be in playing for Team USA, playing with so many great players. Yes, the 2004 season he played with Shaq, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton, but there were already rifts in that team before the season even started. I believe that having Kobe Bryant on a team with this many great players, where he doesn't have to take all the shots, would not lose a single game. My thoughts here are kind of erratic and fragmented, I know. But my message is this: Team USA needs Kobe Bryant, Chauncey Billups, and Michael Redd. We can stand to cut Brad Miller or Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich, and Joe Johnson. Yes, in my last two posts I have sung the praises of those guys, but if everyone on the team is buying into the team concept the way everyone is saying they are, losing those guys will not have any negative consequences. But first things first, the preliminary round of the 2006 World Championships isn't even over yet. We've still got a long way to go until the Olympics. See you soon....
