Yardbarker: Kobe Bryant

Analyzing Team USA's 12 Man Roster

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:17 -0500

Last Monday, USA Basketball announced the 12 man roster that will comprise the 2008 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Five of the 12 have participated in the Olympics previously (Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, LeBron James, Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade); the only U.S. team that had more Olympic veterans was the 1996 squad--the so-called "Dream Team II" that welcomed back six players from the first Dream Team, the 1992 U.S. Olympic team that is the only group that truly deserved the "Dream Team" designation. Eight members of the 2008 team played in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament, which Team USA won with a 10-0 record; here is a list of those eight players, along with some of their statistics from the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament. Carmelo Anthony (21.2 ppg, .613 FG%, .578 3Pt FG%, 5.2 rpg, 1.4 apg in nine games) LeBron James (18.1 ppg, .760 FG%, .622 3Pt FG%, 3.6 rpg, 4.7 apg in 10 games) Kobe Bryant (15.3 ppg, .548 FG%, .459 3Pt FG%, 2.0 rpg, 2.9 apg in 10 games) Michael Redd (14.4 ppg, .530 FG%, .453 3Pt FG%, 1.4 rpg, 1.5 apg in 10 games) Dwight Howard (10.0 ppg, .814 FG%, 5.3 rpg, 18 blocked shots in 10 games) Tayshaun Prince (7.3 ppg, .481 FG%, .357 3Pt FG%, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg in nine games) Deron Williams (4.7 ppg, .613 FG%, 5-10 3Pt FG, 1.0 rpg, 4.6 apg in 10 games) Jason Kidd (1.8 ppg, 6-10 FG, 5-8 3Pt FG, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg in 10 games) Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups played in 2007 but withdrew their names from the selection process this time around. Tyson Chandler played the fewest minutes on the 2007 team and Mike Miller had the second lowest field goal percentage on the 2007 team. Those four players have been replaced by Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. In addition to the Olympic and international experience listed above, the current roster has the 2008 NBA MVP (Bryant), four of the five members of the 2008 All-NBA First Team (Bryant, James, Howard and Paul) plus a 2008 All-NBA Second Team selection (Williams) and a 2008 All-NBA Third Team selection (Boozer). Since the debacles for Team USA in 2002, 2004 and 2006, USA Basketball has emphasized that it wants a three year commitment from players so that the team can develop cohesion and chemistry. That is why the fifth member of the 2008 All-NBA First Team, Kevin Garnett, is not on the roster. USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said of Garnett, "We never got any positive feedback of his interest. It was more about 'I've been there, I've done that and it's time for someone else to do it.' I had a number of conversations with his agent just to check the temperature of the water, and there was never any positive response. We would have loved to have had him...but obviously, it wasn't in the cards." The key additions to the 2007 team were Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd; they quickly emerged as team leaders because of their professionalism, work ethic and defensive intensity, three qualities that had been noticeably missing on recent editions of Team USA. U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "Kobe is unbelievably committed to representing his country. Last summer playing for our team, the first time he saw his uniform, he got emotional...The first thing he did for us last summer, he was our best perimeter defender--and that's a role he wanted...I think we'll start out with the same thing because he knows he can play that way and expend the energy on defense because of the offensive talent of his teammates...We usually put him on the best perimeter player on the opposing team whether it be a point guard or a wing, and that's how we started the game. And that's how I want to start our practice sessions with that in mind." Bryant sacrificed some of his offensive game to concentrate on defense but still managed to finish third on the team in scoring and fourth in assists.In a December 5, 2007 post, I mentioned some things that Suns General Manager Steve Kerr told me that then-Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni--a Team USA assistant coach--had said about Bryant's role on Team USA:Prior to each game in last summer's FIBA Americas tournament, Bryant asked the coaching staff, "Who do you want me to take out?" In other words, Bryant wanted to know who was the toughest perimeter threat on each team so that he could study his tendencies on film and then completely neutralize him on the court. I said to Kerr, "That sounds like a sniper zeroing in on a target" and Kerr replied, "Yeah--and he was serious." Kerr went on to say that Bryant's "focus" and "bravado" added an essential missing element to the squad and elevated everyone else's play. Kerr noted that the previous Team USA squad had performed reasonably well other than the infamous loss to Greece but that it lacked a certain "swagger," as he termed it, and that Team USA did not have a "player who everyone feared." Kerr literally shook his head in wonderment as he described Bryant's impact on Team USA. Kidd's leadership came in a much subtler form; there is virtually no statistical evidence of it, other than the fact that he ranked second on the team in assists--but make no mistake that he played a very key role on the team. He has never lost a game while wearing a Team USA jersey and he made it clear that he does not intend on ending that streak now. The usual starting lineup of Bryant, Kidd, James, Anthony and Howard generally led the team to such big early leads that players like Redd, Stoudemire and Williams put up a lot of their numbers in de facto garbage time. Though casual fans probably assume that Chris Paul will be the starting point guard, I expect Coach Krzyzewski to use the same starting lineup during the Olympics that he employed during the FIBA Americas tournament; Kidd only ended up playing 15.9 mpg because Team USA won so many blowouts but I think that it is important to start the game with a group that has played together before in FIBA competition. This is not some All-Star exhibition in which Team USA can rotate who starts. Paul may end up playing more minutes than Kidd, particularly if Team USA builds big leads, but I would be surprised if Coach Krzyzewski changes his starting lineup. The main early criticism of the 2008 roster is the supposed lack of big men but I disagree with that assessment. Chandler hardly played at all in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament and although Stoudemire rebounded well he was not much of a defensive presence (six blocked shots in 10 games). Boozer and Bosh should be more than able to replace them, so this team is deeper and more versatile up front than the 2007 squad. Furthermore, the most effective style of play for Team USA in FIBA events is to go small, play pressure defense, force turnovers and score in the open court. Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James can easily play power forward in such a lineup, so on this team they are essentially "bigs" also. As for the perimeter players, Billups and Miller were two of the least productive members of the 2007 team, so it is difficult to believe that there will be any drop off by replacing them with Paul and Wade. Thus, the 2008 team should be even better than the 2007 squad, though it is also true that the competition at the Olympics will be much tougher than the competition at the FIBA Americas tournament. Anthony will almost certainly be Team USA's leading scorer. He feeds off of the open court scoring opportunities provided by the pressure defense of Bryant, Kidd and James and he is also a tough cover in the half court for most FIBA forwards. If anything, Anthony plays even worse defense in FIBA competition than he does in the NBA but he is such an efficient scorer--and the other four starters defend so well--that his offensive output outweighs his defensive liabilities (which was not the case in the 2004 Olympics, when Bryant and Kidd were not on the team and James did not defend nearly as well as he does now). Some quotes from Anthony and Wade give an indication of why they failed to lead the 2004 and 2006 teams to gold medals. Anthony said that he joined the 2004 team expecting to have "some of the best workouts in the summertime with the best players in the world" and he assumed "the USA is supposed to win everything." Wade candidly admitted that being an Olympian had never been a dream of his, adding, "I didn't have a clue what I was getting into...Now, we respect the game so much. We respect the team basketball that they play internationally so much." You don't have to read too far between the lines to understand that in 2004 Anthony and Wade underestimated the competition that they faced and did not realize how much hard work and intensity would be necessary to win the gold medal. Now, they know better and the team has a much better leadership structure--with Bryant and Kidd on board no one will be taking any shortcuts in practice or at the defensive end of the court (well, Anthony probably will still take some shortcuts there but the team can survive that as long as he keeps shooting over .600 from the field). The prevailing myth about Team USA's failure to win gold medals in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championship is that a lack of outside shooters proved to be fatal. However, as I demonstrated in a September 4, 2007 post titled The Real Story Behind Team USA's Losses in Previous FIBA Events, what really killed those teams was poor defense, particularly regarding the short three point shot (20'6" as opposed to 23'9" in the NBA) that FIBA teams love to launch. It is absolutely vital that Team USA shut down the three point shooters on opposing teams and that they do so without leaving the lane open to cutters; shooting well from the three point line would certainly be a nice bonus but perimeter defense will be the linchpin of Team USA's success. Good perimeter defense will fuel transition offense that will result in open three pointers and fast break dunks; the gaudy field goal percentage posted by Team USA in 2007 was largely the result of great defense leading to high percentage scoring opportunities in transition. OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races - The Biz of Baseball DC and Virginia Lotteries Team with Nationals For Scratch-It - The Biz of Baseball Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' 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Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports David Friedman is a weekly contributor to the Business of Sports Network. To read more of his basketball articles, just take a 20 Second Timeout. His general sports commentary can be found at Best Ever Sports Talk, where "Smokin' Joe Frazier Fires Off One Liners in Guest Appearance on Friday Night Fights," "Old School Video: Hagler Versus Hearns, The War," "Why Steroid Users Should be Banned for Life" and "Tiger's High Stakes Gamble Pays Off—For Now" are among the subjects that have been recently discussed.

76ers fans, ELTON BRAND IS YOURS!

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:55:30 -0500

Yes it is true. The Philadelphia 76ers did it. Elton Brand reportedly will be a Sixer tomorrow. The team as you all know traded Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth, and a future 1st round pick for 2.8 million dollars to the T'Wolves. I said before in every post that Josh Smith will not put them over the top, but Elton Brand is the type of player that will. Sixers also reportedly set to sign Josh Smith as well. I thought the Sixers have a possibility of getting Smith but never Brand. To sign both could put them in contentions to make a run in a weak, aging Eastern Conference. The only thing that scares me, or it should scare Sixers fans, is that he turns out like Chris Webber. I doubt it he looked good and he's only 28. It'll be fun for me to go to Sixers games this year although I am not a huge fan. I will still root for my home town team unless they play Miami of course! I never thought I'd say this but, Celtics watch out, we got a team on the rise in the East! Oh and um, PS Baron Davis, YOU GOT SNUBBED!

Marty McFly Sneakers on the Market

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:40:43 -0500

Anyone that watched Back to the Future 2 remembers the hoverboard and the sneakers. Everyone wanted them, especially me. Now comes the Swoosh capitalizing on the idea and releasing a similar looking shoe called the "McFly" Nike HyperDunk's.

Create The Caption #239

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:34:28 -0500

(Usually) Everyday I'll throw out a photo from the AP or one of the bigger sites and you provide the caption. Hilarity ensues. I'm also adding a handful of links at the bottom of the page that you should check out each day.

Yesterday's Winners....

"Wait, the drivers aren't encouraged to run over traffic cops. Then I'm out, man."- Anon

"Now wait a minute... I thought Moss resigned with the Patriots. And when did the Eagles move to Daytona?"- Anon

"Randy Moss stuns reporters as he describes how it is possible to still take plays off in NASCAR."- Gellman

"I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do with my hands right now."- Anon
_______________________________________

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of Kobe Bryant hopping out of a Delorean?

Daily Links:

Introducing The Cold War Cheerleader Showdown! (COED)
A Pantless First Pitch? (Big League Stew)
Mike And The Mad Dog Analyzed (Mike and The Mad Blog)
Your Fan Of The Week (Joe Sports Fan)
Crazy Sawx Fans Invade NYC (Red Sox Monster)
Athlete Marriages Usually End Well (Rumors and Rants)
Emmitt Smith Has Some Great Endorsement Deals (The Sports Point)
Professional Snowboarder Overachieves on Joe Buck's Favorite Show (Waiting For Next Year)
Not Every Cleveland Fan Is Happy With The CC Trade (The Money Shot)
Rampage Is Not Happy (NOIS)

Nike Owns Adidas - USA Basketball Style

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:44:23 -0500

Here's the only thing you have to know in advance. Dwight Howard is the only member of this team who is not sponsored by Nike. He wears Adidas. Now let's play a quick game of "What's Up?" 1. Coach K is sitting. When a team stands, a coach normally stands. Why is this significant? Because Coach K's left foot just happens to be blocking the adidas logo on Dwight Howard's left foot. Intentional? 2. Then look at the height of the players. Every player is in height order, with the exception of Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh. Howard is listed at 6-foot-11, while Bosh is listed at 6-foot-10, but Bosh's hair clearly trumps Howard. What does this allow for? It gives Howard an excuse to hold the ball and be the only player to not have his hand behind his back. This conveniently helps Howard cover the Nike logo on his shorts.

Wait, So Those Were Fake?

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:25:05 -0500

Lately it seems like every time you log onto the internet, there is another "amazing" sports video that has made its way into the e-mail inbox or is being discussed on a message board. First we had the Kobe Bryant "car jump" video, then Kobe jumped from the equivalent of the three point line (a' la Tom Chambers in Sega's "Lakers vs. Celtics") and laid down a dunk...over a pool filled with snakes. Yeah, it seemed unrealistic, but it was right there in video, how could it be fake?

Next up was the Bo Jackson-esque minor league ballgirl climbing two walls to snag a foul ball, followed by a Washington Redskin kicker booting a field goal that traveled the entire length of the field.

With each of the videos, mainstream sites such as Yahoo inevitably put a story up asking the question, "is this real?" Apparently, it's coming to light that some of these athletic "accomplishments" are just the work of modern technology. For example, it appears that Shaun Suisham didn't really kick a 110-yard field goal in practice. Hard to believe since I watched it happen with my own eyes on Youtube.

Now that the truth is starting to come out about these special effect-aided videos it's making sports fans question the validity of some feats they've witnessed throughout history.

For example, earlier this spring the St. Louis Cardinals ran a commercial that showed Yadier Molina catching warm-up throws from two pitchers simultaneously. Now I'm starting to question whether Molina really has the innate skill to catch two 90+ mph fastballs in one glove or whether that was just some trickery on the part of the Cardinals advertising company.

Our world has been turned upside down. Nothing seems real anymore.

And then it hit me. Does all this mean that the skills of one of the most dynamic athletes of the 80's could have been enhanced in some way? As crushing a blow as it might be to a generation of sports fans, this superstar's demonstrations of athletic prowess across multiple sports could turn out to be bogus.

The discovery of these fake promotional videos has called into question the career of none other than the late Curt Hennig aka the WWF star known as Mr. Perfect. We're left to study the old footage of him dunking a basketball, bowling a 300 game, crushing homeruns alongside Wade Boggs and face the stark reality that maybe Hennig wasn't really perfect at every sport. Maybe it was just a cruel joke. But how could this not be real?

They call these things "viral" videos. Considering they crush young, innocent wrestling fans by making them doubt that a ponytailed wrestler can throw an 70-yard pass and catch it, I think calling them "vile" videos is more appropriate.

A Tribute to: MARS BLACKMON

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:47:03 -0500

Do you know who Mars Blackmon is? Do you know? Do you know?? Do you know???

Streetball Calls out Basketball and Web 2.0 sites

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 02:19:35 -0500

I did some research on the traffic ranking of Streetball.com compared to the other websites in the video and the scary thing is, they might be right.

Ace Hood "Cash Flow Remix" at Streetball.com - Click to Watch

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:53:19 -0500

Streetball.com is changing the game and they not backin down from no Web 2.0 company or old school media company in the basketball and hip-hop space. In less than 6 months since launch, Streetball.com, according to Alexa.com, has passed or will pass most of the logo's you see in Streetball Video by the end of the summer. "We Global and We Local with Uniques by the Pound."

Ads You Just Won't See

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:12:54 -0500

Using ads to take a shot at the athletes that are asking for it.

Josh Smith and Josh Childress headed to Philly

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:59:47 -0500

No I do not mean they are a lock to sign. But Sixers fans, 610 has the beatwriter for the Atlanta Hawks on right now talking about how Josh Smith had his meeting with the Hawks yesterday and didn't sign. Now he is headed to Philadelphia to meet with the organization. The writer also said that Childress is flying to Philly as well to meet with the team. So will the Sixers add to knew faces to the roster? We'll find out.

Reviewing the calls: Lakers-Kings Game 6

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:25:15 -0500

Roland Beech of 82games.com takes a look at the tape. Was Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference really fixed? Was there a clear bias shown to favor the Lakers calls? Or was it just a poorly officiated game?

Kobe officially tired of talking about how Shaq's ass tastes

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:39:12 -0500

LOS ANGELES, CA — Finally breaking his silence about Shaquille O'Neal's controversial freestyle rap, Kobe Bryant revealed to SSNN that – not surprisingly – he's unhappy with his former teammate's request… Read more

Analyzing Team USA's 12 Man Roster

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:55:17 -0500

Even Kids Are Dissing Kobe

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:51:06 -0500

The negative reaction to Shaq asking Kobe how his ass taste is overblown. Shaq was out at a club having some fun, and now the sheriff that supported broadcasting female prisoners sitting on the toilet on the internet is stripping him of fake badges.. The world needs to lighten up. He [...]