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  1. #31
    Good High School Starter la bomba's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Quote Originally Posted by dd24
    USA hasn't sent their best players for quite some time. Even this year some of the best are missing, but at least Kobe will be there, even though he'll be playing through an injury.

    Here's the thing that I can't believe most people don't talk about. The European basketball rules are different so a less athletic player has a better chance against a more athletic player. I can't wait until FIBA adopts more of the NBA rules. I believe that happens in 2010. Just wait until European athletes have to run a longer court, shoot a longer 3, and don't have a trapezoid for a lane. It's no coincidence that many of the Europeans that come to play in the NBA are busts, but we can send our second rate college athletes to go play in the euroleagues.
    That is probably the most derogatory and inaccurate piece of dribble I have ever read in here.First USA have had,Wade when he was ta his best,Iversen,Duncan,Garnett,Howard,etc Pretty much allstar players.FIBA rules are just changing some of the dimensions,the rules will remain fiba and i hope they remain that way and not the pathetic nba rules which dont allow you to defend as a team,or those stupid time out cop outs that players are allowed to abuse when good defence has put them in a position that they are about to turn the ball over.Europeans flopping?Nowitzki,Stojakovic,Gasol,Sabonis,Petrovi c,illgauskas,etc all flops? and americans in europe?wow I could name hundreds of flops!!as could most people in here. If europeans did so badly there wouldnt be that many in the NBA!

  2. #32
    I rule the local playground b.jerk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    The euroleague has caught up with the five star teams that nba has but because qualification was last year, you won't really see it until the fiba tournament in two years

  3. #33
    Decent playground baller simasu01's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Go ahead send your players from college to Europe. You still can't win anything for 8 years, everyone is hoping it will go more than that. FIBA rules are basketball rules meant for defence and team basketball, NBA rules are show rules so Americans would watch the game and be excited about the show, not basketball. Celtics played like a FIBA team, while Lakers played like an NBA team. See the results? Seriously, if Europeans are this bad, how come they win awards in the NBA and more and more keep coming?

  4. #34
    Good High School Starter la bomba's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Just seen the USA team,not too different to previous years.Shouldn't worry some of the other teams too much.Loads of ball huggers in there,they will be fighting for shots,the likes of Wade,Lebron and Howard have already been there and have been humbled.

  5. #35
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Quote Originally Posted by la bomba
    That is probably the most derogatory and inaccurate piece of dribble I have ever read in here.First USA have had,Wade when he was ta his best,Iversen,Duncan,Garnett,Howard,etc Pretty much allstar players.FIBA rules are just changing some of the dimensions,the rules will remain fiba and i hope they remain that way and not the pathetic nba rules which dont allow you to defend as a team,or those stupid time out cop outs that players are allowed to abuse when good defence has put them in a position that they are about to turn the ball over.Europeans flopping?Nowitzki,Stojakovic,Gasol,Sabonis,Petrovi c,illgauskas,etc all flops? and americans in europe?wow I could name hundreds of flops!!as could most people in here. If europeans did so badly there wouldnt be that many in the NBA!
    Same could be said for this post. Wow you named five players out of hundreds. Speaking of flopping and the NBA rules it seems that the people from Europe have been the ones that do it the most. Is there Americans that go to Europe and flop. I'm sure of it, because all you get are our second and third rate players. You get all of our flops. That is the point I was making. Thanks for helping me out. Our scrubs who can't make it over here go to Europe. While I'm sure not all make the team, there are plenty that do. There is no way those teams in Europe have near the talent an NBA team does.

    The roster was just announced today. There's only 4 people who were on the 2004 team. Garnett hasn't played on the team since 2000, when they won gold. You've never seen Garnett, Duncan and Howard on the same team. Don't try to make it sound like the best possible team the USA could put together has went to the Olympics besides 1992. Heck, if Garnett would have been on the team in 04 that would have made enough of a difference for them to win gold. It wouldn't have been blow out wins but they would have went undefeated. Then when the refs called all those horrible fouls on Duncan to get him out of the game, the team would have actually had a back up to play center. Or you probably conveniently forgot about how the 2004 team didn't have a back up at center. Or you may think that Okafur is an elite player in the world. Yeah right. AI are you kidding me even bringing that one up. Iverson's style of play hardly fits most NBA teams let alone international play. Marbury is hardly an elite PG in the league anymore. Wade is good but he isn't a true PG. He plays shooting gaurd in Miami. You must have just forgot that even the couple of nice pieces we had were playing out of position. Carmello is a SF but was playing PF. This year you will find that with a much different team the results are going to be much different. This years team is going to be different than what people saw in 2006. There's no Joe Johnson, Antawn Jamison, Shane Battier, Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller, etc.
    There still is one thing that does concern me with the 2008 team. Again we don't have a back up at center. If KG, Duncan, and Howard would play on the same team together the games would all be blow outs. Since they only have Howard there may be a game or two they are tested but with guys like Kobe, Paul, James, Redd, etc they will still come out on top. Only 6 of the players on this team are from that 2006 team and only 8 are from the 2007 team.

    I never said all Europeans were bad. Don't even try to throw that label on me. Is there a few in the NBA that have done well and won a couple of awards, absolutely. How many of those great European players started in the All-star game again? Zero. How many of those great European players even made it to the All-star game? One, Dirk is an obvious choice. Typically that is the one time where we have all of our best players together. Unfortunately, we don't mesh the two together for the Olympics. So where are all these great European basketball players the one time of the year we get together the greatest athletes in the NBA? The point is the majority of them are busts. It's a fact. How many Europeans since say the 2002 draft are even starters in the league. I'd be impressed if there's more than two. Sasha isn't near a starter but finally had a decent season this year. Before that everybody wanted him out of the league. Udrih starts in Sacramento. Bargnani starts but is looking to be a bust. #1 pick in the draft and he averaged 10.2ppg and 3.7rpg last year. Now Toronto is looking for another big man to put next to Bosh. Remind me again how many great Europeans there are currently playing in the NBA. Don't throw names like Petrovic into the conversation. That was a long time ago. If we really wanted to go back that far there would be too many busts to go through. Is the world catching up in basketball? Sure, because our coaches and players have went to other countries and taught them how to play. Is Europe catching up in basketball? Not as fast as the rest of the world. When you say there wouldn't be that many Europeans in the NBA you're right. There isn't very many. They get drafted and then cut. For every name you give me of a great European player I can give you the name of an American player that is better.

  6. #36
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Quote Originally Posted by la bomba
    Just seen the USA team,not too different to previous years.Shouldn't worry some of the other teams too much.Loads of ball huggers in there,they will be fighting for shots,the likes of Wade,Lebron and Howard have already been there and have been humbled.
    Not too different???? Work on your reading. There are only 6 players on the team from 2006 and only 8 from 2007. It's still not even close to the best roster we could put together, but it's enough to win the gold.

  7. #37
    Good High School Starter la bomba's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Quote Originally Posted by dd24
    Not too different???? Work on your reading. There are only 6 players on the team from 2006 and only 8 from 2007. It's still not even close to the best roster we could put together, but it's enough to win the gold.
    6 or 8 players is for me a substantial part of a basketball squad.
    Why the hell do you mention the all star game?that has nothing to do with the best players,its about the more spectacular players,more athletic,showtime players voted by the fans.Fans of NBA like spectacular athletic players.A.I who you dish,always goes!so you prove my point.The FIBA rules provide the basis for a better team sport,with great team defences if you dont like that type of ball,thats fine,I dont like the type of ball played in the NBA,with KOBE ball hugging,taking 35 shots and bollocking any team mate that doesn't pass the ball to him!You think all european players are flops? Maybe a lot of them don't cut it in the NBA because their game doesn't suit the NBA,doesn't mean they are worse players than those in the NBA.Spanoulis wasnt given a chance at the rockets,and the few chances he was given,he probably didn't take,yet he raped Team USA in the world championship,ripped a new arsehole in chris Paul's ass.Just like Papaloukas,diamantidis,schortsanitis etc,yet most of these players wont play in the NBA,so what? Papaloukas is one of the best p.g in the world,it doesnt matter if he doesnt play in the NBA.The NBA is not the only way of playing basketball.I hope that European players start realising that its not the be all and end all (like Navarro) and return to europe,that will make me happy and of course you too,so in that we both agree.
    BY the way team USA are and will always be favourites for any of these tournaments,they have an inmense pool of talent,but they need to be more respectful of their opponents as it has been proved that they can compete.Puerto rico,serbia,spain,greece,argentina to name some of the teams that have beaten USA of late.
    Last edited by la bomba; 06-23-2008 at 07:04 PM.

  8. #38
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Quote Originally Posted by la bomba
    6 or 8 players is for me a substantial part of a basketball squad.
    Why the hell do you mention the all star game?that has nothing to do with the best players,its about the more spectacular players,more athletic,showtime players voted by the fans.Fans of NBA like spectacular athletic players.A.I who you dish,always goes!so you prove my point.The FIBA rules provide the basis for a better team sport,with great team defences if you dont like that type of ball,thats fine,I dont like the type of ball played in the NBA,with KOBE ball hugging,taking 35 shots and bollocking any team mate that doesn't pass the ball to him!You think all european players are flops? Maybe a lot of them don't cut it in the NBA because their game doesn't suit the NBA,doesn't mean they are worse players than those in the NBA.Spanoulis wasnt given a chance at the rockets,and the few chances he was given,he probably didn't take,yet he raped Team USA in the world championship,ripped a new arsehole in chris Paul's ass.Just like Papaloukas,diamantidis,schortsanitis etc,yet most of these players wont play in the NBA,so what? Papaloukas is one of the best p.g in the world,it doesnt matter if he doesnt play in the NBA.The NBA is not the only way of playing basketball.I hope that European players start realising that its not the be all and end all (like Navarro) and return to europe,that will make me happy and of course you too,so in that we both agree.
    BY the way team USA are and will always be favourites for any of these tournaments,they have an inmense pool of talent,but they need to be more respectful of their opponents as it has been proved that they can compete.Puerto rico,serbia,spain,greece,argentina to name some of the teams that have beaten USA of late.
    Changing 6 players on a team is a substantial change.

    Why do I bring up the all-star game? I believe I already mentioned this. The reason I bring it up is because like I've said we don't send our best players to the Olympics. It really does have to do with the best players. The best players are the most popular so they get voted in. Sure there are a few snubs every year but that's going to happen. Look at the rosters for last years all-star game. Those are certainly the best players in the NBA. KG, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, and Vince Carter all aren't on the Olympic team. Who in the world could match up with Team USA if they had Howard, KG, Duncan, and Shaq in the paint? But if we limit that to just Howard now the gap closes a little. Puerto Rico didn't beat the best players in the United States. Carlos Arroyo has gotten every opportunity in the world to be a star in the NBA. It hasn't happened and it won't happen. He can't even crack a starting line up on a team that is dying for help at the PG position.

    I do disagree that the FIBA rules promote more of a team sport and this is pretty much what started this whole discussion. I believe the rules were needed to be made different because it gives players who are less athletic more of a chance. One of the results of this could be taken as that would force the players to work as a team but I don't see it as that. The way I see it is like this. It's kind of like when you are little kids and you are playing a board game. There's that one person who always wins, so you change the rules to give yourself a chance to win. Since there wasn't enough athletes that could completely take over a game it wasn't fair, so the rules were changed. I don't believe NBA rules are supreme and the only way to go. I truly think a combination of the two would be good for basketball as a whole. I don't like to watch players flop. I don't like when stupid touch fouls get called. No true NBA fan does. But I also dislike a trapezoid lane that forces teams with great centers to not use them. I dislike the fact that a team who can't play interior defense doesn't half to. If a team can't stop someone slashing into the lane they don't need to. There's certain aspects that are killed with both the rules, which is why I hope FIBA and the NBA work together to take the best from both. I love basketball in general and think it is in the best interest of the sport.

    We can bring up Spanoulis, but again that is a team that didn't have it's best players on the court. Chris Paul then and now are two completely different things. Paul had only been in the league for one year at that time. The teams in 2004 and 2006 are by far the worst teams we've sent since 1992. In 2006 I would expect Spanoulis to tear him up in international play. In 2008 it will be much different. We can talk about Kobe too if you would like. He's really not a ball hog and really he's a pretty good teammate. When he was shooting a lot it's because he had to. He didn't have a team. He didn't have good players around him. It makes it tough to play a team game. You probably don't get to see the things about how Kobe takes the team out to dinner and picks up the tab all the time. If you really think he's a ball hog be sure to watch him play in the Olympics this year. You'll see how efficient he is and how ferocious he is on defense. Not to mention he'll be doing that with a hand that requires surgery.

    It doesn't make sense for some Europeans to enter the NBA draft. One of the NBA's biggest mistakes is the rookie salary cap. There's players who would make more staying overseas than they will playing in the NBA as a rookie. I think if they started to realize this we would have less busts. If someone is good enough to be a lottery pick they can probably make more money. But it makes no sense for someone to enter the draft if they are going to be a late first round or second round pick. With the US dollar weakening added into that equation a mediocre player is better off in Europe. Let's face it second round picks no matter where they come from are all busts with just a few exceptions. Then there's the flip side of that too. There are teams in Europe that are willing to pay star athletes. Look at the offer Webber got from Olympiacos. He wasn't going to get anywhere near that here.

    I actually don't understand the lash out against team USA. Basketball isn't even the #1 sport in Europe. When the USA loses in soccer you don't see us getting all upset. Our best athletes play in baseball, basketball, and football. Moreso basketball and football than anything. We should be winning at basketball and football, not that football is even a world wide sport. We should be losing at soccer. We can put out a team that is decent but obviously not a favorite. It's just the opposite for Europe. A European team should win at soccer. Many of your best athletes play soccer instead of basketball. You can put some decent teams on the floor for basketball but most are obviously not going to be favorites.

  9. #39
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    1)We arent talking NBA refs here

    2)You really think a team can stop Kobe and Lebron......you have lost it

    and Melo is insane in the olympics

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    Decent playground baller simasu01's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Honestly, dd24, you know that there also are Euro teams that play with weak teams. In 2000, Lithuania almost beat team USA. A country of 3 million people. Shouldn't you be blowing teams out like that? And Lithuania never plays with their full squad. Only 2 NBA players, and Songaila isn't even that good. Ilgauskas last played for the national team in 1993. That means we haven't played with a full squad at least since then. For some reason, the NBA did send of their best players in 2002, 04 and 06. LeBron, Melo, and Wade were on 04 and 06 teams, and they are the faces of the NBA right? KG played in 2000, and as I mentioned, they were a shot away from losing. In 2002, USA was 6th in the world champs, and the team featured no superstars, but they should have still done much better, because they're NBA players and all stars, right? Same goes to 04 and 06. I watched most USA games in 2007 Americas, I was impressed, but also not convinced that they were good, because they faced no competition. Argentina had their scrubs, and Puerto Rico was dissapointing. I wish Canada had Nash, that would have been fun to watch. USA played like it was an all star game, throwing no look passes, alley oops and all that. That's fun to watch sure, but what will they do when they see defence? Spain should be the biggest problem, and then Lithuania and Argentina come next. USA has only Spain to compete with in the group, and hopefully they will get 2 top qualifiers there, like Croatia, Greece, Slovenia or Brazil. USA underestimates the world, likewise with the American citizens. They think the world is scared of them and that they are the best. Neither is true. I'm hoping for Lithuania, Spain and Argentina in the top 3 this year, hopefully in this order. Nobody wants to see the USA with medals, I hope they would get knocked out in the group stages, which is almost impossible, but then again, France didn't get out of their group in this years Euros. Never know what might happen.

  11. #41
    Good High School Starter la bomba's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Quote Originally Posted by dd24
    Changing 6 players on a team is a substantial change.

    Why do I bring up the all-star game? I believe I already mentioned this. The reason I bring it up is because like I've said we don't send our best players to the Olympics. It really does have to do with the best players. The best players are the most popular so they get voted in. Sure there are a few snubs every year but that's going to happen. Look at the rosters for last years all-star game. Those are certainly the best players in the NBA. KG, Tim Duncan, Shaq, Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, and Vince Carter all aren't on the Olympic team. Who in the world could match up with Team USA if they had Howard, KG, Duncan, and Shaq in the paint? But if we limit that to just Howard now the gap closes a little. Puerto Rico didn't beat the best players in the United States. Carlos Arroyo has gotten every opportunity in the world to be a star in the NBA. It hasn't happened and it won't happen. He can't even crack a starting line up on a team that is dying for help at the PG position.

    I do disagree that the FIBA rules promote more of a team sport and this is pretty much what started this whole discussion. I believe the rules were needed to be made different because it gives players who are less athletic more of a chance. One of the results of this could be taken as that would force the players to work as a team but I don't see it as that. The way I see it is like this. It's kind of like when you are little kids and you are playing a board game. There's that one person who always wins, so you change the rules to give yourself a chance to win. Since there wasn't enough athletes that could completely take over a game it wasn't fair, so the rules were changed. I don't believe NBA rules are supreme and the only way to go. I truly think a combination of the two would be good for basketball as a whole. I don't like to watch players flop. I don't like when stupid touch fouls get called. No true NBA fan does. But I also dislike a trapezoid lane that forces teams with great centers to not use them. I dislike the fact that a team who can't play interior defense doesn't half to. If a team can't stop someone slashing into the lane they don't need to. There's certain aspects that are killed with both the rules, which is why I hope FIBA and the NBA work together to take the best from both. I love basketball in general and think it is in the best interest of the sport.

    We can bring up Spanoulis, but again that is a team that didn't have it's best players on the court. Chris Paul then and now are two completely different things. Paul had only been in the league for one year at that time. The teams in 2004 and 2006 are by far the worst teams we've sent since 1992. In 2006 I would expect Spanoulis to tear him up in international play. In 2008 it will be much different. We can talk about Kobe too if you would like. He's really not a ball hog and really he's a pretty good teammate. When he was shooting a lot it's because he had to. He didn't have a team. He didn't have good players around him. It makes it tough to play a team game. You probably don't get to see the things about how Kobe takes the team out to dinner and picks up the tab all the time. If you really think he's a ball hog be sure to watch him play in the Olympics this year. You'll see how efficient he is and how ferocious he is on defense. Not to mention he'll be doing that with a hand that requires surgery.

    It doesn't make sense for some Europeans to enter the NBA draft. One of the NBA's biggest mistakes is the rookie salary cap. There's players who would make more staying overseas than they will playing in the NBA as a rookie. I think if they started to realize this we would have less busts. If someone is good enough to be a lottery pick they can probably make more money. But it makes no sense for someone to enter the draft if they are going to be a late first round or second round pick. With the US dollar weakening added into that equation a mediocre player is better off in Europe. Let's face it second round picks no matter where they come from are all busts with just a few exceptions. Then there's the flip side of that too. There are teams in Europe that are willing to pay star athletes. Look at the offer Webber got from Olympiacos. He wasn't going to get anywhere near that here.

    I actually don't understand the lash out against team USA. Basketball isn't even the #1 sport in Europe. When the USA loses in soccer you don't see us getting all upset. Our best athletes play in baseball, basketball, and football. Moreso basketball and football than anything. We should be winning at basketball and football, not that football is even a world wide sport. We should be losing at soccer. We can put out a team that is decent but obviously not a favorite. It's just the opposite for Europe. A European team should win at soccer. Many of your best athletes play soccer instead of basketball. You can put some decent teams on the floor for basketball but most are obviously not going to be favorites.
    In some things we agree in others we don't,fair enough thats the point of these forums.One thing though,basketball in lithuania is the number 1 sport,it isn't in the USA.In Slovenia basketball is also more important than football(proper football that is,the one you kick a ball with your feet hence the name,and not the one you handle a melon and occassionally kick).In countries like Croatia,Serbia and Greece basketball is also on a par with football.
    The board game analogy I just don't get.

  12. #42
    I rule the local playground b.jerk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    The euroleague is a violent game and it will depends how team usa will adjust to the fiba rules including hand checking and contact, I could see it being both no big deal or a major issue

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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    Quote Originally Posted by simasu01
    Honestly, dd24, you know that there also are Euro teams that play with weak teams. In 2000, Lithuania almost beat team USA. A country of 3 million people. Shouldn't you be blowing teams out like that? And Lithuania never plays with their full squad. Only 2 NBA players, and Songaila isn't even that good. Ilgauskas last played for the national team in 1993. That means we haven't played with a full squad at least since then. For some reason, the NBA did send of their best players in 2002, 04 and 06. LeBron, Melo, and Wade were on 04 and 06 teams, and they are the faces of the NBA right? KG played in 2000, and as I mentioned, they were a shot away from losing. In 2002, USA was 6th in the world champs, and the team featured no superstars, but they should have still done much better, because they're NBA players and all stars, right? Same goes to 04 and 06. I watched most USA games in 2007 Americas, I was impressed, but also not convinced that they were good, because they faced no competition. Argentina had their scrubs, and Puerto Rico was dissapointing. I wish Canada had Nash, that would have been fun to watch. USA played like it was an all star game, throwing no look passes, alley oops and all that. That's fun to watch sure, but what will they do when they see defence? Spain should be the biggest problem, and then Lithuania and Argentina come next. USA has only Spain to compete with in the group, and hopefully they will get 2 top qualifiers there, like Croatia, Greece, Slovenia or Brazil. USA underestimates the world, likewise with the American citizens. They think the world is scared of them and that they are the best. Neither is true. I'm hoping for Lithuania, Spain and Argentina in the top 3 this year, hopefully in this order. Nobody wants to see the USA with medals, I hope they would get knocked out in the group stages, which is almost impossible, but then again, France didn't get out of their group in this years Euros. Never know what might happen.
    It's always fun to hate on the teams that are on top isn't it? It's no different in any sport. People hate the Yankees, Red Sox, Patriots, Lakers, etc.

    I've been saying all along that we haven't sent our best players. Not even close. No we didn't send our best players in 02, 04, and 06. Heck this years team still isn't the best players but it's better than what we've sent in the past. Euro teams get to practice together year round. Our team gets hardly any practice time. The Euro teams might lose one, maybe two people at worst. We are missing some major components. Lebron, Melo, and Wade weren't the faces of the NBA at the time. They were actually rookies trying to make a name for themselves. It seems to me that Argentina team that was so good was composed of a group of more veteran players that had been together a long time. Scola, Ginobli, Nocioni, Delfino, Hermann, and Oberto have all been effective NBA players. They were also the favorites to win. I would expect that group of players to beat some rookies who had a lot of learning to do. Besides it takes 5 to win not 3. Also, Argentina isn't in Europe and I don't think Italy would have beat the US in 04. The US team made up of rookies as their core players gave Argentina a much closer game than Italy did. The US did beat Lithuania in the bronze medal game and Lithuania is a good team and always has been, and also previously had beat the team. Wade, Lebron, and Melo's games have grown drastically since 04. I would expect a team whose core is a bunch of rookies and people with no experience in international play to lose a few games they shouldn't. We're going to be at a disadvantage with the rules. We don't play with those rules every day. Then throw in the fact they don't get to practice and sure it's going to make things more difficult.

    The USA hasn't underestimated anybody. Sure the teams you mention are good. So is the US. Remember the team has changed again from 2007. Like I said before, only 6 of the players are from the 2006 team and only 8 are from 07. How many European teams have changed half of their roster?

    Even with a team that lacks the greatest players in the NBA, having no practice, and different rules they are still one of the favorites. If they weren't you guys wouldn't be hating. You try to bring them down with words but in the end you have to admit they have a legit shot at winning the gold.... again.

    By the way, here's a great article that came out today, since the draft is on Thursday. You might enjoy reading it.

    http://www.nj.com/knicks/ledger/inde...950.xml&coll=1

  14. #44
    I rule the local playground b.jerk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    The national teams of fiba europe don't practice year round. Team USA is weak at the post with only Howard, Bosh and Boozer, it would only take one of them getting hurt or in foul trouble to be a disaster.

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    Default Re: Do you think the Beijing Olympics will be Rigged?

    That's what I said. I know they wanted to put together a team that could play small ball since the international game relies so much on outside shooting, but it doesn't make sense to me that the only real center they put on the team is Howard. I guess Bosh could slide over and play there too but he's more of a PF. I think they are actually going to have Anthony play C at times. Coach K said he thinks he will have Kidd, Kobe, and Wade in the back court at times.

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