Hoops Jones

Okay, I admit it, I was looking forward to catching the USA Men's Basketball team play in some exhibition games against Puerto Rico and China. I didn't really care who they were playing...it could have been Athletes In Action, for all I care. No, it was not a morbid desire to witness another basketball trainwreck like we saw in Greece. Two reasons why I stayed up a couple nights to watch the broadcasts: 1) The sports landscape has been pretty barren for me (college football still weeks away and the NL is atrocious this year) and 2) I wanted to hear Bill Walton wax philosophical about the direct relationship between hoops and world peace. Here were some of the highlights for me...

1) Bill Walton: Hearing the broadcast duo of Jim Durham and Bill Walton butcher up the pronunciation of Guangzhou, China, where the games were played. Guang-JEW, Guang-JAO, Guang-ZOO, Guang-ZOW...all within the first 5 minutes of the broadcast. It was priceless. Equally amusing were the predictions of USA dominance and superiority of this team versus previous USA teams. Good ole Bill was single-handedly trying to revive comparisons between this USA team and the '92 Barcelona Dream Team...the absolute gold-standard of hoops dominance. Then, there are the general Walton-isms that we're treated to throughout a game. Bill drops this gem of a statement for us at the start of the 2nd Half:

Jim Durham: "When this team gets Kobe Bryant back, look out world!"
Bill Walton: "...and he (Kobe)...(after a pause to figure out what to say) is a really good player."

That's the genius of Bill Walton! With one sentence, he will overstate the obvious to such an extreme and then, with the very next sentence, make the most outlandish statement that stretches the definition of hyperbole..."Yao Ming will usher in a new age of peace to the Middle East, with his soft touch and incredible basketball IQ!!". Nobody knows what's coming next. You gotta love the guy.

2) Speaking of who is a really good player, that would be Lebron James. I scoffed when Lebron, coming out of high school, was compared to Magic Johnson. The comparisons continued through his first few years in the league and I was still skeptical. But he's pretty close...close enough to warrant a comparison. I wish he wouldn't chuck it from the outside as much as he does, but his ballhandling, vision, and passing (at 6'8") is Magic-esque. If he had James Worthy, Kareem, and Byron Scott to pass to in Cleveland, I think we'd all be on the bandwagon. Dwyane Wade personifies quick, but he got called for traveling on his patented 3 step spin move at least 4 times against China. Elton Brand is the most efficient player in the NBA. I love that guy, even though he went to Duke. Chris Paul's PG play is inconsistent. He's going to have to get better at running the team against the zone...not just excel at running the break. Carmelo Anthony is just a scorer. But he does that one thing extremely well.

3) Overall, I think this team has a better chance of coming out on top than the team in Athens. But, please, I'm not buying in to a return to dominance. Sorry, Bill. This group still needs better perimeter defense and outside shooting. There are 14 players still on roster, with two cuts coming. Those two cuts need to be Bruce Bowen and Antawn Jamison. Having those two on the roster is redundant, in terms of what skills they bring. Bowen is old and will be in the twilight of his career (read "ancient") by the time 2008 comes around. Shane Battier, although from Duke, plays that role better for this team anyway. Jamison's problem is that he doesn't do anything well except shoot, but he's still not the answer for the outside shooting need and doesn't do enough as a Power Forward to keep a spot. Chris Bosh, without the shotblocking. I feel pretty strongly about those two. Also, I'd replace Gilbert Arenas with a shooter. I like Gilbert, but he's a volume shooter (meaning he shoots a lot of shots at a low percentage) that is incredibly streaky from the outside. Replace him with Michael Redd or (I can't believe I'm going to say this)...JJ Redick. Alright, that's it, I know it's time to wrap this up when I start recommending Duke players. By the way, I'm not going to write anything about how Team USA almost lost and barely squeaked out a 4-point win against the Brasileiros. I don't want to get too negative. Good luck, guys...it's a good start, but there's a lot of work ahead.