Team USA, J.R Smith, Shaun Livingston and Darius Miles evaluations

Team USA is winning the gold. There is no doubt about it. Anyone who tells you different is just trying to avoid a complete embarrassment that would leave US basketball in a crippled state on the international level. The good news is that there is absolutely not chance that this is going to happen. The US has been playing inconsistently throughout portions of games, but still manage to crush opponents in the second half. The Aussie's were just getting excited until the US actually started playing and Kobe dropped 25 to put that one in the bag. The Bucks must have felt great knowing that their $70 million investment, Andrew Bogut, dominated the Team USA big men by netting a whopping 4 points. Good luck on that rebuilding Milwaukee! You traded two great prospects in Yi and Mo Williams and just watched your #1 draft pick, a pick that would be the worst first pick if it weren't for Kwame Brown and Michael Olowakandi, just produce absolutely nothing against top tier NBA competition.

The US team toyed around with Argentina, let them come back to single digits, and then Melo and the rest of Team USA decided that this game was over, and turned the lights out on Argentina's gold medal hopes. The most worrisome thing that Spurs fans, Argentina fans, and Manu Ginobili fans should take out of this game is the fact that Manu has not fully recovered from his ankle injury. The same injury that left him as a non-factor (except one game) in the Conference Finals against the Lakers. Manu leaving in the first quarter was a death blow to Argentina, and everyone knew it.

For Houston fans, Scola's 28 points should be very comforting. I have said it before, that Scola is a rising star in the NBA, and his production can only move upward. He did it all against the best players in the world, and the best team in basketball since the Dream Team. Scola and the Rockets have a very bright future, and who knows what the limit is for his talent.

Prediction for USA vs Spain: A huge win for the United States. The US crushed Spain in their first outing, and the Spanish team can't do much about it except trying to limit paint points and force jump shots. Spain will finish with silver and the US will win their first championship in an international tournament since Sydney in 2000 and reclaim US basketball as the best in the world.

Thoughts on Darius Miles: This signing is bad news for Portland. If Darius plays more than 10 games for the Celtics, the entirety of his contract has to be paid out. Darius is due to make $9 million the next two seasons. Not a good thing for Paul Allen's checkbook. Miles was the third pick in the 2000 draft and many cite him as an example of why high school players should not be allowed to enter the NBA, but he has shown some promise pre-injury. His supposed career ending surgery has made Miles a success story. He will be a dangerous player because he will want to prove that not only can he play for the defending champions, but he was not a draft bust and just needed to be in the right situation at the right time. This is his chance. Before his injury, for the Blazers, he averaged 10.4 pts, 5.2 rebs, and 1.15 blks. Not too bad, but not what a #3 pick should be averaging. The Celtics will be able to use him to try and fill the role of James Posey. Miles has never been a nitty-gritty type of player like Posey, but Miles is a credible offensive threat when he wants to be. He can score, and will cause match-up problems if he plays the 3. At 6'9 and 235lbs, he is a sizable body that can play the post and has a decent mid-range game. It is going to improve the Celtics bench a bit, but not totally fulfill Posey's roll on the team. Overall, good move for the Celtics and Miles. Danny Ainge clearly saw something in those workouts that none of us have access to. Boston fans should not be too worried except he failed his 4th drug test and will have to serve a 10 game suspension before playing in a Celtic uniform. I have posted this video of Miles in a previous post, but it seems relevant again



The best thing for Boston fans to do right now is to be skeptical, and be surprised if/when Miles pans out. Nevertheless, he can only gain from this situation, from a basketball and financial standpoint.

Thoughts on Shawn Livingston: Shaun Livingston is another player coming off of injury. A bad one. If you have not seen this video, I would highly recommend you brace yourself, and even if you have, I would say the same thing to you. I cringe every time I see this.



Livingston was one of the most promising guards in the NBA before his injury. He was expected to elevate the Clippers to the next level. I was not the only LA native who thought that either. When Livingston was at his peak, a lot of people in LA were talking about him. His devastating injury was a dark story in sports. A young and promising point guard who had a supposedly career ending injury on a freak accident. Livingston is on the Lakers summer team to try and make the squad. That will be a very tough job considering the Lakers just signed Sasha Vujacic to a $15 million contract, have Farmar and Fisher at point, and a guy named Kobe Bryant. That is a very crowded back court. I won't say that Coby Karl is a threat, but Coby Karl and the Laker's only draft pick in the second round, Joe Crawford from Kentucky, are trying to make the team, as well as a summer team loaded with former UCLA and USC grads. Point is, it will be competitive. When you sustain an injury like Livingston, NBA teams are reluctant to pull the trigger because of the uncertainty of how that player will bounce back. The Clippers had reportedly offered him a one year deal, but he declined. Now Clipper fans are screaming about the loyalty, but there is not much loyalty in a one year deal. The Suns and Nuggets have shown interest, but the Lakers appear to be Livingston's first choice. Livingston has been working out in Chicago with legendary trainer David Thorpe which is a great sign. The Lakers are in no need of a point guard, but it would not hurt to take a look at Livingston and possibly sign him. If Livingston plays well, one of the Laker guards (not Kobe, obviously, and probably not Fisher), could be on the trading block come February. Nothing like a little overload in a position to spur some competition and elevate everyone else's play. It is worth a shot.

Thoughts on J.R Smith: I have gone on a rant about J.R Smith and how he would flourish in a veteran environment. Unfortunately, Denver is not that place for him. He is seriously one of the most untapped talents in the NBA. Smith is one of those high school players who NBA scouts locked on to and decided that if he could be controlled, he would become a great NBA player. That is all true, except for the fact that George Karl's Nuggets are not a calming influence on Smith. He averaged 12.6 points and shot 40% from 3 point range for the Nuggets. At 22 years old, he still has a long career ahead of him, and if he reaches into his untapped potential, the rest of the league better take notice. I have a tremendous respect for J.R Smith and his game, and I predict that this multi-year deal will be the start of something good for him. This could be the making of a new star.

Izzy

picture sources: theassociation.blogs.com (first), jamd.com (second), atibaphoto.com (third), sportsillustrated.com,

Team USA evaluation

I'm back from vacation, and after a few days rest back home in SoCal, I am back in NC for the grind of a another school year. The update on the blog is that we will not be able to finish the 'to-do list' of every team because we want to dedicate most of this blog to evaluating moves and news of the NBA and their respective teams. We will pick the remaining 'to-do list' teams based on the majority of our readers' interests. We hope to bring you at least 7 more teams before the start of the season. With Phil still in Beijing for the Olympics, it is pretty tough to be maintaining and writing for the site all at once. I'm confident Phil is working hard in Beijing though. Here is a quick rundown about the US Men's Basketball team in Beijing.

The US has looked about on par with where everyone expected them to be. Most people expected vulnerabilities and laughed at anyone who tried to make too much of their pre-Olympic performances, many of whom were inferior competition. With Team USA playing like they are, many of the people I have spoke with about the games have been reluctant to call the US a lock for the gold. Those reservations are probably due largely in part to the sour taste in everyone's mouth from the 2004 debacle.

Lebron and Dwade have played exceptionally for the U.S. on offense, and Kobe and Dwight Howard have been the defensive force. Wade netted 19pts against the win over Angola and Lebron managed 12pts. Kobe's defense forced a lot of turnovers that led to easy buckets, and Kobe's offense has been mediocre as he scored only 8 in the win against Angola and 13 against the win in China. Team USA does not need Kobe to be dropping 30 to win, obviously, but his amazing defense is one of the US's strongest assets. The main criticism the team has drawn has been from their poor three point shooting. They only shot 29.2% from beyond the arc against China and 23.8% against Angola. Those numbers are interesting because one would think that the three point percentage would go up because the arc is closer to the basket in international play, but for whatever reason, the US is not knocking the shots down.

The US started out slow against China, and at one point in the second quarter were tied 26-26. The US outplayed China in the second half and had a decisive 31 point margin of victory. The US' victory never seemed to be in doubt, but the US has turned the ball over 12 times in both games, and has not been amazing from the charity stripe either. They have shot 72% and 64%, respectively in the two games played. They are going to have to increase those numbers considerably as they hit the tough part of their schedule against Greece and Spain. Both teams have come off huge wins. A decisive win against Germany for Greece and an emotional OT victory for Spain over China, led by Gasol's 29pts.

The strong point for the US has been the evenly distributed minutes by Coach K, their defense, and ball distribution. It is basketball at its finest level. It is the level of basketball that can be seen at no other time. The best players in the world running a passing offense that creates spacing and open shots. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

The US is going to have to step up their play another notch for them to beat Greece. Melo has said that they have waited two years since the World Championships in Japan for a chance to play Greece again. Greece torched the US in 06' with their pick n' rolls the whole game. Which is interesting because since Mike D'Antoni is on the coaching staff, and his play book consisted of a total of two plays called, "Nash do whatever you want" and "Nash run a pick n' roll" he couldn't give any advice on how to guard the play. Nonetheless, the US needs to keep up their defense and hit their open shots. Kobe has said that the players on the team are not used to be that wide open, but the US has had ample time to adjust to their new roles on their teams and it is time to execute. There is no question that the US has the most talent in the world, and it is not even close, but it is yet to be seen if the US has the best chemistry in the world. That will be tested with the up coming games, and if the US is going to win gold, they have to work out the kinks. It will be interesting to see how the US responds to the challenge, but without a doubt, Melo, Bron, and Dwade have had this date against Greece for a long time. The game against Greece will need to be played at a high level so the US can take that momentum into the games against Spain and Germany.

-Izzy

Links:

Gilbert Arenas has thoughts about Kwame and free agency in general, the pics of his pool that leaked, the european trend, and more.

Studies show that pro basketball players can tell whether a shot is good or bad the moment it leaves their hand from the memory in the player's pinky.

When I was in Vegas this past week I was looking for lines to bet for the Olympics, but did not find them. Apparently they exist, and it is a good thing I did not find them because the US was not even close to covering against Angola.

This is a great photo I've found from SLAM online.

Shaq is expanding his old childhood town.

I'm disappointed that Team USA does not want to try the new foods in China.

If you have not been/heard of the site hoopedia.com, then go to it. It is wikipedia for basketball so you can look up the starting lineup for the 90's Bulls and look like you knew it all along.

Picture Sources: usabasketball.com (first), espn.com (second), nydailynews.com (third)