(This is a 2-part article, part 2 can be found on go2page3.blogspot.com)
8-8-08 is FINALLY HERE!!! Do you feel the love?! Well....not really due to all of the wars going on around us right now, but the Olympics is a time that the entire world can pause for world unity and I feel so proud of my country(even if a single game has yet to be played!)! But that is not what I am here to talk to you about. I am actually here to talk about the MUST WIN gold medal that Team USA is facing after failing to bring home the gold in 2004. Let,s weigh some quick pro's and con's. The pro's, it's Team USA, need I say more?! They have the best players in the world and this time around, with the 3-yr commitment from the top players in the league, things will be done right. Oh yeah, they also have Lebron James, the ZEUS of Basketball!(That is for my boy Calvin!). The con's, well they lost in 2004 and....well....the competition didn't exactly get weaker. Teams are actually stronger, and they have been playing together for years.
Despite Team USA being 2/7 favorites in these Olympic Games, I have the blueprint for the World to pull off the most colossal upset EVER!!! Here are some steps that can help the World beat Team USA.
1. Kidnap Kobe Bryant- You think I'm joking?!? OK, maybe I am...but it wouldn't hurt!
2. Play match up zone defense- I watched the US-Russia warm up game the other day, and I noticed that this defense is the best defense to play against Team USA. Why, you ask?! Well, its quite simple. No team can play man against Team USA. If they do, they are bold and foolish. It would look like 1992, but on a whole different wavelength! You can try to play a typical 2-3 or 1-3-1 zone, but the 2-3 zone would cause Coach K to go to Micheal Redd, and that would not be good for the world, and if they play a 1-3-1, then Dwight Howard would have a field day in the post. So the world's best bet is to play a match up zone, which can confuse Team USA at times.
2b. NO DOUBLE TEAMS!!!!- World, if you so choose to double team Team USA, then you are setting yourself up for failure!
3. Play with confidence- Every team needs to play with confidence against Team USA. Back in the days of Team USA dominating the competition, half of the reason was that the players were too busy being awestruck by the players on the Dream Team. So the world needs to play with a sense of disrespect. Who cares if you're LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and so forth. Get in their face! Try to frustrate them. Try to reverse the roles and play bully. The world needs to realize that they are basketball players just like them and that their game is not the individual game, it is a team game, so they must all be confident when facing Team USA.
4. Play Team Basketball- I watched Spain play a couple of games and I have watched Argentina a lot also. Although these teams have great individual players, they never stray away from the team game. The extra pass, the pick and roll, the give and go, the "no iso", all of these things are apart of the world game. The world needs to use this to their advantage, and remember that the way they play team basketball is the only way that they can defeat Team USA.
5. Go Hard or Go Home- Whatever team that has the challenge of playing Team USA, needs to play the full 40 minutes as if its their last game, because if they slack off one bit, then they are going to catch an L.
And that is how the World can possibly beat Team USA aka The Redeem Team. My predictions....well, I think Spain and Argentina are the toughest match ups for Team USA, but in the end, Team USA will claim Gold.
Don't forget, Part 2 of this article is at go2page3.blogspot.com! Check it out now!
8-8-08 is FINALLY HERE!!! Do you feel the love?! Well....not really due to all of the wars going on around us right now, but the Olympics is a time that the entire world can pause for world unity and I feel so proud of my country(even if a single game has yet to be played!)! But that is not what I am here to talk to you about. I am actually here to talk about the MUST WIN gold medal that Team USA is facing after failing to bring home the gold in 2004. Let,s weigh some quick pro's and con's. The pro's, it's Team USA, need I say more?! They have the best players in the world and this time around, with the 3-yr commitment from the top players in the league, things will be done right. Oh yeah, they also have Lebron James, the ZEUS of Basketball!(That is for my boy Calvin!). The con's, well they lost in 2004 and....well....the competition didn't exactly get weaker. Teams are actually stronger, and they have been playing together for years.
Despite Team USA being 2/7 favorites in these Olympic Games, I have the blueprint for the World to pull off the most colossal upset EVER!!! Here are some steps that can help the World beat Team USA.
1. Kidnap Kobe Bryant- You think I'm joking?!? OK, maybe I am...but it wouldn't hurt!
2. Play match up zone defense- I watched the US-Russia warm up game the other day, and I noticed that this defense is the best defense to play against Team USA. Why, you ask?! Well, its quite simple. No team can play man against Team USA. If they do, they are bold and foolish. It would look like 1992, but on a whole different wavelength! You can try to play a typical 2-3 or 1-3-1 zone, but the 2-3 zone would cause Coach K to go to Micheal Redd, and that would not be good for the world, and if they play a 1-3-1, then Dwight Howard would have a field day in the post. So the world's best bet is to play a match up zone, which can confuse Team USA at times.
2b. NO DOUBLE TEAMS!!!!- World, if you so choose to double team Team USA, then you are setting yourself up for failure!
3. Play with confidence- Every team needs to play with confidence against Team USA. Back in the days of Team USA dominating the competition, half of the reason was that the players were too busy being awestruck by the players on the Dream Team. So the world needs to play with a sense of disrespect. Who cares if you're LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and so forth. Get in their face! Try to frustrate them. Try to reverse the roles and play bully. The world needs to realize that they are basketball players just like them and that their game is not the individual game, it is a team game, so they must all be confident when facing Team USA.
4. Play Team Basketball- I watched Spain play a couple of games and I have watched Argentina a lot also. Although these teams have great individual players, they never stray away from the team game. The extra pass, the pick and roll, the give and go, the "no iso", all of these things are apart of the world game. The world needs to use this to their advantage, and remember that the way they play team basketball is the only way that they can defeat Team USA.
5. Go Hard or Go Home- Whatever team that has the challenge of playing Team USA, needs to play the full 40 minutes as if its their last game, because if they slack off one bit, then they are going to catch an L.
And that is how the World can possibly beat Team USA aka The Redeem Team. My predictions....well, I think Spain and Argentina are the toughest match ups for Team USA, but in the end, Team USA will claim Gold.
Don't forget, Part 2 of this article is at go2page3.blogspot.com! Check it out now!
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