Team USA Basketballers Stinking it Up

Don’t worry, you’ll probably beat us.

There’s no denying the letdown that this team is.

I’m sorry to hear that. Our football team have just had their best international performance for 55 years, but they still lost in the final to Italy.

So I’m still sort of pissed off as well.

someone on CNN said, "this is no DreamTeam; this is a nightmare..."

Hey, making it to the finals was pretty good though, yeah?

When word of their performance gets widespread, they are going to take a tremendous beating in the press and social media.

It was, as was beating Germany.

Because the idea is to have the best team...not a bunch of players that play individually. They do not have heart or the will to win just to show off how great they are.

That’s the argument that people are using against them. Have you even seen this team, or know who the players are, or watched them play?
There are some good, unselfish, hard workers on the team.

I don’t think it’s quite that simple as just saying they’re all crappy show offs.
For instance, the Nigerian and Australian teams both have NBA players in their starting rosters.

Coach Popovich thinks because our team only had a few days of practice playing together they will take a little longer to gel.

For me the jury is still out. It just hasn’t looked good so far.

Yep I did watch some of this and being from Boston I certainly know Tatum.

I honestly think most of the players just think they are going to run over everyone else and they are getting a rude awakening that they just cannot come in and expect the other teams to be bad and not play with heart.

I do not think this team has heart. I do think (like you said) as they play more together and realize they need to in order to win, they will do better and will likely win more if not all at the Olympics. It does seem they have the right coach that can handle this crowd.

But it is hard to get excited about them even though I am partial to Tatum - maybe I just that Olympic spirit - those that play their heart out for the pride of their country rather than themselves - not saying all these players are not like that but with getting paid multi millions to play professionally you tend to have a swelled head and think you can just run over everyone else.

The other teams may have NBA players but most are not and those playing on those teams - you get the feeling they are playing with pride for their country.

If they turn things around, I will give them the credit due, just like I will give them the criticism if they continue to lose.

True - but they do stink now

If the Games even happen - Japan is experiencing an alarming spike in cases. There's a State of Emergency in Tokyo right now.

TOKYO, July 12 (Reuters) - Olympic host city Tokyo entered a new state of emergency on Monday, less than two weeks before the Games begin amid worries about whether the measures can stem a rise in COVID-19 cases.

Organisers last week announced that spectators would be banned from nearly all venues. Spectators from abroad were already banned months ago, and officials are now asking residents to watch the Games on TV to keep the movement of people, which could spread contagion, to a minimum.

Some of the sport's biggest names, including Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Nick Kyrgios, Serena Williams and Simona Halep have already said that they will skip the Games.

Japan has recorded more than 815,440 COVID-19 cases and nearly 15,000 deaths.

Since you hadn't added the names of the players.
Bam Adebayo Miami Heat
Bradley Beal Washington Wizards
Devin Booker Phoenix Suns
Kevin Durant Brooklyn Nets
Jerami Grant Detroit Pistons
Draymond Green Golden State Warriors
Jrue Holiday Milwaukee Bucks
Zach LaVine Chicago Bulls
Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers
Kevin Love Cleveland Cavaliers
Khris Middleton Milwaukee Bucks
Jayson Tatum Boston Celtics

Since I know next to literally nothing about the current NBA, is it an issue of egos clashing? Or the generally crappy players?

If you held my head underwater and forced my honest answer, I’d say it’s lack of chemistry. Our team has been together for literally weeks, and teams like the Nigerians and Australians have been playing together for years.

I don’t buy that our guys don’t have national pride or that they are all miscreant egomaniacs.

In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I bet THIS GROUP of Team USA goes on to compete for gold, and still might win it.

<Edit: This is IF THE GAMES ACTUALLY HAPPEN>

Here’s something a lot of people don’t realize:
When the NBA does it’s proposed revamp and the playoffs end in June instead of July, we will once again have our pick of the Kawhi Leonards, Steph Currys and Anthony Davises.

And we will return to our customary domination.

Many of our top players don’t want to risk injury by going directly from a 90+ game season to an Olympics with no recovery time. When the Olympics end it’s only a few weeks before NBA Training Camp starts.

I know… man, it’s startling to realize that the virus is still powerful enough to shut down an operation as huge and incentivized as the Olympics.

New coronavirus cases in the Netherlands skyrocketed by more than 500 percent last week, according to the health authorities, a surge in cases that forced the country’s prime minister, Mark Rutte, to publicly apologize on Monday for having lifted restrictions too hastily.

As new daily cases increased from 500 on June 25, a day before restrictions were dropped, to over 10,000 on Saturday, Mr. Rutte’s government reimposed several measures, including ordering clubs and bars to close at midnight and reinstating a policy to serve only seated and spaced customers.

This is a bit off-topic, but the Dream Team reference reminded me of Charles Barkley's hilarious trash-talking, "What?? Lithuania?? We're going to kill them!"

You know that prediction I made a couple weeks back - that Team USA would gather itself and end up competing for the gold medal?

Well, the sumbitches just lost to freaking FRANCE! We’ve beaten France 25 times straight, until now!

I humbly retract my prediction.