Clown Time Is Over

Team USA is currently 2-1 in exhibition games, beating Puerto Rico and Germany, and losing to Italy. In these games they have outscored their opponents by a grand total of 11 points. The general consensus is that Team USA can't shoot, pass, or defend at a level that can guarantee them a medal (It's funny how people only talk about the Gold Medal. Doesn't anyone remember the 2002 World Championships?). How much of this is true? Let's take a look.

Shooting - Team USA has shot .333 from three-point range, which would have ranked them 25th among last year's NBA teams. Of course, it's only a 45 shot sample, so if only one more had fallen, they would be 9th. The 15 shots and 5 made per game would be low average for the NBA, but it would dwarf the Champion Pistons 11.8 and 4.1, respectively. Also, keep in mind that the Olympic games are 8 minutes shorter, so I think it's fair to say that there's hope yet for their 3-point game. Their overall shooting percentage is an outstanding .525, which would have led the NBA by 63 points. However, they're shooting only .653 from the line, which would be last in the NBA by a wide margin. So what's their grade? At this point, you would have to think that their .525 field goal percentage would win them a lot of games, so even with those other issues, I'll say a B.

Passing - Originally, the point guards on this team were expected to be Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, and Dwyane Wade, with LeBron James and Lamar Odom helping out in a half-court set. But so far, A.I. has only 3 assists in 50 minutes, James has only 2 in 2 games, and Odom has zero. Wade has 14 assists, but he also has 11 turnovers. Marbury is the best at 17 and 9, but the only other player with positive numbers is Richard Jefferson, with 7 and 2. As a team, Team USA has 56 assists and a whopping 57 turnovers. Team Passing Grade - F.

Defense - Team USA's opponents are shooting .434 from the field, .368 on threes, and.771 from the line. It's the three-point number that stands out, as it would have placed third amongst NBA teams last year. Also, they're firing them at a great pace, one that would have placed second in the league. Actually, The Opponents' numbers look a lot like last year's Seattle team, but also keep in mind that they're playing 8 fewer minutes. They've turned the ball over 22 fewer times as well. Defense Grade - C.

So here's what I'd like to see going into tomorrow's tough match with Serbia-Montenegro:

1. A shortened lineup of guys ready to play. I'm thinking Duncan, Anthony, A.I. and Marbury have earned starting roles, and need to learn quickly how to play together, so let's give them 30 or more minutes a night. Jefferson, Carlos Boozer, and Shawn Marion can split power forward, and the others can share the remaining minutes, or pick up more during practice. If they don't like it, too bad. There's no time to worry about anyone's feelings.

2. Extend the defense. This means all players, all over their man, all of the time. We have the defensive weapons to pull this off, and we need to stop all of these shots from beyond the arc.

3. Protect the ball. Some of those turnovers is lack of familiarity, but some is just sloppiness. We're not good enough to get away with that.

Let's see what happens tomorrow.