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Bowen is coming home.
Sorry if someone posted the espn recap, guy nearly singled out bowen
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...ris&id=2539099
"LAS VEGAS -- Jerry Colangelo was checking his cell phone messages in the tunnel beneath the stands a few minutes after the final buzzer when I asked him for a report card on his own little Dream Team.
"The effort is there, and everybody is on the same page -- and I know you didn't see that in Athens," he said.
He's got a point there, and thus far everything seems to be going according to plan for the man in charge of restoring America's rightful place in the world of international basketball.
Colangelo keeps talking about being on a mission, and his players truly seem to have bought into his message. The evidence was right there on the court Thursday for all to see, the Americans playing selflessly and energetically and doing all of the little things that great teams are supposed to do.
After a sluggish first quarter in which they missed eight of nine 3-point attempts and led just 29-26 (so much for the idea of dominating every single quarter), the Americans got a boost from their second unit of Kirk Hinrich, Brad Miller, Gilbert Arenas, Shane Battier and Joe Johnson to close the first half with a 19-2 run that eventually became a 31-2 run once the third quarter began. The surge turned a 33-29 deficit into a 57-35 lead, and the rest of the night was showtime for the U.S. players who appear genuinely determined to start a new chapter in the evolution of Team USA.
Just listen to Carlos Arroyo, who was a centerpiece of the biggest humiliation the Americans have suffered over the past four years (a 19-point victory over the United States in the Athens opener) while losing six of their 17 games at the 2002 World Championship and 2004 Olympics.
"It's a team that has a lot of pride, and with what they went through the last couple years, there's nothing to expect but greatness from this team. It's a team that's hungry for a medal, that's hungry to show the world that they're not what they've shown for the last couple years," Arroyo said.
The Americans forced 25 turnovers in their 114-69 victory and got 18 points from Carmelo Anthony, 16 from Antawn Jamison and 14 points, five assists and four steals from Dwyane Wade, who stopped after one breathtaking breakaway dunk to salute a group of U.S. Air Force personnel seated in the front row in their desert fatigues.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski also singled out Shane Battier for praise, and it'll be interesting to see whether Battier will beat out Bruce Bowen for one of the final spots on the roster (The Americans are bringing 14 players to Asia, but only 12 will be on the active roster). Bowen was the only U.S. player who did not score Thursday night, and he also was the only American to shoot an airball.
The U.S. players have been staying at the fancy Wynn Hotel and Casino, running across Americans from all corners of the country.
"Every time you walk through the hotel lobby, there's people excited about USA Basketball and wanting to know how practice is going and how guys are doing. We understand that we represent more than the organizations we play for in the NBA, and we represent more than the name on the back. We represent the name on the front of our jersey, and that means a lot to every guy on this team," Wade said.
Said coach Mike Krzyzewski: "There was something about being here that has helped to create a national spirit for our team."
The next challenge for the Americans will be to keep their effort and enthusiasm at a peak through their exhibition tour of China and South Korea, with a side stop in Hong Kong, before arriving in Sapporo, Japan, for their first meaningful game Aug. 19.
The last version of Team USA also looked great in its first exhibition game, also against Puerto Rico, but things quickly changed after they boarded a plane and made the long journey overseas. They got stomped by Italy and barely defeated Germany in their second and third exhibitions, then had a great tuneup against Serbia-Montenegro in Belgrade before taking a step backward in a tight game against Turkey in Istanbul. By the time that team arrived in Athens it was still figuring itself out, and we all remember what happened in Athens.
And so while I am left every bit as impressed as Colangelo, I'm not ready to concede the gold medal to this team just yet. There's a long way to go, and strange things happen in international basketball games. Let's see how they look two weeks from now when the comforts of Vegas will be long behind them. Better yet, let's see how they look a month from now when they're bound to be road-weary right when they need to be at their peak. That's when the medal round will be held, and there's no guarantee that they'll be playing as well then as they are right now."
Bowen is coming home.
Not so fast, grasshopper. 'must learn the ways of team defense game, first.
Are you are talking about the off-white bands on the ball? That's the FIBA ball. Here is a link to the description of the ball designed by Molten.
http://www.fiba.com/asp_includes/dow...sp?file_id=434
Kobe is not clutch. The stats don't lie. He is 7-32 in clutch situations if I remember correctly, and.........................he has 0 assists clutch situations, the only player to have such a stat with that many attempts.
I'm sure this was mentioned in one of the 12 pages of this thread (but I'm too lazy to read them all) but that was a SICK crossover move and reverse layup w/foul by Joe Johnson in the 1st half.
You think Bowen has to get big numbers next game so he can still have a chance to be in the team?
Shoot, if I had Smush Parker and Kwame Brown to pass to....I'd have 0 assists too.
No. I don't think anyone that matters is expecting Bowen to put up numbers. I think he is making it automatically because of his leadership, experience and defense. It probably doesn't matter if he scores at all. We'll see what happens.
I agree, I think he'll make it.
I guess its a good thing that Sheridan isn't deciding who stays on the team if he's going to base it on who shot the only airball in an exhibition game. I think that the US needs both Bowen and Battier because they seem to work well together on the perimeter especially on switching off on screens and what not. My thoughts though when Bowen was about to take that shot was that it was going to be an airball and the main reason was because its a shorter distance. He'll make the team though.
I expect Jamison and Miller to be cut. Neither are good on defense while not being quite as good as some of the others on offense.
Yea but Jamison is a great locker room presence and very versitaile, he clan play both SF and PF, hes a good rebounder, athletic, etc. I can see Brad Miller getting cut but i would hate to see Jamison go.
I'm about to piss my own people off, but I'd rather see Jamison stay over...wait for it...Bruce Bowen. I love Bruce but Jamison fits in better with the style of play they are looking for plus he can create his own shot. Then again it was only one game so we'll see what happens.
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