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If the Spurs tried to pack it in and play zone to offset Team USA's athleticism, Michael Redd and Lebron James would light up the Spurs from 3 point range. Team USA has no weaknesses.
If this Team USA stays together and beats the best teams in the world, I might change my mind. But you people are proclaiming them unbeatable based on their performance against a weak field in a qualifying tournament. Lebron, Carmelo, and Amare are not clutch, nor are they great defenders. Kobe is clutch, but he has been stopped in the past.
If the Spurs tried to pack it in and play zone to offset Team USA's athleticism, Michael Redd and Lebron James would light up the Spurs from 3 point range. Team USA has no weaknesses.
amare not clutch?? now i know you're retarted...
If you're going to call me names learn how to spell them. And when has Amare done anything clutch?
yeah but what if it was a 12 on 4 in favor of San Antonio, and Team USA players only had 2 fouls before fouling out, plus they had a 5 second shot clock, and 3-pointers counted as 4 for the Spurs only?
Spurs would KILL Team USA! Oh yeah!
Im not declaring them unbeatable, just that their top 6 players would wipe the floor with the Spurs top 6, not that hard to understand
And Lebron took a team of scrubs to the Finals, Amare has always been very good in the playoffs, and Melo played pretty damn good last year, its not his fault that the SPurs just have a much, much better team. Just because a team doesnt win a le doesnt make your claim of them being non-clutch valid at all.
right off the bat here's the first one i think of. holla at me if you want to know some of the others...
Spurs fall to Suns in Game 1
San Antonio Express-News
By Johnny Ludden
Web Posted : 04/20/2003 12:00 AM
The first time Stephon Marbury tossed in a 25-footer off the glass with the buzzer sounding, the Spurs shrugged it off. That was Jan. 14, at the end of regulation, and the Spurs steadied themselves in overtime to beat Phoenix.
First Round: Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns
Even in Saturday's tense playoff opener, after Amare Stoudemire, who had all of two 3-pointers on his résumé, caromed in a 26-footer to send the game into overtime, the Spurs still shook their heads and smiled.
But when Marbury streaked across the court in the final seconds of OT, pulled up from virtually the exact same spot on the SBC Center floor as he did four months earlier? Again going deep off the glass at the buzzer, silencing 19,217 fans and delivering the Suns a stunning 96-95 victory? What could the Spurs call that?
Fate?
"BS," Stephen Jackson said.
While Jackson's initials didn't stand for Bank Shot, Robinson interpreted Marbury's last-second heave as something else.
A wakeup call.
"Welcome to the playoffs," Robinson said. "We're sober now."
No one would be surprised if the Spurs are still staggering around punch-drunk. Four times this season, Phoenix has beaten them. This one carried considerably more importance because it left the Spurs in a 1-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series.
Never in the Spurs' 30 years — and that goes back to their red-white-and-blue ABA days — have they won a playoff series after losing the opening game.
"We were in their heads before the series," said Suns center Scott Williams, who had Kevin Willis' elbow in his throat at the end of the second quarter. "Now they've got some questions and they need to find some answers. They're definitely not going to sleep much tonight."
If the Spurs, who are trying to avoid becoming the third No. 1 seed in NBA history to lose to a No. 8, do spend the night tossing and turning, they likely will do it while thinking of missed opportunities, most of which were missed free throws. They clanged three of their four foul shots in the final 6.6 seconds, 6 of 8 in overtime and 15 of 41 in the game. They couldn't even call it surprising, considering the 72.5 percent they shot from the line during the season ranked 26th among the league's 29 teams.
"I'm thrilled with our (41) free throws," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "But I guess they have to go in before 41 means something. They got us tonight."
Said Tim Duncan: "I missed some that would have put us on top."
Namely two. After rebounding Tony Parker's missed free throw, Duncan misfired on both of his attempts with 5.1 seconds remaining.
Marbury grabbed Duncan's second miss with 3.7 seconds left, raced left to right across the court and released a 25-footer at the buzzer that banked perfectly off the glass and through the net. As the officials reviewed the shot to determine both whether Marbury took it in time and whether his feet were behind the 3-point line, Duncan buried his head in his hands.
"I wasn't trying to bank it," Marbury said. "I was trying to make it."
That wasn't much consolation for the Spurs. Both of the 3-pointers Stoudemire and Marbury made hit the same backboard Marbury banked his initial one off in January.
"I guess they're good off the glass," Malik Rose said. "They have sufficient funds in the bank to draw all those out.
"As soon as we missed those free throws, I thought something bad was going to happen. Anything can happen in the playoffs. It did tonight."
As a result, the Spurs wasted 18 points from David Robinson — the most he's scored since he had a season-high 20 against Orlando on Jan. 31 — and 23 from Stephen Jackson, who was playing in the first playoff game.
Parker, however, scored only seven — less than half his season average — while missing 11 of 13 shots and all six of his 3-pointers. With the Suns choking off Duncan with two and three defenders and limiting him to only 12 shots, the Spurs missed 19 of the franchise playoff-record 24 threes they hoisted.
Stoudemire, meanwhile, hit the only one he took. After Jackson made both his free throws with 16.9 seconds left in regulation, the Spurs forced Marbury to pass to Stoudemire, who totaled 24 points and nine rebounds in his playoff debut. Instead of rolling to the basket, the 20-year-old Stoudemire, stepped back and fired a 26-footer, which hit the backboard before rattling through the rim with 7.9 seconds left.
"I don't think they have our number," Robinson said. "I think they have been very fortunate. Tonight they were very fortunate and they played well. But we played well ourselves. We just have to get over the hump and get a win.
"We didn't get here by accident. We got this seed for a reason."
That is your argument for Amare being clutch!!!!
i didn't want to do it but here you go...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbsp9H6z978
amare stoudemire was never, is never, and will never be afraid to put it all on his shoulders. ever..
Kidd vs Parker - Parker would out score Kidd as Kidd most likely would only take a shot if left wide open ... Kidd would have three times the number of assists as Parker and three times the number of rebounds. This would be about even.
Kidd's line - 5 points, 8 rebounds, 12 assists.
Parkers line - 18 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists.
Kobe vs Bowen - This would be a fun matchup ... Even if Bowen doesn't allow Kobe to score a single point, it still removes the Spurs best defender from guarding anyone ... as he simply cannot leave Kobe to help defend.
Kobe's line - 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists
Bowens line - 3 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists
Lebron vs Manu - Both would score at will against each other. Lebron is the better rebounder and assist man. Only spreading the ball on team USA would make the lines look similar.
Lebron's line - 20 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds.
Manu's line - 24 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds.
Duncan vs Howard - US would put Howard on Duncan, not Mello. Duncan would be the best player on the floor for stats, but unlike in other games, he cannot afford to help defend and leave his man under the basket ... It is also impossible to hide him from foul trouble .. Something that team USA would have no problem with. This is the key with Duncan, he defends the "weaker" of the opposing teams PF or C to enable him to help defend and stay out of foul trouble ... On team USA, there is no "weaker"
Duncan's line - 28 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists.
Howard's line - 14 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists.
Mello vs Oberto - This will be a killing, Oberto can do abosutly nothing with someone as quick as Mello and with a three point shot. Mello doesn't have to do much to contain a man that would hardly see the ball as the fifth option on the Spurs team. Mello would be free to use all his energy in blowing by Oberto and wrecking the Spurs defensive system ... If they help, its a lob to rim for Kobe, Lebron or Howard.
Mello's line - 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists.
Oberto's line - 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists.
Amare vs Horry .... a Killing for USA
Redd vs Finley ... A Killing for USA
Five on Five ... Spurs keep it under double didgits, but just barely. The more the Spurs go to the bench, then more Team USA wins by.
Also note that the Spurs ... After watching Mello own Oberto, would be forced to go to a smaller line-up to match-up with Mello, taking out Oberto in favor of either Finley or Barry (Horry couldn't do any better with Mello) ... Of cource Finey or Barry also would have problems with Mello ... Going small would destroy any symbolance of the team defense that the Spurs are known for. It would become a shoot-out ... In that game ... Team USA is unbeatable.
Last edited by Dalhoop; 09-04-2007 at 07:30 PM.
Kobes games against the Spurs last year-31, 34, and 34.at 21 points.
On this team ... He would not shoot enough to get that many points. On this team Kidd distributes the ball, Kobe doesn't bring the ball up court to run the play he wants, Kidd brings it up the floor and runs the play that best takes advantage of the situation.
Last edited by Dalhoop; 09-04-2007 at 07:41 PM.
Kobes games against the Spurs last year-31, 34, and 34.
... on 55% shooting from the field ... with teammates like Lamar, Smush Parker, Brian Cook, and Vladimir Radmanovic as secondary options.
And, Kobe would be defending Manu. Carmelo probably defends Bruce. And, LeBron probably defends Oberto.
Both of these say very little as Bowen and Oberto are hardly worth defending. This is why they (Melo and Lebron) would be the high scorers in the games vs the Spurs, they would expend very little energy on the defensive side of the ball.Carmelo probably defends Bruce. And, LeBron probably defends Oberto.
Kobe's defense against Manu would result in about the same thing as Lebron on him. Manu and Kobe are too good to be stopped by any one players. No matter who guards them, they will still get theirs.
Disagree. I think Kobe could shut down Manu. He wouldn't hold him scoreless, but Manu isn't getting his average points unless he starts chucking a lot of shots. And, Manu doesn't do that.
In this game, the Spurs only hope is in Manu, Parker and Duncan taking ALL the shots. If Bowen, and Oberto start handling the ball and putting up shots, the Spurs lose badly.
Could the Spurs even get the ball inside to Oberto being guarded by one of the USA's defenders? Or would it be a steal or turnover ... Mello would take the ball right from him, Lebron would do the same.
Bowen would only shoot if left open for the corner three ... This is why you put Kobe on him, it frees up Kobe to help defend on Parker and Manu penetrations. They can kick the ball out to Bowen all night long .... Are the Spurs willing to live or die on Bowens shooting instead of Parker and Manu penitrations?
Bowen shoots good, but with Kobe helping on Manu and Parker, two of the big three on the Spurs could have a very difficult game.
Why wouldn't you just keep Kobe on Manu so no help would be needed so all the doubles and triples go to Tony and Duncan?
Doesn't make any sense. Back to the original point ... I think Kobe could shut down Manu, especially as he showed his penchant for not being a main scorer on this Team USA squad. He could put his main focus on shutting down Manu like he did Barbosa.
Offseason sucks.
The fact that this is even a conversation is funny.
USA in a blowout. Spurs are great. Spurs are actually ing awesome. For a TEAM.
Not an All Star team.
re-
pref.
Again; anew: rebreathing.
Backward; back: recurvation.
tart·ed, tart·ing, tarts Chiefly British
To dress up or make fancy in a tawdry, garish way
barbacoataco, I think he just called you a Metro...
TEAM USA WOULD GET THEIR ASSES KICKED.
Tell me this, are we talking FIBA Rules with the trapezoid lane? Then for sure Team USA would get their asses kicked.
You guys keep posting up their individual stats and their run in the FIBA Americas like it means something. , ARG sent their B team and lost only to the US. The thing about TEAM is that you are willing to sacrifice for the greater good. It ain't about them being more talented, they are, but they will never, ever get the cohesion needed to beat the SPURS unless they play for years just like Argentina did with Manu, Oberto, Nocioni, Scola, Herrman, Sanchezm Montecchia, Delfino, et al.
That's the problem here, same as it ever was, COHESION. It's what makes an undertalented DETROIT team a solid team. It's what makes the Spurs better than they are.
The days of the DREAM TEAM are dead. If the USA wants to win, they need commitment so they can build COHESION.
READ and RECOGNIZE.
What about the spurs vs. any of the other international teams?
Since USA is playing really well right now, everyone is all on their jock about how they can take on the world. What if they have some bad games? What if the Spurs were to play last Olympic's USA team?
Can't play last Olympic's USA team. Both teams had Duncan. Who gets Duncan? No cloning.
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