Team USA roster finalized...where will they finish?

[whlee75]

The finalized roster:

Duncan
Iverson
Carmelo
Lebron
Boozer
Jefferson
Odom
Stoudemire
Wade
Marbury
Marion
Okafor

and Larry Brown

Duncan and Iverson are the only players who have been with the team all along; other big names like VC and McGrady have opted out due to various reasons.

Where do you guys think this team will finish? In my opinion this team is indeed very young and (possibly) talented but is not comparable to the orignial rosters(maybe not even comparable to the previous team that finished 6th couple of years ago), which diminishes the chance of them getting gold a great deal. I know Larry Brown is a very good coach but with the growing skills and competitiveness of international players, and the lack of chemistry and experiences on this roster, it doesn't look to promising to me this summer for Team USA.

BTW, I've never seen Okafur play. Anyone think that he does/doesn't deserve a spot?

[Drex]

I wanna see a starting five of:
Duncan
Stoudemire
'Melo
LeBron
AI

BTW, I've never seen Okafur play. Anyone think that he does/doesn't deserve a spot?

Me neither, but USA Basketball always include a young player, like Laetner (sp?) or Collison.

[GloveGuy]

They're talented enough to embarass the rest of the world. There's no doubt about that. I don't think that Larry Brown will let this team lose or even win by less than ten.

[FanOfAll]

I think they'll be motivated enough to finish first.

[matmat8]

Larry Brown and a group of young motivated players, they're going for gold.

[magius]

those teams usually have one or two rookies along just for the experience. A while ago it was elton brand, now its okafur. shades of the future?

[Riot]

LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBRON and BOOOOOOOOOOOZERRRRRRRr will fight punks

[Andrew]

(We're keeping all the Olympic topics in Other Basketball Leagues, so I'm moving this thread)

I voted for Gold. Even though a US team made of NBA players has been defeated in the last couple of years, this squad should be good enough to place first in Athens. I wish they hadn't abandoned the concept of Dream Teams, though the withdrawal of players like Jermaine O'Neal and Tracy McGrady as well as the reluctance of other stars to participate makes that kind of difficult.

[bchogan]

I wish they hadn't abandoned the concept of Dream Teams, though the withdrawal of players like Jermaine O'Neal and Tracy McGrady as well as the reluctance of other stars to participate makes that kind of difficult.

I don't think you can say they abandoned the concept of Dream Teams, it's just that, like you mentioned, most of the "Dream Team" calibur players declined. The only players on the roster who can really be considered in that group are Duncan and Iverson, who are true superstars and have established themselves in the league. The rest haven't proven themselves quite yet.
The Dream Teams went downhill after the first year anyway. We may never see a U.S. team that comes close to Dream Team 1.

[matmat8]

We may never see a U.S. team that comes close to Dream Team 1.

Especially that Europe is getting better and better. I watched the 1992 dream team on tv lately (espn history or something) and they were great, no doubt, but there wasn't much of a fight to win.

Its harder now that europe players are playing in the nba, and formation (the way they build players) is getting better too.

[Prime!]

The current USA team will be entertaining, yes, but their lineup could've been a little better..

It's not horrible, but it's not all of USA's talent..

[Andrew]

I don't think you can say they abandoned the concept of Dream Teams, it's just that, like you mentioned, most of the "Dream Team" calibur players declined. The only players on the roster who can really be considered in that group are Duncan and Iverson, who are true superstars and have established themselves in the league. The rest haven't proven themselves quite yet.

True, though I remember Stern saying a few years ago that he wasn't keen on more Dream Teams, and the addition of more role player/second-tier players to round out the team seems to indicate that he's getting his wish. But stars declining spots on the team certainly has a lot to do with it.

[Ty-Land]

Andrew, how do you think the Australian line up will go?? Personally I think we'll probably finish around fourth again, yet the competition has increased dramatically with many countries becoming increasingly more competitive. We have a slight chance for bronze, but in saying that we could crash and burn. What do ya reckon??

Ty

[Andrew]

I think that 2000 was our best chance to get a medal. I don't think we can do better than fourth this time around.

[toughthug]

the usa mens basketball team will win a gold medal this year because they are that good. all they got to do is play team basketball and everything else will take care of itself

[Amphatoast]

well for bringing back a thread that's over a month old team USA can't win gold thanks to today's lost

[ATTENTIONWHORE]

I think they're getting bronze.

[Jay-Peso]

I think they're getting bronze.

Hopefully

[Andrew]

I voted for Gold. Even though a US team made of NBA players has been defeated in the last couple of years, this squad should be good enough to place first in Athens. I wish they hadn't abandoned the concept of Dream Teams, though the withdrawal of players like Jermaine O'Neal and Tracy McGrady as well as the reluctance of other stars to participate makes that kind of difficult.

"Take that, Andrew's predictions!"

I did waver when the USA lost a couple in the preliminary matches, but once they advanced to the quarterfinal and defeated Spain I figured they still had a shot. I think they should be able to manage bronze, but that's hardly guaranteed.