So who's your next "Dream Team".

[Skandery]

Welcome to 1988.

Welcome to Athens 2004 also!!


First and Foremost, I want Shaq.  No-one has truly dominated international players the way Shaq has.  He should be good for about 22 points (translation: 11 dunks) in roughly 18 minutes.  With Shaq not needing time that opens more playing time for the cry-baby that is today's NBA superstar.  

Guards:

Ray Allen:  deadly outside shooter who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Gilbert Arenas:  deadly outside shooter who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Dwayne Wade:  Slasher/Scorer who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Jason Kidd:  Passer/Accelerator who is not averse to lobbing the ball for dunks.

Forwards:

Shawn Marion:  Rebounder/Defender not averse to dunking the ball.
Kevin Garnett:  Mr. Everything not averse to dunking the ball.
LeBron James:  Slasher/Scorer who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Rasheed Wallace: Rebounder/Defender not averse to dunking the ball.

Centers:

Ben Wallace: Rebounder/Defender not averse to dunking the ball.
Brad Miller:  Rebounder/Passer not averse to lobbing the ball for dunks.

Which leaves room for one guy who very possibly could be the monkey wrench that blows the entire machine to kingdom come.  But I'm gonna hope he joins the team with the best of intentions, and truth be told, he was one of the few players I was impressed with at Athens --

Allen Iverson: Scorer/Passer not averse to lobbing the ball for dunks.

The Units on the court would be:

1) Shaq-Wade-Allen-Marion-R. Wallace
2) Miller-Arenas-Kidd-James-Garnett

Ben Wallace would spell both Shaq and Miller
Iverson would spell all the guards

I would limit the amount of time Shaq and Garnett are on the floor together.
I would limit the amount of time Arenas and Iverson are on the floor together.


   

[ziggy]

First Team
Dwayne Wade
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan

Second Team
Gilbert Arenas
Andre Iguodala
Shawn Marion
Elton Brand
Amare Stoudamire

Utility
Ray Allen or Mike Bibby or Chauncey Billups
Ben Wallace

Ziggy -- I like your first squad but your second?

 

Randy,
How about this instead?  Basically just switch Marion and LeBron.  Certainly balances the lineups better.

Team
Dwayne Wade
Kobe Bryant
Shawn Marion
Kevin Garnett
Tim Duncan

Second Team
Gilbert Arenas
Andre Iguodala
LeBron James
Elton Brand
Amare Stoudamire

Utility
Ray Allen or Mike Bibby or Chauncey Billups
Ben Wallace

[WayOutWest]

Welcome to 1988.

Welcome to Athens 2004 also!!


First and Foremost, I want Shaq.  No-one has truly dominated international players the way Shaq has.  He should be good for about 22 points (translation: 11 dunks) in roughly 18 minutes.  With Shaq not needing time that opens more playing time for the cry-baby that is today's NBA superstar.  

Guards:

Ray Allen:  deadly outside shooter who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Gilbert Arenas:  deadly outside shooter who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Dwayne Wade:  Slasher/Scorer who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Jason Kidd:  Passer/Accelerator who is not averse to lobbing the ball for dunks.

Forwards:

Shawn Marion:  Rebounder/Defender not averse to dunking the ball.
Kevin Garnett:  Mr. Everything not averse to dunking the ball.
LeBron James:  Slasher/Scorer who is not averse to dunking the ball.
Rasheed Wallace: Rebounder/Defender not averse to dunking the ball.

Centers:

Ben Wallace: Rebounder/Defender not averse to dunking the ball.
Brad Miller:  Rebounder/Passer not averse to lobbing the ball for dunks.

Which leaves room for one guy who very possibly could be the monkey wrench that blows the entire machine to kingdom come.  But I'm gonna hope he joins the team with the best of intentions, and truth be told, he was one of the few players I was impressed with at Athens --

Allen Iverson: Scorer/Passer not averse to lobbing the ball for dunks.

The Units on the court would be:

1) Shaq-Wade-Allen-Marion-R. Wallace
2) Miller-Arenas-Kidd-James-Garnett

Ben Wallace would spell both Shaq and Miller
Iverson would spell all the guards

I would limit the amount of time Shaq and Garnett are on the floor together.
I would limit the amount of time Arenas and Iverson are on the floor together.

Uhmmmm.......I think you forgot the BEST backcourt player in the game today.

Rim rocker, clutch shooting, slasher extrordinare!

[Joe Vancil]

Skander's point isn't lost on me:  one of the first things we need to do with our springy-legged players is teach them to NOT leave the ball on the rim!  International goaltending rules are INCREDIBLY lax compared to the NBA's rules.  If the ball is rolling around on the rim, either dunk it in, or knock it off!  Our players do more goaltending in the average NBA game where it's illegal than they did in the Olympics where it was LEGAL!

If I were coaching the team, I'd have my team running laps for every ball they let hang on the rim in practice.  Once that ball touches the rim, SOMEBODY'S hands better be on it!

Shawn Kemp really took to the international goaltending rules in the 1994 WCB;  there's no reason that folks like Garnett, Duncan, Wallace, Marion and Stoudemire haven't.

[Skandery]

Uhmmmm.......I think you forgot the BEST backcourt player in the game today.

Rim rocker, clutch shooting, slasher extrordinare!

I know I was gonna catch slack for not including, oh how does Reality affectionately refer to him as, oh yes:  Kobediah.

I do agree with you, WOW, Kobe is a heckuva clutch shooter, knows how to get to the hole, knows how to get to the line.  A truly gifted scorer who is almost impossible to defend when he's got things flowin'.  HOWEVER...

I think when you've got a team as star-studded as Team USA with so many players who command the basketball and opportunities, Kobe would hurt as much as he helps.  His skills would command a certain number of offensive field goal attempts that would probably better be served going to Sheed, Ben, Shawn, Kevin, <insert leaper here> for a dunk.  I tried drafting a lot of players to this team who do not need the ball to be effective.

I've got Arenas, Wade, Kidd, James, and Iverson who're gonna command the basketball enough, without trying to fit Kobe in.  With each one of those guys you've got an increase over Kobe in playmaking, which serves an All-Star team better than pure offensive explosiveness (and none of those guys are slouches in that category either).  And by the same token since he is also a dominant post threat, he would get in the way of Shaq, Rasheed, and Garnett.  Not to denounce his skills in any way, but Kobe is very much the odd man out.

 

Skander's point isn't lost on me           

I actually had two points, one of them was the one you astutely pointed out.  The other is the lost art of the high percentage field goal.  People like to reminisce on the sheer dominance of the original Dream Team, yet everyone seems to forget what made them so dominant.  Almost every single shot they attempted was from 2 feet (either a dunk or a layup).  

Now International competition has risen and I don't think we'll ever field a team that averages 42 point victories.  But I should think we'd look quite a bit more dominant, if we quit ISO-ing wing slashers/questionable perimeter shooters on the wing.  The International zone defenses will sag on the player and almost always dare him to attempt his "questionable" perimeter shot.  

We need rebounders/outlet passers that lead to dunk after dunk, and we need high percentage outside shooters to shred the Zones in the half-court.  Get that point into the Olympic Selection Committee's heads and into the player's heads and all the coach will need to do is roll the ball on the court, much like Daly did with The Dream Team.    

[Guest_Randy]

Skander,

Let's see -- how can we BEST assume what Kobe would do in a game where he is surrounded by premiere talent?  Perhaps an All-Star game is the best chance we have to assess his willing to give and play with others -- and how has he fared in those games?  Shooting a lower percentage or a higher percentage?  Wasn't he MVP at one of those things?  Was it because he didn't allow anyone else to be involved or was it because he just stood above the rest?  

Everything you JUST said about Kobe could have also been said about another player on the original dream team -- in fact it WAS said of critics "how will MJ be willing to share the ball and be part of this kind of a star lined team?"

Actually, I would state that Ray Allen has a harder time passing the ball than Kobe does -- and that's after watching the guy play in Seattle many times.  There isn't a shot that goes by that Ray doesn't think he should shoot -- and he's a GREAT shooter -- the kind the dream team needs -- but GM's were asked recently who they would want to shoot the last shot if it were down to one guy -- want to guess who they chose?

[WayOutWest]

Skander,

Let's see -- how can we BEST assume what Kobe would do in a game where he is surrounded by premiere talent?  Perhaps an All-Star game is the best chance we have to assess his willing to give and play with others -- and how has he fared in those games?  Shooting a lower percentage or a higher percentage?  Wasn't he MVP at one of those things?  Was it because he didn't allow anyone else to be involved or was it because he just stood above the rest? 

Everything you JUST said about Kobe could have also been said about another player on the original dream team -- in fact it WAS said of critics "how will MJ be willing to share the ball and be part of this kind of a star lined team?"

Actually, I would state that Ray Allen has a harder time passing the ball than Kobe does -- and that's after watching the guy play in Seattle many times.  There isn't a shot that goes by that Ray doesn't think he should shoot -- and he's a GREAT shooter -- the kind the dream team needs -- but GM's were asked recently who they would want to shoot the last shot if it were down to one guy -- want to guess who they chose?

Exactly Randy.

When it comes time to put up or shut up the only guys on Skanders teams the MIGHT step up are Wade and Iverson.  I'll take Kobe over any of those two and over ANY other player in the game today.

When you have a team as talented as a "Dream Team" there STILL has to be a guy who's willing to be the hero or goat, that man is Kobe, it's a joke to think a "Dream Team" for this next olympics would NOT include Kobe.  IMO Iverson and Arenas should be the odd men out in the back court and Kobe is head AND shoulders above the rest with the exception of KG.  Even with KG you CANNOT just give him the ball anywhere on the court and say GO!  The only guys who can do that are Kobe, AI and Wade and AGAIN Kobe is clearly the superior player.

[westkoast]

I dont see how Wade, Arenas, or Iverson are better play makers than Kobe let alone better defenders but guys...this is Skanders dream-team not westkoast, Randy, or WoW's dream team

I have to disagree with everyone who picked Marion.  Not that I think hes a bad player but because I think Nash makes him look better than he is.  He has all of his shots created for him.  If someone is not creating shots for him he is not all that effective compared to other SFs that you could take for the team.  Ever watched him in PHX when Nash is not creating a nice look for him??  He sits back and hoists up threes that clank.

Am I the only person who would build a more defensive minded team?  Honestly our guys with their size and speed should be shutting teams down overseas.  The REAL dream team not only scored alot but did not let the other team score alot either.  Boy do I miss that team!  I had Dream Team fever like a muhf_____

[rickortreat]

I don't see how any of you can think Iverson doesn't belong on the squad.

His stats are so much better than Kobe's, Wade's or Arena's.

Just look at who the leaders are in steals, assists and points, not to mention getting to the line often.  See who's name is near the top in all of them.

The only one I might go for over Iverson is Wade.  But Iverson is still more productive with points and assists, so the nod goes to AI for now.

I think it's too early to worry about a dream team, who knows if some of these guys will still be playing in '08.

[Skandery]

but GM's were asked recently who they would want to shoot the last shot if it were down to one guy -- want to guess who they chose?

When it comes time to put up or shut up

Yeah......you guys are kinda missin' the point just a bit, you see my team is not gonna need a last second shot, EVER!  When they're pounding teams by 30, the "clutch" factor a player brings to the table becomes irrelevant.  

I agree, Kobe is the superior clutch player to any guard I named and I also agree that Kobe can score from anywhere and has a wider offensive array than most players period.  But don't you guys agree that Kobe needs A LOT of shots to be effective.  Don't you agree that Kobe needs POSSESSION of the ball to put his talents to use.  Don't you agree that Kobe's game seemingly turns teammates into spectators (whether that's Kobe's fault is an entirely different debate) but doesn't it seem to happen OFTEN.  

Randy, you compare Kobe to Jordan, yet you forget that on the Dream Team it was Magic and Stockton who pushed the ball up the floor and Jordan on the wings for the dunk.  It wasn't wait for Jordan to get down there and set up, feed him the ball, and watch him GO.  Executed properly, my team would ALMOST NEVER ISO, EVER!  But ISO is one of Kobe's strengths as a player, see my point?  

Now personally I value the playmaking of my "ball-hogs": Wade, Iverson, Arenas, Kidd, and James more than I value Kobe's more dominant offensive repertoire.  Like I said before Kobe has more weapons in his arsenal than all those guys, but I don't think any of them are slouches, either.  If you want to replace one of those guys with Kobe because you feel the added offense outweigh the small advantage Arenas or Iverson might bring in playmaking, that's your opinion.  I personally don't think its worth it.              

 

[Wolverine]

I have to admit, I wouldn't have Kobe on my Dream Team.  But hey, that's just because I hate him.

[Reality]

Uhmmmm.......I think you forgot the BEST backcourt player in the game today.

Rim rocker, clutch shooting, slasher extrordinare!

I know I was gonna catch slack for not including, oh how does Reality affectionately refer to him as, oh yes:  Kobediah.

 

Not sure if you were on off board, lurking, or on board when the intro of Kobadiah Springfield took place.  It is based in part on a Simpsons episode.

If you got to see the rim rockin, clutch shooting, slasher get swatted twice by GNob tonight, it was sweet.  Once early, once late.

[WayOutWest]

Yeah......you guys are kinda missin' the point just a bit, you see my team is not gonna need a last second shot, EVER!  When they're pounding teams by 30, the "clutch" factor a player brings to the table becomes irrelevant.  
 

If you've played in front of alot of people, i.e. the Las Angeles Sports Arena, clutch shots are not always needed at the end of games.  Sometimes they're needed at the 6 minute mark of the 1st, 2nd or 3rd quarter.

I would expect the US to beat teams by 20+ every game but every now and then you need someone to take command of a team or take the shot when no shots are falling, the refs are against you, the crowd is howling and the other team is hitting every 3 point shot like it was a layup.

I've seen every guy on the list get rattled to the point of falling to the ground into the fetal position with the exception of Kobe and AI.

How someone with any b-ball knowledge can select AI over Kobe is beyond me.  I can see someone taking Wade or even LeBron over Kobe but AI?  IMO that's just a thought process that doesn't follow any logic I can comprehend.

[Guest_Randy]

How someone with any b-ball knowledge can select AI over Kobe is beyond me. I can see someone taking Wade or even LeBron over Kobe but AI? IMO that's just a thought process that doesn't follow any logic I can comprehend.

It's called fanaticism -- Rick still thinks that Dalembert is the 2nd coming of Kareem or Wilt or Hakeem -- maybe, the best of all of them rolled up in one!