Playing the wrong way

By Dan Nied [send email]

There they were, allegedly the greatest basketball team in the world, made up of the greatest players in the world, walking off a court in Cologne, Germany, heads hung after a 95-78 upset loss to Italy in an Olympic exhibition game. They were wondering how they embarrassed their country on a Tuesday afternoon.

In short, this version of Team USA was harshly welcomed to international competition.

Carmelo Anthony and company didn't realize that this game they play overseas is just different enough from the NBA game to make get you called for traveling each time you touch the ball. It's just team-oriented enough to baffle a bunch of scorers and make a group of non-passers obsolete. It is precise enough for a lack of shooting ability to stand out like a drunk at church. And let's not even get talk about the defense.

Start with the excuses as to why Team USA got booed off the court in Germany: They were jet-lagged. This was only an exhibition. They had only played one game together. Italy was absolutely on fire. Take your
pick.

But then move on to the reasons Team USA was handed their worst loss since 1992, when NBA players were allowed to compete in international competition:

The way basketball is played successfully - as a team - has escaped the playgrounds of the United States and found a home in Europe. Look at Italy on Tuesday: they threaded their passes, found the open man, hit their shots and forced turnovers. Look at the United States: They collapsed under the weight of a shoot-first philosophy, rested on their press clippings and threw boneheaded passes in hopes of creating a highlight reel. Perhaps the Americans did not realize that you can't win games solely on dunks and three-pointers.

They didn't play the right way. Italy did.

By the end of the game, when Italy was posing for the crowd and Team USA was feeling the pressure of the loss, USA coach Larry Brown, a man who coined the phrase "Play the right way" while leading the Detroit Pistons to the NBA Title last season, looked like he wanted to be on the Italy sideline with a team that is not immune to his teachings. He looked like he wanted to get as far as possible from Allen Iverson, Anthony and the rest of this hard-lump-of-clay of a team.

And so it is that Brown faces possibly his most daunting task as a basketball coach. Over the course of 11 days he has to take a group of unseasoned playground snipers and mold them into a team that can communicate, play defense and find the open man. If that doesn't happen, then Tuesday's embarrassment will be repeated in Athens.