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The Works: Is Team USA Doomed?

August 27, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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In The Works today: how a potential lockout and Team USA crisis could affect the 2011 NBA Draft; and whether J.R. Smith went too far.

But first, some 2010 FIBA World Championship predictions.

Joga Bonito: Exactly 24 hours after this column is published, the FIBA World Championship will tip off in Turkey. In three weeks, we’ll have a champion, and we’ll know whether to gnash our teeth over another embarrassment for once-unbeatable Team USA or whether we’ll be telling LeBron and friends the country no longer needs their services.

Of course, it’s not that black and white. Among observers who write for a living, Team USA is the underdog going in — Spain, the reigning World Champion, is a popular pick. And for good reason: the Spaniards nearly beat a balls-out U.S. effort in a warmup last week, and simply dominated in both 2006 and in last summer’s EuroBasket tournament. And no fan will soon forget the test Spain gave the star-studded Redeem Team in the gold medal game in Beijing two years ago.

Greece, despite what you saw in a sham of an exhibition Wednesday, is also ready to fight. Remember: Greece is the last team to beat the Americans in a FIBA tournament (in the semifinals of the 2006 Worlds). Argentina, Serbia, Turkey, Australia and Brazil are also looking like medal contenders.

 

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The Works: Lauren Jackson and the Wild, Weird WNBA

August 26, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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In Thursday’s The Works: when meddlesome owners strike, Rajon Rondo vs. Russell Westbrook, the next Euro cult favorite and Luol Deng returns to Southern Sudan.

But first, Lauren Jackson and the WNBA‘s spirit of innovation.

Lauren JacksonA New Aesthetic Is Born: Revisiting Kwame Brown and the 2001 Draft got me thinking about the way scouts thought about their job at the time. In the wake of Kevin Garnett, all prospects — especially the ones from Europe — were expected to be unprecedented weirdos.

Have you read Herodotus? It was like that. Foolhardy, and naive, and yet indicative of an impulse to discover a new frontier of basketball. That’s what I feel is behind all this Positional Revolution business: we want to understand, maybe even predict, where the game is headed.

I am done trying to convince people that the WNBA is closing the gap with the men’s game because the fact remains, women just don’t have the size, speed, and athleticism that men do. I see a league that feels a hell of a lot more like the NBA than it did when it started, something that comes across when you compare the game of an OG to one of her younger peers. That’s half-full; to many, the WNBA remains half-empty.

That is, unless you’re someone who still believes in the dream of 2001.

 

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The Works: Rajon Rondo’s Mysterious Exit

August 25, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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Rajon RondoIn Wednesday’s The Works, Carmelo Anthony thinks Rockets; a look at how Gregg Popovich has managed to beat the second law of thermodynamics; and Kwame Brown‘s curious career continues.

But first, some questions about Rajon Rondo‘s departure from the national team.

A Most Mysterious Exit: The official line is that Rajon Rondo left Team USA to deal with family issues. He did recently fly from New York to Kentucky for an uncle’s funeral, and it’s hardly our business to guess at anyone’s grief. These things take time. Yet there are reasons to believe that Rondo withdrew to save face, or was pushed as much as he jumped. It’s purely circumstantial at this point. But in what’s effectively an off-year for USA Basketball, did this team really want Rajon Rondo?

The question isn’t whether it needs him. Maybe he’s no Kevin Durant, but Rondo was one of the few elite players to show up. Nor will his spot go to a quality big man, something this team could probably use. The other most likely casualty was Stephen Curry — who with all due respect, isn’t an All-Star with a ring and several near-legendary playoff performances to his name.

After Rondo received a DNP against Spain and expressed his frustration to the media, Coach K argued for the effectiveness of a Derrick Rose-Chauncey Billups backcourt. His teammates — none of whom saw it coming — found out once the official announcement had been made, like he hadn’t been one of them.

In short, the disparity between USA Basketball’s handling of Rondo and his talent level is, to say the least, questionable.

 

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The Works: Return of Ricky Rubio, the Basketball Jedi

August 24, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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Ricky RubioIn The Works today, we introduce Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley to a few more money-saving clauses and judge Americans for being uneducated.

But first, we wade into Ricky Rubio’s bog.

The Prodigy Strikes Back: When the air takes on that distinctly international scent of FIBA Basketball, you know it’s time for a Ricky Rubio argument to erupt. The Ricky conversation has always been contentious, but clearly the results of the 2009 NBA Draft have further polarized the discourse. Rubio did himself no favors by avoiding the workout circuit in the run-up to the draft, and his wishy-washy reaction to landing in star-starved Minnesota painted him in unflattering light.

That said, Ricky was simply terrific in Euroleague and ACB competition this year, showing the attributes which made him the No. 5 pick in a good draft. He’s back, hoping to help Spain defend its FIBA World Championship title. The spotlight will be as bright as ever with Jose Calderon ruled out, launching Ricky into the starting role. Per usual, American players raved after Rubio’s performance in Sunday’s tight warm-up game; the replication of what fellows like Chris Paul said after Ricky’s 2008 Olympic gold medal game is eerie.

That said, in the Sunday warm-up, the one which American players raved about, Rubio had seven points, three assists and four turnovers. That’s not exactly incredible output.

 

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The Works: To Live and Die by Team USA

August 23, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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Kevin DurantIn The Works today, a guide to enjoying USA Basketball, the Delonte West-Gilbert Arenas comparison to end all Delonte West-Gilbert Arenas comparisons and a few words on Jason Whitlock’s purpose.

But first, an indictment of the so-called architect of the new, improved USA Basketball program.

Slick as They Come: As we get deep into international competition, one thing simply must be said: Jerry Colangelo didn’t save USA Basketball.

Well, at least not as advertised. He did get the commitments of superstars that led directly to the gold medal in Beijing (that should be read in your best Bill Cosby voice), but he didn’t build anything lasting. And that, if you think back, was what we were promised. That’s not to say that USA Basketball is in crisis. Despite a height-starved roster that has some people freaking out, America appears to be cruising right through the Worlds, which haven’t even started yet.

After beating Spain and Lithuania in heated exhibitions this weekend, this Kevin Durant-led squad looks to have some pluck up its face. Cue Dracula laugh and thumb piano loops.

But what if Team USA gets trounced, and then — thought of all thoughts — can’t recreate the star-studded surge of the Redeem Team? Colangelo asked for three years, stars gave it (some paid a price), and now, we’re already seeing a reluctance to show up summer after summer. That’s why we’re headed into battle with a “we got next” squad that’s more USA Select than August Team USA.

Then, we kick it back to Colangelo, brilliant architect of the new USA Basketball and ask, “what now?”

 

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The Works: Melo’s Paradox and the Point Guard Principle

August 20, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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In The Works today, foreign people fighting; who will follow in Amar’e Stoudemire‘s footsteps; and the dirty little secret of the Positional Revolution.

But first, how we got stuck with the Summer of Melo.

Sitting Duck Season: Yesterday, we brought you the twisted tale of Carmelo Anthony going at Bomani Jones on Twitter. Why was Melo such a hot topic on ESPN that morning? Because for the last week or so, all anyone’s talked about is Anthony.

There’s a certain logic to do this. We weren’t really talking about free agency last summer, except in the abstract. There were too many possibilities to consider, too many moving parts and contingencies. With LeBron James leading the pack, all free agents were sort of LeBron, everyone basked in aura, and thus the Class of 2010 was top-to-bottom great. A boatload of redistributed talent like we had never seen before or since. What was there to talk about?

Well, a year later, our sense of free agency has been permanently altered by James and his dastardly Heat. So has the entire landscape of the league. It’s never too soon to start weighing players’ options (for them); no destination or configuration of All-Stars is too extravagant; and of course, there’s no reason to spare them the harsh critique.

Free agents are now a necessary evil, like political candidates. They will let somebody, everybody, most people, down, and the honeymoon is over before they even get there.

 

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The Works: Fixing the One-and-Done Sham

August 19, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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In The Works today, Carmelo Anthony names names and Jerry West doesn’t separate himself from Kevin McHale as a decision-maker in the new era.

But first, on the newest idea to fix the age minimum rule.

The NBA‘s age minimum has reared its misshapen head once again, and not a moment too soon. New NCAA president Mark Emmert has endorsed Major League Baseball’s draft system, where prospects can declare for the amateur draft right out of high school but still attend college if they so choose. If they do so choose, they can’t leave school for three years or until they turn 21, whichever comes first.

The NBA was a tiny bit like that decades ago; Larry Bird, after all, spent his Final Four season at Indiana State already having been drafted by the Boston Celtics, as players could be selected following their junior collegiate season without having declared for the draft. Clearly, though, as Eric Freeman writes, the fundamentals of talent development in baseball and basketball are so different the comparison’s almost useless.

But what Emmert proposes is diametrically different from the current system, which both the NBA and NCAA have manipulated for completely selfish reasons. (The age limit makes good financial sense for NBA owners; the NCAA has continued to tinker with its eligibility rules relating to prospects testing the NBA waters at the expense of its college’s student-players.)

There’s another way Emmert’s plan is diametrically different from the current system: it is the worst of both worlds for the NBA.

 

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The Works: The New LeBrons and the Scarface Heat

August 18, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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In The Works today, the Heat‘s marketing team goes evil and Brandon Roy gets contact high.

But first, the New LeBrons.

Central Casting: When athletes fall from grace, or flip the script on the public’s view of them, it’s swift, gruesome and binary. Think of Kobe Bryant, before and after Eagle, or the collapse of Tiger Woods, Incorporated. With his Hall of Fame speech, Michael Jordan went from hallowed competitor to petty monster.

The assumption was that, with LeBron James headed to the Heat, his image would take a beating. Some suggested that James should ride the darker wave, and go from object of awe to arch-destroyer. Except this presumes that LeBron even had such a cohesive personality, or persona, to begin with.

In the first act of his career — when James still seemed willing to take risks with his image — Nike’s primary campaign stressed just how many sides there were to its latest golden calf.

Some of us will never forget, or forgive, “The LeBrons.” Was it all a sham? “The LeBrons” mined contradiction, and James himself had a deep investment in the campaign. It was the most self-assured showcase for uncertainty a big-money athlete has ever been afforded — that is, until “The Decision.” In between, there were attempts to pretend things had never been so complicated.

 

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The Works: Sympathy for Mr. Bosh, Dissecting Melo

August 17, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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In The Works today: Denver sleuths Melo out of town; we all jump too fast on the latest Anthony news; and the quandary of covering the Knicks.

But first, a brief defense of newest arch-fiend Chris Bosh.

Bosh Ain’t So Bad: Yesterday, I was sure that Chris Bosh had leaped beyond the pale. It was like he had watched the transformation of Bron Bron’s public image and thought, “I want me some of that.”

Then I went back and took a good, hard look at the original New York Daily News piece, which furnishes a funny little thing called context. While I don’t think Bosh’s comments are anything but ill-advised, possibly inexcusable, they’re more frank than outright cruel.

I also noticed, once the huff had passed, that he was talking as much about us (media, fans, general scavengers of 2010 tidbits) as he was himself. Take, for starters, this gruesome quote:

“If you think about how many times somebody asks you, ‘How are you,’ that’s how many times I was asked, ‘Where you going?” said Bosh, who was in Manhattan Wednesday to unveil his Got Milk! advertisement. “So it’s like, well, in my case, I’m going to have fun with it. I’m going to play with people’s emotions. I’m going to be high and low.”

Maybe “play with emotions” was being a little too blatant about it, and makes him sound downright manipulative. But put yourself in his big red shoes. Bosh was asked, for months and months on end, where he was headed. Everyone asking had an agenda.

 

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The Works: FIBA, the International Laboratory

August 16, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals & Tom Ziller   No comments

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In The Works today, Hall of Fame induction speech power rankings and why teams stopped giving out option years.

But first, an exploration of international basketball as a hoops laboratory.

Intercontinental Experimentation: NBA teams’ reasons for discouraging summertime international play by their stars is understandable. The risk of injury in full-throttled sport is too great, and one nagging malady can sink an entire season. The game is too big here to let them play there.

But in doing so, NBA teams do themselves a disservice, because you can learn a lot more from watching a player perform for his home country than you can from Summer League. International basketball is the window to the essence of a player’s potential.

Look at Omri Casspi, star of an Israeli team competing in EuroBasket qualifiers. Casspi had a mixed-bag rookie season, so good early on some suggested he might finish second behind teammate Tyreke Evans for Rookie of the Year but so bad — exhausted and lost — later on he didn’t even end up making either of the two All-Rookie teams. During the season, the Kings learned they had a shooter never lacking in confidence, an athletic wizard and a fearless kid.

But in Europe this summer, Casspi has revealed so much more.

 

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