With the most recent disappointment of Team USA Basketball, a 101-95 loss to Greece in the semifinals of the World Basketball Championships, the Daily has decided to throw in our two cents.
10) Play defense. Duh.
9) Continue playing defense.
8) Pass the ball. Bringing in a good point guard like Chris Paul was an admirable step, but it takes more than jump shots and jams to beat the world's top teams.
7) Learn what a pick-and-roll is. Defend against said pick-and-roll. ESPN's Chris Sheridan said it best: it's the easiest play in basketball and it stumped the best players in the world. They should probably work on this.
6) Have Jerry Calangelo, GM of the Phoenix Suns and the architect of Team USA, bring in more role players. The last player cut on Team USA was Bruce Bowen; maybe that wasn't the best idea.
5) Consider bringing in current NBA teammates. There was talk of the winner of the NBA Finals representing America. Perhaps the Miami Heat would have performed better than the all-stars thrown together for Team USA.
4) Give some Americans who play in the Euro-League a shot at playing for Team USA. Call us crazy, but we think it might be a good idea for players who play against Europeans all the time to play for the United States.
3) Let Mike D'Antoni coach. We love Coach K, but D'Antoni's experience in the Italian League is valuable, and the fast-paced style he learned there has helped the Suns become one of the best teams in the NBA.
2) Give these guys as many opportunities as possible to play together. European teams have played together for many years, and Team USA's members know each other about as well as this year's freshmen.
1) Hire Stephen A. Smith as a consultant. Quite frankly, he's the best man for the job. Ask him yourself.
-by Alex Bloom and Thomas Eager
