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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
U.S. rolls over Yao Ming, China 121-90 <!-- END HEADLINE -->
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer 30 minutes ago
SAPPORO, Japan - Yao Ming is back, and the United States was ready for him. Using a swarming defense and their huge advantage in depth to make life miserable for China and its All-Star center, the Americans rolled to a 121-90 victory Sunday night to remain unbeaten at the world championships.
"We knew that they wanted Yao to be a big factor, so we wanted to take him out and make them take difficult shots," U.S. forward Antawn Jamison said.
Dwyane Wade scored 26 points for the Americans, who needed less than four minutes to build their first double-digit lead and led by as many as 36. Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard had 16 points each and Chris Paul 13.
LeBron James, Joe Johnson and Elton Brand all had 11 points while Paul added eight assists and Howard 11 rebounds.
"We were trying to share the basketball, share the defensive rotation and just be a team," Brand said. "There are a lot of individuals out there, especially on their respective NBA teams. We're trying to be a team out here, get assists and do the extra things."
The Americans, averaging 116 points through two games, next play Slovenia on Tuesday. They headed into Group D's off day tied with Italy at 2-0 for first place. China (0-2) is tied with Senegal at the bottom. The top four teams in the six-team pool advance.
Yao led China with 21 points, but the Americans made him work for all of them. He had only one field goal in the first half, when the game was decided, and finished 5-of-8 from the field before fouling out with 6:08 remaining.
"We worked very hard to defend Yao," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's a terrific player."
Yao didn't play in the Americans' 119-73 victory in this month's exhibition game at Guangzhou, China, because he was recovering from a broken left foot. His return in time for this tournament gave plenty of hope to the Chinese, who had a large contingent of fans at the game waving flags and holding large pictures of Yao.
The 7-foot-5 center predicted China would advance out of pool play — he was quoted in a story in the China Daily before the tournament as saying, "China will enter the last 16, I promise." Then he scored 30 points in China's opening loss to Italy.
But the U.S. never let him be a factor when the game was still in doubt, delivering a couple of hard fouls when he had a clear path to the basket and even playing two centers together at times. Still not fully fit, Yao didn't even make it across midcourt at times after Chinese turnovers.
"It is a little bit different from playing Yao in international ball than NBA ball," Howard said. "Yao is the main focus for the Chinese team. Playing with him in America he has Tracy McGrady on his team, so Yao kind of gets some rest."
After coming off the bench in the Americans' victory over Puerto Rico in the opener, Howard drew the starting assignment Sunday and responded underneath.
"Dwight would take any center from any team," Krzyzewski said. "The guy who's been our best center has been him."
Meanwhile, the Americans displayed the balance that makes them one of the tournament favorites, with Krzyzewski using all 12 players in the first half.
Leading by 14 points midway through the second quarter, the Americans used a 12-0 run to break open the game and build a 54-28 lead.
Wade then scored the Americans' final 11 points of the half, including a drive just before the buzzer that gave the U.S. a 63-38 lead. China had more turnovers (12) than baskets (11) in the first 20 minutes.
China coach Jonas Kazlauskas said all teams facing the United States have the same problem: "Turnovers, transition and rebounds — and we had the same problems today."
The Chinese finished with 25 turnovers — an improvement from their 34 in the exhibition game — which helped the Americans to a 29-8 cushion in fast-break points. The U.S. outscored China 20-3 on turnovers.
Yao hit a jumper to open the third period and Wang Shipeng scored the next eight points as the Chinese pulled within 63-48. But James scored seven points during a 10-3 surge that pushed the lead back to 22, and the Americans were never threatened again. The United States improved to 5-0 in world championships play against China, the Asian champion. Wang added 17 points for China, which next plays Puerto Rico.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060820/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bko_worlds_china_us_3
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer 30 minutes ago
SAPPORO, Japan - Yao Ming is back, and the United States was ready for him. Using a swarming defense and their huge advantage in depth to make life miserable for China and its All-Star center, the Americans rolled to a 121-90 victory Sunday night to remain unbeaten at the world championships.
"We knew that they wanted Yao to be a big factor, so we wanted to take him out and make them take difficult shots," U.S. forward Antawn Jamison said.
Dwyane Wade scored 26 points for the Americans, who needed less than four minutes to build their first double-digit lead and led by as many as 36. Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard had 16 points each and Chris Paul 13.
LeBron James, Joe Johnson and Elton Brand all had 11 points while Paul added eight assists and Howard 11 rebounds.
"We were trying to share the basketball, share the defensive rotation and just be a team," Brand said. "There are a lot of individuals out there, especially on their respective NBA teams. We're trying to be a team out here, get assists and do the extra things."
The Americans, averaging 116 points through two games, next play Slovenia on Tuesday. They headed into Group D's off day tied with Italy at 2-0 for first place. China (0-2) is tied with Senegal at the bottom. The top four teams in the six-team pool advance.
Yao led China with 21 points, but the Americans made him work for all of them. He had only one field goal in the first half, when the game was decided, and finished 5-of-8 from the field before fouling out with 6:08 remaining.
"We worked very hard to defend Yao," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's a terrific player."
Yao didn't play in the Americans' 119-73 victory in this month's exhibition game at Guangzhou, China, because he was recovering from a broken left foot. His return in time for this tournament gave plenty of hope to the Chinese, who had a large contingent of fans at the game waving flags and holding large pictures of Yao.
The 7-foot-5 center predicted China would advance out of pool play — he was quoted in a story in the China Daily before the tournament as saying, "China will enter the last 16, I promise." Then he scored 30 points in China's opening loss to Italy.
But the U.S. never let him be a factor when the game was still in doubt, delivering a couple of hard fouls when he had a clear path to the basket and even playing two centers together at times. Still not fully fit, Yao didn't even make it across midcourt at times after Chinese turnovers.
"It is a little bit different from playing Yao in international ball than NBA ball," Howard said. "Yao is the main focus for the Chinese team. Playing with him in America he has Tracy McGrady on his team, so Yao kind of gets some rest."
After coming off the bench in the Americans' victory over Puerto Rico in the opener, Howard drew the starting assignment Sunday and responded underneath.
"Dwight would take any center from any team," Krzyzewski said. "The guy who's been our best center has been him."
Meanwhile, the Americans displayed the balance that makes them one of the tournament favorites, with Krzyzewski using all 12 players in the first half.
Leading by 14 points midway through the second quarter, the Americans used a 12-0 run to break open the game and build a 54-28 lead.
Wade then scored the Americans' final 11 points of the half, including a drive just before the buzzer that gave the U.S. a 63-38 lead. China had more turnovers (12) than baskets (11) in the first 20 minutes.
China coach Jonas Kazlauskas said all teams facing the United States have the same problem: "Turnovers, transition and rebounds — and we had the same problems today."
The Chinese finished with 25 turnovers — an improvement from their 34 in the exhibition game — which helped the Americans to a 29-8 cushion in fast-break points. The U.S. outscored China 20-3 on turnovers.
Yao hit a jumper to open the third period and Wang Shipeng scored the next eight points as the Chinese pulled within 63-48. But James scored seven points during a 10-3 surge that pushed the lead back to 22, and the Americans were never threatened again. The United States improved to 5-0 in world championships play against China, the Asian champion. Wang added 17 points for China, which next plays Puerto Rico.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060820/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bko_worlds_china_us_3
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
U.S. cruises past Slovenia
Wade scores 20, James 19 for 3-0 Americans
Dwyane Wade salutes the effort of the U.S. squad in its rout of Slovenia.
SAPPORO, Japan (AP) -- The United States had the two best teams on the floor Tuesday night.
Using two units to wear down and outrun Slovenia, the Americans rolled to a 114-95 victory, remaining unbeaten and clinching a spot in the round of 16 at the world championships.
Dwyane Wade scored 20 points for the U.S. (3-0), which meets fellow Group D unbeaten Italy on Wednesday night. LeBron James added 19 in his most impressive performance of the tournament.
James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Shane Battier started the game, but U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski sent Wade, Elton Brand, Antawn Jamison, Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson out together midway through the first period.
The second unit put a stop to Slovenia's strong start, and both groups contributed to the big run that blew open the game in the second quarter.
Brand finished with 16 points and Anthony had 14. All but one of the U.S. players scored.
Slovenia, with four NBA players on its roster, was widely considered the second-most talented team in the group. But the Slovenians have lost consecutive games to the group co-leaders after beating Senegal on Saturday in their world championships debut.
Sani Becirovic led Slovenia (1-2) with 18 points. Primoz Brezec and Bostjan Nachbar each added 15.
Running its offense crisply to get open shots, Slovenia led 21-16 after Rasho Nesterovic's follow shot with 2:47 left in the first quarter. Wade and Brand then each had four points in an 11-0 burst, and the Americans were ahead 30-27 after one.
Slovenia was within four points early in the second before the Americans blew it open with an 18-4 run, fueled by steals and dunks. Antawn Jamison's basket after Joe Johnson's steal made it 55-37 with 4:20 left in the half, and the U.S. led 66-49 at the break.
Slovenia shot 52 percent in the first half, but the U.S. turned 16 turnovers -- the Slovenians had only 15 field goals -- into 22 points.
James and Howard were among the U.S. players who drew "Oohs" and "Aahs" from the crowd with a series of pregame dunks. Then the game started, and the Americans really put on a show.
The Americans had little trouble getting the game at the fast pace they wanted, and had few problems even when they were forced to slow down. Wade got behind the zone to dunk an alley-oop pass from Paul on one play, and the U.S. was 7-of-11 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Slovenia coach Ales Pipan sat Nesterovic, Nachbar and Beno Udrih, three of his NBA players, to open the second half. They watched as the Americans pushed the lead to as much as 29 points in the third quarter.
The Slovenians got within 11 in the final minutes. They face Puerto Rico next.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/08/22/us.slovenia.ap/index.html
Wade scores 20, James 19 for 3-0 Americans
Dwyane Wade salutes the effort of the U.S. squad in its rout of Slovenia.
SAPPORO, Japan (AP) -- The United States had the two best teams on the floor Tuesday night.
Using two units to wear down and outrun Slovenia, the Americans rolled to a 114-95 victory, remaining unbeaten and clinching a spot in the round of 16 at the world championships.
Dwyane Wade scored 20 points for the U.S. (3-0), which meets fellow Group D unbeaten Italy on Wednesday night. LeBron James added 19 in his most impressive performance of the tournament.
James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Shane Battier started the game, but U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski sent Wade, Elton Brand, Antawn Jamison, Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson out together midway through the first period.
The second unit put a stop to Slovenia's strong start, and both groups contributed to the big run that blew open the game in the second quarter.
Brand finished with 16 points and Anthony had 14. All but one of the U.S. players scored.
Slovenia, with four NBA players on its roster, was widely considered the second-most talented team in the group. But the Slovenians have lost consecutive games to the group co-leaders after beating Senegal on Saturday in their world championships debut.
Sani Becirovic led Slovenia (1-2) with 18 points. Primoz Brezec and Bostjan Nachbar each added 15.
Running its offense crisply to get open shots, Slovenia led 21-16 after Rasho Nesterovic's follow shot with 2:47 left in the first quarter. Wade and Brand then each had four points in an 11-0 burst, and the Americans were ahead 30-27 after one.
Slovenia was within four points early in the second before the Americans blew it open with an 18-4 run, fueled by steals and dunks. Antawn Jamison's basket after Joe Johnson's steal made it 55-37 with 4:20 left in the half, and the U.S. led 66-49 at the break.
Slovenia shot 52 percent in the first half, but the U.S. turned 16 turnovers -- the Slovenians had only 15 field goals -- into 22 points.
James and Howard were among the U.S. players who drew "Oohs" and "Aahs" from the crowd with a series of pregame dunks. Then the game started, and the Americans really put on a show.
The Americans had little trouble getting the game at the fast pace they wanted, and had few problems even when they were forced to slow down. Wade got behind the zone to dunk an alley-oop pass from Paul on one play, and the U.S. was 7-of-11 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Slovenia coach Ales Pipan sat Nesterovic, Nachbar and Beno Udrih, three of his NBA players, to open the second half. They watched as the Americans pushed the lead to as much as 29 points in the third quarter.
The Slovenians got within 11 in the final minutes. They face Puerto Rico next.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/08/22/us.slovenia.ap/index.html
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
LeBron, U.S. team not making guarantees <!-- END HEADLINE -->
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By ANDREW BAGNATO, AP Sports Writer 45 minutes ago
SAPPORO, Japan - After the United States whipped Slovenia 114-95 Tuesday night, LeBron James was asked if he would guarantee a FIBA world championship. "No way," James said with a chuckle. "It's too far away."
But after three double-digit victories, the idea of the U.S. winning its first world championships since 1994 isn't far-fetched.
The U.S. has won its first three Group D games — against Puerto Rico, China and Slovenia — by an average of 20.3 points. It hasn't trailed after halftime.
The Americans face their sternest test in group play Wednesday night against Italy, which improved to 3-0 with a comeback victory over Senegal on Tuesday.
"We're improving every game," forward Shane Battier said. "If we can continue to play the defense we've shown in stretches for longer stretches, we're going to be in very good shape for this championship."
The victory over Slovenia clinched a trip to the second round, which was seen as a foregone conclusion.
Captain Dwyane Wade had 20 points to lead the U.S. in scoring for the second game in a row. Wade is the team's top scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game.
LeBron James added 19 points, Elton Brand 16 and Carmelo Anthony 14 for the Americans, who shot 56 percent from the floor.
Point guard Chris Paul had nine assists and two turnovers. Kirk Hinrich led the U.S. with seven rebounds.
Sani Becirovic scored 18 points to lead Slovenia, which had five players in double figures.
The U.S. used a potent combination of defense and 3-point shooting to blow the game open.
Three-point shooting had been one of Team USA's few flaws in the first two games. The Americans shot 33 percent from beyond the arc against Puerto Rico and 30 percent against China.
On Tuesday night, their long-range shots finally started to fall. The U.S. went 7-for-11 on 3-point shots (64 percent) in the first half and finished 10-for-20 (50 percent).
Battier went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and James and Antawn Jamison each hit two of four.
"It's a totally different thing when they're hitting 3-point shots," Slovenian swingman Bostjan Nachbar said. "When they make 3s, you can't pull the defenders in and hope for rebounds. That opens the lane, and then they're really tough to stop."
At the defensive end, the U.S. struggled to stop the Slovenians in the early going but quickly adjusted. Slovenia had its biggest lead — 21-16 — with 2:45 to play in the first quarter when the Americans went on an 11-0 run. During the spurt, the U.S. forced three turnovers in less than two minutes.
With four NBA players, the Slovenians weren't awed by Team USA. But they needed to take better care of the ball to have any hopes for a massive upset. They also needed to hit 3-point shots to stretch the American defense.
Slovenia made only two of six 3-point shots in the first half and finished 6-for-15 (40 percent).
"Tonight in the first half, our defense was the best it's been," U.S. assistant coach Jim Boeheim said. "We held them to two 3-point shots in the first half. That's a big statistic, I think, for us. That and forcing turnovers. Those two things are why we were ahead at halftime. And when you force turnovers you get easier shots at the other end."
The U.S. harried Slovenia into 16 first-half turnovers, which led to 22 points, many of them on dunks. Slovenia finished with 25 turnovers.
In the first three games here, the Americans have forced 64 turnovers.
The Americans led Slovenia by 29 points in the second half before falling asleep and letting the Slovenians pull within 105-94 with 2:15 to go. Wade's putback ended the run. "They didn't go away," Battier said. "There's something to be said for that."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060822/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bko_worlds_slovenia_us_3
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By ANDREW BAGNATO, AP Sports Writer 45 minutes ago
SAPPORO, Japan - After the United States whipped Slovenia 114-95 Tuesday night, LeBron James was asked if he would guarantee a FIBA world championship. "No way," James said with a chuckle. "It's too far away."
But after three double-digit victories, the idea of the U.S. winning its first world championships since 1994 isn't far-fetched.
The U.S. has won its first three Group D games — against Puerto Rico, China and Slovenia — by an average of 20.3 points. It hasn't trailed after halftime.
The Americans face their sternest test in group play Wednesday night against Italy, which improved to 3-0 with a comeback victory over Senegal on Tuesday.
"We're improving every game," forward Shane Battier said. "If we can continue to play the defense we've shown in stretches for longer stretches, we're going to be in very good shape for this championship."
The victory over Slovenia clinched a trip to the second round, which was seen as a foregone conclusion.
Captain Dwyane Wade had 20 points to lead the U.S. in scoring for the second game in a row. Wade is the team's top scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game.
LeBron James added 19 points, Elton Brand 16 and Carmelo Anthony 14 for the Americans, who shot 56 percent from the floor.
Point guard Chris Paul had nine assists and two turnovers. Kirk Hinrich led the U.S. with seven rebounds.
Sani Becirovic scored 18 points to lead Slovenia, which had five players in double figures.
The U.S. used a potent combination of defense and 3-point shooting to blow the game open.
Three-point shooting had been one of Team USA's few flaws in the first two games. The Americans shot 33 percent from beyond the arc against Puerto Rico and 30 percent against China.
On Tuesday night, their long-range shots finally started to fall. The U.S. went 7-for-11 on 3-point shots (64 percent) in the first half and finished 10-for-20 (50 percent).
Battier went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and James and Antawn Jamison each hit two of four.
"It's a totally different thing when they're hitting 3-point shots," Slovenian swingman Bostjan Nachbar said. "When they make 3s, you can't pull the defenders in and hope for rebounds. That opens the lane, and then they're really tough to stop."
At the defensive end, the U.S. struggled to stop the Slovenians in the early going but quickly adjusted. Slovenia had its biggest lead — 21-16 — with 2:45 to play in the first quarter when the Americans went on an 11-0 run. During the spurt, the U.S. forced three turnovers in less than two minutes.
With four NBA players, the Slovenians weren't awed by Team USA. But they needed to take better care of the ball to have any hopes for a massive upset. They also needed to hit 3-point shots to stretch the American defense.
Slovenia made only two of six 3-point shots in the first half and finished 6-for-15 (40 percent).
"Tonight in the first half, our defense was the best it's been," U.S. assistant coach Jim Boeheim said. "We held them to two 3-point shots in the first half. That's a big statistic, I think, for us. That and forcing turnovers. Those two things are why we were ahead at halftime. And when you force turnovers you get easier shots at the other end."
The U.S. harried Slovenia into 16 first-half turnovers, which led to 22 points, many of them on dunks. Slovenia finished with 25 turnovers.
In the first three games here, the Americans have forced 64 turnovers.
The Americans led Slovenia by 29 points in the second half before falling asleep and letting the Slovenians pull within 105-94 with 2:15 to go. Wade's putback ended the run. "They didn't go away," Battier said. "There's something to be said for that."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060822/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bko_worlds_slovenia_us_3
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akronbuck
Legend
I watched it and its been a long time since team USA has played like a true team. If they don't win it out , its because, not enough big bodies, Battier starting at PF . I know they can't have 5 stars as the starters because, that would cause bad team playing but, I could name 10 americans that I would put at PF before him.
ONly 2 centers
Brand is good but, a poor man Karl Malone
All the other players are SF/OG players with 2 PG
ONly 2 centers
Brand is good but, a poor man Karl Malone
All the other players are SF/OG players with 2 PG
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0
OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Dispatch
8/23/06
8/23/06
American tag team wears down Slovenia
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Brian Mahoney
ASSOCIATED PRESS
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>MARK J . TERRILL ASSOCIATED PRESS </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>USA’s Chris Paul checks on his injured lip as he sits on the bench while LeBron James, center, and Carmelo Anthony look on during their first-round game against Slovenia. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
SAPPORO, Japan — LeBron James and the rest of the U.S. starters were yanked less than halfway through the first quarter.
They hadn’t done anything wrong; it was just time for the second team to come in.
That one was better than Slovenia, too.
Using both units to wear down and outrun the Slovenians, the Americans rolled to a 114-95 victory yesterday, remaining unbeaten and clinching a spot in the round of 16 at the world basketball championships.
"It seems to favor our team," Elton Brand said. "You don’t have to pace yourself at all because you know you’re going to get a certain amount of minutes. You know you’re going to be in there, and you know you’re going to play. So once you’re out there, you play hard, and you can try to wear down teams."
Dwyane Wade scored 20 points for the U.S. team (3-0), which plays Italy, also unbeaten in Group D, today. James added 19 in his most impressive performance of the tournament.
James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Shane Battier started the game, but U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski sent Wade, Brand, Antawn Jamison, Kirk Hinrich and Joe Johnson out together midway through the first quarter.
The second unit put a stop to Slovenia’s strong start, and both groups contributed to the big run that blew open the game in the second quarter.
Brand finished with 16 points, and Anthony had 14. All but one of the U.S. players scored.
Slovenia, with four NBA players on its roster, was widely considered the second-most talented team in the group. But the Slovenians have lost consecutive games to the group co-leaders after beating Senegal on Saturday in their world championships debut.
"We did our best, but once the Americans started playing their defense very strongly, that was our problem," Slovenia’s Saso Ozbolt said.
Sani Becirovic led Slovenia (1-2) with 18 points. Primoz Brezec and Bostjan Nachbar each added 15.
Running its offense crisply to get open shots, Slovenia led 21-16 after Rasho Nesterovic’s follow shot with 2:47 left in the first quarter. Wade and Brand then each had four points in an 11-0 burst, and the Americans were ahead 30-27 after one quarter.
"We had to wake up a little bit. We came out a little flat," Wade said. "They came out very aggressive early in the first quarter. We’ve got a deep team. We can bring different guys at them. Once we had the lead at the end of the first, we kind of took it from there."
Slovenia was within four points early in the second before the Americans blew it open with an 18-4 run, fueled by steals and dunks. Jamison’s basket after Johnson’s steal made it 55-37 with 4:20 left in the half, and the U.S. team led 66-49 at the break.
"It’s a game of adjustments," Brand said. "They were executing very well. Once we stepped up our defense and adjusted, we played better. Much better."
Slovenia shot 52 percent in the first half, but the U.S. turned 16 turnovers — the Slovenians had only 15 field goals — into 22 points. The Americans had 17 steals and forced 25 turnovers overall, leading to 28 points.
James and Howard were among the U.S. players who drew "Oohs" and "Aahs" from the crowd with a series of pregame dunks. Then the game started, and the Americans really put on a show.
The U.S. team had little trouble getting the game to the fast pace it wanted and had few problems even when forced to slow down. Wade got behind the zone to dunk an alley-oop pass from Paul on one play, and the Americans were 7 of 11 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Slovenia coach Ales Pipan sat Nesterovic, Nachbar and Beno Udrih, three of his NBA players, to open the second half. They watched as the Americans pushed the lead to as much as 29 points in the third quarter.
Pipan said his team played well but "our mind was already on our next game that is tomorrow against Puerto Rico." The Americans shot 56 percent from the field and were 10 of 20 from behind the arc. They are averaging 115.3 points in the tournament.
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scarletngrey11
All right, all right, all right.
Down by 12 at the beginning of the second half.
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0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Anthony's 35 leads U.S. over Italy
<!-- END HEADLINE --><!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
SAPPORO, Japan - The Americans survived their toughest test yet in the world basketball championships, overcoming a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat Italy 94-85 Wednesday night. Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his U.S.-record 35 points in the third quarter, when he played extensive minutes with fellow captains Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was forced to scrap his two-unit rotation after an anemic offense in the second quarter.
Wade added 26 points, helping the Americans (4-0) finally seize control for good midway through the fourth quarter with six points and an assist during a 10-2 spurt that gave the U.S. a 13-point lead.
Anthony broke the previous scoring record set by Kenny Anderson, who scored 34 points in a 1990 world championships game — a team also coached by Krzyzewski.
The U.S. clinched the top seed in Group D and will face the fourth-place team from Group C on Sunday in Saitama in the round of 16.
The Italians (3-1), done in by a five-minute stretch without a field goal in the third quarter, can still earn Group D's No. 2 seed by beating Puerto Rico on Thursday.
But they were thinking big after controlling the first half to the delight of a group of fans chanting "Italia! Italia!"
Marco Belinelli scored 25 points for Italians, the 2004 Olympic silver medalists. They defeated the U.S. 95-78 in an exhibition game prior to those games, and clapped as they walked off the floor Wednesday even though they fell short.
The Italians were expected to take a step down from that level after turning to a younger team following a ninth-place finish in the 2005 European championships that forced them to need a wild card from FIBA to qualify for the world championships.
But they hit 30 3-pointers in their first three games, and the Americans tried to negate that by extending their defensive pressure further away from the basket. But the Italians took advantage with dribble penetration while working their offense expertly in the first half, when they shot 58 percent.
Elton Brand scored the last five points of the first quarter as the U.S. took a 25-19 lead, but the Americans then made only two field goals in the second — and made matters worse by missing five of 12 free throws — during a dismal 11-point period.
The Italians capitalized with a 12-4 spurt to close the half, with Matteo Soragna scoring the final five points of the half to give Italy a 45-36 lead at the break.
The Americans, who came in averaging 115.3 points, shot only 39 percent in the first half.
U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski scrapped his two teams and put James, Wade and Anthony together to start the second half with Brand and Chris Paul.
A three-point play by Belinelli 15 seconds into the half gave Italy a 12-point cushion. The Americans finally started running, battling back to seize a 53-52 lead when James found Wade down the floor for a basket to cap a 17-4 surge.
The U.S. increased the lead to eight later in the period during Italy's drought and were up 71-64 after Anthony drilled a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
The U.S. gets a breather Thursday, facing winless Senegal (0-4) in its final game of pool play. They'll be paying attention to Hamamatsu, where Lithuania, Australia and Brazil after still battling for the last two spots. The Lithuanians and Brazilians play Thursday.
Brand finished with 16 points. Fabio Di Bella and Stefano Mancinelli each had 12 for Italy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bko_worlds_us_italy_2
<!-- END HEADLINE --><!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
SAPPORO, Japan - The Americans survived their toughest test yet in the world basketball championships, overcoming a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat Italy 94-85 Wednesday night. Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his U.S.-record 35 points in the third quarter, when he played extensive minutes with fellow captains Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was forced to scrap his two-unit rotation after an anemic offense in the second quarter.
Wade added 26 points, helping the Americans (4-0) finally seize control for good midway through the fourth quarter with six points and an assist during a 10-2 spurt that gave the U.S. a 13-point lead.
Anthony broke the previous scoring record set by Kenny Anderson, who scored 34 points in a 1990 world championships game — a team also coached by Krzyzewski.
The U.S. clinched the top seed in Group D and will face the fourth-place team from Group C on Sunday in Saitama in the round of 16.
The Italians (3-1), done in by a five-minute stretch without a field goal in the third quarter, can still earn Group D's No. 2 seed by beating Puerto Rico on Thursday.
But they were thinking big after controlling the first half to the delight of a group of fans chanting "Italia! Italia!"
Marco Belinelli scored 25 points for Italians, the 2004 Olympic silver medalists. They defeated the U.S. 95-78 in an exhibition game prior to those games, and clapped as they walked off the floor Wednesday even though they fell short.
The Italians were expected to take a step down from that level after turning to a younger team following a ninth-place finish in the 2005 European championships that forced them to need a wild card from FIBA to qualify for the world championships.
But they hit 30 3-pointers in their first three games, and the Americans tried to negate that by extending their defensive pressure further away from the basket. But the Italians took advantage with dribble penetration while working their offense expertly in the first half, when they shot 58 percent.
Elton Brand scored the last five points of the first quarter as the U.S. took a 25-19 lead, but the Americans then made only two field goals in the second — and made matters worse by missing five of 12 free throws — during a dismal 11-point period.
The Italians capitalized with a 12-4 spurt to close the half, with Matteo Soragna scoring the final five points of the half to give Italy a 45-36 lead at the break.
The Americans, who came in averaging 115.3 points, shot only 39 percent in the first half.
U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski scrapped his two teams and put James, Wade and Anthony together to start the second half with Brand and Chris Paul.
A three-point play by Belinelli 15 seconds into the half gave Italy a 12-point cushion. The Americans finally started running, battling back to seize a 53-52 lead when James found Wade down the floor for a basket to cap a 17-4 surge.
The U.S. increased the lead to eight later in the period during Italy's drought and were up 71-64 after Anthony drilled a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
The U.S. gets a breather Thursday, facing winless Senegal (0-4) in its final game of pool play. They'll be paying attention to Hamamatsu, where Lithuania, Australia and Brazil after still battling for the last two spots. The Lithuanians and Brazilians play Thursday.
Brand finished with 16 points. Fabio Di Bella and Stefano Mancinelli each had 12 for Italy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060823/ap_on_sp_bk_ga_su/bko_worlds_us_italy_2
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Updated: Aug. 24, 2006, 1:12 PM ET
U.S. finishes unbeaten in pool, will play Australia
SAPPORO, Japan -- Dwyane Wadee rose from his seat to acknowledge the crowd chanting for him in the closing minutes of the United States' victory.
That was the only work Wade put in all night.
Wade had the night off, and the rest of the Americans essentially got a breather, too, in a 103-58 victory over Senegal on Thursday night at the world championships.
Even if his team didn't miss him, the fans did, and began chanting for the NBA finals MVP with less than 4 minutes to play. Wade eventually stood and waved, drawing a roar.
"That was a first for me," Wade said. "It was a great experience, though. We play our heart out here to entertain. We gained some fans on this trip."
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Chris Bosh took advantage of rare minutes, scoring 20 for the U.S.
Chris Bosh scored 20 points and LeBron James added 17 in limited duty for the U.S. team, which remained unbeaten.
The Group D champions depart Friday morning for Saitama, where they will face Australia, the fourth-place team from Group C, on Sunday in the round of 16.
That will surely be more difficult than this one, where the U.S. led by as many as 45 against the overmatched African runner-up.
"It's the medal round," Wade said. "Everyone is good. We've got to come in and prepare for them like we've been doing every other game and take it from there."
James scored 15 points in 13 minutes of the first half, then sat along with Carmelo Anthony for the first seven minutes of the third quarter and returned for only a few minutes. Anthony finished with 12 points and played only 14 minutes, one night after setting an American record with 35.
Elhadji N'doye scored 25 points for Senegal (0-5), the last-place team in Group D.
"We've got players, so we just need to reorganize," Senegal's Makhtar N'diaye said. "Our team's going to do that, and our future is pretty bright."
The Americans were coming off their toughest test of the tournament, needing huge second halves from Anthony and Wade to help them rally from a 12-point deficit to beat Italy 94-85 on Wednesday.
But Wade, who appeared to land on his hand after a hard foul during that victory, wasn't needed this time. He showed up on the court a little more than 15 minutes before the tip and stretched, but otherwise just watched his teammates.
Anthony started the game alongside him on the bench. With nothing at stake, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski sent out a lineup that included Brad Miller -- who had played in only two of the first four games -- along with usual reserves Joe Johnson, Kirk Hinrich and Antawn Jamison.
The Americans got off to a bit of a slow start and trailed by one midway through the first quarter. A 19-0 run gave them a 31-13 lead early in the second, and after that Krzyzewski was able to mix and match while making sure his stars didn't play too much in his team's fifth game in six nights.
The extra rest will come in handy starting Sunday.
"There are no grand illusions that this is going to be an easy road," Shane Battier said.
Every U.S. player except for Elton Brand, who played only 3 minutes in the first half, had scored by the break. Anthony's 3-pointer with under 4 seconds to go gave the Americans a 58-24 lead at the break.
"It was great for other guys to get minutes that haven't played a lot and play well," Brand said.
Bosh, seeing limited time in Krzyzewski's 10-man rotation for most of pool play, scored 15 points in the second half. He made a pair of free throws to give the Americans a 101-58 lead with 2:04 remaining, and Jamison followed with a bucket 30 seconds later to give the Americans their largest lead.
"Chris has been a guy, who when he has played, has done a good job for us on the offensive glass," Wade said. "But it's 12 guys on the team, so I think Coach, like he told everybody coming in, he doesn't know who he's going to play any given night so everyone has to continue to be ready."
Johnson had 11 points for the U.S., which shot 51 percent. Bosh grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Americans' 53-32 advantage on the boards.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/wbc2006/news/story?id=2559528
U.S. finishes unbeaten in pool, will play Australia
SAPPORO, Japan -- Dwyane Wadee rose from his seat to acknowledge the crowd chanting for him in the closing minutes of the United States' victory.
That was the only work Wade put in all night.
Wade had the night off, and the rest of the Americans essentially got a breather, too, in a 103-58 victory over Senegal on Thursday night at the world championships.
Even if his team didn't miss him, the fans did, and began chanting for the NBA finals MVP with less than 4 minutes to play. Wade eventually stood and waved, drawing a roar.
"That was a first for me," Wade said. "It was a great experience, though. We play our heart out here to entertain. We gained some fans on this trip."
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Chris Bosh took advantage of rare minutes, scoring 20 for the U.S.
Chris Bosh scored 20 points and LeBron James added 17 in limited duty for the U.S. team, which remained unbeaten.
The Group D champions depart Friday morning for Saitama, where they will face Australia, the fourth-place team from Group C, on Sunday in the round of 16.
That will surely be more difficult than this one, where the U.S. led by as many as 45 against the overmatched African runner-up.
"It's the medal round," Wade said. "Everyone is good. We've got to come in and prepare for them like we've been doing every other game and take it from there."
James scored 15 points in 13 minutes of the first half, then sat along with Carmelo Anthony for the first seven minutes of the third quarter and returned for only a few minutes. Anthony finished with 12 points and played only 14 minutes, one night after setting an American record with 35.
Elhadji N'doye scored 25 points for Senegal (0-5), the last-place team in Group D.
"We've got players, so we just need to reorganize," Senegal's Makhtar N'diaye said. "Our team's going to do that, and our future is pretty bright."
The Americans were coming off their toughest test of the tournament, needing huge second halves from Anthony and Wade to help them rally from a 12-point deficit to beat Italy 94-85 on Wednesday.
But Wade, who appeared to land on his hand after a hard foul during that victory, wasn't needed this time. He showed up on the court a little more than 15 minutes before the tip and stretched, but otherwise just watched his teammates.
Anthony started the game alongside him on the bench. With nothing at stake, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski sent out a lineup that included Brad Miller -- who had played in only two of the first four games -- along with usual reserves Joe Johnson, Kirk Hinrich and Antawn Jamison.
The Americans got off to a bit of a slow start and trailed by one midway through the first quarter. A 19-0 run gave them a 31-13 lead early in the second, and after that Krzyzewski was able to mix and match while making sure his stars didn't play too much in his team's fifth game in six nights.
The extra rest will come in handy starting Sunday.
"There are no grand illusions that this is going to be an easy road," Shane Battier said.
Every U.S. player except for Elton Brand, who played only 3 minutes in the first half, had scored by the break. Anthony's 3-pointer with under 4 seconds to go gave the Americans a 58-24 lead at the break.
"It was great for other guys to get minutes that haven't played a lot and play well," Brand said.
Bosh, seeing limited time in Krzyzewski's 10-man rotation for most of pool play, scored 15 points in the second half. He made a pair of free throws to give the Americans a 101-58 lead with 2:04 remaining, and Jamison followed with a bucket 30 seconds later to give the Americans their largest lead.
"Chris has been a guy, who when he has played, has done a good job for us on the offensive glass," Wade said. "But it's 12 guys on the team, so I think Coach, like he told everybody coming in, he doesn't know who he's going to play any given night so everyone has to continue to be ready."
Johnson had 11 points for the U.S., which shot 51 percent. Bosh grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Americans' 53-32 advantage on the boards.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/wbc2006/news/story?id=2559528
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buckeyeboy
Still fortitudinous
Not too happy to hear Bosh crying about lack of playing time. The guy needs to grow up and realize he's playing on what is essentiallly an all-star team.
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OHSportsFan
Fan of Ohio Sports in Indy
Where did he cry about playing time? There aren't any quotes from him in the article. Only the author mentions his limited playing time.buckeyeboy said:
I'm excited for this team. They are in a tough situation. If they win- it's expected, if they lose- well, everyone's on them. They have a lot to prove and they've been playing well. Good for them. Go USA!
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buckeyeboy
Still fortitudinous
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=2559606&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dsheridan_chris%26id%3d2559606
SAPPORO, Japan -- If Chris Bosh knew several months ago what he knows now -- that he'd be buried along with Brad Miller on the end of the bench -- would he still have been willing to join Team USA?
"That's a good question. I'm not sure," Bosh told Insider on Thursday night after the U.S. wrapped up preliminary-round play with a 103-58 rout of Senegal. "I can't say that I would, but I don't think anyone would have told me that."
*********
The rest of the article is only available if you're an ESPN insider, which I am not. But the beginning of the article sure sounds like bellyaching about playing time to me.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Interesting article:
No offense, America
Team USA doomed to fail without immediate changes
Posted: Thursday August 24, 2006 7:45PM; Updated: Thursday August 24, 2006 11:32PM
Warning: The following column contains pessimism and player hating to the highest degree.
Dunks have been plentiful for LeBron James and Team USA, which won by an average margin of 23 points per game in the first round.
So Team USA has advanced to the medal round in the FIBA World Championships. Big deal. An elite high school team could have taken Senegal. So the U.S. beat its group play competition by an average of 23 points per game. So what? The Americans were one Carmelo Anthony injury away from getting spanked by Italy.
I'm on record saying I don't believe the U.S. will win the world championships. Do I think the Americans are the most talented? Yes. Do I think they work hard? Absolutely. Do I think they stand a chance against Argentina? Not even a little.
That's what it's all about, really. Argentina. The Argentines are the Patriots to the USA's Colts. They are Ali to our Quarry. Jordan to our Ehlo. You get the idea. Watching the the Americans play is exciting. They are a fast-breaking, high-flying circus act capable of putting up points in bunches. So is the AND1 Mixtape Tour. Doesn't mean we should have sent them.
The truth is Team USA has fallen into the same trap it did at the 2004 Olympics. It runs no plays. It has no set offenses and if it does, it never uses them. It still runs isolation plays on nearly every possession. It has no shooters, a weakness that has yet to be exposed but will most assuredly become an issue when the competition improves.
And it will improve. Should the U.S get by Australia (which features Bucks center Andrew Bogut), it will likely have to face Dirk Nowitzki and Germany, against whom the U.S. needed an Allen Iverson prayer at the buzzer to beat in Athens. After Germany comes the survivor of the France-Greece-China troika. Then Argentina. It just keeps getting better.
Watching the U.S. play reminds me of a scene from The West Wing. It's when Alan Alda's character, Senator Vinick, has to choose his running mate for the fall election. His staff gives him two choices: one guarantees a win, but not a big one. The other won't guarantee a win, but if done right could mean a sweep of all 50 states.The Americans might be able to run every team out of the building. They have the talent to do it. But if they would run an offense, an effective offense that puts every player in motion and utilizes their superior size and athleticism, it would guarantee a victory. They would win, but not big. It's OK, though -- last time I checked there was no BCS scoring system in Japan.
The solution? Take the next few days and learn an offense. Any offense. Run the triangle if you have to. It's the only way you can win in international competition. Pound the ball in the post with LeBron James and Dwight Howard and open up lanes for slashers like Dwyane Wade and Anthony. Utilize Brad Miller in the high post. Set a screen for someone not dribbling the ball. Pretend an NBA playoff berth is on the line.
As it stands, the Americans seem either unwilling or unable to make that commitment. They continue to be indifferent when defending the three-point line. Wait until Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni start teeing them up. They think they can run everyone out of the building. Doesn't work when Argentina plays defense like a hockey team, dropping two defenders back after every shot. As the old saying goes, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/chris_mannix/08/24/usa.sowhat/index.html
No offense, America
Team USA doomed to fail without immediate changes
Posted: Thursday August 24, 2006 7:45PM; Updated: Thursday August 24, 2006 11:32PM
Warning: The following column contains pessimism and player hating to the highest degree.
Dunks have been plentiful for LeBron James and Team USA, which won by an average margin of 23 points per game in the first round.
So Team USA has advanced to the medal round in the FIBA World Championships. Big deal. An elite high school team could have taken Senegal. So the U.S. beat its group play competition by an average of 23 points per game. So what? The Americans were one Carmelo Anthony injury away from getting spanked by Italy.
I'm on record saying I don't believe the U.S. will win the world championships. Do I think the Americans are the most talented? Yes. Do I think they work hard? Absolutely. Do I think they stand a chance against Argentina? Not even a little.
That's what it's all about, really. Argentina. The Argentines are the Patriots to the USA's Colts. They are Ali to our Quarry. Jordan to our Ehlo. You get the idea. Watching the the Americans play is exciting. They are a fast-breaking, high-flying circus act capable of putting up points in bunches. So is the AND1 Mixtape Tour. Doesn't mean we should have sent them.
The truth is Team USA has fallen into the same trap it did at the 2004 Olympics. It runs no plays. It has no set offenses and if it does, it never uses them. It still runs isolation plays on nearly every possession. It has no shooters, a weakness that has yet to be exposed but will most assuredly become an issue when the competition improves.
And it will improve. Should the U.S get by Australia (which features Bucks center Andrew Bogut), it will likely have to face Dirk Nowitzki and Germany, against whom the U.S. needed an Allen Iverson prayer at the buzzer to beat in Athens. After Germany comes the survivor of the France-Greece-China troika. Then Argentina. It just keeps getting better.
Watching the U.S. play reminds me of a scene from The West Wing. It's when Alan Alda's character, Senator Vinick, has to choose his running mate for the fall election. His staff gives him two choices: one guarantees a win, but not a big one. The other won't guarantee a win, but if done right could mean a sweep of all 50 states.The Americans might be able to run every team out of the building. They have the talent to do it. But if they would run an offense, an effective offense that puts every player in motion and utilizes their superior size and athleticism, it would guarantee a victory. They would win, but not big. It's OK, though -- last time I checked there was no BCS scoring system in Japan.
The solution? Take the next few days and learn an offense. Any offense. Run the triangle if you have to. It's the only way you can win in international competition. Pound the ball in the post with LeBron James and Dwight Howard and open up lanes for slashers like Dwyane Wade and Anthony. Utilize Brad Miller in the high post. Set a screen for someone not dribbling the ball. Pretend an NBA playoff berth is on the line.
As it stands, the Americans seem either unwilling or unable to make that commitment. They continue to be indifferent when defending the three-point line. Wait until Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni start teeing them up. They think they can run everyone out of the building. Doesn't work when Argentina plays defense like a hockey team, dropping two defenders back after every shot. As the old saying goes, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/chris_mannix/08/24/usa.sowhat/index.html
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