The two best players on the United States Men’s Basketball Team could also be the downfall of the team’s Gold Medal hopes.
Everyone knows LeBron James and Kobe Bryant can create for themselves. In fact, creating something out of nothing is when they are at their best. Driving to the hole and pulling up, going to the rim, or dishing to a teammate for an open layup when the offense is stagnant is their best quality.
But their worst quality is during the same exact situation, when they do not attack, but rather pull up; often a 20-foot 2-point shot. This shot, in all aspects of basketball- from my Rec League Team, to Syracuse basketball, to the NBA, to the Olympics- just infuriates me. I can take it when the Cavs have passed the ball around for 20 seconds (more likely LeBron has dribbled the ball at the top of the key for 20 seconds and Varejao is running up to set a pick) and now there’s no time left on the shot clock- yes, then I understand you can jack it up. I even understand Kobe wanting to be part of the scoring offense after he’s dished out 3 assists in the 1st quarter. I get that. But can you please tell me why LeBron and Kobe insist on pulling up from 20 feet, with a defender in their face, with 15 seconds left on the shot clock, when Chris Paul is open on top, ready to set up a play?
A great example of how this can literally lead to the demise of your team is Andre Iguodala (the new $80 million man) in the 2008 NBA Playoffs. Now I’m not trying to compare his shooting ability with Kobe’s, or even LeBron’s, but the concept is the same. In the first 3 games of the playoffs, Andre shot 7 for 33 (including 0-6 from 3-point range), a brilliant 21%. However, the Sixers won 2 of those games. In the following games, he continued to shoot even more. Many times, especially in the pivotal Game 4 in Philly, he would shot some off-balance 18-foot jumper early in the shot clock. I understand he wanted to become the Man on this team, but when he had other guys carrying the scoring burden (Andre Miller was playing great and should have controlled the ball even more), Iguodala should have just concentrated on Defense and distributing the ball. The Sixers ended up losing the next 3 games and were eliminated. Iguodala’s shot eventually fell in the last two games, but it didn’t matter because he had tried to assert himself into the offense by taking bad, long, guarded jumpers in Game 4. It was excruciating for me to watch- and I’m not even a Philly fan.
And it’s not even the selfishness that gets to me- I don’t mind that, Kobe and LeBron are the two best players in the world- it’s just a sincere hatred on my part for taking a shot that you have no business taking, especially on a team with Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony- not Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak. It is purely inexcusable. Move the ball. Everyone on this team can play and create. Don’t be a ball stopper, and even worse, don’t jack up stupid shots.
And this is what I think could lead to their downfall. Yes, Boeheim has apparently not taught anyone, including re-teaching Carmelo, how to play zone defense, and yes, even open 3’s and free throws haven’t exactly been falling- but this awful decision making from your two top minute-getters is what could be the difference between a single-digit game against Lithuania or Argentina or a loss against them.
Not that I actually think this team will ever lose- but Coach K still has some coaching to do.
photo via dunkonu’s Flickr
