The Arbitrary ChuckJerry

The USA basketball team is clearly not suited for the international game. They are much more talented than all of the other teams, but the slight rule differences make it harder for them to compete.

Every other team plays zone against them because they don't have an outside shooter. In the rare occasions where they get through the zone and drive the basket the other team doesn't try to defend the shots, but instead tries to draw a charge, which they've done effectively through today's game. There is no interior circle that delineates a charge from a blocking foul, so a player can drive all the way to the basket and still charge a guy on his way up.

The referees call the bitchiest fouls in the world. They call hands in the back on a post up move. Every time a player drives the basket they call a foul. Generally about half the time there is no foul, at least relative to the NBA game, when a player drives, but they call it anyway. The international game is also set up to penalize the players who make aggressive plays. If you go for a steal, drive the basket, play close defense, go up hard for a rebound, or anything with energy involved, they call a foul. The fact that there are only 2 referees in the game also has an adverse effect on the USA team.

The selection committee has really done a poor job selecting this team. Even though all of those guys declined to play, they could have put a team together that would have been much more cohesive. They need to have at least 2 three point shooters. You can't go wrong with Iverson or Duncan, and they've both played well. Lamar Odom is a lot better than I thought he was. Marbury was the best PG available after Kidd and Bibby declined. Except for these guys, though, the team is really built poorly.

The team needs a Reggie Miller/Brent Barry/Voshon Leonard type of player. Someone with high energy who can hit shots. The current team has lots of wasted energy in guys who try to drive through the zone every time and don't know what to do when that doesn't work because they can't consistently hit shots.

Every game they've played so far has been s struggle and that's mainly because of the zone defense. Their weaknesses are so obvious and very easy to exploit. Bronze medal at best.