DALLAS – The grand experiment begins today with the first day of training camp. Call Mark Cuban, Donnie Nelson and Rick Carlisle crazy, but they believe they have found an alternative recipe for championship success. 1. Take a superstar who may be starting to decline but still is near the top of his game. 2. Add a one-time prolific offensive player who has discovered the joy of defense. 3. Toss in a point guard from Indiana, a shooting guard from Memphis, a center from
Moments after the Los Angeles Lakers were ejected from the 2012 playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kobe Bryant talked calmly with reporters. No doubt the competitive anger within Bryant was hissing and steaming, but he was suppressing it because he was confident history would repeat itself. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” he said of the Lakers’ second consecutive ouster in the second round of the playoffs. “We always have and I’m sure we will again.” Yes, the Lakers always figure it out. What is
Although the current Olympic team won’t cause quite the eruption of the Dream Team in 1992, fans in Barcelona will be quite enthusiastic when Team USA plays exhibition games Sunday against Argentina and Tuesday against Spain. The difference in focus and expectations from 1992, however, are profound. International fans were mesmerized by the Dream Team and couldn’t get enough of their American basketball idols. But never in their wildest dreams did anyone from another country think their team would beat the
LAS VEGAS –Team USA embarked on a quest for a second consecutive Olympic gold medal Thursday night with a 113-59 victory over a Dominican Republican team that in another era could have been confused with Cuba. The game concluded a day of concern and comedy that actually began on Wednesday when Kobe Bryant said the 2012 Olympic team could beat the 1992 Dream Team, thereby leading some to suggest the current team will now be called the We-Want-Esteem-Team. Bryant’s musings sent outlets
(function() { var csprtjs = document.createElement('script'); csprtjs.type = 'text/javascript'; csprtjs.async = true; csprtjs.src = 'http://sheridanhoops.cinesport.comhttp://edgecdn.cinesport.com/container.js'; var first_s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; first_s.parentNode.insertBefore(csprtjs, first_s); })(); LAS VEGAS – Depending on who is asked, the idea is somewhere between harebrained and bizarre, which, come to think about it, isn’t saying a lot for the proposal. The rule in question is the proposed age limit of 23 for players participating in the Olympics, which has
After beginning training camp with a couple of five-minute scrimmages that were open to the media, U.S. Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski has pulled the curtain shut. The last four days have featured games divided into four 10-minute quarters between Team USA and the select team, which consists of younger NBA players. Media has not been allowed to watch. Although statistics have not been made available, the message from those who are Coach K-approved is that there has been one player who has
LAS VEGAS — As the years go by, reminders of advancing age increase, and no one who has reached adulthood is spared. When asked about one of those events Monday, U.S. Olympic basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski – who is at the retirement age of 65 – said, “I try not to think about it.” If the person who conceived the term “time flies” wanted to make different age groups feel older, he or she could point out: 1. How painful it has been
LAS VEGAS — In their continual quest to keep up with American talent, the serious basketball countries in the world have relied on fundamentals, intelligence and, well, Yankee stupidity. The U.S. has always had better basketball players and more of them than any other country. Sometimes, however, talent doesn’t translate to gold. International teams have proven that experienced teams playing with skilled unselfish players can cause problems for the U.S. The 2012 U.S. Olympic team is aware of history – losses in