Perimeter shooting was a devastating shortcoming in Athens. Iverson and Marbury were erratic. Richard Jefferson was more of a runner and finisher than a shooter. And neither Shawn Marion nor Lamar Odom was a dependable shooter.
Unfortunately, this problem hasn't been completely rectified. Only Michael Redd is a reliable long-distance dialer. Otherwise, J-Kidd and LBJ are inadequate shooters, while Paul, Williams, Wade, and Bryant are a mite streaky. However, this problem will be mitigated to some degree by the shortened 3-point line and the relatively inferior perimeter defenders.
The go-to big man on the Athens team was supposed to be Tim Duncan, but he was cramped by a steady diet of collapsing zones and his frustration became evident. If Okafor hardly played and Stoudemire was ineffective, Carlos Boozer proved to be solid in the middle.
Boozer returns and should excel once more. But Chris Bosh and Tayshaun Prince rely more on finesse than on power, and Dwight Howard has plenty of power but no finesse. The upshot is that this issue has not been satisfactorily resolved.
Another troublesome area that threatens to be repeated is a team-wide inefficiency at the foul line. If Team Athens was always shaky at the stripe, the fact that Team Beijing only converted 61.9 percent of its free throws against Lithuania in an exhibition game is a bad sign.
Four years ago, Larry Brown was the source of much dissension and confusion. His penchant for blaming losses on his players, and his overall arrogance were highly detrimental to team harmony. Meanwhile, Mike Krzyzewski has managed to keep his own considerable ego in check and has judiciously maintained a low profile. The result is an immense improvement in team chemistry.
Because Wade, James, Stoudemire, Anthony and Okafor were too young to have a consistent impact, the USA squad in Greece lacked the depth that the current team has. In China, Bosh and Prince figure to be the last players off the bench, both of them being solid performers in their own respective ways. As such, the incredible length of Coach K's bench will be a huge advantage — and, indeed, should be the deciding factor.
The general arrogance of the 2004 team was also costly, and the lessons of so many subsequent humiliations in international competition have been totally absorbed by everybody connected with the latest version of Team USA.
In sum, most— if not all — of the flaws exhibited in Athens have been remedied.Still, while there's no such thing as a perfect basketball team, it's highly probable that if the American hoopers fail to bring home the gold in Beijing any and all future Teams USA will similarly prove to be second rate.
That's why the upcoming tournament is the most important in the entire history of Olympic basketball competition. For the good guys wearing red-white-and-blue, it's gold now or never.
