Wednesday, August 20, 2008
James, Wade lead U.S. men's basketball
BEIJING | Kobe Bryant joined for the first time. Jason Kidd returned after an eight-year absence. Sports mogul Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski were asked to correct the course of USA Basketball.
But as the U.S. men rolled through their five-game preliminary round, two holdovers from the bronze-medal winning 2004 team led the way.
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have been the two best U.S. players entering Wednesday's quarterfinal game against Australia.
Both players have earned praise for their scoring, defense and leadership as the United States has won its games by an average of 32.1 points.
"They've played so well," Krzyzewski said. "I hate to say just two guys have done it because our team has played really well. But those two guys are playing at the highest level right now."
Wade (16.2 points a game) and James (15.8) are the Americans' top two scorers, and each player has a team-leading 12 steals.
Led by Wade, a reserve, and James, a starter, the United States is three wins from the gold medal. Australia has given the United States its closest game since the team reconvened earlier this summer, an 87-76 American victory Aug. 5.
But the United States has improved as the Olympics have progressed. It labored against Angola before beating Greece by 23, Spain by 37 and Germany by 49.
"It's time to try to win a gold medal," Krzyzewski said. "We don't feel like we're dominant. We feel like we're playing really well. You don't win the game because of cumulative stats. You win it by playing 40 minutes each time, three consecutive times. That's how we've approached it."
Added Wade: "We're getting better and better, and that's the thing - from the first game in [Las] Vegas to now, we're so much better. We're getting to know each other a lot more, and we're starting to see more things. We're getting comfortable in our roles."
In 2004, Wade didn't start a game as a 22-year-old and averaged 7.3 points as the United States finished 5-3.
Wade, James, Carlos Boozer and Carmelo Anthony are the only players back from that team. Wade overcame an NBA season full of injuries to slide into the U.S. rotation. He's averaging 18.4 minutes.
"It's not even in the same book," Wade said of comparing the 2004 and 2008 teams. "It's two totally different fields. I look at this as a team. I look at that as a bunch of individual guys who were good individually but didn't get a chance to become a team. We got beat, and we got pretty bad."
James, then 19, never started on the 2004 team and averaged 3.4 points.
"Knowing that being in the Olympics the last time wasn't a great experience, for me as an individual, I want to make this the best," he said. "This is the best right now. ... [In 2004], I was 19 years old. I thought I was good enough to be playing, but I wasn't playing. Being 19 and being away from home for 37 days and not doing what you love to do, it was kind of tough on me. But I think at the end of the day, it made me who I am today."
James leads the United States in minutes (23.6), ranks second in assists (22) and has become an ally for the coaching staff.
"If he's not the best, he's one of the top two or three best players in the world," Krzyzewski said. "Over the last three years, his game has just developed in all aspects - his leadership, his defense, obviously his offense and his shooting. He's really embraced the entire game. He just has a presence. He keeps guys loose, knowing when to get on them, making sure we have good practices."
James is playing - and talking - with a confident swagger.
Told the United States has looked dominant to date, he said: "It's going to look like that for the next three, too," James said. "We're trying to play with a chip on our shoulder. We go out every night and try to get better. Going against Greece and Spain was easy to get up for."
After Australia, Argentina likely will meet the Americans in a semifinal, and Lithuania or Spain would follow in the gold-medal game Sunday morning EDT.
"It's finally here," Anthony said of the knockout stage. "We're knocking at the door, and it's time to get down to business right now. We've got three games to accomplish what we've been waiting to do for four years."