No Redemption in Beijing for the US ‘Redeem Team’

Elmer Crisostomo

Scribe Written on August 03, 2008

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They may have tons of NBA experiences combined, but how about as a team?

International Teams Already Have their Numbers

When Jordan, Magic, Bird, and company had shown that the USA and the rest of the world were worlds apart, it looked like the Americans would never lose a basketball game ever again. But through the years, the average margins have dwindled until they finally got beat.

The world had realized that there’s a secret to dealing a Dream Team a loss and it had already been figured out in two world championships and the in last Olympics. And with the Team USA not making major adjustments this time, the formula is still going to work in Beijing.

LeBron’s Boast Will Add to their Burdens

As an aftermath of the 2004 Dream Team’s nightmare finish in Athens, Kirk Hinrich feared that “Americans would kill them after failing to bring the gold medal home”. I wonder what LeBron James would say when he and his multi-millionaire teammates fail to bring home his ‘guaranteed’ gold medal this time.

They may have been annihilating all their opponents in exhibition games in preparation for their Olympic stint, but by the time the quarterfinals or semifinals of the ‘real’ games in Beijing come around, living up to James’ big talk will surely add more pressure on the ‘Redeem Team’ as they go up against fired-up and more cohesive opponents.

Of course, being a big NBA fan who lives in a basketball crazy country, I’d be glad to be proven wrong.

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