Dream Team or a Sham Team?

The US should really think about renaming their basketball team into a sham team with the way they perform recently in the summer games held in Athens, Greece. It really is not the dream team that it used to be. Where is the Dream Team that the World used to love? Back then the All Stars of the US is invincible in the basketball court, outscoring their foreign counter parts in double digits. Nowadays, it is the other way around. The Puerto Rican team outscored the Americans in the first half when it ended with a score of 49 – 27 in favor to the opposing team.

The American players seemed not to care when they had been outscored and outplayed by Puerto Ricans. There is no team effort to speak of. The worst part is that there are a lot of turn-over’s which is very unusual for elite NBA players too have since they are supposed to be the best the US has to offer. They should have taken the hint to strive even better when their opponent is on the lead of 12 points when the first have ended. I wonder what the coach told them during the half-time because they even performed worst in the second half.

Stars like Duncan and Allan Iverson was at their all time low when Iverson shot 1 out of 10 in three point territory. Tim Duncan on the other hand made a lot of turnovers. These two were supposed to be a leading scorer with 15 points each. Their other team mates even performed below the standard of what an NBA All Star should be. There team effort was practically non-existent because their passes were not that sharp. They also let Puerto Rican guards passed through their defense. It is practically easy for their opponent to drive through their defense.

The game ended with a humiliating 92 – 73 in favor to the Puerto Ricans. The recent current events from the US players is not looking good. The US team’s performance was simply unacceptable. They did not performed as expected of them. The Dream Team is no longer as invincible as before. They are not the best them as they would like to think. Gone were the glory days. This is what the Dream Team has become. The players simply have no heart and confidence to play the game. They did not play to the best of their abilities and simply let their opponents humiliate them.

Now, that the Olympic game is closing. How will the US team be able to prepare for it? Does the game last Sunday a sign that the reign of the US basketball team is nearing its end? Actually, it has long been expected that the Dream Team is not as it used to be. They were already beaten by several teams from other countries. Spain is now the most favored team in the Olympics. The US team should really do something to shape up because they could not afford an event like their last game with the Puerto Ricans repeat itself because as I see it. The probability of history to repeat itself is highly probable.