1992 Dream Team or 2012 Olympic Team?

[pellegrino]

Top 50?

Ding ding, AA for the win!

As good as the players on this year's team are, I doubt that NINE of them will be included in the next greatest 50, maybe six of them (more likely 4) but there's no way in hell that NINE of them will make that list, not with the way their careers have gone now.

[smokymountainrain]

Since Kobe made his comments, one thing that has been overlooked is while the '92 team had the top 11 players in the league at the time, or at least the 11 they wanted, This team doesn't have the best 11. Give this year's team D12 instead of Iggy, Bynum instead of AD, Rose instead of Westbrook (or Williams) and Wade instead of Harden. Now we have a game and I give 2012 the edge. Bottom line, lack of size is a major problem for '12 and would be against Ewing, Robinson, Malone, Barkley. Give them Dwight and Bynum and you neutralize that size advantage. The wings and PGs are so much stronger on this team.

[smokymountainrain]

I know he wasn't on the radar, but he was rookie of the year that year with 23 points, 3.5 blocks and almost 14 rebounds a game. He was a beast out of the box. If you are asking who else I would add with the benefit of hindsight to make the team better, I absolutely would add Shaq. And no question Laettner doesn't make the team. I'm not sure I would even let him watch the games on tv.

I honestly don't think Wade would add much to this team in a game versus 1992.

The '92 team got everybody they wanted. If they didn't have Shaq or Isiah, it's because they felt they weren't good enough to be there. This years team would take Wade, Rose, Bynum and D12 in a heartbeat. It's absolutely fair.

[TripletDaddy]

Since Kobe made his comments, one thing that has been overlooked is while the '92 team had the top 11 players in the league at the time, or at least the 11 they wanted, This team doesn't have the best 11. Give this year's team D12 instead of Iggy, Bynum instead of AD, Rose instead of Westbrook (or Williams) and Wade instead of Harden. Now we have a game and I give 2012 the edge. Bottom line, lack of size is a major problem for '12 and would be against Ewing, Robinson, Malone, Barkley. Give them Dwight and Bynum and you neutralize that size advantage. The wings and PGs are so much stronger on this team.

This is what I have been saying the whole time!

[smokymountainrain]

This is what I have been saying the whole time!

Sorry, I read your stuff after I posted. But I did add Rose and Bynum to the mix!

[TripletDaddy]

Sorry, I read your stuff after I posted. But I did add Rose and Bynum to the mix!

You have always been one of my favorites.

[MarkGrace]

Sorry, I read your stuff after I posted. But I did add Rose and Bynum to the mix!

With Rose, for me it would depend on whether they were going at each other with NBA or Olympic rules. If NBA, I could see Rose. If Olympics, you stick with Deron (especially if you're using '92 int'l 3pt line vs. '12) -- he's arguably been USA's best point, because he fits the international game a little better. Compared to Rose, he's been a considerably better midrange shooter, and those types tend to kill in int'l play (see also: Carmelo Anthony) because the NBA midrange all of a sudden has 3pt value (especially if we're talking '92 rules). Also, among the available points, Deron is the best playing without the ball, because he's spent so much more time doing it than the others. Where you have Kobe/Durant/Bron/etc., handling and dominating the ball, he gives you a better complementary skill than a guy like Rose. I think one thing the USA learned as the rest of the world began to assert itself is that you have to field the best team, not just the best collection of individual talent.

[smokymountainrain]

With Rose, for me it would depend on whether they were going at each other with NBA or Olympic rules. If NBA, I could see Rose. If Olympics, you stick with Deron (especially if you're using '92 int'l 3pt line vs. '12) -- he's arguably been USA's best point, because he fits the international game a little better. Compared to Rose, he's been a considerably better midrange shooter, and those types tend to kill in int'l play (see also: Carmelo Anthony) because the NBA midrange all of a sudden has 3pt value (especially if we're talking '92 rules). Also, among the available points, Deron is the best playing without the ball, because he's spent so much more time doing it than the others. Where you have Kobe/Durant/Bron/etc., handling and dominating the ball, he gives you a better complementary skill than a guy like Rose. I think one thing the USA learned as the rest of the world began to assert itself is that you have to field the best team, not just the best collection of individual talent.

So you replace Westbrook with Rose. Rose is basically just a slightly better version of Westbrook anyway.

Rose would be the least important addition regardless, because Westbrook's presence. Bynum and Howard would be the real diffErence

[MarkGrace]

My thoughts on the big man matchup is that it again could be pretty dependent on NBA vs. Olympic rules. As strictly a collection of NBA talent, yeah, Dream Team was pretty awesome. But in theory big man play is more limited under international play with the compressed court (again, especially under the '92 3pt line). Looking at team Dream Team's stats, I was surprised to see that its leading scorers were two big men: Barkley at 16.3 and Malone at 14.8

But I wonder how much of that was again just the fact that international teams were just overwhelmed with that kind of size (though Barkley wasn't all that big). If you add D12 to Chandler, you have some pretty legit size anchoring the paint defensively. Dream Team is still better, but I do wonder if the combination of compressed international court and more liberal goaltending rules (and Dream Team probably didn't face a ton of teams that could take advantage of this) wouldn't take away at least some of that advantage. Chandler and D12 would be in the position to erase a lot of interior shots.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

No love for Dream Team 2? Shaq had the shaved head with sideburns for that team, I still have the McDonald's collectors cup.

[pellegrino]

Since Kobe made his comments, one thing that has been overlooked is while the '92 team had the top 11 players in the league at the time, or at least the 11 they wanted, This team doesn't have the best 11. Give this year's team D12 instead of Iggy, Bynum instead of AD, Rose instead of Westbrook (or Williams) and Wade instead of Harden. Now we have a game and I give 2012 the edge. Bottom line, lack of size is a major problem for '12 and would be against Ewing, Robinson, Malone, Barkley. Give them Dwight and Bynum and you neutralize that size advantage. The wings and PGs are so much stronger on this team.

Yes, the '92 team got everyone they wanted, but even so, the best 12 in the NBA now aren't as good as the best 12 in the NBA then.

[TripletDaddy]

No love for Dream Team 2? Shaq had the shaved head with sideburns for that team, I still have the McDonald's collectors cup.

lol. that was a great look for shaq.

What about some love for the Team USA led by LBJ that won bronze?

[All-American]

No love for Dream Team 2? Shaq had the shaved head with sideburns for that team, I still have the McDonald's collectors cup.

Not an olympics team, besides.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Not an olympics team, besides.

How does the pertain to the question?

[All-American]

How does the pertain to the question?

The question being why no love for Dream Team II? Because nobody cares about FIBA.