Wednesday Bolts – 8.1.12
Kelly Dwyer of BDL: “Again, this is Tunisia. A lightweight that happened to be in the way, as Team USA rolled to a 2-0 tourney record even after a day off of practice. Even if that cohesion never reveals itself, at least in the half court offensively, Team USA can remind us of the NBA champion Miami Heat at their worst, and best. How the talent is good enough, on paper, to dominate without having to turn things into an endless five man weave or something that reminds of the pass-pass-pass-cut-cut-cut champion Knicks of the 1970s or Bulls of the 1990s. Drive and kick can kill, too. Especially when those “too many three-pointers” end up giving your team 120 points per 100 possessions, as it did for Team USA on Tuesday.”
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com: “The U.S. just won by 47 points with Kobe Bryant and LeBron James combining for a whopping nine points. Think about that. Things are good if you’re winning by nearly 50 points with two of the top scorers not even reaching a double-digit sum. Sure, the other side of that coin is that there might be something causing Bryant and James to struggle in the scoring column, but their medals, rings and nearly 50,000 career points in the NBA suggest they should be just fine sooner than later. Winning by 47 points isn’t the big story here, as Collins might attest. Plenty of teams have done that, then come up short on the quest for gold. Winning by 47 and having room for improvement? Now that’s worth writing home about.”
The Peake’s getting big changes as the Gazette notes: “Entering the arena, fans will pass through what was previously the back wall, and into a spacious area leading to the bowl. That area will open to the newly expanded Jack Daniels Old No. 7 restaurant and bar, and the new Courtside Cafe. In a Kids Zone, children and parents can shoot hoops and play arcade games or pose with a cutout of Rumble, the Thunder’s mascot. From new carpeting and colored terrazzo floors, to television screens throughout the perimeter of the bowl on all levels, additions will help ensure that even the thriftiest ticket buyer won’t feel like a chump. Whether a ticket costs $10 or $1,000, all levels will boast restrooms with porcelain tile and granite countertops.”
Henry Abbott of TrueHoop on the future of international basketball: “It would be the ultimate payoff of the league’s long-term investment in spreading the game globally — and the ultimate pressure on the International Olympic Committee to do what it asks its athletes to do: to raise their games in the face of stiff competition. There’s ample reason to believe fans around the world would love an NBA-run global tournament. Most sports simply don’t have a single unifying brand as powerful and recognizable. The NBA is synonymous with the globe’s finest hoops around the world — it’s literally one of the most recognized brands not just in the U.S. and basketball-loving parts of Europe, but also across Asia.”
KD on losing the Finals: “I wanted to win as bad as anything in the world. I cried about it every day.”
Berry Tramel: “A major injury to LeBron or Durant or any player of that caliber would be catastrophic for a franchise. The Miami Heat lost money in its championship season. The Thunder will be treading water to stay financially sound as it pays its young stars. Organizations have committed unspeakable amounts of money to these players now wearing the red, white and navy blue. To incur such a calamity in the name of goodwill and some kind of athletic patriotism is asking a bit much. The NBA is big business. Every decision concerning personnel is big; every decision concerns risk/reward. The risk of allowing franchise pillars to play in the Olympics does not match the reward.”
