Showing posts with label Dream Team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dream Team. Show all posts

Monday, August 13, 2012

LeBron James, Kevin Durant lead player grades for Team USA

The 2012 version of the Dream Team was able to run the table in the London Olympics to win gold. While it wasn't without a couple of scares (a 99-94 win over Lithuania in group play and their 107-100 win over Spain in the gold medal game), Mike Krzyzewski was able to improve his overall record as a head coach in international play to 62-1 by guiding a less than full strength and undersized team. Almost every player on the roster contributed to their run to the gold, so with that being said, here's the grades for each player.

Carmelo Anthony: B+
Anthony is a near-prototypical '4' in international ball, as he has the size to deal with most international post players, but his offensive skill set and athleticism make him a matchup nightmare for opposing coaches. Anthony didn't show up big in the gold medal game, but put up very solid numbers throughout pool play, including dropping 37 points in just 14 minutes in the teams' 83-point drubbing of Nigeria. Overall, Anthony finished second on the team in scoring, and made half of his 46 three-point attempts.
Stats: 17.8 mins, 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists

Kobe Bryant: C+
Bryant struggled early in the tournament, but came up with some big buckets later in the tournament, including hitting a barrage of second-half threes to break open a close game against Argentina in the semifinals. Defensively, Kobe often guarded the opponents' best perimeter player, and largely did a great job in shutting those players down.
Stats: 17.5 minutes, 12.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists