No Redemption in Beijing for the US ‘Redeem Team’

LeBron James, Kobe Bryant,  Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd, and the rest of the USA men’s basketball team will surely be standing at the podium receiving their medals at the end of the Olympic Games, but there will be no Star Spangled Banner to be heard in the background.   Although this year’s team is the most prepared all-pro USA national squad ever assembled, some factors will still stand in their way of redeeming the great American pride in basketball...   NBA Superstars Can’t Pull the Trigger When the Game is on the Line   Most of the current NBA players on the roster may have scored winning baskets in the world’s premiere league, but international basketball is an entirely different matter.   In the crucial games they had lost in Athens, Allen Iverson couldn’t even connect on a shot he had been easily making in the NBA. And Tim Duncan couldn’t be at his usual smartest self in their most important games four ... (link)