Told you so

They should’ve kept Bowen.

Sure, the U.S. team may have thought that he wouldn’t be the same player by the time the 2008 Beijing Olympics came around, but they sure needed him at Saitama.

Everyone in the team is looking at the bronze as if it weren’t a bad thing, saying that the future looked bright, that the gold won’t happen overnight, that this team fared better than the Athens group.

Well, it isn’t a good thing either.

First, the U.S. team only sank 20 out of 34 free throws—giving up 14 points at the line. Given the final score (101-95) and some basic math, you’ll come to the conclusion that if they sank at least seven more free throws, the outcome would have been different.

The more important chink in Team U.S.A.’s game is their defense. During the second half of their game versus Greece, Brand and Howard were treated to a clinic on high screen and rolls—something that they could not defend. The floor was spread wide open, and the Greek shooters had their way. Howard, in particular, got repeatedly beaten off the pick and rolls, resulting in many easy lay-ups.

I said it once, and I’ll say it again: you can have too many scorers, but never have too many defenders in a team.

With Bowen in the lineup, the team’s perimeter defense would have been more robust than what we’ve seen. Of course, without exposure to international defenses, the U.S. players wouldn’t win a gold medal, even if the entire NBA All-Defensive Team were there because man-to-man alone will not let you win it all.

Defense wins you games, powers your offense, and gives you championship rings. Or in this case, medals.