PP KG why no Celtics on the Olympic team

[nickagneta]

^ What?

yo yall gon stop trynna make it seem like im typin in hieroglyphics lol basically i said dat 02 world championship roster was trash

It was but Pierce was as much a part of the problem as anything.

He had a shoot first, second and third mentality. He was immature and not close to a team player. He couldn't take coaching. And was a major problem child with a huge ego.

There were only 3 guys 29 or older on that team. The problem wasn't age, it was youth, ego, lack of leadership and too much "children of Allen Iverson influence" on that team.

not only did Pierce lead dat team in scoring, he was 2nd in assist nd shot 48% from da field nd 49% from 3. nd wat Iverson influence? da 02 worlds team flat out sucked lol Raef Lafrentz, Antonio Davis, Jay Williams, Ben Wallace, Andre Miller are names dat dont belong on dat team. nd dont forget about JO averaging 7ppg on 42% shootin like i said garbage roster somebody had to score da points

I don't care how efficient he was, he was a problem. It is why Karl had to bench his butt. He was an egotistical, shoot first baby who couldn't blend with other talent because he had to be the man.

And BTW Ben Wallace was the best defensive player in the world at that time and one of the best centers around.

O'Neal was an absolute stud at the time that needed touches but the Baron Davis/Paul Pierce/Michael Finley trio wanted to do nothing more than play iso ball and chuck threes. There was no team. It was a collection of hero, ball foolish chuckers, led by Pierce. he couldn't take directions or follow the game plan of the coaches and neither could many of the others.

[Army_of_One_Nation]

Joe Klein, Bill Russell, KC Jones, Charles E. Smith IV,  Quinn Buckner, Jojo White, Charles Scott, Alton Lister, Shaq, Gary Payton, Ray Allen, Vin Baker, KG are some who have played in the Olympics.
Never used pro players until 1992, so NCAA players actually tried out for the Olympic teams.
So, the answer is Larry Bird is the only current Celtic who played in an Olympic game.

[Celts Fan 92]

^ What?

yo yall gon stop trynna make it seem like im typin in hieroglyphics lol basically i said dat 02 world championship roster was trash

It was but Pierce was as much a part of the problem as anything.

He had a shoot first, second and third mentality. He was immature and not close to a team player. He couldn't take coaching. And was a major problem child with a huge ego.

There were only 3 guys 29 or older on that team. The problem wasn't age, it was youth, ego, lack of leadership and too much "children of Allen Iverson influence" on that team.

not only did Pierce lead dat team in scoring, he was 2nd in assist nd shot 48% from da field nd 49% from 3. nd wat Iverson influence? da 02 worlds team flat out sucked lol Raef Lafrentz, Antonio Davis, Jay Williams, Ben Wallace, Andre Miller are names dat dont belong on dat team. nd dont forget about JO averaging 7ppg on 42% shootin like i said garbage roster somebody had to score da points

I don't care how efficient he was, he was a problem. It is why Karl had to bench his butt. He was an egotistical, shoot first baby who couldn't blend with other talent because he had to be the man.

And BTW Ben Wallace was the best defensive player in the world at that time and one of the best centers around.

O'Neal was an absolute stud at the time that needed touches but the Baron Davis/Paul Pierce/Michael Finley trio wanted to do nothing more than play iso ball and chuck threes. There was no team. It was a collection of hero, ball foolish chuckers, led by Pierce. he couldn't take directions or follow the game plan of the coaches and neither could many of the others.

lol man dats EASILY da worst collection of talent team USA sent to da world championships or Olympics post 1992 so many forgettable players nd JO the stud averaged 7ppg

[nickagneta]

^ What?

yo yall gon stop trynna make it seem like im typin in hieroglyphics lol basically i said dat 02 world championship roster was trash

It was but Pierce was as much a part of the problem as anything.

He had a shoot first, second and third mentality. He was immature and not close to a team player. He couldn't take coaching. And was a major problem child with a huge ego.

There were only 3 guys 29 or older on that team. The problem wasn't age, it was youth, ego, lack of leadership and too much "children of Allen Iverson influence" on that team.

not only did Pierce lead dat team in scoring, he was 2nd in assist nd shot 48% from da field nd 49% from 3. nd wat Iverson influence? da 02 worlds team flat out sucked lol Raef Lafrentz, Antonio Davis, Jay Williams, Ben Wallace, Andre Miller are names dat dont belong on dat team. nd dont forget about JO averaging 7ppg on 42% shootin like i said garbage roster somebody had to score da points

I don't care how efficient he was, he was a problem. It is why Karl had to bench his butt. He was an egotistical, shoot first baby who couldn't blend with other talent because he had to be the man.

And BTW Ben Wallace was the best defensive player in the world at that time and one of the best centers around.

O'Neal was an absolute stud at the time that needed touches but the Baron Davis/Paul Pierce/Michael Finley trio wanted to do nothing more than play iso ball and chuck threes. There was no team. It was a collection of hero, ball foolish chuckers, led by Pierce. he couldn't take directions or follow the game plan of the coaches and neither could many of the others.

lol man dats EASILY da worst collection of talent team USA sent to da world championships or Olympics post 1992 so many forgettable players nd JO the stud averaged 7ppg

Go re-watch those games. The ball never went inside. Heck there was little to no ball movement. I'm telling you. Get some vid on the games, re-watch them and then tell me how bad O'Neal was and how great Pierce was. That team was split with the Davis/Pierce group on one side of the team and the O'Neal/Davis/Wallace group on the other and the two factions didn't click.

That team was painful to watch. No direction. No on court leadership. No sacrifice for the greater good. All hero ball. It was pathetic.

[European NBA fan]

I think the current USA basketball decision makers have tried Rondo's game and decided they didn't like it.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/04/rajon-rondo-has-no-interest-in-ever-playing-in-the-olympics/

According to Rondo, the feeling is mutual.

After Rondo had that DNP-CD before the 2010 Championship, I still believe he would have made the roster. Coach K puts players in his dog house all the time, but rarely for a very long time (even Chris Paul and Derrick Rose has been there). Coach K likes versatility, and while Westbrook and Rose bring more scoring, Rondo just has a different tool box. Besides, both Westbrook and Rose could move to the sg position, if needed.

But Rondo chose not to run the risk of being cut or take the challenge of being the 3rd string point guard, maybe because of pride, maybe because he was home sick or maybe a little of both. And the experience was apparently not that great, that he wishes to spend more summers like that.

[More Banners]

Pierce played heroball in 2002, right or wrong, both for the WC's and the C's at that time.  And he was the best player on the team.

Wasn't that year's team the trainwreck that caused USA Basketball to rework the entire structure of their system, naming a permanent coach and having tryouts?

[Onslaught]

^ What?

yo yall gon stop trynna make it seem like im typin in hieroglyphics lol basically i said dat 02 world championship roster was trash

It's just, when did "that" become "dat?" Or "ever" become "eva?"

I understand what you're saying. I just don't understand why. Perhaps I'm just too old.

[ACF]

^ What?

yo yall gon stop trynna make it seem like im typin in hieroglyphics lol basically i said dat 02 world championship roster was trash

It's just, when did "that" become "dat?" Or "ever" become "eva?"

I understand what you're saying. I just don't understand why. Perhaps I'm just too old.

 

[Redz]

^ What?

yo yall gon stop trynna make it seem like im typin in hieroglyphics lol basically i said dat 02 world championship roster was trash

It's just, when did "that" become "dat?" Or "ever" become "eva?"

I understand what you're saying. I just don't understand why. Perhaps I'm just too old.

If you understand what he's saying then accept it as style and keep on topic. 

My grandmother used to use words like "swell" for good...I thought it was a little strange but I knew what she meant.

[jambr380]

Pierce played heroball in 2002, right or wrong, both for the WC's and the C's at that time.  And he was the best player on the team.

Wasn't that year's team the trainwreck that caused USA Basketball to rework the entire structure of their system, naming a permanent coach and having tryouts?

Yeah, I remember them experimenting with trying to roll out a few star players with good players, assuming there would be a better 'team' structure. It was the world championships, so I saw what they were trying to do, but it didn't make much sense not to bring out the best the NBA had to offer.

Nick, I know what you are saying about Pierce (and I agree with you on most everything), but he was [unfairly so] the posterboy for everything that was wrong. That team just wasn't very good and certainly didn't put together the  NBAs best. Pierce was the best player on the team, but he certainly wasn't the best in the league.

With all that being said, they still should have won with relative ease.

[CelticG1]

Pierce wasn't a problem on that team that team just sucked. If you subbed out Pierce with any other star of that time you would have got the same results.

People act like Pierce all of a sudden matured with the big 3 then he gets in trouble during the Atlanta series in 08 then he gets kicked out of the Miami game in 2010.

So Pierce is either still immature or people overexaggerate his immaturity earlier in his career.

Bottom line is that playing on good teams makes you look better maturity wise and skill wise. Players on losing teams will be looked at as losers, immature, chuckers etc. Has anyone looked at Kobe during his career? Absolute immature chucker throughout it. He was blessed to be on some great teams though so everyone ignores it

[celtsfan84]

Pierce wasn't a problem on that team that team just sucked. If you subbed out Pierce with any other star of that time you would have got the same results.

People act like Pierce all of a sudden matured with the big 3 then he gets in trouble during the Atlanta series in 08 then he gets kicked out of the Miami game in 2010.

So Pierce is either still immature or people overexaggerate his immaturity earlier in his career.

Bottom line is that playing on good teams makes you look better maturity wise and skill wise. Players on losing teams will be looked at as losers, immature, chuckers etc. Has anyone looked at Kobe during his career? Absolute immature chucker throughout it. He was blessed to be on some great teams though so everyone ignores it

Paul isn't beloved by those in USA basketball and the comparison to Kobe isn't fully accurate.  Kobe is selfish and a gunner but Kobe never gives less than 100% effort, even when teaming with Kwame and Smush.  He whined, he complained, he played selfishly, but he brought his A-game, with the only possible exception being the infamous Game 7 between the Lakers and Suns.  The old Pierce had many a game where he was pretty lax and careless.

Rondo's game is a better fit for NBA play than international play. KG is old and has bad knees.  Nobody else is really an option.

And the talent argument doesn't really fly with me either.  They didn't exactly lose to the Dream Team.  Yugoslavia won the gold.  Does anyone really think that the 2002 Yugoslavia team is better than that 2002 US team talent-wise?

http://www.eagletribune.com/sports/x1876437229/Karl-has-gone-from-a-Pierce-basher-to-booster

Karl wasn't the only one disappointed in Pierce. Here was an assessment of Pierce's play for the tournament by ESPN.com's Ric Bucher:

"Pierce became a fan/media darling because of his stats and despised by his teammates for the way he got them. Pierce put the Germany game out of reach with his eight-point burst in 50 seconds to close the third quarter and led the team in scoring, but his fourth-quarter battle with Milan Gurovic decided the Yugoslavia game. His defense left a lot to be desired throughout the tournament, but never more than here.

"Gurovic scored 10 of his 15 points in the final 10 minutes, including three 3s in Pierce's grill. Pierce, meanwhile, not only went scoreless but he didn't get open on the U.S. team's last two plays, both drawn for him."