Krzyzewski has Bryant's back

LAS VEGAS -- On the court, Kobe Bryant has been a ferocious defender for Mike Krzyzewski in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament. Off the court, Krzyzewski is an equally strong defender of Bryant.

The bond between player and coach was formed when Bryant considered coming to Duke rather than jumping directly from high school to the pros. It was strengthened when Krzyzewski considered leaving Duke to coach the Lakers after Phil Jackson's departure in 2004.

And it has been sealed now that they are finally united on the U.S. basketball team.

While Bryant has been heavily criticized for his meltdown after the NBA season, when he went back and forth on his desire to remain a Laker, Krzyzewski is sympathetic.

"I would always want guys who would want to win," Krzyzewski said. "The fact that he's frustrated because they are not winning at the level he would like, I think that's a good problem. I'm sure the Lakers will work things out. The thing about Kobe is that every thing he does is so public. It's the scrutiny placed on an individual who has won three world championships and is considered the best player in the world. That goes with the territory."

Krzyzewski says he has been there for Bryant behind the scenes.

"It's not so much you give advice," said the coach, "because to give advice, you have to have knowledge of the situation. What you want to do is give support, say, 'I'm behind you. Stay steadfast in what you want to do.' "

The two also spoke when it was Krzyzewski's future that was uncertain.

"When I was considering the Laker situation," Krzyzewski said, "he told me he loved the Laker organization and if that's what I wanted to do, he wanted to work with me. No pressure or anything like that. What came across during that time was his love of L.A. and his love of the Laker organization.

"Any second thoughts about turning down the Lakers?

"It was a serious consideration," Krzyzewski said, "but I'm the kind of a person, once I make a decision, I don't look back. I've been married 38 years and I don't write to my old girlfriends. It was an honor and I thank them for giving me that opportunity.

"I'm 60 years old. I'm going to do what I do at Duke and I am not going to coach in the pros. Besides coaching college basketball, I love Duke. I just love the university. It was too much to give up."

Krzyzewski said turning pro was too much for Bryant to give up.

"I don't think he was that close to going to college," Krzyzewski said. "I think it was always on his mind to go to the pros. We kind of knew, if he did go to college, he would come to Duke, but we never really counted on it because he was so good and we knew that he would be a very, very high pick.

"We've developed an even closer relationship now. I really like Kobe a lot. He's easy to coach. He buys into everything. He's doing all the unselfish things, playing hard defensively, not really caring about who scores. It's all about winning.

"He'll do whatever he thinks he needs to do to bring about a championship. He's proven it and he wants to prove it again. There are lot of people who prove it once and never want to do it again. He's uncommon. He wants to prove it over and over again. There is nothing bad about Kobe Bryant."

With Carmelo Anthony, the U.S. team's scoring leader, out with a bruised left heel, LeBron James led the way with 26 points Wednesday in a 118-79 victory over Uruguay. James scored all his points in the first half at Thomas & Mack Center, then sat out the second half.

The victory sets up tonight's showdown against Argentina, both teams unbeaten through seven games. Argentina kept its perfect record intact by beating Brazil, 86-79, in overtime on Wednesday.

Krzyzewski said Anthony was kept on the bench as a "precautionary" measure, but he would play tonight. The U.S. is already guaranteed a spot in Saturday's semifinals.

by Steve Springer
LATIMES.COM

Oops! Kobe Bryant’s showing exactly why the Lakers can’t trade him

Kobe Bryant, by the way, can play.
Sometimes that’s a lesser part of the whole Kobe universe, because, yes:
1) He is fairly crazy;
2) He consistently engages in (he can’t help himself) particularly high-profile feuds, screeching behavior and uncomprisingly infantile activity and probably still wants the Lakers to trade him, though he hasn’t said so in a while.
But then you watch Bryant infuse Team USA with defensive energy from the jump at whatever the hell that international tournament is the new-fangled US team is dominating right now…
You hear what the other superstars are saying about him and how much Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski respect and are counting on him…
And you have to conclude:
* Kobe hasn’t won a title since Shaq departed the Lakers, barely made the playoffs the last few years, has never won the MVP (or ever really come close), has watched Tim Duncan take four championships.
But despite all that, Kobe has to be–HAS TO BE–considered the most dangerous player in the NBA, which I’ve said before, through the craziness and the more craziness and the extra craziness bonus time.
And probably the most valuable, if you’re looking at realistic trade options.
Which is why the Lakers can’t trade him–they’ll probably never have a player like him again (Wilt, Elgin, West, Kareem, Magic, Shaq, at some point it has to end, right?).
And they’ll never get full value for him in a trade.
Because there is no equal value for Kobe.
My measuring stick: If everybody in the league was put up for trade, and if you pull out the rookies (Greg Oden) and Spurs (Tim Duncan), which player would lure the best offers?
Kobe. It’d be Kobe.
* Steve Nash is an incredible player, but he’s four years older than Bryant and doesn’t play much defense.
If you put them both on the trade market, I think you’d get much more Kobe Interest than Nash Interest.
* LeBron James is getting there, but isn’t close to Kobe on the defensive side. (Think of it this way: Switch Kobe onto last year’s Cavaliers. Are they better or worse? Better. They’re definitely better.)
* Dwyane Wade, either.
* Amare Stoudemire, either.
* Dirk Nowitzki, last year’s MVP, vs. Kobe is not even worth a discussion. (Again, switch Kobe for Dirk in last year’s playoffs. Do the Warriors blow away Dallas? Are you kidding?)
* Jason Kidd has remained at the top of his game for a long time, and has looked great in this tournament, but he’s older than Kobe and is a problematic outside shooter.
* Duncan is the Man, and I think he has more value than anybody in the league and that will continue until Greg Oden comes into his own. But Duncan’s not going anywhere.
* Dwight Howard might become the Man, but he’s not close yet.
* Kevin Garnett vs. Kobe… that’s an interesting one, and it might be very comparable in a year or so, when Kobe’s opt-out is coming near.
KG is a premium–a long, versatile, shooting 6-11 who fits into any system. I think I’ve typed that before, somewhere.
But Kobe is two years younger, has won three more titles, can absolutely overwhelm you on offense (obviously) and, when the mood strikes, can also obliterate most perimeter players on the defensive side. If Kobe lands on the trade market, I’m telling you, the Lakers would not be happy about it, but they’ll also be offered more than Minnesota got for KG–Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair and draft picks.
A lot more than that.
And because of that, unless and until Kobe forces the Lakers’ hand in some incredibly dramatic way (hold out? hard to imagine), the Lakers cannot trade him.
Can’t even consider it, the way he’s playing and the way he’ll play, probably, for the next three or four seasons, at the very least.
He’s playing on a team of superstars right now, and there’s nobody on that court or is as good as he is. That means the Lakers could never get enough for him.
(The Lakers got Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant for Shaq. Again: Proof that you never get enough for transcendant players.)
So Kobe’s doing a lot to reclaim his image (again) after all the trade demands of a few months ago… and he’ll probably have to reclaim his image in another few months all over again if he does some more crazy stuff…
And more than anything, he’s showing the Lakers exactly why they can’t trade him. Oops!

By Tim Kawakami
NBA.COM

No Doubt

If we’ve learned one thing from watching Team USA this summer, it’s this: the debate over who’s the best player in the world isn’t a debate anymore. Kobe Bryant has been the primary factor in why this year’s version of the U.S. squad is so much better than the last few versions. (No, we’re not dissing Jason Kidd, it’s just the truth.) Last night was Kobe’s best game of the tournament — he dropped 20 points and three triples on Brazil, and held tourney leading scorer Leandro Barbosa to four points, four turnovers and zero assists. Before the game, we know a lot of folks thought that even if Brazil lost, Barbosa would go off. Turns out he was taken out of the equation, opening the door for Team USA’s 37-point W …

Bryant becomes 'pacesetter' for Team USA

LAS VEGAS -- The tone of the Kobe Bryant-Leandro Barbosa matchup was set just a few moments into the first quarter, but you had to look 80 feet away from the action to see it unfold.
As a player from Brazil shot two free throws at one end of the court, Barbosa stood beneath the basket all the way at the opposite baseline, trying to get a clear view.
Every second or so, however, Barbosa had to move a step or two away to clear his line of vision from the obstruction that kept moving in his way.
That obstruction was Bryant, who was gluing himself to Barbosa at that very moment and stayed attached to him like white on rice all night in another stellar defensive performance that keyed Team USA's 113-76 drubbing of previously undefeated Brazil on Sunday night.
"He don't guard like that in the NBA, but he did tonight and I was impressed," Barbosa told ESPN.com. "He came to guard me, and that was good practice for me. I learned a lot of things the way he was guarding me."
Barbosa isn't the only one learning a few things from Bryant, whose intensity and commitment level is having a trickle-down effect on his U.S. teammates. To prepare for Sunday night's assignment, Bryant had Team USA video coordinators prepare him a DVD of Barbosa's offensive repertoire, comprised of some 200 plays from tapes of the Phoenix Suns and the Brazilian national team. Some paperwork came with the DVD, too, an accompanying chart listing Barbosa's efficiency percentage for each of his favorite moves.
"I watched a little bit of the Phoenix stuff, but how they use him in Phoenix is much different than how they use him here with his speed and his agility," Bryant said. "But at the same time, I've dropped 20 pounds, so I'm a little bit quicker than I used to be."
Bryant clearly studied his homework hard, holding Barbosa -- who entered the game as the leading scorer in the tournament at 27 points per game -- to four points on 1-for-7 shooting, with four turnovers and zero assists.
"For him it's about playing defense, and he enjoys that challenge. He understands he doesn't need to score 60 points to help us win, so he can use a little more energy on the defensive end than he's done in the past," Jason Kidd said. "He loves the challenge, and since the opening tipoff of that first game against Venezuela, he wants to take that best offensive player on the opposing team and make it as tough as possible. Against Barbosa, he did it again."
Bryant had the crowd chanting his name midway through the first quarter when he harassed Barbosa into losing control of his dribble and dove on the floor to try to secure the loose ball, forcing a scramble that led to a backcourt violation.
Brazil withstood a game-opening 8-0 run by the Americans and was able to stick with the U.S. through the midpoint of the second quarter, keeping its deficit in single digits, until Bryant hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to start a quarter-ending 15-4 run that gave the U.S. team a 57-38 halftime lead.
After Brazil scored the first three points of the third quarter, the Americans came back with a 17-0 run that put them ahead 74-41 and ended whatever suspense there was.
The Americans were on top of all aspects of their game, shooting 53 percent on 3-pointers (including Bryant's 3-for-3 and LeBron James' 4-for-5), including 11-for-22 on catch-and-shoot 3s, scoring 26 fast-break points and holding their own on the boards against one of the few tall opponents they'll face in this tournament.
James and Carmelo Anthony led the U.S. team with 21 points each, Bryant had 20 and Michael Redd 16. The only sour note was Tayshaun Prince spraining his left ankle late in the first quarter. He was listed as day-to-day for the Americans, who open second round play Monday against Mexico.
Bryant logged only 19:59 of playing time, and every American except Prince logged at least 10 minutes as the non-competitive second half gave coach Mike Krzyzewski a chance to save his starters' legs for the next step of a stretch in which they are playing six games in six nights.
So far, the focus and intensity -- and the blowout final scores -- have been constants.
And when the question turns to who is setting the tone, the answer always comes back Bryant.
"Kobe has been a pacesetter for sure," Team USA director Jerry Colangelo said. "Defensively, he's just locking people down. He's so strong and so focused, you just can't say enough about his work ethic and how he has led. He's done a great job."
After facing Mexico, the U.S. team will play either Panama or Puerto Rico on Tuesday, Uruguay on Wednesday and Argentina on Thursday before finally getting a day off prior to the only game that really matters in this tournament -- Saturday's semifinal match, in which a berth at the Beijing Olympics will be at stake.
"We have to continue to get better," Bryant said.

by Chris Sheridan

ESPN

No Breathing Room For Barbosa

LAS VEGAS, What looked to be an upset in the making turned out to be nothing more than another rout, the type that’s come to be expected when the U.S. men take the floor at the Thomas & Mack Center for the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship.
“We beat a really good team today,” U.S. head coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team won its closest contest of the tournament thus far, defeating Brazil 113-76. “Brazil is one of the best international teams.”
For more than 15 minutes Sunday, Brazil looked the part, clinging to a single-digit deficit as it worked the ball inside to Nene and Tiago Splitter, getting the Americans’ front court players in early foul trouble.
“It’s the biggest team we’ve played,” Coach K said afterward. “They’re very strong. They have four big guys. You're concentrating on (Leandro) Barbosa, you’re playing the bigs and their guards got by us a few times. And Splitter did a really good job in the first period, with driving the ball to the basket. It was obviously their goal to do that.
“I think we made adjustments in that regard. Our guys did a much better job after the first quarter.”
While the team’s defense did a better job protecting the paint after the first 10 minutes, it did a tremendous job of containing the Phoenix Suns’ speedster from start to finish. Barbosa entered the contest as the tournament’s leading scorer at 27.0 points per game. He left it adding only four to his total.
“We put a lot of focus on Barbosa,” Chauncey Billups admitted. “He’s a dangerous player. He can beat you inside. He’s so fast and quick to the basket he can get you in foul trouble. So we put a lot of emphasis on stopping him. Kobe (Bryant) started off and did a great job, trying to deny him the ball and not let him get touches, playing physical with him. When he came out of the game, whether it was me or whoever else on him, we took the challenge and tried to do the same thing. We thought if we could take him out of the game and make all those other guys make plays, then we had a great chance.”
While Bryant clearly has the ability to take a player out of the game, some were left wondering after the game how much a twisted ankle, suffered in the team’s win over the Virgin Islands one day earlier, slowed his Pacific Division rival.
“He’s just as fast, just as quick,” Bryant said, ending any such conversation. “I’m 20 pounds lighter, too.”
Regardless of whether Barbosa was slowed or Bryant is quicker, this much is true: Kobe gave him no breathing room. And his teammates gave equally as little.
That much could be seen as early as three minutes into the game, when, after chasing Barbosa all over the court, Bryant raced Barbosa for a ball that squirted loose into Brazil’s backcourt, diving head-first to try to get to it before his opponent – even though the call on the court was a backcourt violation when Barbosa finally did reach the ball along the sideline. Kobe was that determined to keep Leandro from touching the leather.
When Bryant took a seat for his first-quarter breather, his teammates threw a number of different defenders at Leandro – Billups, LeBron James and Tayshaun Prince – whether by design or not.
“I think we, at times, went too much that way,” Coach K said of focusing so heavily on Barbosa, “and didn’t talk as well, which we have been talking the first three games. But overall, that’s a nice mistake – or a nice adjustment – to make, where we’re going so hard.”
Bryant continued the suffocating defense every time he was on the floor, never giving an inch.
With 6:26 remaining in the first half and teammate Carmelo Anthony at the free throw line, Bryant retreated all the way to the far baseline, bumping with Barbosa and denying a long pass off the rebound.
Thirty seconds later when Bryant went to the stripe, it was Jason Kidd shadowing Barbosa at the other end. Bryant, perhaps worrying about getting back to switch, missed the second attempt before sprinting the length of the court to resume guarding Barbosa on the ensuing possession.
Barbosa, however, wasn’t the only threat the U.S. was forced to deal with. Nene and Splitter drew two quick fouls on both Dwight Howard and Anthony.
“We had foul trouble with Carmelo and Dwight,” Coach K assessed, “and we had to use LeBron at the four, which was something we haven’t used yet.”
The problem was compounded when Prince twisted his ankle in the first quarter and couldn’t continue playing.
Anthony, for his part, picked up the two quick fouls because he simply could not guard Splitter. That’s not to say anything negative about Anthony as a defender so much as it is to say Splitter played that well against NBA competition. The San Antonio Spurs’ first-round draft pick in this June’s Draft never played frightened of his All-Star opponents. He’s big and strong, able to get the ball as far out as the elbow, face up, put the ball on the floor and aggressively attack the basket. The lasting impression from this one outing is that the Spurs, again, seemed to have selected well late in the Draft.
Basketball fans – and the U.S. men – might get another look at Splitter, Barbosa and Co. late in the tournament if both teams advance to the semifinals or finals, by which time Brazil might find a way to hang around longer than 15 minutes.
by Jeff Dengate

Kidd, Kobe make immediate impact for U.S.

There were a minimal number of surprises in Team USA's 112-69 thumping of Venezuela.
As expected, the Americans' fast break was awesome. Jason Kidd made several snappy passes. Kobe Bryant converted his obligatory spectacular layup. And against the shorter, slower, less-talented Venezuelans, Team USA frequently seemed to be playing five-on-four — and sometimes even five-on-three.
But, nevertheless, there were some surprises, both positive and negative.
· The U.S.'s aggressive defensive pressure on the Venezuelan ball-handlers (especially by Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd) completely stymied the unfolding of the losers' offense.
· The quick-handed help on ball penetrations by Team USA helped induce 20 turnovers and produced innumerable layups.

· Given the overall weakness of their opponents, the Americans still stuffed virtually every screen/roll they encountered. They accomplished this mostly with quick switches in tandem with a wingman discouraging the screeners from rolling hoopward by cheating toward the middle. As a change-up, the screener's defender sometimes stepped into a help-stance on the nether side of the screen while the weakside wing looked to jam any roll-action. Whether these schemes will work against stronger, more skilled opponents remains to be seen — but they certainly addressed Team USA's most glaring defensive failure in losing to Greece in last year's World Championship.
· With the point guard (mostly J-Kidd) setting down- and cross-screens, Team USA's man-to-man offense was lively and the ball-movement was extremely unselfish. But there wasn't nearly as much activity when Kidd was on the bench.
· Nor did Team USA exhibit much ball- or player-movement on those rare occasions when Venezuela played a zone. Aside from some simple (and ineffective) baseline screens, Team USA's zone offense relied on baseline drives (which were readily available) and an abundance of 3-point shots.
· Team USA's free-throw shooting was deplorable — only 20-29. And its long-range shooting was also subpar — 10-26 for 38.5% — especially since the 3-point arc is so close. (Michael Redd said that international treys were "layups".) Indeed, their overall 55-percent shooting from the field was hugely inflated by a barrage of layups and dunk shots.
· The Americans only forced a total of four shots — one each by Kobe, Chauncey Billups, Mike Miller and Michael Redd. As a result, their shot selection was admirable.
· The biggest surprise of all, however, was Carmelo Anthony getting three of his shots blocked!
Late in the game, with their lead approaching 50 points, the Americans became somewhat sloppy — but only on defense. They yielded too many offensive rebounds, and were also burned when they jumped too quickly into the passing lanes. But these lapses were totally understandable. Staying alert and disciplined at the conclusion of such a lopsided contest is not an easy task.
So, then, what — if any — conclusions can be drawn from Team USA's opening game in this latest FIBA tournament?
J-Kidd's presence does make a difference — in sharpening his teammates' competitive chops, in executing the offense, and in extending the defensive pressure to the time-line.
Kobe's defense was better than his offense, and his offense was beastly. He, too, will make a huge difference if and when Team USA finds itself in a tight ball game.

With a dearth of dominant big men, the U.S. managed to out-rebound the undersized Venezuelans by an alarmingly small margin — 43-32. This lack of commanding boardwork could be a problem as the tournament progresses.
In the long run, though, the easy win over the hapless Venezuelans might have been too easy. The Americans' over-confidence in the most recent international competitions has contributed much to their repeated poor showings. But it's safe to assume that the previous pitfalls of arrogance and lack of focus will be avoided this time around.
Discerning NBA-watchers have learned that fielding a squad with overwhelming talent isn't necessarily a guarantee of success. Not even against theoretically inferior opposition. Perhaps this latest incarnation of Team USA has also done its homework and taken the same lesson to heart.
There'll be no acceptable excuses should the good guys fail to cop the gold in Sin City.

by Charlie Rosen
FoxSports.com

Team USA puts the hammer down

LASLAS VEGAS -- LeBron James threads a low bounce pass to Kobe Bryant cutting baseline. Bryant goes up and under for a reverse layup. The Thomas and Mack Center crowd goes wild.
Dwight Howard blocks a Team Canada baseline jump shot attempt. Jason Kidd scoops up the ball and flicks it fifty feet to a sprinting Carmelo Anthony for an emphatic dunk. The fans roar.
Anthony underhands a ball, like a bowler, to Bryant. Another big dunk and another giddy huzzah from the stands. There are sweet, sublime moments aplenty when Team USA takes the floor for a FIBA Americas Championship game. The highlight reel is full of them.
But if the all-star team's offensive exploits are a given, they aren't definitive, they aren't what characterizes this team in action.
If Saturday's 113-63 win over Team Canada is any indication, the heart of Team USA 's game, the essence of their identity, is an unrelenting collective will, a nasty killer instinct.
They're not just beating teams in this tournament, they're driving them into the ground, pounding Venezuala by 43 points, Virgin Islands by 64, and now Canada by 50.
You can chalk up some of the massive differentials to the gap in talent between the squads, but after watching Team USA systematically overwhelm Team Canada it becomes clear talent is only half the equation.
James gets down in a mano-a-mano, Rucker Park-style crouch, arms spread wide, and barks at Team Canada guard Olumuyiwa Famutimi: "Come on! Come on!," daring the shorter man to put the ball on the floor.
Half a second after a Team USA bucket, while his teammates hustle back on defense, Jason Kidd spins and gets in the face of Team Canada point Denham Brown, waiting for a play on the inbounds pass, ready to hassle and chase and dog the overmatched guard length of the floor.
Amare Stoudemire is at the line after an and-one put-back deep under the bucket puts Team USA up 17 points, and Bryant is at the top of the key, shouting at his teammates, "Right here! Let's turn this up right here. Let's turn this up right now!"
Up 40-plus with just seconds remaining in the third quarter, and Michael Redd scrambles baseline to get free for a corner three (one of 30 taken and fifteen made by Team USA on the night). Bang.
They bring it, start to finish. Every pick is a switch. Every ball handler and shooter gets chased and harassed. Every defensive rebound is a quick-turn opportunity for a fastbreak. And every time James gets the ball near midcourt, no matter what the score is, he's going to dunk all over your sorry butt.

By Eric Neel

ESPN.COM