A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

Saturday, July 26th... I watched the American Olympic basketball team play Canada last night and I got to thinking... They keep making a big deal about who is on the squad and how big a marquee player that player is for his respective NBA team. Then I realized that each player is one of the main players on the offensive side of the ball. That's cool... Gotta have fire power! But the problem for the Olympic team, over the years, has never been on the offensive end. The problem has always been the defense! Then I got to thinking... The NBA always recognizes 15 players at the end of the season for their defense... And... None of the 15 players recognized are on the Olympic team (I don't think. My bad, Kobe is on the team!). Where is Bruce Bowens? Where is Tim Duncan of KG? Okay, they don't have to play if they don't want to but come on! Why are we being forced to believe that a leopard is going to change its spots? Kobe Bryant is the only player that WANTS to play defense. Last time I checked the big men had a problem playing defense on the perimeter (and ALL of the Euros can SHOOT! All of them!)There is definitely a problem with the basketball terminology. There is no pick and roll in the Euro game... It's pick and flare and shoot the jumper! Our players seem to wait for the roll part and it hardly ever happens. Maybe it's the widened lane that eliminates low post play but whatever it is, the Americans need a basketball shrink as well as a good coach on the bench./ It looks like the NBA is responsible for the latest malfunction. They do not market defense, therefore it is not really encouraged to play and the style of play is dummied down to fit into the frame work of the time constraints. 24 seconds per possession is not a lot of time to get a shot off, so forget the fundamentals and shoot off the wrong foot; and, if you are a 2 or 3 position player, stay out of the 4 or 5 position to get your shot and vise-versa. If Michael Jordan or Allen Iverson or whomever is designated to handle the ball 98% of the time, is playing, make sure he gets to shoot 9 for 30 a night! Movement of the ball and the players is only encouraged until the designated shooter gets the ball... Then it's "get your ass out of the way and let him do his thing because we are paying him 1 million dollars a minute!"/ Hey, trust me, I get it! "It is what it is!" Just stop trying to feed me this BS of offense heals all basketball wounds. Offense fades from one minute to the next in a basketball game... But defense? Defense is nothing but hard work and hard work is the American way! If you don't believe me, ask all the the hard working people that work for minimum wage! (And also ask them how tired they are, especially when they get their check at the end of every 2 week pay period! It's damn sure not 1 million dollars a minute!)