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 General Basketball WiretapUS cruises against Puerto Rico with short benchThe US national team overcame the suspensions of three of their key players, including co-captain Allen Iverson to beat Puerto Rico in a friendly exhibition game in Jacksonville, Florida 96-71. The US rushed off to a big lead right off the bat and led by as many as 17 points in the first quarter. Puerto Rico stormed back with some tight man to man and zone defense and by hitting timely 3 point shots to bring the game back within 9 at the half. The first half was mostly about feeding the ball inside to Tim Duncan who either finished the play himself or found the open man after being double teamed. Dwyane Wade and Stephon Marbury did a good job of moving the ball around unselfishly and both finished the half with 5 assists in what was an excellent test by the Puerto Ricans who put up a very nice fight for most of the half. In the 2nd half the US started to pull away quickly after using a full court press to force turnovers and convert easy baskets in transition. The Puerto Ricans shots stopped falling and Carlos Arroyo had a very difficult time controlling the tempo of the game. The US went with their best athletes for most of the way and constantly pushed the ball up the floor and finished effortlessly around the basket due to their superior athleticism. Larry Ayuso was Puerto Rico's best player and he almost singlehandedly kept them in the game with his five 3 pointers until they fell apart midway through the third quarter. Ayuso was called for his fourth foul a little later and at that point the game was essentially over. Dwyane Wade was the best player on the floor today, finishing the game with 7 points and 8 assists, many of them to Duncan who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, mostly in the first half when the game was still close. Lamar Odom also had a good outing, playing excellent defense, moving the ball around, posting up his man and doing many of the little things needed on the floor. The US had trouble with Puerto Rico's zone defense, especially when they were forced to play a half court game. Wade's emergence helped open things up on the floor as he penetrated to the basket at will and found his teamamtes time after time for easy buckets. The US will also need to work on their perimeter defense which looked very shaky at times, forcing Duncan to leave his man a number of times to rotate over for the stop. The US will now board a flight to Cologne, Germany to continue their exhibition schdule against Italy on August 3rd in a game that will be televised on ESPN at 2 PM EST. Via Jonathan Givony RealGM/DraftCity.com Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Former player Manute Bol sues cab companyFormer NBA center Manute Bol has filed a lawsuit against the Hartford, Conn. cab company that employed driver Neville Robinson when he lost control of his cab June 30. Robinson was killed and Bol suffered various injuries. The 7-foot-6 Sudan native has charged the company with negligence and wrecklessness, as Robinson had a suspended driver license. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback LB and AI loving reunion on Team USAPhiladelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson and former 76ers head coach Larry Brown, now with the Detroit Pistons, are teaming back up on the United States Men's Senior National Team in the Olympics and it appears their stormy relationship has been buried in favor of mutual appreciation. "You never know how much something means to you until it's gone," said Iverson, who played six years under Brown with the 76ers before he left to coach the Pistons. "And that's kind of the situation with me and Coach Brown." Responded Brown: "He doesn't need to say those things. I care about him. I miss him." His nose did not appear to expand as he spoke. Iverson is the USA team's co-captain, sharing the honor with San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan. General Basketball, Philadelphia 76ers Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Jul 2004 Archive
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