[CMNoney]

yeah because a little rookie Ricky Rubio is going to check Chris Paul. Please. Wake up.

LOL at these comments about Rubio. Guy would get eaten alive by the best pg's int he world.

Little Rubio? The guy is much bigger than Paul.

Get a clue dude. Rubio dominated Team USA in the Olympics already....



AT AGE 17!!!!

[Bill Dozer]

Rubio got a raw deal. Feel bad for that kid. At least he got paid first unlike some kids in college or even HS.

[CMNoney]

Rubio got a raw deal. Feel bad for that kid. At least he got paid first unlike some kids in college or even HS.

You say that like he will never be back?

Rubio doesn't rely on his athleticism like Rose does.

Rubio will be fine.

[d2bets]

Little Rubio? The guy is much bigger than Paul.

Get a clue dude. Rubio dominated Team USA in the Olympics already....



AT AGE 17!!!!

Rubio is no Chris Paul. Just not that good a shooter. 35.7% FG? That's pretty bad. Yeah, he's a pretty good passer and he's fun to watch, but he would need to improve a lot to mentioned anywhere among the elite PG in the league.

[CMNoney]

Rubio is no Chris Paul. Just not that good a shooter. 35.7% FG? That's pretty bad. Yeah, he's a pretty good passer and he's fun to watch, but he would need to improve a lot to mentioned anywhere among the elite PG in the league.

What does Rubios shooting % have to do with how big he is? the guy called him physically "little" when he is much bigger than Chris Paul. If anyone is "little" it's Chris Paul...

And he is more than just a pretty good passer, he is already an AMAZING passer, great rebounder and defender. If you look at his 3 point % and FT % and with how hard Rubio works, it's pretty easy to assume his shooting will get better with time.

[grizzlies1]

USA men -450 at Willhill, might stick 900 on it to win an easy 200. Can't see anyway in hell they don't win.

[eleuropeano]

I can imagine a game where the men lose to Spain. I can't imagine a game where the women lose.

[convick]

A team led by Durant, James and Bryant better not lose. If they do, they need to stop sending NBA players to the Olympics to avoid future embarrassment.

[Goat Milk]

What does Rubios shooting % have to do with how big he is? the guy called him physically "little" when he is much bigger than Chris Paul. If anyone is "little" it's Chris Paul...

And he is more than just a pretty good passer, he is already an AMAZING passer, great rebounder and defender. If you look at his 3 point % and FT % and with how hard Rubio works, it's pretty easy to assume his shooting will get better with time.

No I called him little as in he's a rookie. He's worse at everything you mentioned that Chris Paul. By far. He's a much worse shooter, he's a worse passer, he's not even in the same league as far as defending. I don't know why you're trying to act like Rubio is a top 5 or 10 PG in the league.

Oh yeah, if you want to talk physicality, Chris Paul is much stronger than Ricky Rubio. Rubio has no shot to make the hall of fame. Chris Paul is pretty much guaranteed.

[JM92]

3 point arc is going to be at the same distance. Palming in the nba is way less frequent than in european basketball, to be fair. Travelling... well, we all know nba has a different interpretation of the rules.

and england almost lost to portugal, with the only player missing from this years roster being ben gordon. they hardly have a chance of doing much. usa should win every game by 25-30+.

[Goat Milk]

and when exactly did Ricky Rubio dominate team USA?

[Goat Milk]

Rubio had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in 29 minutes in the finals against the USA in 08. You don't know what your'e saying.

[Nius]

Just wow how overhyped Ricky Rubio is... I've seen many Rubio games in Europe and quite good season in NBA will not change my mind - Calderon is still best PG in Spain. Rubio is still not a game changer on this team. The juice on USA team is ridiculous and it is definately not worth it because at the knockout stage it is just 1 game. Anything can happen.

[MJT1212]

I'm going to round robin USA for every gold medal, every way

[Mac4Lyfe]

I think the USA women have an easier chance for gold they will be 30pt favorites against most teams

and around 20 against Australia or Russia

Exactly. The woman are more of a lock then the men.

[Bill Dozer]

You say that like he will never be back?

Rubio doesn't rely on his athleticism like Rose does.

Rubio will be fine.

He'll be back but he'll never be the same or showing his full potential. Grant Hill and TMac are back too.

[therushishere]

Wade out of it now due to knee surgery

[k13]

USA men -450 at Willhill, might stick 900 on it to win an easy 200. Can't see anyway in hell they don't win.

I just saw that, is that the lowest available line?

[jizay]

I can imagine a game where the men lose to Spain. I can't imagine a game where the women lose.

One of the few sharp posts in the thread. The men are far from a lock and -750 is too high given all the uncertainties. Spots on the Olympic roster are still treated too much like a reward to good players, and little thought is given to intelligently constructing a team. The smartest job they ever did was the '10 world championships team, because they didn't have all these issues (Bryant, James, Paul, etc. didn't play). KD took all the shots, which was fantastic because his game translates the best to international ball, and there were no egos who wouldn't defer. Iggy locked down the other team's best scorer. Odom did everything he was asked. The US is not better at shooting than the rest of the world, they are more athletic and better defenders. The team should be built uniquely around defense and not putting too many guys who need the ball on the floor at the same time.

[darkhat]

I don't care who Spain has, I have no idea how its possible to beat Kobe, lebron, Durant, cp3 ,etc on one team.

[jizay]

I don't care who Spain has, I have no idea how its possible to beat Kobe, lebron, Durant, cp3 ,etc on one team.

The '06 team had prime Wade, LeBron, CP3, Melo, D Howard, and Bosh and lost to Greece. It can happen. Just look at the 4 you mention. Would you put them on the floor together? Who handles the ball? Since you can't get shots for all of them, will everyone perform well in a role they're not used to?

[jjgold]

I doubt it

Coach K will not let them loaf

[Goat Milk]

The '06 team had prime Wade, LeBron, CP3, Melo, D Howard, and Bosh and lost to Greece. It can happen. Just look at the 4 you mention. Would you put them on the floor together? Who handles the ball? Since you can't get shots for all of them, will everyone perform well in a role they're not used to?

Those world championships or whatever are worthless. I think US only cares about the olympics. They won every game except the finals (11 pts) by like 35 points. Embarrassed teams. Wade was the best player in 08 olympics.

This is Bryant's last Olympics probably. All the players feed off his intensity. After watching Kobe's workout routine in 08, Lebron and Wade were stunned. They took it upon themselves to be better defenders and hustlers after watching him.

US will probably start Chandler maybe Kevin Love at the C. Neither of those guys will require touches, even Love who is great. Lebron and CP3 will both be faciliators and Kobe and Durant will take 50% of the shots. Mello will contribute. Just too many scorers and lock down defenders.

USA had some weak ass Olympic teams before 2008. Lebron was on the 04 team and he was one of the best players on that team and wasn't even one of the top players in the league in 04, his second season in the nba. Not sure how those teams were selected.

Plus I think they will be inspired by the dream team documentary that aired this month. When it comes down to it, I don't see Kobe Bryant going out with Silver in his last Olympics. It won't happen.

[Bell Curves]

I think the answer is pretty simple.
As of now, 5/6 chance they get gold, 1/6 chance they don't.

[big0mar]

Stupid to tie up your bankroll for that long.

[jizay]

Those world championships or whatever are worthless. I think US only cares about the olympics. They won every game except the finals (11 pts) by like 35 points. Embarrassed teams. Wade was the best player in 08 olympics.

But the world championships mean more than the Olympics to most other countries, and the US team that none of the '08 guys wanted to play for won. I think they were in many ways a better team than the 08 Olympic team. The Olympic final was much closer than the score indicated - wasn't it a 1 possession game with 2 minutes left? And all this talk about Kobe? He sucked, sucked, sucked for that team. Taking all kinds of terrible shots that didn't come within the offense. Total black hole that killed the flow.

BTW, the 06 team that lost to Greece had beaten all of their competition by an average of 25 points. This team *probably* has so much talent that they will win anyway, but -700 is way too high for a poorly-constructed squad when we have seen national teams not show up for some games in recent competitions.

[beefcake]

Hell yes the USA can lose.No Howard, No Rose(who was unstoppable in the Worlds), now no Wade.Arg is no slouch either with veteran talent.I saw the field somewhere at +600 recently.I think that is a good price.

[convick]

The '06 team had prime Wade, LeBron, CP3, Melo, D Howard, and Bosh and lost to Greece. It can happen. Just look at the 4 you mention. Would you put them on the floor together? Who handles the ball? Since you can't get shots for all of them, will everyone perform well in a role they're not used to?

Wade was the only superstar veteran on that team. The rest of the guys you listed were 20-22 years old. Come on man.

[jizay]

Wade was the only superstar veteran on that team. The rest of the guys you listed were 20-22 years old. Come on man.

OK, but Greece had 0 NBA players. You couldn't name a single player from that team. Upsets happen, that is all.

[easyliving]

The Men are a lock imo. But stay away from the women. I don't trust them either and its a horrible price their is no way they should be such heavy favorites

[john360180]

I think the USA women have an easier chance for gold they will be 30pt favorites against most teams

and around 20 against Australia or Russia

I'll take 19.5 start and back the Aussie Chicks.

All the best.

[Inkwell77]

Any team with kobe bryant taking a large percentage of the shots can definitely lose in a single elimination type of format.

[riffraff24]

not possible

Kobe washed up

non factor if he plays or not

Not possible because Kobe is washed up? lol. People will say anything wont they

[rm18]

Wade was the only superstar veteran on that team. The rest of the guys you listed were 20-22 years old. Come on man.

Well their theory though was to use non starts because the stars had lost twice in a row, though the ovearll talent level in the NBA was down and the stars were not as good of all around players at the time

[HoulihansTX]

Anthony Davis hurt his ankle yesterday working out for Hornets. He is out of the Olympics for sure