USA Demonstrates Dominance

Asked before the game what he thought of the USA's newest dream team, Dwyane Wade emphatically stated this is not a dream team. At least for one night, they certainly looked like it. In front of a large crowd in Las Vegas the newest members of team USA dominated Puerto Rico in a tune up for the World's Championships later this month. Avenging an embarassing loss at the hands of the Puerto Ricans in the 2004 Olympics, three of the holdovers from the '04 US Team lead the way in last night's rout. Carmelo Anthony paced the team with 18 points, including seven of the first nine to jump out to an early lead. LeBron demonstrated the versatility that experts believe will be the key to the U.S success with a great all-around effort including a highlight reel swat. Fresh off his MVP performance in the finals Wade played suffocating defense and chipped in fourteen points, two coming on a jaw-dropping breakway dunk followed by a salute to the troops in attendance. The '03 boys started the game along with fellow draft mate Chris Bosh and Chris Paul ran the point. Much has been made of the lack of playing time Anthony, James, and Wade got in the 2004 Olympics and they all seem to use it as motivation. In several interviews LeBron has re-iterated that they felt they could have contributed more in the past Olympics but now cherish their roles as the faces of the new team.

The most impressive part of last night's game was the defensive intensity brought by the Americans. They employed full court pressure for much of the night and hustled to every loose ball. Guards Dwayne Wade and Chris Paul put a ton of pressure on the Puerto Rican backcourt and the bigger guys did a great job of helping out on drives to the basket. Early in the game Carlos Arroyo got to the hoop with relative ease, but was really shut down in the second half. The guys really seem to be responding to Coach K and showed intense pride in wearing the U.S uniforms. Although it was only an exhibition, this could be a great sign of things to come for the Americans.