|
|
Tuesday, September 19
Backcourt leader might take backseat role
Reuters
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Gary Payton, the tough-talking
playmaker of the U.S. men's basketball team, is content to take
a backseat at the Olympics to help his team mates shine.
"This is not like our team back at home where we've got to
contribute a lot more," Payton said after a practice
session before Saturday's pre-Olympic clash with Australia.
"We've got 11 other guys who are superstars on this team.
"So we've just got to understand that one night we might
just have to score two points and do other things.
"We've got to keep understanding that we're not going to
play the whole game," said the key backcourt figure in the NBA's
Seattle Supersonics.
Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich is also aware of the need for
team chemistry among his NBA professionals, dubbed the Dream
Team ever since the first all-star line-up included Michael
Jordan and Larry Bird at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Tomjanovich, who coaches the Houston Rockets, told reporters
that the team had brilliant individual talent but still had to
work on its oncourt structure.
|  | | Coach Rudy Tomjanovich says he's still looking for some team chemisty to develop. |
Tim Hardaway, a point guard with the Miami Heat and an elder
statesman of the team at 34, said: "We pass the ball a little
bit too much sometimes."
More practice may not achieve that equilibrium according to
29-year-old Jason Kidd, whose no-look pass has been likened to
the skills of Earvin 'Magic' Johnson.
"I think you've got a bunch of guys who know how to play the
game," said Kidd, who is on the same Phoenix Suns roster as
Australia centre Luc Longley.
Going for gold
"For us, given more time ... I don't think we need it. We've
done a lot in two weeks," said Kidd, referring to the team's
first training session. "And we're going for gold,"
But Payton still believes more training will help.
"We need a little bit more time to practice and that's why
after tomorrow's game (against Australia) we'll have some more
time to practice before the Olympics start."
Payton also wants the Dream Team to be challenged at the
Olympics.
"We're the marked team. Everybody is always going to take a
crack at us. We hope that it will be a challenge. We don't want
to come out here and cruise to 30 or 40-point wins," he said.
"We want somebody to try to challenge us, so that we can get
ourselves in shape and to keep our motivation going."
Contenders for the silver and bronze medals are Yugoslavia,
Italy, and Australia, which has a tough pool with the Yugoslavs
and perennial medal threats Russia. It also has to overcome
Canada and Spain.
|  | |
|
