August 17, 2004

I appreciate all the emails I received from everyone expressing their choice for most embarrassing basketball moment. There are some great ones that make me laugh (Isaiah inbounds the ball right to Larry Bird in 1987....DOH!!) and there are some others that make me sob uncontrollably as I relive the horror (David Stern's voice still rings in my ears, "With the second pick in the 1984 NBA Draft, the Portland Trailblazers select Sam Bowie") HOWEVER, there are NONE that even compare REMOTELY to the embarrassment I witnessed on Sunday, August 15th in Athens, Greece. The United States Men's Olympic basketball team LOST, and not barely, they were humiliated 92-73 by PUERTO RICO. This is the equivalent of Carl Lewis losing the 100 meter dash to "Rain Man". This is OUR game!! Basketball originated in THIS country, and we're supposed to have the "best players in the world" on OUR team but we don't. No, instead the "best players in the world" are HERE watching the Olympics on their couches like us. THAT is the most embarrassing moment in basketball history!! T-Mac, Kobe, Vince, KG, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Karl Malone, Elton Brand, Kenyon Martin, Jermaine O'Neal and Mike Bibby are all to blame for Sunday's loss.

It bothered me to no end last week, when I read a local newspaper columnist say he is rooting AGAINST the U.S. Are you kidding me? Then get on a boat and live in the country YOU want to see win the gold medal. We should be rooting against the guys that DIDN'T go, booing them in an arena near you during the entire NBA season. The guys that DID go aren't our best players, but they were honored to represent our country and should be applauded even if they lose every game (except to Angola, in which case you have my blessing to do with them as you will). And yes, I wish they would play some defense, however, being surprised that NBA players aren't playing "D" is like taking Oliver Miller to a buffet and being surprised when he pulls out his own fork. This is our team, we still have a chance to win the gold (insert joke here) and I for one, will back this team every step of the way. I have confidence in Larry Brown, Tim Duncan and................Larry Brown. He will right the ship, and the U.S. WILL get a medal in Athens.

Moving on, there were some big moves this past week in the NBA world. The Boston Celtics send Chucky Atkins, Marcus Banks and Chris Stiff to the Lakers for Rick Fox and Gary Payton. The only way this trade makes sense for the C's is if Vanessa Williams would be coming to Boston too, but I guess that's not going to happen now.

The Orlando Magic have re-signed guard DeShawn Stevenson, increasing their depth in the backcourt. Francis, Mobley, Stevenson, Bogans and Jameer should make the Magic extremely athletic, and more up-tempo this season, combined with Paul Westhead's run-and-gun offense. How long it takes them all to gel together remains to be seen, but at least Head Coach Johnny Davis has the horses to get out and run.

Now, my favorite story of the week! Apparently things have gotten so bad for the New Jersey Nets that they've made a call to Ron Mercer. Ron will be playing for his seventh NBA team in the past seven years, probably a great locker room guy. I will say this though, Ron is outstanding against his former teams, which bodes well for the Nets as they have 19 games against Mercer's former clubs. However, in the remaining 63 games, I wouldn't even suit him up.

Dante welcomes your comments, questions and alternative opinions. E-mail him here.

Dante’s Speak is solely the opinion of Dante Marchitelli and does not reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA. Marchitelli has served as radio producer in the Orlando Magic's Broadcast department for six seasons.