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James' leadership has been key to U.S. team's success
AP Photo
LeBron James (6) is averaging 15.8 points a game.
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2008 Olympics
Published: August 21, 2008
BEIJING
Heading into these Olympics, as U.S. men's basketball began its great image overhaul, two questions lingered over the group that has become known as the Redeem Team.
The first was whether the United States could win the gold medal. And while that will not be answered until Sunday, one does not have to be an oracle to figure it out.
The second was how the alpha-dog dynamic between the team's two brightest stars, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, would play out. That answer, too, has been as clear as the U.S. dominance in this tournament.
From his persistent vocal leadership to his rugged rebounding to his ability to drive to the basket at will, James has outplayed Bryant. He has played multiple positions, has emerged as the vocal leader and has better statistics.
And although Bryant has not played poorly, he has continued to play like he is on his NBA team instead of adapting and adjusting to his more talented Olympics teammates. James has stood out precisely because he has blended in so well.
"I knew it had to come from someone," James said of his leadership role. "It doesn't matter how good individuals are, if you don't have a leader, its not going to be right. I took that responsibility from Day 1, saying I'm going to be the vocal leader and I'm going to be the leader of this team."
Bryant, meanwhile, has looked a bit lost. He had his best game of the Olympics yesterday, scoring 25 points as the United States beat Australia 116-85. He had his best half of the Games, too, scoring nine points during a 14-0 U.S. run to start the second half. In Friday's semifinal round, the United States will play Argentina, which beat Greece, 80-78 in their quarterfinal yesterday.
Even with his hot second-half shooting, Bryant still has not quite bought into Coach Mike Krzyzewski's team mantra of taking "USA shots." It's been a subtle way for Krzyzewski to preach to his players that the shots they take in the NBA might not necessarily be the best ones for this team.
It is hard to criticize the play of the national team. It has won its six games here by an average of 32 points. But when the offense has stagnated, as it did in the first quarter yesterday when Australia trailed just 25-24, it has typically been with Bryant forcing shots. Is that trying to find pimples on the Mona Lisa? Perhaps. But the numbers will show just how much better and more consistent James has played.
James has better statistics in every relevant category. He has averaged more points (15.8 to 14.7) by taking 13 fewer shots and nearly half as many 3-point shots as Bryant (36 to 19). James has grabbed more rebounds (31 to 17), dished more assists (25 to 10) and turned the ball over less often (12 to 10). And he has been to the free-throw line more than twice as often (20 to 9), reflective of James' greatest strength here and Bryant's greatest weakness.
James has shown that no defender in international play can keep him from driving to the basket, so he has barreled down anyone in his path. Bryant has played with too much finesse, flipping turnaround shots and 3-point shots instead of attacking the basket or passing to his teammates.
"For me, I'm a complete team player," James said. "I'm probably the ultimate team player. I'll sacrifice whatever for the success of the team. Kobe is a great, great, great player. It's not hard for me and Kobe to get along because of my game and his game."
Perhaps what has been most impressive about James is his selflessness. He did a full-body dive to save a loose ball in the third quarter against Australia. He has played out of position, at power forward, much of the time and has given the United States the defense and rebounding it has needed.
"I'm proud of him," Krzyzewski said. "I'm really pleased with where he's at."
United States: K.Bryant 10-16 1-4 25, L.James 7-12 1-4 16, C.Anthony 5-9 3-4 15, D.Williams 4-9 1-1 10, C.Bosh 3-4 4-6 10, T.Prince 3-4 1-2 9, D.Wade 3-8 1-1 8, D.Howard 3-5 2-5 8, M.Redd 2-3 0-0 5, C.Boozer 1-1 2-2 4, J.Kidd 2-2 0-0 4, C.Paul 0-3 2-2 2, Totals 43-76 18-31 116.
Australia: P.Mills 7-16 4-6 20, G.Saville 4-5 3-3 13, J.Ingles 4-4 0-0 11, B.Newley 2-9 5-8 10, C.Anstey 3-6 0-0 7, M.Nielsen 2-5 3-7 7, D.Barlow 2-5 0-0 5, A.Bogut 2-5 0-1 4, C.Bruton 1-4 0-0 2, M.Worthington 1-4 0-0 2, D.Andersen 1-6 0-0 2, S.Redhage 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 30-70 15-25 85.
United States 25 30 34 27 -- 116
Australia 24 19 18 24 -- 85
3-Point goals -- U.S. 12-29 (K.Bryant 4-7, C.Anthony 2-5, T.Prince 2-3, L.James 1-3, D.Williams 1-5, D.Wade 1-2, M.Redd 1-2, C.Paul 0-2), Australia 10-27 (J.Ingles 3-3, P.Mills 2-4, G.Saville 2-3, B.Newley 1-5, C.Anstey 1-3, D.Barlow 1-3, M.Nielsen 0-1, A.Bogut 0-1, C.Bruton 0-3, M.Worthington 0-1). Rebounds -- U.S. 57 (L.James 9), Australia 28 (M.Worthington 6). Assists -- U.S. 16 (L.James 3), Australia 11 (B.Newley 3).
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