Kobe Bryant had some comments about Team USA’s failures at the FIBA World Championships in Japan. Let’s have a look.

“Years playing together will jell us as a unit, [but] if there is no chemistry, it’s going to be tough to beat all those talented teams,” he said.

I’m not exactly sure what to make of that, and I’m also not quite sure why it’s the 3rd headline on ESPN.com right now. I suppose it’s because it involves Kobe Bryant and issues of chemistry, which is sort of the lightning rod issue of his career to this point.

I’d just like to know what the hell he meant, and why he thought it was important to open his mouth about it. I agree with him, that there were a couple of issues that would fall under the heading of “chemistry,” including the fact that no one on the team had any kind of balls except Carmelo Anthony. He was clearly the team leader, the only one willing to take charge, and sort of leaves everyone else in a supporting role, which is something none of them are even remotely familiar with.

That was one of the issues facing the team… and while that one might fall under the chemistry umbrella, there were some basic X’s and O’s issues that have nothing to do with chemistry that also need to be worked out.

He’s never going to, but I’d love to hear him expand on that honestly. If he’s thinking that the team needed him to step in, take control, and tell everyone else exactly what they need to do… I couldn’t disagree with that. I’m not sure Kobe’s the right guy for it, but … hey, no one else did it.

I’d like to tell you that I was upset about the United States losing last night, but that would be a lie. I wasn’t. And it has nothing to do with the bet with the Cavalier, although that is awesome, and I’m sure will be talked about more a little later.

But if you were just some random dude with no allegiance to any country, and you turned on the game last night… I don’t know how you wouldn’t be rooting for Greece. They clearly played better basketball, they executed better, were better prepared, had bigger nutsacs, and deserved to win in every possible way. That’s just the way things were.

And I say that not to slam Team USA, or the players that comprised it. This had nothing to do with poor attitudes, or lack of effort, or lack of team unity… none of those things that get unfairly applied to NBA players. The fact of the matter is that the Greeks play with a continuity and intelligence that takes literally years for a team to develop, and that they had better fundamentals. And it was just proven, beyond any doubt, that you can’t put an all-star team together and make up for that difference, no matter how talented those all-stars are, in three or four weeks. You just can’t.

And it also wasn’t a case of, despite what Jim Durham would have you believe, the Greeks just having a hot shooting night. They did make some shots they probably don’t normally make, but… they shot over 70% in the second half, and most of those were on easy looks around the basket that they earned. Their offense was so… sophisticated. Option, after option, after option, accompanied by the patience and passing the pick the right one. Those ugly Greek bastards play some very attractive basketball. In no way was this a fluke.

In fact, if Carmelo Anthony wasn’t on Team USA, this probably would’ve been a blowout. That’s the one positive I’ll take from this tournament on the US side of things: Carmelo Antohny is a man. Of course, the negative is that no one else was. LeBron James never, with the lone exception of meaningless points and a show-off dunk at the end of this game, made himself stand out. He was a bystander. Maybe we’ll get more into Carmelo vs. LeBron a little later.

You know, I once said that I think Team USA got it right with the coaching staff they selected for this thing. And I still believe that. The trouble is, though, that if they didn’t get it done with this group… they’re never going to. These guys were all willing to play unselfishly, they all played very hard, they were all committed to defense, they were all committed to each other… with the exception of some issues I had with the team selection, you really can’t do it much better than this. And it wasn’t good enough.

Our approach to this, to take our best players and try to mold them into a team in a month, just doesn’t work. We’re still the best basketball-playing nation in the world, don’t let there be any confusion about that. But we just do things ass backwards from the way the rest of the world does them in these international competitions. They have national teams, with some continuity in the coaching, that never really stop existing. We decide to put a team together everytime we need to.

Somewhere, Ben Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, Paul Pierce, Michael Finley, and George Karl are sitting around thinking, “Ah, screw you guys.” After the 6th place finish in the 2002 World Championships, they, and the rest of Team USA’s roster, were called selfish, lazy, and everything else you can think of. You know, maybe they tried their best, and everyone else was just better.

You’ve just gotta give it up for the Grecians. They were extremely deep, extremely sound in the fundamentals, and just very very good at what they do. In terms of sheer athleticism, if the United States is a 100 on a scale of 0-to-100, then Greece is still like a 58. But they know what they’re doing. They can ball. How many times last night did they bring a guy in, ice cold off the bench, and then see him make a perfect play to get a lay-up? It was beautiful. It really was. And it made our game look ugly.

Well, here’s some drama to mix into an otherwise smooth Team USA ride. Gilbert Arenas says that the “groin injury” that caused him to be removed from the USA’s roster was an excuse so he’d avoid the humiliation of being cut. Some quotes from a Washington Post article…

“They already knew what they wanted. They said it was a tryout, but they already had their team selected.”

“No joke, I felt like I was the 16th man on a 15-man roster. You are there to support your team and support your country and be happy to play but you know, I did everything they wanted me to do; but if I did everything they wanted me to do, why am I on the bubble of getting cut? I sacrificed. You’ve got LeBron being LeBron. You’ve got Carmelo being Carmelo. You’ve got D-Wade being D-Wade. Why can’t I be me? Why do I have to transform? I did that and now you are going to cut me?”

“The disappointing part was talking to Colangelo and he said, ‘I heard you want to go home,’. I told him that I was hurt but I didn’t know how serious it was and that I didn’t want to hold up a spot for somebody else. He told me, ‘I’ve been talking to the coaches and you’re on the bubble anyway, so you can go if you want.’ I was like, all right.”

And he’s also got some vitriol stored up for Team USA assistant coaches Mike D’Antoni and Nate McMillan.

“I’m going to be the silent assassin this year. I can’t wait to play the Suns and Portland. Against Portland, Nate McMillan, I’m going to try to score 100 in two games and against D’Antoni, I’m going to score 100 in two games. I’m going to try.”

On a certain level, I feel for the guy. He wanted to be on the team, probably worse than anyone else, and he busted his ass to prepare. But in some of these quotes, you can see why he didn’t fit.

Some of these comments are all over the place. If he felt like the team was made up before anyone even got to camp, then that’s a legitimate beef. But the rest of the stuff… I don’t know. Its so scattered.

First, he complains about having to change his game, and then says he did change it, but was cut anyway. I’d suggest that if you’re complaining about it in the first place, that you’re not going to suddenly change your ways. And if you’re complaining about it at all, why is he even invited? I’m sorry, but we’re stocked at the superstar position. If you’re not OK with that, go home. No hard feelings, just take the summer off and relax.

Of course, the other issue is asking superstarts to become role players, when we could just invite role players to begin with … but that’s for another time.

The exchange with Colangelo, in my opinion, doesn’t really flatter Gilbert, either. If I’m in Colangelo’s position, and a player says to me, for any reason, “…but I don’t want to hold up a spot for someone else,” then I’m probably going to send them home. If the injury was one that could be played through, tell him it’s fine, and then go prove it. Fight for your spot. If I heard a half-hearted response like that, I’d have done the same thing.

And the thing about revenge on D’Antoni and McMillan … that’s just kind of sad. “I still love Team USA, and I want to be a part of it, and I’m rooting for them, but you know, I want revenge on the assistant coaches, too.” That’s probably not the best attitude to take. Nor is it something you should go public with.

I love you, Gilbert, but you’re confusing me here.