By Howie

14 August, 2000 -  Dream Team.  Two words that have struck bowel-loosening terror into the hearts of international basketball players since 1992.

A squad of basketball legends which has no weaknesses and sweeps all before it on the golden-brick road to Olympic glory.

In 1992 and 1996 the first two Olympic Dream Teams went a combined 16-0, winning by an average margin of over 43 points in Barcelona and 31 in Atlanta.

International basketball powers like Lithuania, Yugoslavia and Croatia nervously eyed their Olympic draws and tried to calculate how best to avoid the US until the medal rounds.  Teams effectively played for silver, with the gold all but dangling around the Americans' necks.

So with the Olympic Games less than a month away, Australian Olympic officials should already be engraving those Sydney 2000 gold medals with "USA" in preparation for the Dream Team's ritual coronation, right?

Not so fast, mate.

Before you etch the names of Garnett et al onto the hardware, perhaps you should take a closer look at the Dream Team 2000-style because a funny thing happened on the way to the dais.

This Dream Team is starting to look a little like Rod Thorn's... (insert compulsory Dream Team "nightmare" witticism here). Injuries have forced big names Grant Hill and Tim Duncan from the line-up and perhaps the two biggest drawcards in the NBA
today in Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant have declined a place in the team.

So before Juan-Antonio Samaranch warms-up his best gold medal presentation handshake and the band practices the American anthem, let's take an up-close and personal look at the line-up for Dream Team 2000 :

Point Guards
Not too many problems here with arguably the two best point guards in the NBA in Jason Kidd and Gary Payton.  Both play basketball the full 94 feet and love up-tempo offense, which should thrill the crowds in Sydney.  Throw in Tim Hardaway to
play back-up minutes and you have three of the very best.  The only concern is the durability of Kidd and Hardaway, both of whom have had injury plagued seasons over the last two years.  Given the fact that Payton has only missed two regular season
games during the course of his ten-year NBA career, this shouldn't be a problem!
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Shooting Guards
With the selection of Steve Smith, Allan Houston and Ray Allen at the two spot, the Dream Team is loaded with shooters.  All can light it up from outside and score in bunches.  Smith and Houston face some question marks on the defensive end however
and they will no doubt draw the easier assignments.  Look for Payton (who can also play shooting guard) and Kidd to handle the tougher match-ups. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich must be feeling pretty confident that his team can handle any zone defense with shooters like this under his command. It would be nice to have the athleticism of a Kobe Bryant or the explosiveness of an Allen Iverson at this position, but there is also a guy named Carter on this team who can play two and should turn the Games into the Oooh-lympics.
Score: 3.5 out of 5

Small Forwards
The excitement of the team should reside at the three spot.  The small forward position should see highlight-reel regular Carter sharing significant minutes with the best player nobody has ever seen, Shareef Abdur-Rahim.  Following the withdrawal
of Grant Hill, Abdur-Rahim was delighted to be able finally to step into the spotlight.  Both are supremely athletic scoring machines who will no doubt make the Canadians wish they were permanent citizens of the frozen north, rather than just temporary residents during the NBA season.  With USA Basketball opting to select versatile players who can play multiple positions, Kevin Garnett and Antonio McDyess could conceivably step in at the three spot for the US.
Score: 4.0 out of 5.0

Power Forwards
Tim Duncan's withdrawal to concentrate on his knee rehab robbed the team of the league's best power forward.  Denver's Antonio McDyess replaced Duncan and plays mostly at the four spot.  A complete player who rebounds, scores and blocks shots,
McDyess is certainly one of the top ten power forwards in the league, but overlooking Sacramento stud Chris Webber for this slot may have been a mistake.  Garnett will probably be pencilled in as the starter at four, with Vin Baker also providing minutes.  Baker has apparently slimmed down considerably over the Summer and may be looking to use the Olympics to jump start his once-stellar career.  Certainly not a weak position for the Dream Teamers, but it could have been so much stronger.
Score: 4.0 out of 5.0

Centers
Let's make that "center", as in singular.  Alonzo Mourning is the lone true center on this team and will shoulder the burden in the middle.  Mourning is a worthy member of the team, playing passionately on both ends of the floor.  However, he is undersized at only 6-10 and an inch shorter than power forwards Baker and Garnett.  This is where the withdrawal of seven-footer Duncan will be felt most.  Baker and Garnett are both well and truly capable of manning the middle but for the first time the Dream Team won't enjoy a height advantage over its opponents. Instead, the US will have to rely upon its athleticism to combat the size of teams like the Australian Boomers, who will have three legitimate seven footers (Luc Longley, Chris Anstey and Paul Rogers).  Shaquille O'Neal would have been a great addition here if he hadn't wanted the
Summer off to spend time with his family.

Score: 2.5 out of 5.0
 

O.K., so even I'm not crazy enough to suggest that Longley and Anstey are capable of guarding the likes of Mourning and Garnett in the paint, even if they were permitted twenty fouls apiece.  This Dream Team still has more than enough pure talent to beat any other team at the Olympics by 20 points.  However, there are some significant areas in which this team cannot expect to dominate as they have previously.

Lack of size is a weakness in this Dream Team that cannot be ignored.  You can bet your bottom dollar, ruble, lira and franc that the other top medal contenders will try to take advantage of it.

The first two Olympic Dream Teams enjoyed an untouchable status which was backed up by the best players from the league at every position.   This physical and mental advantage could be set to diminish as international basketball powers start to bridge the gap between themselves and the US.  Watch closely in Sydney, for it should give us the best idea yet of just how large that gap really is.

But for now, cue the Star Spangled Banner. Mr. Samaranch, you're on.

8/16/2000
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