"On a bad day for the '92 team, the current team would lose by just 15 or 20 points against them"
That's
ridiculous, on a bad day for the '92 team, Larry Bird and John Stockton play
heavy minutes. Why is that a bad thing? Well, at 35, Larry Bird was the oldest member
of the Dream Team and only played in 2 of the 8 games at the Olympics. John
Stockton was 30 and there's no way he would be able to stay in front of ANY
guard on the 2012 roster. There's absolutely no way that the '92 team wins by 15 to
20 points on a bad day. Gasol is just speaking in hyperbole, I'll drop the
exaggeration for an understatement. I know a team that the '92 team would have
trouble with on a GOOD day for them. And it's not the 2012 team. It's another
Team USA roster with a catchy name, the 2008 Redeem Team. That's right folks,
I'm going there. Sit down, grab some popcorn, 'cause you
gon learn today!
(Aside:
I'm comparing the 1992 and 2008 teams on the court. Not their basketball
legacies. Or their cultural impact. Just the on-the-court product. The 1992
team wins those other comparisons in a landslide.)
Reason
#1: Age
Average age of the 1992 team: 29, 5/12 players older than 30 (Bird, Stockton,
Drexler, Ewing, Johnson)
Average age of the 2008 team: 26, 1/12 players older than 30 (Kidd)
The
difference in average age for these teams is just 3 years, but that is a world of difference
in sports. Most athletes peak between the age of 26 and 29. That means that the
2008 team is loaded with players that were beginning their statistical prime
while the 1992 team was stacked with guys that were never going to contribute
the way they used to (that's how you end up with Larry Bird only playing 2
games). Both teams would have to end up playing their benches and I’m not
frightened when I look down the Dream Team bench. The Redeem team is more
likely to give up their seat in public transportation to some of the old guys
on the 1992 team than worry about their crossover.
Reason
#2: Better international competition
In 1992,
the Dream Team ran roughshod over their competition. They won their 8 games by an average of 43.8 points. And after watching the NBA TV documentary on the Dream
Team, the scores were not indicative of the gulf in talent between Team USA and
the rest of the world. (I think the gap between Tom Hanks and Paul Walker might
be close. Maybe Julia Roberts and Snooki?)
The rest
of the world learned that day. Since that summer in Barcelona, basketball
federations in Argentina, Brazil, Spain, and France built elite programs.
Globally, the quality of play improved dramatically. By the 2004 Olympics in
Athens, Argentina was competitive enough to defeat Team USA, marking the first
time that a team of professionals had failed to win the gold medal in 4
attempts.
The 2008
Redeem Team was born from the failures of the 2004 team and the triumph of
international competition. In 1992, the NBA had 21 international players
(5% of all players); currently, there are 84 international players (19% of all
players). The Redeem Team faced an overall quality of competition that
toughened them in a way that the Dream Team would have never experienced.
Onions! verdict:
Team age
and quality of opponents are sizable advantages for the Redeem Team. The 1992
version of several Dream Team players is an older shell of the legacies that we
remember so fondly (Bird and Magic never won a playoff series after the 1991
season). Yeah, names like Michael Redd, Carlos Boozer, and Tayshaun Prince
won’t end up in the hall of fame. But that’s not what a game between the Dream
Team and the Redeem Team would boil down to. Young legs, better depth, and a
more competitive international culture would put the Redeem team in position to
take down the Dream Team. Book it
