The game is nip and tuck all the way, with neither team able to open a lead larger than seven points. The U.S. team looks anxious and unsure of themselves, afraid to shoot from the outside, trying to force things inside their opponents' well packed-in zone. As the game nears its conclusion, things aren't looking good for the Americans.
U.S. coach Larry Brown calls a timeout with about five minutes to play and goes to the end of his bench. He taps the oldest member of the team on his right shoulder, leans in close to his ear and tells him, "You're in."
The old veteran stands on his creaky knees, calmly walks over to the scorer's table, and enters the game. On the Americans' first possession, Stephon Marbury drives the lane and finds the old guy alone in the corner as the defense collapses. The old guy takes the pass, raises up, and with that signature funky follow-through, swishes the three. "Three-point goal by Reggie Miller of the Unites States," is the call from the arena announcer. The U.S. goes up by two.
On the ensuing possession, after their opponent misses a three of their own, the Americans swing the ball around the perimeter, as Miller runs frenetically from sideline to sideline, looking to shake his defender and get open for another jumper. The constant motion finally allows him to get open off a pick from Tim Duncan and the ball is swung around to him. He raises up again and the result is the same. "Swish," goes the net, as Miller hits again. The Americans go up by five points.
On the next possession, this time after a block by Duncan, the U.S. gets out on the break and Miller is the trailer. Instead of setting up for the crowd-pleasing and universally expected high-wire dunk, Marbury spots Miller a few feet behind the arc and instead, passes the ball out to him.
As the shot leaves Miller's hand, Allen Iverson jumps off the bench and raises both arms, signaling a made three-pointer. Iverson's call proves to be prophetic, as the ball again settles in the net for Miller's third-straight three-pointer of the quarter. The U.S. goes up by eight points and goes on to win by 19.
At the post-game press conference, coach Brown is asked to share what he learned from tonight's game. "I learned not to leave Reggie Miller on the bench for so long. I learned again that he is one of the best clutch shooters in the world and he proved that tonight. I also learned that if we want to win the gold medal, I'd better play Reggie a bit more than I did tonight. He was the difference tonight. We're lucky he's on our side."
Everyone who's watched these Olympic Games or the exhibition games played prior to the Olympics has witnessed the Americans' fatal team flaw: lack of perimeter shooting. It's not as if the players assembled on the team can't hit the shot; it's just that none of them hit it consistently. There's no one on the team who can be viewed as an outside shooting threat, so the teams they play against just clog the lane with a zone and dare the U.S. to beat them from the outside. So far, that strategy has proven to be an amazingly effective one.
With the lane being choked off and defenders backing off, the Americans have had a difficult time getting the ball inside to Tim Duncan, their one true mismatch, leaving the wing players looking scared and unwilling to shoot from the outside. Without the ability of the guards to get in the lane and create, the Americans have struggled to create offense consistently, which has made them tentative on the defensive end.
And without a constant defensive effort, the Americans have allowed their opponents to stay within striking distance, which makes those teams' propensity for knocking down jumpers all the more capable of pulling out a victory, which Puerto Rico and Lithuania were able to do earlier in the tournament.
However, a lot of those shortcomings could have been rectified had a shooter been on this team. Sure, Ray Allen was a member of the original team that was chosen to play in these Olympics and he declined to go. And, of course, if the selection committee had any sense, Michael Redd would have been one of the first players asked to replace the players who declined a spot on the team.
But, for the life of me, I can't understand why Reggie Miller wasn't even asked to participate. Yeah, he may have said "no." But, why not even ask him. What would it have hurt? Maybe he doesn't fit the demographic of the team, since it appears that the league wanted to send what they consider the "future of the League" to Athens. But, at times during the tournament, it seems as if the younger players have gotten a little rattled by the fact that the games aren't as easy as they expected and they're not blowing teams out by 30 points.
Miller's a veteran who has played in huge games before and understands the magnitude of these Games. Miller would not have been rattled by the overly partisan crowds the U.S. has seen. Miller has been the enemy everywhere he's played in his entire NBA career except for home games, so the whistle-blowing Greek crowds would not have bothered him.
But, here's the relevant information pertaining to this argument. He's a career 20-point-per-game playoff scorer, which is a few points higher than his regular season average, which shows he rises to the occasion on the most important stage. He's played in the NBA Finals, averaging 24 points per game. He has experience playing internationally, having played on gold medal-winning teams at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 2004 World Championships, where he was the leading scorer.
And, oh by the way, he is the NBA's career leader in made three-point baskets and is a career 89% free-throw shooter, which just happens to be another of this team's woes. Now somebody tell me whether or not he could have helped this team just a bit.
There's no question that this current team has a lot of talent. Based on those attributes alone, they ought to be running roughshod over the other teams in this competition. But, talent alone isn't enough. And especially in the international game, where there is less one-on-one play, teamwork, and perimeter shooting are essential and this team is deficient in both areas.
Can they win the gold? Sure, they can. Will they win the gold? Hmm, I'm inclined to say yes, but my gut feeling is that they will be playing for the bronze come this weekend. However, I, along with many others, would have felt a lot more secure about their chances had Reggie Miller, or another long-range sniper, been a part of this team. Miller belonged on this team and fans of USA basketball can only hope that his omission doesn't cost their team a gold medal.
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