Playing "like the Americans"

For all the negative publicity Team USA has received following their loss to Greece in the semis of the 2006 World Championships, please notice something:
the more international players who compete in the NBA the more the World Championships will become like the NBA.

For example, Argentina lost 96 to 81 to the USA in the bronze medal game. Currently, Argentina has four players who played in the NBA in the 2005 - 2006 season: (Manu Ginobli, San Antonio Spurs; Fabricio Oberto, Spurs; Carlos Delfino, Detroit Pistons; and Andres Nocioni, Chicago Bulls). Toss in Pepe Sanchez who played briefly in the league and Walter Hermann who signed with the Charlotte Bobcats for 2006 - 2007, and you have half of Argentina's National Team competing in the NBA.

During the fourth quarter today, Argentina played the "Americn way": one on one. Ginobli attacked his defender throughout the period without passing to his teammtes. Sanchez posted up the shorter Chris Paul with no pass back to his teammates. Argentina's offense down the stretch was no pass (maybe one pass) and shoot. To sum up, their offense had little to no ball movement.

The cynics would say "Argentina lost because they tried to play like the Americans." Perhaps, those cynics are correct; however, as the globalization of the NBA continues, more and more national teams may see similar results in the future. Whether "playing like the Americans" is a good thing is up for debate...Time will tell.