Team USA routs shorthanded Turkey

This exhibition game started off as a tight one when Turkey found themselves scoring the basketball effectively with open shots and forcing ten turnovers out of team USA. Mehment Okur nor Hedo Turkoglu took part in this game due to undisclosed reasons. At first it appeared as though the Turkey would be fine without the two stars when the team took a 27-24 lead over USA with 1:42 left in the first quarter. But shortly before half time, LeBron and Carmelo help lead the their team back to a comfortable lead. Dwyane Wade indeed came out of the bench due to LeBron’s return, but had the same offensive impact. Wade tallied 13 points this time for team USA, rapidly slashing to the rim whenever given the opportunity. LeBron was 8-9 from the field along with 6 boards, 5 steals and four assists with only 23 minutes of playing time.

Carmelo Anthony still remains to be the best player in the tournament, Anthony continues to score in bunches, showing no signs of weakness. His 17 points spawned from his patented quick mid-range pull ups and dunks. At one point, off a bullet pass from James to Bryant, Kobe bounced the ball in front of the basket to Anthony for a dunk. Dwight Howard opened up a in a big way as the team’s center with powerful dunks that set an exclamation point to USA’s dominance in this exhibition.

Team USA’s next exhibition will be against Lithuania, the 5th ranked team in FIBA. Although it’s uncertain whether who will actually suit up to play, Lithuania is highlighted by talented players such as Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Linas Kleiza, Ramus Siskauskus, Rimantas Kaukenas, Sarunas Jasikevicius.

Contrasting Between Yao Ming and Ron Artest

Less than 48 hours after reportedly being traded, Artest’s name has already hit the sports headlines. Yao Ming recently addressed his concerns towards the teams chemistry with the addition of Artest to the Houston Chronicle stating, “Hopefully, he’s not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands.”

This is somewhat of a surprise to me, I thought Yao was more of a quiet guy that let his game speak and who would express himself vocally if he felt something needed to be righteously addressed. Instead, Yao’s borderline stereotypical concerns do their best to deploy him as a player who’s keeping an eye out for his team’s success.

Artest immediately responded with Yao’s comment referring to his part in the infamous brawl at the Palace,

“I understand what Yao said, but I’m still ghetto, that’s not going to change. I’m never going to change my culture. Yao has played with a lot of black players, but I don’t think he’s ever played with a black player that really represents his culture as much as I represent my culture. Once Yao Ming gets to know me, he’ll understand what I’m about. If you go back to the brawl, that’s a culture issue right there. Somebody was disrespecting me, so he’s got to understand where I’m coming from. People that know me know that Ron Artest never changed.”

In Artest’s response, a key sentence grabbed my attention, “Somebody was disrespecting me, so he’s got to understand where I’m coming from.” This statement boldly expresses the differences between Yao Ming and Ron Artest. Those differences being, Yao Ming may get disrespectfully banged on a couple times a season without showing any signs of retaliation or defense, but Artest doesn’t allow himself to get ridiculed on the court or by an opposing Detroit fan without getting his own.

Artest and Yao’s differences regarding getting disrespected are easily expressed via YouTube.