Other Voices: For U.S., it's 'back to reality' of NBA

LAS VEGAS - And now Kobe Bryant goes back to throwing passes to Kwame Brown. Or not.

"Everybody was in the locker room after the game," Chauncey Billups said with a laugh, "and it was like, 'Oh man, it's back to reality.' Though I think I'm better off than a lot of these guys. My reality is a [good] one."

Yes, it's over for the U.S. basketball team until next summer after Sunday's 118-81 victory over Argentina for the gold medal in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifier. Argentina earned the other Olympic bid. These two teams likely will compete again for the gold medal, which Argentina took in the 2004 Olympics.

Argentina's Luis Scola, who is headed for the Houston Rockets, had 23 points and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Carmelo Anthony (Towson Catholic) was runner-up.

The United States was led Sunday by LeBron James, who hit eight three-pointers and scored 31 points. Argentina is ranked second by FIBA, the sport's world governing body, but was without five of its top seven players.

Still, it was finally a successful summer of international basketball for the U.S. team, which went 10-0 in the tournament with an average winning margin of almost 40 points and drew comparisons, albeit premature, to the great U.S. Olympic teams of the past.

"The last few international competitions, teams beat us. Now we're taking baby steps to try to get back to the top," Billups said.

"We feel we've got the best players, but a lot of times we didn't play the best way. We feel we've got the right group of guys now, the right coaching, to make that step, get our swagger back."

The addition of Bryant, Jason Kidd, Amare Stoudemire and Billups seemed to energize and stabilize the team, which shared the ball effectively and defended with elan and purpose.

So it's on to Beijing next August and in a few weeks it's back to their teams for these players, not necessarily a happy prospect for some:

• Bryant was quiet here on his demands to be traded, though privately he is said not to have changed his mind. It seems unlikely the Los Angeles Lakers will make a move now, or this coming season.

With coach Phil Jackson entering the final year of his contract, transition appears to be in the Lakers' future. The betting is the New York Knicks will make a major run at Bryant. The Chicago Bulls are Bryant's choice and remain a possibility.

• James was terrific Sunday with U.S. records for points and three-pointers. But his Cleveland Cavaliers have been stagnant in the offseason and failed to address their backcourt needs.

Many around the NBA believe the Boston Celtics, with the acquisition of Kevin Garnett, and the New Jersey Nets, with a return to health, will pass the Cavaliers and leave them fighting for a first-round home-court playoff berth - and perhaps fighting internally.

• Anthony was the leading U.S. scorer again and is proving to be an unstoppable international player. He'll get Allen Iverson for a full season with the Denver Nuggets, but center Nene came up lame again as Brazil lost out for a medal. The Nuggets didn't address their point guard needs and Anthony will miss passes from Kidd, Billups, James and Bryant.

"Everyone felt whoever you passed the ball to would get the job done," Michael Redd said.

• Deron Williams wonderful revival season ended on a sour note, with the point guard publicly turning on his Utah Jazz teammates, without naming names. It remains to be seen how the team responds.

• Mike Miller will return to Memphis, where there is a new coach, a new general manager, an owner trying to sell and a community tuning out the Grizzlies. You also never know when Pau Gasol might get fed up again.

• Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat is almost certain to get a call for the Olympic team; he wasn't on this squad because he's healing from a shoulder injury.

Miller, Williams and Tyson Chandler are the most vulnerable because they got the least playing time.

Though the scoring and margin of victory were impressive for the U.S. and it achieved the goal of getting back to the Olympics, the field was generally weak and the Americans were never truly challenged.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't get the chance to respond under pressure, but he proved to be the best of the recent college coaches at dealing with U.S. players by allowing them some freedom within a limited system and inspiring them to play unselfishly and with spirit on defense.

Related topic galleries: Denver Nuggets, National Basketball Association, Pau Gasol, Major League Baseball, Kwame Brown, Chauncey Billups, Phil Jackson

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