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Fearless foes fine for worry-free NBA Dreamers
SYDNEY, Sept 15 (AFP) - No worries, mate. The United States "Dream Team" collection of National Basketball Association stars has a worry-free philosophy regarding opponents here at the Sydney Olympics, figuring one set of victims is as good as another. "Our goal is to step on the floor every night and win," US playmaker Vince Carter said here Friday. "It doesn't matter what it says on the jerseys. It's just business as usual." The original 1992 "Dream Team" faced awestruck rivals in a romp to gold at Barcelona. This year's younger, less accomplished inheritors of the dream will face foes who do not consider the Americans invulnerable. "That's good news for us. Then we will play harder," said US guard Gary Payton, the only member of the 1996 US Olympic squad back this time. "Once we start thinking that way, we will stay on our toes, think of more serious things. Most of the time, teams are not fearing us. We have to go out hard every night and prove we're the best in the world." Among those not willing to concede the issue without a fight are the Australians, led by flag bearer and five-time Olympian Andre Gaze, himself a member of an NBA championship team last year at San Antonio. "They don't have the same aura, the same reputation as the prior teams," Gaze said of the Americans. "But they have the same talent." Jason Kidd, a US tri-captain along with Payton and Alonzo Mourning, said the team should be called "Young Dream Team." "We're regarded as a Dream Team. But we're a lot younger than in the past," he said. "Just put 'young' in front of Dream Team and that will be our name." None of the US players here has ever won an NBA championship. Payton sees Olympic gold as a similar achievement but refuses to rate one over the other. "All of us want to win the NBA title. This is the same," he said. "This is a substitution for that. "This group of guys is different than '96. We're young guys trying to get into the feel of the game. I tell them it's a great feeling to bow our heads down and receive a gold medal." Since the players gathered in Hawaii three weeks ago, they have won five exhibitions with ease, made ferocious defense a trademark and bonded as friends and teammates just as US coach Rudy Tomjanovich hoped would happen. "The first thing I told everyone was that to get the most out of this experience, we had to become a real team and not just a collection of fantastic players," he said. The team voted to walk as a group in the opening ceremonies, although they have disdained the athlete's village for a luxury hotel. And most are looking forward to watching heroes in other sports perform. "I'm excited about getting a chance to see the other athletes," guard Steve Smith said. "Track and field especially. Table tennis for me. And the women's team. That's important for me.
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