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Around SBN: Jeremy Lin Continues Rampage, New York Wins On Road

Spain Runs out of Gasol

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I'd be yelling too if my team got beat this bad...

Photo credit: Kristian Dowling/Getty Images

So much for better competition.

This time, it wasn't just the defense, but the superior three point shooting that brought USA Basketball another blow out  Olympic victory, this time over Spain, 119-82. The lifeless Spaniards committed 28 turnovers; Pau Gasol led the way with five. USA had a 26 to 7 edge in points from turnovers and an incredible 32-0 edge in fast break points, but the game was truly decided in the first half when Spain's zone failed to stifle the USA'ers who, for the first time in this Olympic competition, were able to shoot the three effectively. USA shot 48 percent from downtown, going 12 of 25. Spain, by comparison, went 6 for 28.

Although the game would have gone in Team Disruption's favor solely via their defensive effort, the fact the Redeemers showed superior ball movement and shooting in the half court has to be distressing to their international opponents.  Other than praying for an off night in the knockout rounds, if this squad can shoot like this, there's not many weaknesses left to exploit.

Overall, the Spanish guards had little impact, but a majority of turnovers came from Spain's front court. The USA defenders simply waited for Gasol and his boys to put the ball on the floor, brought help from the weakside, stripped the ball, and created numerous transition opportunities. They also defended Spain's pick and roll attempts with ease. Even Jason Kidd had a layup! Credit NBC commentator Doug Collins with the observation that the help coming from the weakside was creating havoc with Spain's offense.

While Lebron James is clearly the core of this team, D-Wade has been the alpha stud, coming off the bench with defensive intensity and scoring acumen. Wade shot 67 percent overall from the floor, going 8 of 12. Carmelo Anthony had his best game to date, shooting 75 percent on 6 of 8 shooting, 4 of them coming from the three point arc. About the only bad thing you can say about this team was the early foul trouble they got into. Even that in the end made absolutely no difference.

Spain clearly left emotionally by mid third quarter to fight another day (or to smoke); if everything goes well for them, they could meet USA in the gold medal finals. ESPN's Chris Sheridan, who seems to want USA to lose, frets about the Redeem Team peaking too soon. Given the one and done nature of the medal rounds, anything could happen, but if a statement was made today, it was the Redeemers who made it.

I was hoping for a better game today, but it could well be that this club is just that good.

 

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I don't know how much praise he's getting elsewhere...

…but Ricky Rubio is going to be one hell of a pro. Can you imagine what the buzz would be like if a high school senior made the US Olympic team? How many other 17 year olds can say that they stole the ball from Lebron 1-on-1 in the open court? His passing, ball handling and defense are NBA ready. He also seemed to be able to get into the lane when he wanted. I have never, ever seen a kid with that quick of hands. He really does a lot of baiting on defense.

BTW: rule #1 against the US is don’t piss off Lebron.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Aug 16, 2008 4:51 PM CDT reply actions  

Yea, Love what I’ve seen from him so far. He looks really exceptional

by Wim (Belgium) on Aug 17, 2008 11:31 AM CDT up reply actions  

The kid's got an IQ...

only 18 in October. I feel older already.

 I was really surprised by all the dribble drive attempts by Spain. Any time the ball hit the floor, the USA was all over it. Teams are really going to have to pass the ball around and hit buckets with some accuracy to keep USA from being so aggressive. Take away half of the turnovers, pack in a zone, and hope they have an off shooting night seems to be the only hope other teams have of being competitive.

by Peter W on Aug 16, 2008 6:11 PM CDT reply actions  

Dribble drive...

…is exactly it I think. This was a very strange game to watch, I would say that each team looked like the other is supposed to look – the U.S. played team D and put on a fundamental-passing clinic on offense; the Spaniards tried to gamble and play way too tight on D, and what is with the isolation dribble-drive on the wing? Are they seriously going to outquick Lebron and Kobe on the perimeter? They inevitably dribbled into double-teams or kicked the ball off their legs. Bizarre.

Kudos to the Americans though, if Spain looked so bad they obviously had lots to do with it. One thing that should worry everyone else: whenever an American got in trouble (say, overpenetration, or trapped in a double-team), it seemed like he would just flip the ball up in the air – where some incredibly athletic frontcourt dude would be waiting to dunk the ball. Obviously the Americans should always be able to do this, given how athletic they are…but I think this is tougher than it looks – the passer has to have a sense of where his teammate is going to be. Everyone always conflates athleticism with individual play, but I’d say this is “team athleticism,” played on offence rather than just defence. Guess that strategy of keeping the team together for several years, rather than just putting together an all-star team, is paying off.

Obviously I think Spain can play much better, but at this point – especially given how shaky teams like Argentina and Russia have looked at times – the U.S. has to be considered the clear gold medal favourite.

by plinytheelder on Aug 16, 2008 7:41 PM CDT up reply actions  

To give Coach K some credit...

…he’s started to tighten the rotation. He’s still starting Kidd, but after the first 5-6 minutes of the game, he’s really put in the right rotations.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Aug 16, 2008 10:52 PM CDT up reply actions  

I think I had it over at Britt's place...

…but this Spanish team is more NBA than any other team I’ve seen in international competition. If they are going to get it closer the next time around, they will need to do exactly what you say as well as tighten their rotation and not let Juan Carlos Navarro hit the floor. I think both Greece and Spain held off on throwing everything at the squad. I’m glad we didn’t hold back. It’s really nice to see this sort of effort from the team. It also highlights, I think, the superior nature of international ball. Guys like Wade and Bosh don’t have to be the be-all/end-all of their teams and they can spread their talent more evenly over offense and defense. It’s more of a team game and even though the US is still winning with superior talent, there is no reason a team like Toronto can’t and shouldn’t expect Bosh to play like this on defense and on the glass. He’d be just as effective as what he may give up in scoring, he’s showing that he can make it up with other things.

The World's Leading Exporter of Small Area Quickness
www.canishoopus.com

by Stop-n-Pop on Aug 16, 2008 10:51 PM CDT up reply actions  

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