The Road to Redemption has been a nice downhill jaunt since Team USA turned up the intensity against Greece. The US went to Dwight Howard early and often as ten of their first twelve possessions involved their starting center. Howard scored 8 points, assisted on a three-pointer from Jason Kidd, and set a pick that freed LeBron James up for the first of his four three-pointers before getting his first rest of the contest with 4:11 remaining and the US up 16-3.
Howard finished the game with 22 points on 9-of-10 from the field and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
James scored 18 points on 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-5 from the three-point line. Kobe Bryant chipped in with 13 points on 5-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from the three-point line. Dwayne Wade and Chris Paul paced the United States with 10 points apiece.
Team USA’s 49 point victory was their largest in Olympic pool play and pushed their average margin of victory to 32 points per game — the highest mark from the United States since the 1996 Olympic team.
Up next for Team USA is a matchup with Australia. The Aussies defeated Lithuania by 31 points earlier today and gave Team USA their toughest challenge yet in a closer than expected 87-76 win in Shanghai.
Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com spoke with a few of the Australian players when he was in Shanghai and remembers “how one member of the Aussie federation said he believed the Americans were in “deep s—” because they hadn’t brought enough big men, weren’t shooting particularly well and seemed extremely overconfident.”
I wonder if Australian center Andrew Bogut was the one who offered his opinion of Team USA’s lack of size and what he may perceive to be as overconfidence?
Bogut has openly criticized American born basketball players in the past.
Team USA struggled with their outside shooting in that game, and in the next two contests, shooting a combined 13-of-60 from the three-point line in wins over Australia, Angola, and China. Those victories left a lot to be desired as many people began to wonder if the United States had the right balance of outside shooting and inside scoring to win the gold medal.
Those questions have been answered — and then some — as Team USA has connected on 30 of their last 71 three-point attempts (42%) in wins over Greece, Spain, and Germany.
With Dwight Howard getting on track today, the United States is clicking on all cylinders heading into their first single elimination game of the Olympic tournament.
They’re shooting well, forcing turnovers, and playing unselfishly.
And now they face a team that insists they’re not “fearful” or “intimidated” by the United States. Not only has Australia questioned Team USA’s size and confidence level, but they also did a little jawing in their first meeting with the US two weeks ago.
After watching his team get dismantled against the United States, Pau Gasol remarked that the US was “for real,” and that “they’re very serious about this.”
Team USA has gone a long way towards redeeming itself in the eyes of the basketball world by respecting their opponents and playing like a team, but that doesn’t mean they won’t play with added incentive against a team that has openly questioned the makeup of their roster and unabashedly believes they can defeat them.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Bogut’s got something else coming if he thinks Team USA is too small.
LeBron made Dirk Nowitzki a non-factor. Team USA has had zero problems with big men thus far. I have been openly critical of Kobe and to a lesser extent Wade’s overplaying on defense. But I will say one thing, I underestimated how well the help defense would be. When Kobe puts full court pressure on the ball handler and forces him to make a move – which always happens, he may beat Kobe, but it forces the tempo of the game to speed up and makes the opposing team react instead of act.
So I applaud Kobe’s defensive intensity – even if he is overplaying at times. I really watched this intently today and the backcourt overplays and switches and forces lots of movement, trying to get the other team to get into a hurry up offense. If the aussies start draining 3s then they will have to tighten up, but right now, it’s a formula for speeding up the game which leads to lots of Team USA breaks and wears down the opponents.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Nice job again, Brandon.
I didn’t know about the Chris Sheridan interview. That is interesting.
If any team is overconfident, it might be the Aussies.
I don’t think Australia will be able to repeat its earlier success against USA, but I do think Spain can present a better challenge than it did last game.
Interesting stuff, Hoff.
Nice observations to you too, Tsu. USA would really like to have more say on the pace of the game against Australia than it did last time.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Tsunami,
There’s a difference between Kobe and Wade’s defense. Wade overplays the passing lanes and gambles for steals. Kobe has been applying a little bit too much pressure on the ball. He’s allowed his man to get past him a few times and put the defense at a disadvantage.
But you’re right, his pressure has disrupted the other team’s offense.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention Kobe’s missed dunks today.
I know you’ll think I’m just a homer for saying this, but Kobe looks really fatigued to me. He isn’t beaten off the dribble often during the regular season. Dating back to last summer’s FIBA games, he hasn’t had much of a break.
Of course, James played last summer after an NBA Finals appearance. But LeBron is 23 years.
Remember, Kobe’s going to turn 30 in about week. And he’s an old 30 by NBA standards. No player in NBA history has played as many games as he has in such a short period of time. Not only has he played in 866 regular season games, but he’s also played in 152 playoff games, which as you know, is almost two additional seasons.
Things to keep in mind when you talk about Bryant’s shortcomings in these Olympics.
And I’m not making any excuses. Bryant’s selection has been very questionable at times. But he’s missing shots he normally makes. Which is a sure sign of fatigue to me.
I think his surgery will actually be to his advantage. It will force him to shut it down for a few weeks. I hope Phil gives him most of training camp off too.
LeBron looks incredible. Let’s hope he continues to improve heading into next season.
August 18th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Basketballogy,
Thanks Tom.
I don’t know if the Aussies are overconfident. But they don’t fear us. I don’t know how I would classify their actions thus far, but respectful definitely doesn’t come to mind.
August 18th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Hoff – don’t worry, I sounded off on rooster’s blog about the missed dunks lol. The first one was just bad luck, the second was UG-LY!
I’m somewhat surprised at the constant Kobe references made by announcers and the like during OTHER olympic events – but I’m kinda growing used to it. Regardless of what I think, or what the players actually do on the court, in the eyes of the people with the microphones, and apparently the people of China, it is just Kobe’s time.
I don’t think you are being a homer for thinking Kobe is fatigued. Honestly, I think you’re absolutely right about the missed open jumpers. Last year (06-07) everyone was talking about how LeBron had regressed and Bill Simmons wrote and article saying he would get his coach fired and go on to be the next Martina Hingis of the sporting world – then when LeBron took the Cavs to the finals he said that it was people like him that motivated LeBron to “change things” – whatever. I said it then, I’ll say it again, during that time, LeBron was getting no lift from his legs. He wasn’t beating 1 man off the dribble, he was finishing BELOW the rim, and his jumper was often short. He still found a way to lead the Cavs to 50 wins, but everyone was asking what was wrong and NO ONE – not a SINGLE PERSON in the media gave him a free pass for his underachieving play. In fact, when I would try to explain to people that he didn’t have his legs and was obviously fatigued, they would blow me off.
Kobe is older and has logged more minutes for a 30 year old than anyone – I just think performance and reputation should go hand in hand. If Kobe drops 25 on the Aussies on 75% shooting, by all means, everyone should be talking about it – but it’s getting kinda old hearing about how he is the “greatest player on the planet” every 5 minutes while watching Track and Field just because he is in the stands. Especially given his poor offensive performance and questionable shot selection.
Honestly I think LeBron is the cog that is holding so many shoot first superstars together. Wade isn’t looking to pass, Melo isn’t looking to pass, Howard isn’t looking to pass, and Kobe often looks like he’s indecisive on offense. LeBron’s willingness to pass and his creativity is really creating some semblance of flow on the offensive end with that first unit. Defensively, Team USA has looked great, but offensively, they are still a team of superstars that are not used to being ANYTHING but option A, B, and C on their respective teams. Another standout performance thus far in my eyes has been Tayshaun Prince. His defensive prowess is often mentioned, but he has been another one of those cogs that makes everyone else around him better by knowing how to space the floor, being able to catch and shoot or run the floor. Wade has had tunnel vision, but he’s shooting the lights out so you can’t blame him.
Team USA still has lots of room to improve. I think if the Aussies somehow manage to keep the game close, LeBron’s Offense and Kobe’s defense will be too much down the stretch. Questions keep swirling how they would respond in a tight situation, but to me, LeBron, Wade, Kobe, CP3, and Deron Williams are THE clutchest players in the NBA with Manu Ginobili squeezed in there.
I’m looking forward to a Gold Medal.
-Tsu
August 19th, 2008 at 3:14 am
I remember when Bogut was drafted #1 overall, fellow Aussie Chris Anstey bashed the pick saying “I am just as good as Bogut. He wont survive in the NBA.”
But now they are teammates…I wonder if there is any tension??
I would look up the link for ya’ll, but I am feeling WAAAAY too lazy right now.
:)
August 19th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Tsunami,
Kobe is coming off of an MVP season and a trip to the NBA Finals. So the publicity and adoration he’s receiving in China isn’t exactly coming out of left field.
Like I said though, his shot selection has been questionable. But he has looked to pass more than Wade and Carmelo have.
If the United States does get in a tight situation, it will be interesting to see who defers to who. I don’t want to watch a nail biter, but that would be very intriguing.
August 19th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
King_Kaun – I remember that too…