Next game up is against Greece. I believe this will be the most interesting game of the preliminary rounds for a number of reasons.

1) First Test- Greece is the first quality, medal-contending team we will face in the Olympics.

2) Redemption- There is certainly a redemption factor after Greece bounced the Americans from the world championships a few years back.

3) Dirty Players- As you can read here, Greece is a very dirty team. They will try all sorts of tricks to get under the skin of the Americans. Keep a close eye on the actions of Dwight Howard and Lebron James when play gets rough.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer...-Angola-080812

4) USA's Defense- Everybody, and I mean every country's scouting team as well as every American fan, will be watching this game to see how USA handles the pick and roll. How will they rotate? Will they gamble on the passing lanes for kick passes after penetration? Will they pack the lane? How easily does the ball-handler get to the rim? How easy do the Greeks get open threes.

5) Zone Buster- It will be very interesting to see how USA attacks the very organized Greek Zone. Here is where Jim Boeheim earns his spot on the bench.

This should be a very very tough and physical game for the Americans and one in which K will probably have to actually do some serious coaching during the game.

Sidenote- I thought this was an interesting excerpt from the Sheridan article:

The Americans who were on the 2006 team that lost to Greece in the semifinals of the World Championship will be extra motivated, although they haven't been motivated enough to come to the arena early and scout their opponent with their own eyes -- with the exception of Kobe, who sat next to Coach K in the stands for the Greece-Spain game Sunday.
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