PDA

View Full Version : USA--Turkey spoiler



roywhite
07-31-2008, 10:37 AM
USA 114 Turkey 82

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/basketball/men/boxscore?gameId=726

This may not be the official boxscore, but note the 70.7% FG for USA team, with no player having more than 9 FGA. Tough team to defend. Chris Paul really creates opportunities.

This game will be re-broadcast at 8:00 PM EDT on ESPN2; the Lithuania game, which should be a decent test, is on at 8:00 AM Friday, also on ESPN2.

Mods--feel free to combine this with another thread if that makes sense.

RainingThrees
07-31-2008, 10:58 AM
Good to see lebron heathly but the player I was most happy to watch was Dwight Howard. That guy cannot be human.

rockymtn devil
07-31-2008, 11:02 AM
The 82 for Turkey is a little misleading (although I'm sure it's troubling for Coach K). Simply put, USA played no defense in the first quarter and Turkey scored 30. Once the US began defending, they shut Turkey down (I believe 6 points in the 2nd quarter).

Billy Dat
07-31-2008, 11:24 AM
Since K took over Team USA, the focus has been to use our superior athleticism to pressure the ball to create turnovers to lead to easy transition buckets. This is the complete opposite of the zone D and intricate half court drive and kick offenses favored by the rest of the world. I am not saying anything we all don't already know. But, as I watched the game this morning, it did strike me that we (A) still don't defend the drive and kick very well and (B) still can't play half court offense very well ourselves. We blew Turkey out because we wore them down with pressure D and our relentless transition game. I know that's the game plan and that it should be enough...but I still worry. But, worrying makes it more fun...it makes it mean more. Tomorrow's game against Lithuania should be an even better test, and the upcoming exhibitions with Russia and Germany should sharpen us further. I will be curious to see how we adjust when the better teams handle our pressure on both ends a little better. FWIW - Lebron has a much more dominant presence on this team then Kobe - he really makes things happen when he is out there.

dukeENG2003
07-31-2008, 01:18 PM
Its annoying that turnovers weren't listed in the box score (well, they are, but it says 0 turnovers for both teams).

We had to have forced 30 turnovers it seemed like. And as far as our half court offense is concerned, I thought we were fine. Lebron and Melo both showed good mid-range game, and the passing is getting crisper with each game. Chris Paul also showed he can be REALLY good in the half court. J-Kidd has been very disappointing to me so far. He doesn't make himself any sort of a threat to score. I like what I've seen from Paul more so far.

And Lebron is redonkulous. His defense was spectacular, I think he had something like 5 steals.

Billy Dat
07-31-2008, 01:50 PM
Its annoying that turnovers weren't listed in the box score (well, they are, but it says 0 turnovers for both teams).

We had to have forced 30 turnovers it seemed like. And as far as our half court offense is concerned, I thought we were fine. Lebron and Melo both showed good mid-range game, and the passing is getting crisper with each game. Chris Paul also showed he can be REALLY good in the half court. J-Kidd has been very disappointing to me so far. He doesn't make himself any sort of a threat to score. I like what I've seen from Paul more so far.

And Lebron is redonkulous. His defense was spectacular, I think he had something like 5 steals.

Great call about Chris Paul. If the early returns are any indication, I see him getting the lion's share of the PG minutes as we roll on. He is so quick that even when teams go zone, he gets past the backcourt defenders at will and can either launch the floater or toss an alley-oop. He has also been very tenacious on D. I remember a few months back when there was a pro-con Paul debate on this board as to whether he should make the team...fogedabboutit!

roywhite
07-31-2008, 01:53 PM
http://www.usabasketball.com/seniormen/2008/08_msnt_exh_02_box.pdf

Official Boxscore

LeBron was sensational, and Chris Paul also stood out.

juise
07-31-2008, 03:24 PM
Video highlights (nothing useful... all transition dunks) here (http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3512713&categoryId=2491555).

moonpie23
07-31-2008, 03:34 PM
Cp3 has got that floater goin' ! :)

Ders24
07-31-2008, 07:37 PM
I got to see the team in Vegas and I have to say that they look pretty good (as far as chemistry is concerned at least) so far. That being said, I'm hoping to see them improve as they play more and as they play tougher competition; they will need to play at a higher level to win. Lebron also makes quite the difference.

jipops
07-31-2008, 10:52 PM
Best defense of the pick and roll we've seen so far. We beat it going over the screen and under it. Takes a lot of communication defending that play and Kobe appeared to be right on top of it. LeBron was seriously charged on D as well.

We still gave up a lot of weak side looks underneath. Also, Dwight going for the block often leaves him out of position to rebound where our lack of size then hurts us.

Yeah, I'm being nitpicky, but have to look for things that the stronger teams will be trying to take advantage of. But that 2nd quarter lock down was beautiful after such dreadful defense displayed in the 1st.

roywhite
07-31-2008, 11:01 PM
One reason I am optimistic about the USA's gold medal chances is the greater degree of comfort I see the players having with aspects of the international game. They take rebounds off the rim, they rush the ball up-court after an opponent knocks it out of bounds, they look to set up 3-point shooters, and seem more familiar with the level of physical contact allowed. In short, this team does not look out of place in an international game, where even very good previous USA teams were hesitant about some rules and procedures.

Credit this to the last 3 summers of international play, and a good job of "respecting the international game" as Coach K has mentioned.

NYC Duke Fan
08-01-2008, 02:49 AM
Yes the team played well but this is Turkey. If the USA team cannot blow out Turkey then we do not belong in the Olympics. I am not even sure if Turkey's team even qualified for the Olympics although I could be wrong.

Anything less than the gold medal with the talent that Colangelo and Coach K has assembled will be a major, major, disappointment and will be a big negative on Coach K's outstanding record.

This team should not lose to anyone whether it be in the preliminaries or medal round. It is second in talent to " The Dream Team ".

CameronCrazy'11
08-01-2008, 02:55 AM
Yes the team played well but this is Turkey. If the USA team cannot blow out Turkey then we do not belong in the Olympics. I am not even sure if Turkey's team even qualified for the Olympics although I could be wrong.

Anything less than the gold medal with the talent that Colangelo and Coach K has assembled will be a major, major, disappointment and will be a big negative on Coach K's outstanding record.

This team should not lose to anyone whether it be in the preliminaries or medal round. It is second in talent to " The Dream Team ".

They didn't qualify, but they do have a few NBA players. Other than the first quarter (which we still won), we pretty much dominated them.

heyman25
08-01-2008, 03:40 AM
We all know the pressure on K and the USA team.Spain and Argentina are the only teams that may keep it close. In sports anyone can win,but if something is wrong with someone's play we have excellent substitutes. I doubt if Spain or Argentina can afford any of their starters to have foul trouble or an off night.The USA has 7 super talents to come in and not take a drop in high performance levels. Hopefully noone will have the perfect game to beat us. Its not a cake walk,but 8/24/08 I expect the USA to be standing on the gold medal platform with the Star Spangled Banner playing.