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tecumseh
08-02-2008, 12:19 PM
First off this is TiVo alert the game is on at 2:00 AM Sunday morning on ESPN2

Here is a good preview (http://www.greenbandwagon.com/2008/7/31/580846/2008-men-s-olympic-basketb) of the Russian team and players to watch including one American. As much as there is all this talk about Spain this team stunned the Spanish team at the Euro championships which were held in Spain by beating them on a great last minute come from behind game.

Bob Green
08-02-2008, 05:41 PM
The game is at 4 pm Sunday afternoon for me so that is 3 am Eastern Standard Time. I'm looking forward to the Olympics and with Beijing being a one hour time difference from Tokyo I should see much prime time coverage.

CameronCrazy'11
08-02-2008, 06:42 PM
It's 3:00 A.M. EDT, i.e. 11 hours, 18 minutes from now.

darthur
08-02-2008, 06:48 PM
Does anyone know if any of the team USA games will also be showed at a more reasonable hour for US viewers?

roywhite
08-02-2008, 07:21 PM
Does anyone know if any of the team USA games will also be showed at a more reasonable hour for US viewers?

The Russia--USA game will be replayed at 7:00 PM Sunday 8/3, also on ESPN2. As to the games during the Olympics, you'll still have the 12-hour time difference, so live broadcasts will likely begin somewhere between 1:00 AM EDT and 8:00 AM EDT, and probably be replayed.

Bob Green
08-02-2008, 07:32 PM
It's 3:00 A.M. EDT, i.e. 11 hours, 18 minutes from now.

I stand corrected - there is no daylight savings time in Japan so I forgot it is currently EDT not EST.

tecumseh
08-02-2008, 07:36 PM
OK I am impressed I went to the ESPN website and somehow it must talk to my clock so it gave 2:00 AM as the starting time and knew I was on central time. ESPN U is rebroadcasting the games if you get that.

The Road to Redemption is also worth watching on the NBA channel being broadcast and rebroadcast a lot.

Jim3k
08-02-2008, 11:50 PM
Hey, that's only midnight for us westcoasters!

CameronCrazy'11
08-03-2008, 01:06 AM
Hey, that's only midnight for us westcoasters!

Not too bad for those of us with some youth in our veins :)

balkan boy
08-03-2008, 03:59 AM
It's 10:00 in the morning in Bosnia-Herzegovina, but not on my local cable system (surprise!) ...

46-31 USA at the half, with D. Wade leading all scorers with 12 (and 7 rebounds!).

Balkan Boy

Bob Green
08-03-2008, 04:06 AM
Russia has been successful in slowing the pace but the USA is still up 15. The game has been somewhat sloppy, but I'm expecting a couple of big runs in the 2nd Half.

balkan boy
08-03-2008, 04:32 AM
Russia has been successful in slowing the pace but the USA is still up 15. The game has been somewhat sloppy, but I'm expecting a couple of big runs in the 2nd Half.

looks like no big runs in the 3rd quarter, but we'll see what the 4th brings....

balkan boy
08-03-2008, 04:40 AM
looks like no big runs in the 3rd quarter, but we'll see what the 4th brings....

maybe i spoke too soon - 10 straight for the americans, including the last 8 of the 3rd q....

balkan boy
08-03-2008, 04:41 AM
looks like no big runs in the 3rd quarter, but we'll see what the 4th brings....

maybe i spoke too soon - 10 straight for the americans, including the last 8 of the 3rd q....

Bob Green
08-03-2008, 05:04 AM
USA never pulled away, but we still win by 22. This wasn't a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination, however it was a win.

chrishoke
08-03-2008, 07:33 AM
Sounds like a solid win over a contender. Thanks for the reoprts.

devildeac
08-03-2008, 08:10 AM
How many times did they play/replay the final 3 seconds:o:rolleyes:?

DevilDan
08-03-2008, 12:39 PM
How many times did they play/replay the final 3 seconds:o:rolleyes:?

That is the "greatest" travesty in the history of not only the Olympic Games, but of SPORTS. The IOC was determined to find a way for the Russians to win, and finally they DID IT. I'm glad our guys refused to accept the medals.

micah75
08-03-2008, 04:35 PM
Russia did cut the lead to 10 points in the 3rd quarter. Not that the final outcome was ever in doubt. I couldn't believe my eyes when Kobe missed an easy finger roll on a fast break. I thought he shoulda just threw it down. Then there were several alley oops that missed the mark (going for the highlight reel?) And Kirilinko looked almost unstoppable inside for a good stretch there.

Interesting what the announcer was saying about Kidd, that maybe Team USA doesn't want to reveal their whole hand at this time. That, and giving Paul a chance to gain some experience.

DBFAN
08-03-2008, 06:21 PM
I would have to say that DW looked great against their zone, he was able to penetrate at will. CP looked a little lost on the defensive end today, but he wasnt the only one. It does worry me a little that Spain obliterated the Russians, but I am almost positive that if Coach K wanted, they could have won this game by 50 points. It was clear that he insisted on playing a half court game i the first half. Even though the Russians were not sending anybody to the board, and sending everyone back as soon as the shot went up, the USA team made no attempt to run up the floor after missed and made baskets, something they have done in the previous three games. The team also seemed a little lethargic today, they are just ready for the Olympics to start. I would have to agree that the team was just taking it a little easy today, and not showing everything they have in store for the other teams. Plus no use in risking injuries this close to the Olympics.

Go Team USA

Billy Dat
08-04-2008, 09:45 AM
One thing I took away from the Russia game is that our guys are getting really comfortable playing with each other. There were points in the second half, even when the game was only 8-10 points, that Team USA was trying All-Star game style alley-oops and fast breaks. Some might view that as a negative, that we were showboating, but I see it as a huge positive. They are getting so confident and comfortable with each other that they are letting their offensive games out that much more. As soon as they wanted, they amped up the D and went back up by 20. K is also using these games to experiment with different line-ups. If the game was tight, I can guarantee that Lebron and Kobe will be on the floor for longer minutes. At this point, I am really looking forward to the pool-play match-ups with Spain and Greece...those should be fantastic. As for the rest of the team, Melo's role isn't as prominent as he was the past 2 years...I think that an improving Lebron and healthy DWade are outshining him a little, especially because those guys make more happen on the defensive end then Melo. As we've seen, no one is being "set up" in our half court so Melo is living largely off offensive rebound put-backs and spot up jumpers (which are few and far between). Whatever - the theme of the team has been that each game, a couple of different guys carry the load...he'll step back up at some point.

If you are much of a Team USA geek as me, check out K's latest "Basketball and Beyond" podcast, available for free via iTunes or the XM Radio web site. An episode posted last week that focuses on Team USA. The player interviews are throw-aways, but there is an extended coaches roundtable with K, D'Antoni, Boeheim and McMillian that is really good, and also a K/Colangelo/moderator segment that's really interesting. Check it out.

roywhite
08-04-2008, 10:21 AM
I have really been impressed with Deron Williams. He is able to penetrate the zone defenses and find open shooters, or go to the basket himself. Chris Paul has also been very good, but Williams's strength and size makes him very well suited to the international game. He dribbles through the defense almost like a hockey player navigating through body checks.

Will be interesting to see how the PG and backcourt minutes in general shake out during the medal round; bottom line, the US team is well stocked at PG, even beyond the veteran Kidd.

mgtr
08-04-2008, 03:11 PM
If this was the only USA game I had seen, I would be worried. I am really looking forward to the Australia game tomorrow morning. Hope we figure out how to play better against the zone.

Billy Dat
08-04-2008, 04:58 PM
If this was the only USA game I had seen, I would be worried. I am really looking forward to the Australia game tomorrow morning. Hope we figure out how to play better against the zone.

I don't know...we played below our recent expectations and still beat the reigning European Champs by 20. The outcome of that game was never in doubt, and the Russians were congratulating themselves for losing by only 20.

In the run-up to the 2006 Worlds, we had a couple of dodgy exhibition performances, including a nail-biter against Brazil (Joe Johnson made a big steal on one of the game's final possessions to ice the game). We have seen nothing like that this time around - we are playing better teams and handling them with ease.

Bottom line, we won't really know where we stand until the group play games against Spain and Greece - I can't wait until next week! Anything can happen in a one and done, but I have a feeling that we are going to thump both of them in Group play as they do the supposed FIBA tradition of only showing us 3/4 of their repertoire and effort and then they'll be loaded for bear come medal round time when, as Chris Sheridan loves to point out, our teams usually run out of steam.

Whatever - I have been following this whole process very, very closely for years. The way we look this summer, if we don't bring home the gold, despite past recent disappointments and the world catching up and all of the rest, it will be a MONUMENTAL upset and dissapointment.

cato
08-04-2008, 05:31 PM
Anything can happen in a one and done, but I have a feeling that we are going to thump both of them in Group play as they do the supposed FIBA tradition of only showing us 3/4 of their repertoire and effort and then they'll be loaded for bear come medal round time when, as Chris Sheridan loves to point out, our teams usually run out of steam.


I sincerely hope that we were doing the same thing (only showing part of our schemes). If we put up less than 90 points in any of the single elimination games, we'll be vulnerable to a team that gets hot.

CameronCrazy'11
08-04-2008, 05:32 PM
I agree that it looked like we were purposely running halfcourt offense even when we could have gotten easier transition points. That's good practice for the medal games.

Cali-Duke
08-04-2008, 05:42 PM
One thing that I loved from watching this game was Kobe's understanding of his role on the team. The commentators made a big deal about how he has taken a backseat offensively and he has become a defensive stopper. But when the Russians disrupted the flow of the game in the 3rd quarter and the lead went down, Kobe stopped defering to others and took over the game. He managed to subdue any ego yet retain a killer's mentality.