Olympic Basketball- Spain Thread

[BlueintheFace]

Beat pretenders China and Angola- CHECK
Revenge the 2006 World Championship loss to Greece- CHECK
Beat USA's predicted greatest competition- ???

Most experts seem to believe that Spain will be our biggest obstacle on the way to Gold, and why not? They have the second most talented team in this olympics... by far.

Rudy Fernandez-
Jose Calderon
Pau Gasol
Marc Gasol
Jan Carlos Navarro
Jorge Garbajosa
Ricky Rubio

.... just to name a few

Every name up there is a former, current, or future NBA player. Here are a few notes on this game from my perspective.

1) Not Your Average European Team- Spain is no Greece... that much is for sure. We will be seeing a very different form of offense that goes outside-in (like the NBA) instead of inside-out. Pau Gasol is there best player and is averaging almost 18 points a game. They WILL be feeding him consistently if they are really trying to beat us.

2) Big Boys- Spain and Germany are the two teams in our bracket that have a number of skilled big men. I predict that Boozer will be needed to throw his weight around a bit...

3) Depth- Spain is really the only other team we will face that doesn't have to worry about a drop-off in quality when the second line comes in. Garbajosa, Calderon, and Navarro have all come off the bench, and Rubio is the backup point most of the time.

4) Lots of Questions- Aito Garcia Reneses is either indecisive or a magician using slight of hand. So far he has not shown any consistency in minutes and starters. In the game against China, he hardly used teen sensation Rubio until the last 5 minutes of the game when the score was tight and they needed to comeback??? Many experts are saying that this is simply his style. He plays mind games and refuses to show his hand until games become critical. A few weeks ago Chris Sheridan at ESPN wondered whether or not Spain would throw the game against America so as not to let them gain an edge in game planning for the knockout round. I am wondering the same thing.

5) Execution and Drop-Off- We have now "redeemed" ourselves temporarily after a great game against Greece, but the real question is, can we keep up the intensity? Spain is the best team in Europe (presumably) because they execute very well on the offensive end. If we slack off and don't get the requisite turnovers, we could be in some trouble. (Ricky Rubio is being heralded as a possible top5 pick in the draft next year, but my guess is that he will crack against our pressure if we bring it).

Previous Results- (3-0)
Spain 81 Greece 66
Spain 85 china 75 (OT)
Spain 72 Germany 59

Add your thoughts please...

Sidenote- Lithuania is quietly looking very impressive on the other side of the brackets.

[roywhite]

USA by 20.

[Bob Green]

<Thread Hijack>In non-USA games on Saturday, China vs. Germany and Russia vs. Australia are key games. Those four teams (along with Greece) are all 1-2 and desperately need to win. I believe Greece will beat Angola to improve to 2-2, but the other two contests are wide open and the results will setup do or die matches on Monday. Specifically, a China victory over Germany will result a huge Monday afternoon China vs. Greece matchup. </Thread Hijack>

[jipops]

my prediction: An epic battle with lots of foul issues and head-scratching officiating.

[DBFAN]

I predict USA by 19, I for one feel this will actually be an easier match for us, because they want to try and play the same style as us. On another note, do not be surprised if Angola pulls an upset over Greece, sometimes when you get beaten down like that, it is hard to get back up and fight, we will just have to wait and see. By the way what time will our next game be?

[Bob Green]

The USA vs. Spain game is Saturday at 10:15 pm in Beijing which equals 10:15 am EDT.

[BlueintheFace]

Has anyone else seen Rubio? I have just been very underwhelmed by him considering all the hype...

[billybreen]

It worked last time, so I'll say Spain by 5.

[Edouble]

'Melo and Kobe start bombing threes in the third quarter.

USA over Spain: 103-81

[mgtr]

The USA vs. Spain game is Saturday at 10:15 pm in Beijing which equals 10:15 am EDT.

Somewhere, somebody said 10:15 Sunday morning (how is that for an exact citation?), but I believe it is Saturday morning at 10:15, right?

[tbyers11]

Somewhere, somebody said 10:15 Sunday morning (how is that for an exact citation?), but I believe it is Saturday morning at 10:15, right?

You are correct. 10:15 pm Saturday night in Beijing is equal to 10:15 am SATURDAY morning EDT.

[weezie]

USA by 20.

Once again, the fortune teller speaks the truth. I think our only problem will be with the FIBA refs; our game is too fast for them and they resent having to run up and down the court.

Chris Bosh...man, I love the guy.

[miramar]

Has anyone else seen Rubio? I have just been very underwhelmed by him considering all the hype...

Ricky's supposed to be the next big thing in European basketball, but he's only 17. We'll have to wait and see whether he's really worth all the hype.

[watzone]

You are correct. 10:15 pm Saturday night in Beijing is equal to 10:15 am SATURDAY morning EDT.


Scheduling snafu! Same time as Meet the Devils and football scrimmage.

[Marty10]

Did you guys see Rubio against China? He was great he didn't score but he had like 4 assist and 5 steals in limited minutes. His defense is incredible for someone his age, he's got extremely active hands and has quick feet. I think he's gonna be a really good player.

[Johnboy]

Scheduling snafu! Same time as Meet the Devils and football scrimmage.

DVR to the rescue!

[roywhite]

DVR to the rescue!

Don't forget the Men's 100M Track final; scheduled for 10:30 AM EDT 8/16. The race that annoints "the world's fastest human" should feature Tyson Gay from the US and Powell and Bolt from Jamaica.

[Jumbo]

Has anyone else seen Rubio? I have just been very underwhelmed by him considering all the hype...

Rubio is outstanding. As someone else said, you can't forget that he's only 17. His jump shot needs work, but he's really quick, can handle the ball well and is a demon on D already. He has the chance to be, as a certain coach likes to say, "special."

This is going to be a tough game. The greatest asset for the U.S. team (by far) is its pressure D. But Calderon will be able handle it, and should be able to get Spain into its sets much better than Greece did. Conversely, we stlll need to execute better in our half-court offense.

[miramar]

The Washington Post has an interesting article on Rubio.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15/AR2008081502337.html?hpid=topnews

[DukieBoy]

i think (hope) that the US will come out with the same type of controlled intensity as they did against greece. they will let spain hang around before delivering a big time knockout blow, similar to greece. However, Spain won't go away at all or nearly as easily as Greece did. My prediction is 98-85 US win.

[balkan boy]

I think this one is going to be much tougher than Greece. Spain is much more talented and want their own revenge.

I just hope I can watch here in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Italian TV, plus EuroSport, are all showing the Olympics, but basketball is competing with the 100M final. For Greece, only Italian TV showed the game, and only the 2nd half...

Balkan Boy

[A-Tex Devil]

A game like this one or the Greece game is so much more fun to watch than against China or Angola where US has the other team overmatched. Looking good thus far.

[Bob Green]

We are looking good early. With Kobe on the bench it is nice to see Carmelo knock down those three pointers. Our defensive pressure appears to be bothering Spain.

[balkan boy]

is anyone else shocked to see them pressing us? I guess, "Press the pressing team", but they're playing with fire...

Balkan Boy

[A-Tex Devil]

Man these officials are awful. It seems like on almost every replay of a foul, they've called it on the wrong team!! And I mean it's going both ways...

They call a fould, show a replay, and it looks like the foul should have been on the other guy.

Love the D!!

[roywhite]

Nice first half overall.

Positives---US forcing turnovers, hitting 3's
Negatives---commiting fouls (not crazy about the officiating), Spain shooting well

Spain is good, but the US is better.

[Bob Green]

It's hard to complain about a 16 point halftime lead, but Spain played good in the 2nd Quarter. I expect we will have to hold off a run at some point during the second half. We are in a little bit of foul trouble and Spain isn't going to disappear.

[balkan boy]

Spain is shooting around 60%, but, if I heard correctly 17 turnovers -- in the first half...

We shot much better from behind the arc or this would be a lot closer -- not sure of the stats, but I remember Lebron hit 2, Prince 1, Carmelo 1, and, I think, Kobe 1. Maybe a couple of others as well...

B. Boy

[studdlee10]

I've been trying to take it easy on Jason Kidd, but he really doesn't bring anything to the table anymore. The offense runs smoother when Paul, Williams, or even James are facilitating things, and that's not even mentioning the fact that he can't score/shoot.

I've thought all along that Spain, as good as they are, are just a better matchup for the USA. They aren't going to slow the ball down and they like to run set offenses based off of motion instead of pick and rolls. Coach K knows motion offenses. They have some fantastic players, ie Calderon, Fernandez, but none of them have the athleticism to stay with the American players.

Go USA!

[heyman25]

In LA not on TV yet but following blog on NY Times. Seems like Wade is still playing great.

[dyedwab]

..is just amazing right now....its awesome to see how quick he is, especially coming off the injuries...right now, it looks like no one can guard him, and his quickness is critical to the domination of the defense

[roywhite]

I've been trying to take it easy on Jason Kidd, but he really doesn't bring anything to the table anymore. The offense runs smoother when Paul, Williams, or even James are facilitating things, and that's not even mentioning the fact that he can't score/shoot.
Go USA!

Agree with that. Seems like he got old overnight. Actually, Kidd was pretty badly outplayed by Paul in the playoffs.

US with a little sloppiness in the 2nd quarter and some turnovers of their own. Still, the fast pace definitely favors the US.

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

heyman, do you use direct tv? Any idea what channel/when it comes on?

[Edouble]

Good to see us hitting some threes. When the second half starts, I hope we come out of the gates firing, and get the thing out of reasonable reach in the first part of the third quarter. If we are hitting even somewhat from three and playing good D, it will be difficult for Spain to take apart a 20 point lead.

[Edouble]

When the second half starts, I hope we come out of the gates firing, and get the thing out of reasonable reach in the first part of the third quarter.

Yeah, what just happened was about what I was hoping for.

[heyman25]

No direct tv for me. I think they will show it at 10 am here on West Coast. Getting the start time is a challenge . The Olympics are on KNBC MSNBC USA And CNBC on my cable network Time Warner.

[juise]

heyman, do you use direct tv? Any idea what channel/when it comes on?

I'm on the west coast too and am watching a nice streaming version here (http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/live/index.html).

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

I'm on the west coast too and am watching a nice streaming version here (http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/live/index.html).

you saved the day

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

do your feet not have to be set to draw a charge in FIBA?

wow.

[juise]

you saved the day

Sorry it wasn't until halfway through the third period. I'm not an early riser. :)

I'm really getting spoiled by the lack of commentary and pure basketball noise, though.

[roywhite]

Coach K's devilish defenders and dunkers 119
Insensitive Spanish jokesters 82

[heyman25]

Thanks Juise
USA looking strong.
Like listening to Breen and Doug Collins will watch what I missed

[miramar]

The US forced 28 turnovers and had a 24-7 advantage on points off turnovers. With this kind of effort, not to mention an impressive performance on their threes, the defending worlds champs looked like a D-League team.

[moonpie23]

this was the team that was supposed to beat our ...? they were gonna pack the zone in on us? they were gonna 3-pt shoot us to death? they were gonna pick and roll us?


guess they were playing possum too..

what will the haters have to say now?

[moonpie23]

i don't like marc gasol any more than his brother...

[DevilDan]

The USA RULED today. They finally added 3's & FT's to their game, and kept up the defensive pressure for most of the game. Yet, again ... every time our guys took a breath, Spain had good moments.

We simply need to bring (and I'm not a Nolan Richardson fan) 40 MINUTES OF HELL on D, and keep our balance of points off TO's / cashing in on open shots / making our FT's, and this team will dominate in the medal round.

Others have commented that they look a lot "like DUKE" out there -- makes for good film study for our boys in about 10 weeks, HUH ? HAAAAA ! GO DUKE !

[billybreen]

It worked last time, so I'll say Spain by 5.

I'm really good at this. I'm picking the US to lose every game from here on out.

Great performance! And it's super nice listening to a fellow Breen doing the play-by-play.

[Genedoc]

do your feet not have to be set to draw a charge in FIBA?

wow.

Plenty of others can comment more thoroughly on this than I can, but your feet don't have to be "set" at any level of basketball that I know of to draw a foul. It's one of those canards that announcers throw around as if they've a clue what they're talking about.

[hc5duke]

Anyone else catch the commentator talking about how coach K has pretty much gone to an 8-man rotation after the first 5 minutes, and that's been good for the team? Sounds very familiar except usually that's mentioned as a fault :rolleyes:

I'm pissed at Comcast/NBC for not showing this live. Just yesterday, on the online scheulde, it shows "7am PDT", but it didn't start until 10am PDT, and they've updated the schedule. Only at half-time here...

[devildeac]

I'm really good at this. I'm picking the US to lose every game from here on out.

Great performance! And it's super nice listening to a fellow Breen doing the play-by-play.

I heard rumblings and rumorings by the Weaufxgods that this is not permitted either. They have posted here before and made declarations to that effect so please be very cautious.

[sagegrouse]

I'm pissed at Comcast/NBC for not showing this live. Just yesterday, on the online scheulde, it shows "7am PDT", but it didn't start until 10am PDT, and they've updated the schedule. Only at half-time here...

The game was live on the Olympics Basketball HD Channel. It is 754 on DirecTV, but I believe local cable systems have been picking up the feed as well.

sagegrouse

[moonpie23]

i don't like marc gasol any more than his brother...


in fact....i think, with the exception of yao ming, i am gonna start hatin on every single NBA player that goes home and plays AGAINST us in the fiba or olympics....

[Jumbo]

in fact....i think, with the exception of yao ming, i am gonna start hatin on every single NBA player that goes home and plays AGAINST us in the fiba or olympics....

Huh? I'm sure that's just going to crush all those international players ...

[hc5duke]

The game was live on the Olympics Basketball HD Channel. It is 754 on DirecTV, but I believe local cable systems have been picking up the feed as well.

sagegrouse

Comcast supposedly added 5 channels for the Olympics, but none of them is the basketball channel.

[moonpie23]

Huh? I'm sure that's just going to crush all those international players ...

it might.....look what my hatin' did to the tarholes in the final four...

[Duvall]

in fact....i think, with the exception of yao ming, i am gonna start hatin on every single NBA player that goes home and plays AGAINST us in the fiba or olympics....

Why?