Men's USA Olympic Basketball Team

[moonpie23]

mello keeping the us team in the game...23 pts at the half

[-jk]

Game on!

As best I can find, this is the schedule for the Men's team:

Sunday, July 29 – USA vs. France – 9:30 a.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Tuesday, July 31 – Tunisia vs. USA – 5:15 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Thursday, August 2 – USA vs. Nigeria – 5:15 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Saturday, August 4 – Lithuania vs. USA – 9:30 a.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

Monday, August 6 – USA vs. Argentina – 5:15 p.m. ET – NBCSN, NBC Basketball

We'll try to keep this post updated with the ongoing TV schedule.

-jk

[Turtleboy]

What is NBCSN?

[cato]

What is NBCSN?

According to the google, something called NBC Sports Network.

[sagegrouse]

What is NBCSN?

Used to be Versus. But I am not sure what "NBC Basketball" means, although there is an alternate channel for NBC Sports (DirecTV 603 and 604).

sagegrouse

[mkirsh]

Used to be Versus. But I am not sure what "NBC Basketball" means, although there is an alternate channel for NBC Sports (DirecTV 603 and 604).

sagegrouse

Not sure if all providers have this, but there are few new channels that have been added to my Comcast line-up for various Olympic events, and one of them is basketball (the other soccer I think), where presumably they will televise all games. Not sure if this requires an additional subscription though. Also might be Comcast (or should I say Kabletown?) only given the NBC relationship.

[94duke]

NBC Sports Channel Finder (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45818878?ap=cf&v=1&aid=nbcsports&stnlt=15952%2C48639&nstnlt=false&rty=json&zip=27713&zccSubmit.x=0&zccSubmit.y=0&zccSubmit=find)

[fayfan20]

here's a story from Fayetteville about Coach K getting a fresh start even with many of the same players from a championship run, much like the case was from 91-92

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2012/07/27/1193481?sac=fo.sports

[awhom111]

Let's look at this one game at a time. First up is a pretty good test against France, a team with 5 guys who played last NBA season and 1 who will join them, along with 2 more ex-NBA players and 1 guy with a brief stay at a JC. This is a team that will be heavily reliant on Tony Parker. Kevin Seraphin is emerging as their key man inside and Nicholas Batum will provide some scoring on the wing. Stylistically this team is more similar to the United States than most other international teams and they have plenty of athleticism throughout their lineup. One good thing about facing them first is that they have not had much more practice than the United States and their form approaching the Olympics has been a bit inconsistent.

[Turtleboy]

NBC Sports Channel Finder (http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45818878?ap=cf&v=1&aid=nbcsports&stnlt=15952%2C48639&nstnlt=false&rty=json&zip=27713&zccSubmit.x=0&zccSubmit.y=0&zccSubmit=find)That did it! Thanks.

[awhom111]

I hope that our team comes out with the requisite fire after seeing how some of the favorites in the women's tournament started out today.

[Dukehky]

I will thank NBC for putting at least the stream online, but they don't have the commentary. I want to listen to Doug Collins talk about basketball, I miss it. I hate you NBC Sports Network, I hate you. I couldn't watch the Stanley Cup Finals because you existed and now I'm going to have to watch every USA Olympic Basketball game on my computer instead of on my really big tv that I worked a lot of hours to afford. Stupid Stupid Stupid.

NBCSN does not get its own channel where I live, gotta pay extra and have one of those snazzy boxes to get it.

[weezie]

Meh, well, I listened on the radio this morning. Tiresome international refs calling waaaaay too many dinky fouls on the USA.
K must have just said fire away at the basket in 2nd half. Shots for all.
And as for the front page article on the NBA suggesting a World Cup style series: ugh, it's ridiculous. I won't waste a second watching it.

[elvis14]

Anyone know if NBC is reshowing the game on any of the channels airing the Olympics? Couldn't watch today as I was forced to play golf instead :-)

[DukeFanSince1990]

Anyone know if NBC is reshowing the game on any of the channels airing the Olympics? Couldn't watch today as I was forced to play golf instead :-)

Channel 147 on Dish Network is the Olympic Basketball channel. They seem to be replaying games when they are not showing live ones. Hope this helps.

[Jarhead]

Try the link in this which I posted in the 2012 Summer Olympics thread on the Off Topic forum earlier today:


This morning, I watched the basketball game between France and the USA in which USA was the winner by a pretty good Margin. It was shown live by the NBC Sports cable channel. There are several channels showing live action just about all day long. Try MSNBC, CNBC and NBC Sports. Also, Try the NBC Olympics (http://www.nbcolympics.com/tv-listings/index.html#ste) site for a complete schedule rundown. The prime time NBC Network schedule should only be showing recaps of the day's action, which is the best they can do. They don't have to play it as they did last night, promising no spoilers. Just tell it like it is, as somebody once said.

[Greg_Newton]

We looked good today - I think France is a good matchup though, as they're basically USA-lite and lack any post scoring. I was surprised Iguodala got relegated to 11th man; he'd been playing well and thought he'd get a shot at Parker.

This team has had some spectacular 2nd quarters. I think that's no coincidence; the depth of talent we have is going to overwhelm most teams at some point, even if they jump out to a good start. It's going to be hard for anyone but Spain and Argentina to keep up with the waves we can continue send out there, IMO, even if we're not playing perfect basketball. It must be a nightmare to give a heroic effort for almost a half against the best players in the world, then have a guy like Russell Westbrook charge off the bench completely fresh to pick you up 94 feet from the basket. I thought "battle of attrition" was a good way to put.

In any case, congrats to K for defeating the Blue Devils! :p

[roywhite]

We looked good today - I think France is a good matchup though, as they're basically USA-lite and lack any post scoring. I was surprised Iguodala got relegated to 11th man; he'd been playing well and thought he'd get a shot at Parker.

This team has had some spectacular 2nd quarters. I think that's no coincidence; the depth of talent we have is going to overwhelm most teams at some point, even if they jump out to a good start. It's going to be hard for anyone but Spain and Argentina to keep up with the waves we can continue send out there, IMO, even if we're not playing perfect basketball. It must be a nightmare to give a heroic effort for almost a half against the best players in the world, then have a guy like Russell Westbrook charge off the bench completely fresh to pick you up 94 feet from the basket. I thought "battle of attrition" was a good way to put.

In any case, congrats to K for defeating the Blue Devils! :p

Or pick up the length of the FIBA court, 28 meters (a little less than 92 feet). But, yes, Westbrook's speed and athletic ability stands out even on this USA roster. I thought LeBron was terrific; he just seems in charge on the court.

The whistle ball aspect of the game today was tiresome.

How about Kirilenko going 14 for 17 from the field?

[flyingdutchdevil]

Or pick up the length of the FIBA court, 28 meters (a little less than 92 feet). But, yes, Westbrook's speed and athletic ability stands out even on this USA roster. I thought LeBron was terrific; he just seems in charge on the court.

The whistle ball aspect of the game today was tiresome.

How about Kirilenko going 14 for 17 from the field?

Not sure if this is the best Team USA ever, but it is hands-down the best defensive Team USA ever. And that's where its strength lies. No NBA player will shoot a high % against this team because Coach K will absolutely prioritize that player and stick Westbrook/Lebron/Iggy/Chandler on them. It happened to Parker in the France game and I expect it to happen in the future.

Ginobbli was an outlier - I didn't understand how he got everything that he wanted. But that was an exhibition game. This is the Olympics.

[Billy Dat]

Not sure if this is the best Team USA ever, but it is hands-down the best defensive Team USA ever. And that's where its strength lies. No NBA player will shoot a high % against this team because Coach K will absolutely prioritize that player and stick Westbrook/Lebron/Iggy/Chandler on them. It happened to Parker in the France game and I expect it to happen in the future.

Ginobbli was an outlier - I didn't understand how he got everything that he wanted. But that was an exhibition game. This is the Olympics.

Team USA looked really sharp, and the point flyingdutch made about defense can't be overstated.

To date, the primary weaknesses I see are as follows:
-Slow starts that allow the other team to hang around
-Quick contested jumpers when we've built a lead - or, more generally, a loss of focus on offensive continuity once we've built a 15+ point lead
-A tendency, when we've built a lead, for guys to leak out looking for fast break points when the defense has deflected the ball. Time and again, we get a deflection, 3 of 5 guys start booking for the other end of the court, and the other team grabs the loose ball and gets an easy look.

Other than that, I think the height dis-advantage stuff is wildly overblown, that hasn't been an issue yet. K still seems to be toying with the rotations, Love and Harden got a lot more time early in the France game than in prior games. With Tunisia and Nigeria up this week, we likely won't get much of a test.

Two other quick things:
-How sick was Lebron's full court bounce pass to a streaking KD in the first quarter?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upz0gN2xhuw
-Team USA has been having a lot of fun with Instagrams on Twitter. Kevin Love has been catching a lot of guys sleeping, etc. Today, K was the target as he did some yoga:
http://instagram.com/p/NtNp1EM9yI/

[flyingdutchdevil]

Team USA looked really sharp, and the point flyingdutch made about defense can't be overstated.

To date, the primary weaknesses I see are as follows:
-Slow starts that allow the other team to hang around
-Quick contested jumpers when we've built a lead - or, more generally, a loss of focus on offensive continuity once we've built a 15+ point lead
-A tendency, when we've built a lead, for guys to leak out looking for fast break points when the defense has deflected the ball. Time and again, we get a deflection, 3 of 5 guys start booking for the other end of the court, and the other team grabs the loose ball and gets an easy look.

Other than that, I think the height dis-advantage stuff is wildly overblown, that hasn't been an issue yet. K still seems to be toying with the rotations, Love and Harden got a lot more time early in the France game than in prior games. With Tunisia and Nigeria up this week, we likely won't get much of a test.

Two other quick things:
-How sick was Lebron's full court bounce pass to a streaking KD in the first quarter?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upz0gN2xhuw
-Team USA has been having a lot of fun with Instagrams on Twitter. Kevin Love has been catching a lot of guys sleeping, etc. Today, K was the target as he did some yoga:
http://instagram.com/p/NtNp1EM9yI/

Lebron has really surprised me. On this team, he is far and away the best player. His IQ is off the charts. That bounce pass to Durant was incredible, and not because of the accuracy nor ability to pull it off with 2 defenders in the way. It's the speed of the decision making. He gets the outlet pass from Chandler and within 0.5 seconds releases the ball. He basically knew what he was going to do once Chandler touched the basketball on the rebound. Incredible.

He may have the best IQ for a superstar since Magic/Bird. If he gets Kobe's or Jordan's hunger and desire... I don't even want to think about that.

[Billy Dat]

Anthony Davis Avenges Aminu Timberlake
http://yfrog.com/ocd0edpdj

The kindler, gentler, social-media invigorated. media-employed Laettner is a source of daily interest.

[mkirsh]

-Team USA has been having a lot of fun with Instagrams on Twitter. Kevin Love has been catching a lot of guys sleeping, etc. Today, K was the target as he did some yoga:
http://instagram.com/p/NtNp1EM9yI/

Just one of the many adjustments from working with professionals - I suspect that if a Duke player had posted a picture like that it would probably be the last thing he ever did!

[Ichabod Drain]

Anthony Davis Avenges Aminu Timberlake
http://yfrog.com/ocd0edpdj

The kindler, gentler, social-media invigorated. media-employed Laettner is a source of daily interest.

That is hillarious. I wonder if Kentucky fans will accept this and call it even stevens haha!

[BD80]

...
-Team USA has been having a lot of fun with Instagrams on Twitter. Kevin Love has been catching a lot of guys sleeping, etc. Today, K was the target as he did some yoga:
http://instagram.com/p/NtNp1EM9yI/

I predict we will see this picture repeatedly, with a variety of coaches photoshopped into the chair.

[awhom111]

Back to the actual games, tomorrow is theoretically going to be the easiest game for this team. This is the one where the advance scout comes in handy because there are basically no players that the coaching staff would be familiar with. Tunisia fell behind against Nigeria, who they had beat out for Africa's automatic spot, but they did end the game on a strong note. Since the outcome of this game is not likely to be in doubt, it is worth a look to see what happens in the other games. France and Argentina will be a very interesting matchup for the final standings with both teams likely to believe that their qualification is pretty assured. Lithuania and Nigeria is an interesting matchup since they just faced each other back in the final Qualifying Tournament with Nigeria winning. Nigeria will need to get back into the groove they found as they beat Greece while Lithuania is going to try to pick themselves up after the last game.

In the other group, China and Russia will be a good test for both teams to prove themselves as they fight for qualification and possibly a decent finish in the group. Spain and Australia would not seem to be a close matchup, but they played a pair of warmup games not that long ago and Australia was very tough in those. Great Britain will be fighting to provide something for the home fans to cheer about.

[gep]

I only saw the boxscore on ESPN for the Tunisia game... Kobe only had 9 minutes, everyone else 14 or more. For those that saw the game, was any reason mentioned why Kobe didn't get much time? Just curious... not trying to "start anything".:confused:

[dukejim1]

I only saw the boxscore on ESPN for the Tunisia game... Kobe only had 9 minutes, everyone else 14 or more. For those that saw the game, was any reason mentioned why Kobe didn't get much time? Just curious... not trying to "start anything".:confused:

He played awful for the minutes he played but I'm sure he was limited because of K's desire to rest him.

[gep]

Thanks... and, isn't Kobe the "oldest" member of the team? In any case, rest is good

[BD80]

Thanks... and, isn't Kobe the "oldest" member of the team? In any case, rest is good

It's not just the years, its the miles. Straight from high school to the NBA in 1996, playing for a team that made consistent deep playoff runs. He has close to 1,400 games under his belt.

[SupaDave]

It's not just the years, its the miles. Straight from high school to the NBA in 1996, playing for a team that made consistent deep playoff runs. He has close to 1,400 games under his belt.

Actually Kobe is kinda playing the "Bird" role on this year's team. He's not expected to play heavy minutes unless needed. And with the Thunder cats playing so hard I doubt they'll need him until they play Spain - and that's debatable...

[licc85]

That is hillarious. I wonder if Kentucky fans will accept this and call it even stevens haha!

No chance

[KYtotheCore]

http://espn.go.com/olympics/summer/2012/basketball/story/_/id/8220807/2012-olympics-anthony-davis-impresses-blowout-tunisiaNice blog. UK fans becoming Laettner fans (according to postings on other forums).

[CDu]

I only saw the boxscore on ESPN for the Tunisia game... Kobe only had 9 minutes, everyone else 14 or more. For those that saw the game, was any reason mentioned why Kobe didn't get much time? Just curious... not trying to "start anything".:confused:

Bryant picked up 3 early fouls and had to go to the bench. With the bench rolling, I guess Coach K felt no need to bring Bryant back for major minutes.

[Billy Dat]

Thoughts on the Tunisia game:

I think it's easy to look at the schedule and decide to skip watching games like Tunisia and Nigeria because Team USA is such a prohibitive favorite. However, I encourage everyone to watch because, with the age restrictions being discussed for Olympic basketball, you never know if we'll ever see an American team like this again. This team will only play together a maximum of 6 more times. Even in blowouts, though, the other teams are playing really hard because it is their "one shining moment" and our guys play hard all the time. As a result, you are always seeing things you may never see again, such as:
-Lebron, leading the break, throwing a behind-the-back look away feed to a streaking Durant for a dunk
-Durant, shoulder shimmying with his dribble at the foul line, drawing the defense, and hitting Anthony Davis for an alley-oop
-Carmelo missing a fallaway in the lane and Iggy swooping in for the slam
-The Dream-Team-esque scene of Tunisian player of the game, Ben Romdhane, meeting Kobe in the post-game handshake line with a Sharpie and asking him to sign his sneaker (well, maybe they are likely to show that one on SportsCenter a few time).
-The constant bench reaction shots as these guys cheer for each other.
Bottom line, these games are fun to watch from start to finish. A few other observations.

-I am not usually one to chirp about the refs but, man, we do get the short end of the stick on the calls in nearly every game. It's comical. Lebron can come ripping through the lane for a dunk and get whacked across the chest with no call, but we get whistled for every minor reach-in and attempted blocked shot.

-The starters stunk tonight, but the second 5 (Melo, Love, Iggy, Westbrook and Williams) were dominant. That line-up had to be close to +50.

-Anthony Davis is getting better and better. When he is in, you can see that the guys on the team just want to throw him alley-oops on every play. Last night, he converted 4-5 such plays. I get very excited when he enters the game. Monty Williams was over there watching his young buck - smart move, coach.

-When you watch the games, and parse K's post-game comments, you can tell how important Lebron is to the team. When he's on the court, he is perfectly content to be the straw the stirs the drink. On offense, he's just looking to get everyone else off, especially Durant. On defense, he's calling the shots. When he feels he has to, he looks for scoring opportunities but doesn't really force anything. With the NBA championship under his belt, he is playing like he can do anything he wants out there with 100% quiet confidence.

-Aside from Lebron and Durant, the starting 5 has not impressed me. Kobe still feels like a soloist amongst a collective, Chandler seems tentative (maybe because of the foul trouble he keeps getting in) and Paul seems to lack the energy and sense of urgency I feel from Williams and Westbrook when they come off the bench. I don't think it's a big problem, just an observation. In terms of Kobe's limited minutes last night, K said he was trying to get more minutes for guys like Iggy who haven't been playing as much. Even though everyone says they don't care about minutes - K and the coaches are smart to recognize that they need to get these guys on the floor as much as they can.

-Every time Tunisia's Mohamed Hadidane scored and they said his name, all I kept thinking was "Hadidane, we like to party"....I hope you were watching, Slick Rick!

[Turtleboy]

On the front page DBR says the next game is at 10:15, not sure if it is AM or PM, but this thread still says 5:15. Anyone know which is right?

[-jk]

On the front page DBR says the next game is at 10:15, not sure if it is AM or PM, but this thread still says 5:15. Anyone know which is right?

Both - 10:15 pm London time; 5:15 pm EDT.

-jk

[Turtleboy]

Both - 10:15 pm London time; 5:15 pm EDT.

-jkThanks.

[phaedrus]

On offense, he's just looking to get everyone else off, especially Durant.

Lebron's thrown so many ridiculous passes to Durant for easy lay-ups and dunks that it almost seems like he's trying to win him over after the Finals.

[Billy Dat]

Lebron's thrown so many ridiculous passes to Durant for easy lay-ups and dunks that it almost seems like he's trying to win him over after the Finals.

Indeed...or, he's trying to keep his enemies closer.:p In reality, I think Lebron, as many have said, is more Magic than Jordan in that he'd rather pass than score. In KD, he's got the ultimate offensive weapon, but, unlike Dwyane Wade, Durant is not gifted at getting his own shot. He really thrives in the catch and shoot and on the break. Plus, like Magic, he understands that for the team to maximize it's potential, KD needs to be scoring in bunches so he looks to make that happen. I think that's why K gushes over him so much, he is the best player in the world but is ultimately a guy who wants to win by lifting the level of everyone on the team. The difference between he and Kobe in that respect is incredible.

[COYS]

Indeed...or, he's trying to keep his enemies closer.:p In reality, I think Lebron, as many have said, is more Magic than Jordan in that he'd rather pass than score. In KD, he's got the ultimate offensive weapon, but, unlike Dwyane Wade, Durant is not gifted at getting his own shot. He really thrives in the catch and shoot and on the break. Plus, like Magic, he understands that for the team to maximize it's potential, KD needs to be scoring in bunches so he looks to make that happen. I think that's why K gushes over him so much, he is the best player in the world but is ultimately a guy who wants to win by lifting the level of everyone on the team. The difference between he and Kobe in that respect is incredible.

Yeah, actually, it's pretty clear that Durant is a better fit alongside Lebron than is Wade. Durant is still plenty good at creating his own shot, so it's not like Lebron has to do everything to get KD a look. But man, KD's efficiency skyrockets when he's got someone taking as much defensive attention away from him as Lebron does. Melo, too (in fact, Melo has moved so well off the ball at times that you can see what would have happened if he and the Knicks had been willing to give the Lin experiment an honest test). I love Kobe's intensity and drive, but there is no doubt in my mind that Durant can easily fill the shooting guard role on the Olympic team. Iguodala looks better on defense than Kobe has, too. As crazy as it is to say, I could see Kobe filling the Jason Kidd role on this team. He starts and provides veteran experience and leadership. However, the crunch time minutes go to other guys.

[Billy Dat]

I could see Kobe filling the Jason Kidd role on this team. He starts and provides veteran experience and leadership. However, the crunch time minutes go to other guys.

I am with you 100%. The only kink in that plan is the last 5 minutes of the 2008 Gold Medal Game. When things were starting to fall apart, Kobe took over and carried Team USA across the finish line. That doesn't make a world of difference to me, but I feel like it would to K. If Team USA were in that situation again, I feel like K would want Kobe in there. My response to that? Pull out the tape of the 2010 Worlds gold medal game and the 2012 NBA Finals...Lebron and KD have it covered, Coach!

[awhom111]

Tomorrow the United States faces Nigeria, which should be an interesting matchup. On paper, they should be a little bit stronger than Tunisia, but they have some interesting matchups with their height and length. Given the heavy ties and number of players born in the United States, it is almost like having a second American team in the Olympics. In years past, it was hard to get the strongest Nigerian team possible to all play at the same time, not just because of injuries or insurance issues like other national teams face, but also because of political issues, lack of funding, and downright poor organization. This is pretty much the best team that they have ever managed to assemble, and they probably could have won the African Championship with ease if they had a stronger team. On the other hand, their experience in the final Qualifying Tournament has helped prepare them for these Olympics. While Al-Farouq Aminu on the wing and Ike Diogu inside are the important scoring threats, their key player is Tony Skinn at the point. They really do not have adequate backup for him and will need him to do his best against the American three-headed point guard attack. The team may not have the skill level to match up with their counterparts, this is one of the few times where a team can match up at least credibly in terms of athleticism and size with the United States at the 2 through 4 positions. There are plenty of ACC and other ties for these players so you may remember a few from their college days in the not so distant past.

[moonpie23]

is the game being shown live right now? it's not on the NBC channel 640 on uverse like it was.....anyone got a channel?

[sagegrouse]

is the game being shown live right now? it's not on the NBC channel 640 on uverse like it was.....anyone got a channel?

Olympic Basketball Channel, which is 752 on DirecTV.

sage
'This game isn't too exciting but the GBr-Spain match-up was riveting in the 4th quarter -- thanks mostly to the one-man show performed by our man Luol'

[wilko]

1st half vs Nigeria is a gas US up big.
Interesting how no one has mentioned the lack of charges being taken/drawn so far in these Olympics

[Bluedog]

U.S. scores 49 points in the first quarter, which again is only 10 minutes long. Incredible. 11 of 14 from 3 in the quarter. U.S. 78, Nigeria 45 at half. Melo with 19 points, Kobe 16, Durant 14.

[hurleyfor3]

156-73. Holy crap.

[flyingdutchdevil]

156-73. Holy crap.

Looks like the US found their 3pt shot. I've said it here many a times - Melo is one of the most important players on this team. I know he probably won't mimic his performance here, but that was ridiculous. No player on Team USA has a better combination of size, rebounding ability, and 3pt shot. Those three make Melo so dangerous in international play.

Why doesn't he play PF in the NBA?

[JasonEvans]

That score is just ridiculous. Off the charts. How do you score 156 points in a 40 minute game?

This is what happens when the 3s are falling (29-for-46, 63%). Of course, we did fairly well shooting from 2 too (30-for-37, 81.1%). Lets put it this way, Rollie Massimino would have watched this game and said, "they sure shot well."

-Jason "Lebron only scored 6 points -- he sucks" Evans

[Class of '94]

That score is just ridiculous. Off the charts. How do you score 156 points in a 40 minute game?

This is what happens when the 3s are falling (29-for-46, 63%). Of course, we did fairly well shooting from 2 too (30-for-37, 81.1%). Lets put it this way, Rollie Massimino would have watched this game and said, "they sure shot well."

-Jason "Lebron only scored 6 points -- he sucks" Evans

The other amazing thing about the score was the fact that Coach K called the dogs off (they played zone and walked the ball up the court in order to give the Nigerian players a chance to get up the floor first) towards the end of the 3rd quarter/beginning of the 4th quarter; and they still crushed Nigeria by 83 pts. I'm telling you.....Team USA could've beet Nigeria by 100+ points if they wanted to by keeping the foot on the gas. That being said, kudos to K and the players for winning with class and respect for Nigeria.

[hurleyfor3]

It seemed the crowd was booing on a few possessions in the fourth quarter when the US was holding the ball. Geez, people don't even like stallball when we're winning by 80.

[JasonEvans]

By the way, not sure if anyone noticed by Luol Deng almost led Great Britain to a monumental upset. They lost to Spain 79-78. Luol had 26 points, 9 boards, and 7 assists.

-Jason "it would be great if GB could win a game... they probably won't make the Olympics in basketball again for many years" Evans

[Ichabod Drain]

Anybody see Davis go to check in in the first half only to realize he didn't have his jersey on? The whole bench was cracking up, even Coach K.

[muzikfrk75]

By the way, not sure if anyone noticed by Luol Deng almost led Great Britain to a monumental upset. They lost to Spain 79-78. Luol had 26 points, 9 boards, and 7 assists.

-Jason "it would be great if GB could win a game... they probably won't make the Olympics in basketball again for many years" Evans

Why didn't they foul? *facepalm*

[burnspbesq]

Why didn't they foul? *facepalm*

From the Great Book of Basketball Cliches, Chapter 4, Verse xxvii:

"Teams that aren't accustomed to winning find ways to lose."

[Greg_Newton]

1.88 points per shot... as a team... for the entire game. Think about that for a second. Even if you take away FTs, that's 1.77 points scored for every time we threw the ball at the rim today.

lol.

BTW, Tyson Chandler is such a Zoubek 2.0 it's not even funny. He's got the offensive-rebound-kicked-back-for-a-three-before-he-even-lands thing down pat.

[Newton_14]

1.88 points per shot... as a team... for the entire game. Think about that for a second. Even if you take away FTs, that's 1.77 points scored for every time we threw the ball at the rim today.

lol.

BTW, Tyson Chandler is such a Zoubek 2.0 it's not even funny. He's got the offensive-rebound-kicked-back-for-a-three-before-he-even-lands thing down pat.

To add to the craziness, Anthony scored his 37 points on 10 of 12 shooting in a grand total of 14 total minutes played.... as a sub..... Somewhere Vinny the Microwave is smiling....

[superdave]

I know this is waaaay early with games still being played this year, but here's an article (http://insider.espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/8225543/olympics-projecting-team-usa-roster-2016) projecting the possible 2016 roster for Team USA.

Spoiler alert: Kyrie Irving.

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

I know this is waaaay early with games still being played this year, but here's an article (http://insider.espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/8225543/olympics-projecting-team-usa-roster-2016) projecting the possible 2016 roster for Team USA.

Spoiler alert: Kyrie Irving.
Unless they enact that stupid age limit...

[NSDukeFan]

Thoughts on the Tunisia game:

I think it's easy to look at the schedule and decide to skip watching games like Tunisia and Nigeria because Team USA is such a prohibitive favorite. However, I encourage everyone to watch because, with the age restrictions being discussed for Olympic basketball, you never know if we'll ever see an American team like this again. This team will only play together a maximum of 6 more times. Even in blowouts, though, the other teams are playing really hard because it is their "one shining moment" and our guys play hard all the time. As a result, you are always seeing things you may never see again, such as:
-Lebron, leading the break, throwing a behind-the-back look away feed to a streaking Durant for a dunk
-Durant, shoulder shimmying with his dribble at the foul line, drawing the defense, and hitting Anthony Davis for an alley-oop
-Carmelo missing a fallaway in the lane and Iggy swooping in for the slam
-The Dream-Team-esque scene of Tunisian player of the game, Ben Romdhane, meeting Kobe in the post-game handshake line with a Sharpie and asking him to sign his sneaker (well, maybe they are likely to show that one on SportsCenter a few time).
-The constant bench reaction shots as these guys cheer for each other.
Bottom line, these games are fun to watch from start to finish. A few other observations.

-I am not usually one to chirp about the refs but, man, we do get the short end of the stick on the calls in nearly every game. It's comical. Lebron can come ripping through the lane for a dunk and get whacked across the chest with no call, but we get whistled for every minor reach-in and attempted blocked shot.

-The starters stunk tonight, but the second 5 (Melo, Love, Iggy, Westbrook and Williams) were dominant. That line-up had to be close to +50.

-Anthony Davis is getting better and better. When he is in, you can see that the guys on the team just want to throw him alley-oops on every play. Last night, he converted 4-5 such plays. I get very excited when he enters the game. Monty Williams was over there watching his young buck - smart move, coach.

-When you watch the games, and parse K's post-game comments, you can tell how important Lebron is to the team. When he's on the court, he is perfectly content to be the straw the stirs the drink. On offense, he's just looking to get everyone else off, especially Durant. On defense, he's calling the shots. When he feels he has to, he looks for scoring opportunities but doesn't really force anything. With the NBA championship under his belt, he is playing like he can do anything he wants out there with 100% quiet confidence.

-Aside from Lebron and Durant, the starting 5 has not impressed me. Kobe still feels like a soloist amongst a collective, Chandler seems tentative (maybe because of the foul trouble he keeps getting in) and Paul seems to lack the energy and sense of urgency I feel from Williams and Westbrook when they come off the bench. I don't think it's a big problem, just an observation. In terms of Kobe's limited minutes last night, K said he was trying to get more minutes for guys like Iggy who haven't been playing as much. Even though everyone says they don't care about minutes - K and the coaches are smart to recognize that they need to get these guys on the floor as much as they can.

-Every time Tunisia's Mohamed Hadidane scored and they said his name, all I kept thinking was "Hadidane, we like to party"....I hope you were watching, Slick Rick!

Thanks for the great post that convinced me to tune into the Nigeria game (especially the bolded argument.) I am very happy that I did, even though it was already over when I tuned in towards the end of the first quarter and the US already had 40 points.

[BD80]

Looks like the US found their 3pt shot. I've said it here many a times - Melo is one of the most important players on this team. I know he probably won't mimic his performance here, but that was ridiculous. No player on Team USA has a better combination of size, rebounding ability, and 3pt shot. Those three make Melo so dangerous in international play.

Why doesn't he play PF in the NBA?

He only plays like this for a coach he respects.

[NSDukeFan]

1.88 points per shot... as a team... for the entire game. Think about that for a second. Even if you take away FTs, that's 1.77 points scored for every time we threw the ball at the rim today.

lol.

BTW, Tyson Chandler is such a Zoubek 2.0 it's not even funny. He's got the offensive-rebound-kicked-back-for-a-three-before-he-even-lands thing down pat.

Maybe the 3-point shot could be used as a weapon sometime.

[Billy Dat]

Thanks for the great post that convinced me to tune into the Nigeria game (especially the bolded argument.) I am very happy that I did, even though it was already over when I tuned in towards the end of the first quarter and the US already had 40 points.

That's great...the Nigeria game was a perfect example of why one should tune in to these potential romps. It WAS a romp, but a historic romp.

Some other quick hitters:
-It may have been the most awesome offensive display I have ever seen where the other team was trying hard to defend
-Carmelo did the MJ-against-Portland-in-the-92-finals shrug when he hit his 8th or 9th three.
-Anthony Davis attempted to check into the game in the first half but realized that he wasn't wearing a jersey under his warm up. Bench hilarity ensued.
-There were a few fast break sequences where the ball never touched the ground and several consecutive touch passes ended in alley-oop dunks.
-Tony Skinn, who was part of that great George Mason Final Four team, was running the point for Nigeria. He was solid. Ike Diogu also looked good. Al Farouq Aminu....ehhh
-On the continuing story of dubious non-calls, Lebron had a fast break dunk which he executed despite being pushed in the back...no call. He had an identical breakaway later in the game and, feeling the defense coming, slowed down, shielded the ball, took some contact and again made a lay-up..no call. He had some words for the refs. Unless it's a guy like Westbrook where the defense literally can't catch him on a break, you may see more Team USA guys opting to avoid showy high flyers for fear of injury.

On to Lithuania and a showdown with Marty Pocius.

[Bluedog]

Why didn't they foul? *facepalm*

The thing that was particularly shocking about not fouling was the fact that is was Luol who had the fastest and best opportunity to foul and he backed off...After just making an amazing 3. Obviously, Luol is no dummy.

[HaveFunExpectToWin]

That's great...the Nigeria game was a perfect example of why one should tune in to these potential romps. It WAS a romp, but a historic romp.

Some other quick hitters:
-It may have been the most awesome offensive display I have ever seen where the other team was trying hard to defend
-Carmelo did the MJ-against-Portland-in-the-92-finals shrug when he hit his 8th or 9th three.
-Anthony Davis attempted to check into the game in the first half but realized that he wasn't wearing a jersey under his warm up. Bench hilarity ensued.
-There were a few fast break sequences where the ball never touched the ground and several consecutive touch passes ended in alley-oop dunks.
-Tony Skinn, who was part of that great George Mason Final Four team, was running the point for Nigeria. He was solid. Ike Diogu also looked good. Al Farouq Aminu....ehhh
-On the continuing story of dubious non-calls, Lebron had a fast break dunk which he executed despite being pushed in the back...no call. He had an identical breakaway later in the game and, feeling the defense coming, slowed down, shielded the ball, took some contact and again made a lay-up..no call. He had some words for the refs. Unless it's a guy like Westbrook where the defense literally can't catch him on a break, you may see more Team USA guys opting to avoid showy high flyers for fear of injury.

On to Lithuania and a showdown with Marty Pocius.

I can't think of a more impressive performance than yesterday's game. I knew the final score and still watched the entire replay. With 3 minutes to go in the 1st quarter, I was convinced I had read the box wrong. And then USA scores a boatload more to get to 49.

My favorite play had to be the Love to Westbrook alleyoop. Westbrooks eyebrows were at the rim.

[NSDukeFan]

I can't think of a more impressive performance than yesterday's game. I knew the final score and still watched the entire replay. With 3 minutes to go in the 1st quarter, I was convinced I had read the box wrong. And then USA scores a boatload more to get to 49.

My favorite play had to be the Love to Westbrook alleyoop. Westbrooks eyebrows were at the rim.

I certainly enjoy watching Love when he gets a rebound or takes the ball out of bounds after a basket. I am well aware of his well deserved reputation for the outlet pass and hadn't had a chance to see him display that much, but this is the perfect outlet (pun intended) for him to use that skill.

[flyingdutchdevil]

I can't think of a more impressive performance than yesterday's game. I knew the final score and still watched the entire replay. With 3 minutes to go in the 1st quarter, I was convinced I had read the box wrong. And then USA scores a boatload more to get to 49.

My favorite play had to be the Love to Westbrook alleyoop. Westbrooks eyebrows were at the rim.

You mean the double-alley-op that only exists in NBA Jam? That was ridiculous. I have never ever seen a play, or a game, like that. Given, Nigeria is no [insert strong Euro / S. America team here], but they aren't as bad as Tunisia either, a team that Team USA didn't play that well against. Furthermore, Nigeria is an athletic team and I'm surprised that the score was so damn high.

A few extra thoughts:
-Lebron is the most exciting player to watch. Bar none.
-Melo is, IMO, a top 3 player on this team in FIBA. Definitely not in the NBA, but no one's game translates better to FIBA than Melo's (including Love)
-Speaking of Love, all of this nonsense about Love being in the dog house isn't true anymore. Solid games in Olympic play only have proven that
-Chandler is a slowly becoming my favorite player on this team. Between his defense, great representation of his country, and praise for Coach K, there isn't a better role model
-Anthony Davis is crazy athletic. Nuff said.
-I don't think Kobe is playing the Jason Kidd role this year. I have a feeling that he and Coach K have an understanding where Kobe is the first to rest if Team USA is way up and the first in the game if Team USA needs help


Lastly, I've separated Team USA into three buckets (Note: this isn't a knock on any player but rather a comparison of NBA vs FIBA):

Better in FIBA:
-Melo
-Westbrook
-D. Williams

Better in NBA:
-Paul
-Kobe
-Love
-Harden

Same:
-Durant
-Lebron
-Chandler
-Iggy

[ThePublisher]

EPIC! HISTORIC! That was the most amazing offensive performance I've ever seen. It was like watching a video game set on easy...

[Billy Dat]

The thing that was particularly shocking about not fouling was the fact that is was Luol who had the fastest and best opportunity to foul and he backed off...After just making an amazing 3. Obviously, Luol is no dummy.

The GB team said they did foul Calderon once or twice and the refs didn't call it because they didn't want to work for another 5 minutes of gametime. Based on the FIBA officiating I have seen to date, that may be correct.

[Jderf]

That score is just ridiculous. Off the charts. How do you score 156 points in a 40 minute game?

Stretch that scoring rate out to the NBA-length 48 minutes, and it would have been 187 points. For comparison's sake. Ridiculous comparisons, that is. Most exciting blowout I have ever seen. A nonsensical game.

[mkirsh]

Stretch that scoring rate out to the NBA-length 48 minutes, and it would have been 187 points. For comparison's sake. Ridiculous comparisons, that is. Most exciting blowout I have ever seen. A nonsensical game.

Also by the same math, extrapolating Melo's performance last night to the 36 minutes a game he normally plays in the NBA he would have hit 26 threes and scored 95 points

[Jderf]

Also by the same math, extrapolating Melo's performance last night to the 36 minutes a game he normally plays in the NBA he would have hit 26 threes and scored 95 points

Hehe, not sure if we can even call it math, but it's pretty hilarious to think about.

[Billy Dat]

Also by the same math, extrapolating Melo's performance last night to the 36 minutes a game he normally plays in the NBA he would have hit 26 threes and scored 95 points

Which make's Wilt's 100 all the more remarkable, too bad there's no film of that game. Kobe's 81 was pretty epic, too. I guess anything over 70 qualifies as insane...Wilt, Kobe, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor and the Admiral are the only ones to do it in an NBA game. His Airness' highest ever was 69.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Which make's Wilt's 100 all the more remarkable, too bad there's no film of that game. Kobe's 81 was pretty epic, too. I guess anything over 70 qualifies as insane...Wilt, Kobe, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor and the Admiral are the only ones to do it in an NBA game. His Airness' highest ever was 69.

69 points ain't bad. Plus, Jordan had the most efficient game (points / FGA) of anyone on that list with the exception of David Thompson:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_players_wi th_most_points_in_a_game

[dcdevil2009]

Lastly, I've separated Team USA into three buckets (Note: this isn't a knock on any player but rather a comparison of NBA vs FIBA):

Better in FIBA:
-Melo
-Westbrook
-D. Williams

Better in NBA:
-Paul
-Kobe
-Love
-Harden

Same:
-Durant
-Lebron
-Chandler
-Iggy

I agree with this for the most part and would suggest that it's a combination of better teammates in FIBA games and a much larger comparative advantage in athleticism. Paul, Love, and Harden are much better in a half court court game, but out athleticism gives us such an advantage in transition and with pressure defense, that we haven't had a need to slow the ball down. Kobe is one of the greatest one on one players of all time and showed what he could do against sub-NBA caliber defenders in the first quarter against Nigeria, but when your surrounded by such great players, there's not really a need to run a lot of Kobe isos like the Lakers often rely on. Lastly, I'd say that Williams might belong in your last group because people forget how good he is in the NBA because Utah and NJ didn't get much exposure and Williams has had some nagging injury issues over the past couple of years. Basically, I don't see it as Williams playing better in international ball, just more people seeing how good he is.

As America gets into the elimination rounds where they will face more disciplined teams than Nigeria, who insisted on sending four guys to the offensive glass, continuously leading to USA transition threes, I'd expect to see guys like Paul, Chandler, and Love, who aren't the most athletic, but are more fundamentally sound, to play a bigger role.

[sagegrouse]

Which make's Wilt's 100 all the more remarkable, too bad there's no film of that game. Kobe's 81 was pretty epic, too. I guess anything over 70 qualifies as insane...Wilt, Kobe, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor and the Admiral are the only ones to do it in an NBA game. His Airness' highest ever was 69.

Pffft.... Everyone's scoring line yielded fewer than two points per FG attempt, although Melo was 2.3 yesterday with 37 points on 16 FG attmepts. Now here's a scoring line where the ratio is over three points per FG attempt:


11-13 shots
8-10 3pt shots
10-11 FTs
40 total points

3.1 points per shot

JJ Redick against UVa Jan 28, 2006.

sagegrouse
'Karl Malone and Bernard King had a ratio of two or better in their 61 and 60 point games'

[Billy Dat]

Pffft.... Everyone's scoring line yielded fewer than two points per FG attempt, although Melo was 2.3 yesterday with 37 points on 16 FG attmepts. Now here's a scoring line where the ratio is over three points per FG attempt:


11-13 shots
8-10 3pt shots
10-11 FTs
40 total points

3.1 points per shot

JJ Redick against UVa Jan 28, 2006.

sagegrouse
'Karl Malone and Bernard King had a ratio of two or better in their 61 and 60 point games'

Well played sir, that was some game....and any mention of Bernard brings a broad smile to my face.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8903/index.htm

[awhom111]

That Redick game has to be one of my favorite games that I was fortunate enough to see in person.

It is great that this blowout has got people posting about the team again. This thread was dead before this one and there was a lot less debate than back in the days of the squad selection and exhibition games.

Tomorrow is Lithuania, which will be another interesting matchup with a traditional power. A win should be enough to seal the top spot in the group thanks to the margin from yesterday and Lithuania will be looking to minimize damage even if they concede defeat. This Lithuania team has a few of its old guard looking for one last shot at glory for their country, but also has an interesting group of players in their prime including our own Marty Pocius. This team has as little post depth as the United States, so testing Jonas Valanciunas on the defensive end will force them to shuffle their lineup a lot although they have gone small a number of times so far. Linus Kleiza has been pretty critical on the offensive end, but the wily trio of Sarunas Jasikevicius, Darius Songaila, and Rimantas Kaukenas will also contribute. Jonas Maciulis and Renaldas Seibutis are probably the two important players that you are unlikely to be familiar with.

There are a number of other interesting games tomorrow as Russia faces Spain before the USA game, which will be a little bit too much for us on the West Coast to catch since it will be at 4:15am out here. Great Britain faces the first of two likely must-win games against Australia. Finally, it will be interesting to see how Nigeria picks itself up as they face Argentina.

[moonpie23]

Which make's Wilt's 100 all the more remarkable, too bad there's no film of that game. Kobe's 81 was pretty epic, too. I guess anything over 70 qualifies as insane...Wilt, Kobe, David Thompson, Elgin Baylor and the Admiral are the only ones to do it in an NBA game. His Airness' highest ever was 69.

Frank Selvy (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1141545/index.htm)

[chrishoke]

Marty kicking some NBA butt at half. US clinging to a 4 point lead.

[sagegrouse]

Marty kicking some NBA butt at half. US clinging to a 4 point lead.

Marty has five points, six assists. It's an ACC reunion on the Lithuanian side: Pocius, Songaila, Jasikevicius.

sagegrouse

[subzero02]

Pocius with a sweet and 1.... After a few exchanges it is 80-79 usa... With under 8 to play

[DevilWearsPrada]

With a little over 5 minutes to play, Team Usa up by 1. LTUMarty is playing good defense on Kobe and LeBron. Go Team USA!!!

Marty Pocius is proving just how athletic he really is in this Basketball game!

[jipops]

Lithuania is an excellent team, but if the US continues this level of defense there may not be a medal of any kind.

[sagegrouse]

14 points, seven assists, seven rebounds. -- sage