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Olympic Fan
08-04-2012, 01:25 PM
I was going to put this in the Olympic basketball thread, but I see that is locked. I guess this is now the thread for all Olympic basketball (if not, feel free to move it).

I was going to point out that with Russia's 77-74 win over Spain (amazingly low scoring game BTW), it now looks like Russia is a lock to finish first in Group B. The USA still needs to beat Argentina Monday to win Group A (unless Nigeria upsets Argentina later today -- that would clinch it for the US).

As for today's game, I'm relieved and pleased that the US pulled it out. It reminds me of 1976, when the US had a thriller against Puerto Rico in the in preliminary round. A loss would be embarrassing, but not fatal to gold medal hopes. The same applies to the Argentine game Monday -- the US is already a lock for the medal round. They're just playing for their perfect record and for seeding.

Lithuania, 1-4, can still qualify for the medal round if they beat Tunisia Monday. I'm assuming Argentina beats Nigeria later today. That means the USA would still need to beat Argentina Monday to win Group A (otherwise, it's likely to end in a three-way tie between the USA, France and Argentina -- not sure how the tiebreaker would work, since they all would have split with each other). Let's make it simple -- the USA wins Monday and Group A is 1. USA, 2. France (they get Tunisia Monday), 3. Argentina and 4, Lithuania.

Group B is much harder to figure out -- even though we know Russia is No. 1. Spain plays Brazil Monday and the winner is definitely No. 2. But the loser could be No. 3 or No. 4, depending on what Australia does. The Aussies have winless Great Britain later today and if they win that, they play Russia for for a chance to finish as high as third. However, if they lose to the Brits, the home team can secure a spot in the medal round by beating winless China Monday ... so today's Great Britain-Aussie game is HUGE.

The USA (provided we beat Argentina or win the three-way tiebreaker) will open the medal round against the No. 4 seed from Group B. That's probably going to be the winner of the GB/Aussie game today. Beyond that, my crystal ball is foggy.

BTW, does anybody else think the FIBA format is weird -- 12 teams each play five preliminary round games to eliminate just four of the 12 teams. After that, it's three sudden death games for the gold. That's just bizarre.

hurleyfor3
08-04-2012, 05:29 PM
BTW, does anybody else think the FIBA format is weird -- 12 teams each play five preliminary round games to eliminate just four of the 12 teams. After that, it's three sudden death games for the gold. That's just bizarre.

I noticed that, but the only real alternative is a four-team medal round. Perhaps the existing format maximizes revenue.

Newton_14
08-04-2012, 09:20 PM
Use this thread for news on the non-USA teams and games. I will put up Pre/In-game & post game threads for each remaining USA game moving forward.

subzero02
08-04-2012, 10:21 PM
Who watched great britain versus australia...It was like watching a fastball being turned around for an out of the park home run... In super slow mo

JasonEvans
08-05-2012, 12:10 PM
I love looking at FIBA standings at events like the Olympics. It is so ridiculous.

Check out the standings (http://london2012.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/12/olym/p/eid/6232/sid/6232/group-standing.html) in Group B, for example. Great Britain has 4 points, just 2 points behind Australia. But, upon closer examination we see that the Brit team has not won a single game. How could they have 4 points?

Well, it is because FIBA gives you 2 points for a win and 1 point for a loss. Who gives points for losses?!?!?! In theory, if games were not played on the same day, a team that was 0-3 could be ahead of a team that was 1-0 in the standings. What sense does that make?

-Jason "FIBA -- making losing worth something" Evans

Indoor66
08-05-2012, 12:22 PM
I love looking at FIBA standings at events like the Olympics. It is so ridiculous.

Check out the standings (http://london2012.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/12/olym/p/eid/6232/sid/6232/group-standing.html) in Group B, for example. Great Britain has 4 points, just 2 points behind Australia. But, upon closer examination we see that the Brit team has not won a single game. How could they have 4 points?

Well, it is because FIBA gives you 2 points for a win and 1 point for a loss. Who gives points for losses?!?!?! In theory, if games were not played on the same day, a team that was 0-3 could be ahead of a team that was 1-0 in the standings. What sense does that make?

-Jason "FIBA -- making losing worth something" Evans

Doesn't everybody get a trophy today?

Olympic Fan
08-05-2012, 12:41 PM
I noticed that, but the only real alternative is a four-team medal round. Perhaps the existing format maximizes revenue.

What's so wrong with a four-team medal round? Use the preliminary round to eliminate eight of the 12. The top two teams in each group go into the medal round. That does eliminate four games ...

Or could give the group winners a bye into the semifinals and led the 2nd/3rd place teams play in the quarters -- same number of rounds and just two less games overall. That way you eliminate half after the preliminary round.

awhom111
08-06-2012, 12:08 AM
Well they need to give teams 1 point for a loss so that they can give 0 points for a forfeit or the foul-out trick that Qatar tried at the 2011 Asian Championships.

The games for tomorrow will be interesting. Russia and Australia are playing without either team caring about the result. Lithuania is going to try to finish off Tunisia and clinch their own spot. Nigeria will know if they still have a chance when they face France with the French wanting to win to earn the second spot in the group. Great Britain and China will also play a meaningless game although I am sure the home fans would like to see a win and it may be the last time that the team competes in this form. As mentioned in another thread, both Spain and Brazil might be trying to lose to put themselves on the theoretically weaker part of the bracket. The United States and Argentina will know exactly what needs to be done to win the group by the end of the day.

What was wrong with the old Non-USA Teams thread, wherever it dropped down the page to? :p

burnspbesq
08-06-2012, 12:14 PM
Lithuania and France both took care of business.

Lithuania left it late, outscoring Tunisia 26-9 in the fourth to erase a four-point deficit. Marty did not start, played only eight minutes, and did not score.

France won by only six, as Nigerian guard Chamberlain Oguchi lit them up for 35. France had 24 assists on 30 made field goals.

Newton_14
08-06-2012, 09:19 PM
Well they need to give teams 1 point for a loss so that they can give 0 points for a forfeit or the foul-out trick that Qatar tried at the 2011 Asian Championships.

The games for tomorrow will be interesting. Russia and Australia are playing without either team caring about the result. Lithuania is going to try to finish off Tunisia and clinch their own spot. Nigeria will know if they still have a chance when they face France with the French wanting to win to earn the second spot in the group. Great Britain and China will also play a meaningless game although I am sure the home fans would like to see a win and it may be the last time that the team competes in this form. As mentioned in another thread, both Spain and Brazil might be trying to lose to put themselves on the theoretically weaker part of the bracket. The United States and Argentina will know exactly what needs to be done to win the group by the end of the day.

What was wrong with the old Non-USA Teams thread, wherever it dropped down the page to? :p

Blame that on me. Poor attempt at thread management. After the snafu, I opened this new thread. Mainly trying to keep this thread focused on non-USA related teams, and use the standard pre/in & post game threads here on out for our USA guys. Apologies for the confusion created by closing the other thread.

awhom111
08-07-2012, 10:01 PM
Interesting note about both the men's and women's basketball tournaments. In both cases, four European teams are on one side of the quarterfinal bracket and four non-European teams are on the other set of quarterfinals.

burnspbesq
08-08-2012, 10:58 AM
Lithuania had chances in the fourth, but poor offensive execution did them in.

Kirilenko led Russia with 19 and 14.

Lithuania misses the semifinals for the first time ever.

Duvall
08-08-2012, 11:02 AM
Lithuania had chances in the fourth, but poor offensive execution did them in.

How is that possible? I thought the Lithuanians understood basketball at a much deeper level.

COYS
08-08-2012, 12:39 PM
France and Spain are in a Big 10 style slug fest heading into the 4th. France is clinging to a 53-51 lead.

COYS
08-08-2012, 12:53 PM
Wow, points are hard to come by in the France/Spain clash. 58-57 with under four to go. Next basket wins . . . or at least that's what it seems like.

COYS
08-08-2012, 12:56 PM
Wow, points are hard to come by in the France/Spain clash. 58-57 with under four to go. Next basket wins . . . or at least that's what it seems like.

Ok, so maybe I was right. No scoring at all in the past 4 minutes. Spain with a chance to extent their lead at the FT line.

COYS
08-08-2012, 01:08 PM
Well, Spain FINALLY looks to have pulled it out. This was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen. France went 0-11 from the field over the last half of the fourth quarter. Spain didn't do much better, but France was so bad it didn't matter. Also, the officiating in this game was VERY lenient. The physical play eventually got out of control as France picked up two unsportsmanlike fouls. The last was a ridiculously blatant Chris Paul style punch by Batum on Navarro. I can't believe he wasn't ejected.

France is good, but Spain on all cylinders is waaaaay better. However, this version of Spain is definitely not the version from '08. Russia is going to be a very tough opponent for Spain in the next round.

MChambers
08-08-2012, 02:12 PM
The physical play eventually got out of control as France picked up two unsportsmanlike fouls. The last was a ridiculously blatant Chris Paul style punch by Batum on Navarro. I can't believe he wasn't ejected.

And the U.S. style of basketball, or at least Chris Paul's style, spreads to Europe.

Did Daniel Ewing get a technical?

AtlBluRew
08-08-2012, 02:48 PM
Well, Spain FINALLY looks to have pulled it out. This was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen. France went 0-11 from the field over the last half of the fourth quarter. Spain didn't do much better, but France was so bad it didn't matter. Also, the officiating in this game was VERY lenient. The physical play eventually got out of control as France picked up two unsportsmanlike fouls. The last was a ridiculously blatant Chris Paul style punch by Batum on Navarro. I can't believe he wasn't ejected.

France is good, but Spain on all cylinders is waaaaay better. However, this version of Spain is definitely not the version from '08. Russia is going to be a very tough opponent for Spain in the next round.

Batum should have been ejected! He followed a Paul-like punch to n*ts with a shove to the now-bent-over player's back and then challenged him when the player protested!

Bluedog
08-08-2012, 03:20 PM
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--blazers--nic-batum-punches-juan-carlos-navarro-in-groin-in-france-s-loss-to-spain.html

"I wanted to give him a good reason to flop," Batum said.

Also basically said that Spain lost on purpose to Brazil to avoid the U.S. To me, it looked like he didn't actually connect on his punch (hit his inner thigh it looked like, but I could be wrong), but his intent was very clear.

Obviously, France and Spain's teams aren't the biggest fans of each other....

pfrduke
08-08-2012, 10:23 PM
Batum should have been ejected! He followed a Paul-like punch to n*ts with a shove to the now-bent-over player's back and then challenged him when the player protested!

Cue the anthology (http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/34266/lowering-the-batum-an-anthology-of-basketball-crotch-shots). I like Julius Hodge's comments.

cf-62
08-09-2012, 10:17 AM
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--blazers--nic-batum-punches-juan-carlos-navarro-in-groin-in-france-s-loss-to-spain.html

"I wanted to give him a good reason to flop," Batum said.

Also basically said that Spain lost on purpose to Brazil to avoid the U.S. To me, it looked like he didn't actually connect on his punch (hit his inner thigh it looked like, but I could be wrong), but his intent was very clear.

Obviously, France and Spain's teams aren't the biggest fans of each other....

Just watching the game live, until the slo-mo showed the closed fist aimed at the jigglies (I, too, do not think he connected), I thought to myself "well, that one is truly a hard foul," - unlike the Turiaf foul where Rudy Fernandez essentially threw HIMSELF into the scorer's table, then started icing his boys while Calderon shot his free throws. I thought I was watching a European soccer match.

So I understand Batum's statement about the flop. However, there was still 26 seconds left in the game. Certainly if they can get out of the possession down 6 or 7, they can still at least TRY to make the comeback. Thus, intentionally committing an intentional foul at that point essentially ends the game for your team.

cato
08-09-2012, 12:49 PM
Just watching the game live, until the slo-mo showed the closed fist aimed at the jigglies (I, too, do not think he connected), I thought to myself "well, that one is truly a hard foul," - unlike the Turiaf foul where Rudy Fernandez essentially threw HIMSELF into the scorer's table, then started icing his boys while Calderon shot his free throws. I thought I was watching a European soccer match.

So I understand Batum's statement about the flop. However, there was still 26 seconds left in the game. Certainly if they can get out of the possession down 6 or 7, they can still at least TRY to make the comeback. Thus, intentionally committing an intentional foul at that point essentially ends the game for your team.

No way to excuse the punch, but Fernandez' flop* infuriated me. IMO, players should get suspended for something that.

*Truthfully, "flop" isn't a strong enough word. Dude got fouled on the arm and jumped in the air and crumpled to the ground as if his legs had been swept by a kid from Cobra Kai.

COYS
08-09-2012, 01:38 PM
No way to excuse the punch, but Fernandez' flop* infuriated me. IMO, players should get suspended for something that.

*Truthfully, "flop" isn't a strong enough word. Dude got fouled on the arm and jumped in the air and crumpled to the ground as if his legs had been swept by a kid from Cobra Kai.

This happens on occasion in the NBA, too, but it is amazing to me how much more flopping there is in FIBA. I feel like I forget just how absurd some of it can be and then am shocked all over again every Olympic and World Championship cycle. On the other hand, the officiating in the Olympics is suspect, at best.

Actually, the ONE area where I like Stern's (evil?) plan to have an NBA-sponsored World Cup of basketball that supplants the World Championships and the Olympics as the premier event is that it would finally make the rules of the biggest international competition fall in line with the rules of the premier basketball league. To me, it just makes sense to have NBA rules in international competitions. This is not meant to be an America-centric view of basketball, either. I love watching international basketball and respect the Euro leagues immensely. I also hope that the leagues in China and other places on the globe are able to take off. That being said, the NBA is unquestionably the place where basketball is played at the highest level. Wouldn't other countries want their players to learn how to play in a way that maximizes their ability to reach the highest professional level? Even if some of the rules remain different (defensive three seconds, goal-tending rules, etc.), it seems completely absurd to me that the court dimensions are different. The three point line and the length of the court absolutely need to be standardized across all the leagues in the world. Soccer leagues around the world are famous for their different styles (the defense-oriented Italian league, the technical La Liga, the offensively focused Dutch and Norweigian leagues and the physical, faced-paced style of the Premiership not to mention the countless leagues all over the world). But at least the size of the pitch was finally regulated. It would be so strange to play the World Cup on a smaller pitch than is used in La Liga or the Premiership. Why is it NOT strange to do this in basketball?

BD80
08-09-2012, 01:55 PM
... Soccer leagues around the world are famous for their different styles (the defense-oriented Italian league, the technical La Liga, the offensively focused Dutch and Norweigian leagues and the physical, faced-paced style of the Premiership not to mention the countless leagues all over the world). But at least the size of the pitch was finally regulated. It would be so strange to play the World Cup on a smaller pitch than is used in La Liga or the Premiership. Why is it NOT strange to do this in basketball?

Anyone remember when hockey rinks varied? Teams like Boston with small rinks liked big, physical players - but teams like Edmonton used small, fast players on much bigger sheets of ice.

flyingdutchdevil
08-09-2012, 03:02 PM
Soccer leagues around the world are famous for their different styles (the defense-oriented Italian league, the technical La Liga, the offensively focused Dutch and Norweigian leagues and the physical, faced-paced style of the Premiership not to mention the countless leagues all over the world). But at least the size of the pitch was finally regulated. It would be so strange to play the World Cup on a smaller pitch than is used in La Liga or the Premiership.

Great assessment. But I have to ask - Norwegian league? I'm a massive football fan (hence the name) and I couldn't name you one Norwegian team (compared to 10-12 of any of the other leagues you mentioned). You must have a) spent significant time in Norway, b) part of fully Norwegian, or c) or a descendant of Erik the Red.

dcdevil2009
08-09-2012, 05:06 PM
Soccer leagues around the world are famous for their different styles (the defense-oriented Italian league, the technical La Liga, the offensively focused Dutch and Norweigian leagues and the physical, faced-paced style of the Premiership not to mention the countless leagues all over the world). But at least the size of the pitch was finally regulated. It would be so strange to play the World Cup on a smaller pitch than is used in La Liga or the Premiership. Why is it NOT strange to do this in basketball?

I don't mean to steal your thunder, and feel free to come down hard on me if I'm wrong, but doesn't FIFA regulate the size of the pitch in ranges, rather than exact dimensions? Per Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football_pitch) an attempt to implement uniformity was never implemented.

awhom111
08-09-2012, 09:40 PM
Great assessment. But I have to ask - Norwegian league? I'm a massive football fan (hence the name) and I couldn't name you one Norwegian team (compared to 10-12 of any of the other leagues you mentioned). You must have a) spent significant time in Norway, b) part of fully Norwegian, or c) or a descendant of Erik the Red.

You would not consider Rosenborg to be among one of the bigger names from smaller leagues in Europe that some number of fans would recognize?


Anyways, on to the next game. Russia did beat Spain last time. It will critical for their dynamic duo of Kirilenko and Shved to get going to repeat the feat while they have a number of inside options to keep things interesting. Spain will be trying to return for another chance at the gold and will probably want their offense to be a bit better. It will be interesting to see if there will be two American coaches fighting for the gold on Sunday.

flyingdutchdevil
08-10-2012, 10:18 AM
You would not consider Rosenborg to be among one of the bigger names from smaller leagues in Europe that some number of fans would recognize?

I wouldn't. A smaller league, like Turkey, has a few powerhouses in Fenerbahce and Galatasaray. Porto is another really good example. Rosenborg may be the best team in Norway, but they have only progressed passed the group stage in the Champions League twice in history. There are definitely good / great Norwegian players (Solskjaer comes to mind), but I wouldn't rank the Norwegian league in the top 15 in Europe.

COYS
08-10-2012, 11:21 AM
I wouldn't. A smaller league, like Turkey, has a few powerhouses in Fenerbahce and Galatasaray. Porto is another really good example. Rosenborg may be the best team in Norway, but they have only progressed passed the group stage in the Champions League twice in history. There are definitely good / great Norwegian players (Solskjaer comes to mind), but I wouldn't rank the Norwegian league in the top 15 in Europe.

I wasn't trying to rank the leagues, I was just naming leagues based on their reputations for being offensively or defensively oriented. I guess the Norwegian league is a little bit more obscure. I just happened to think of it.

Awhom, that's a good point on field dimensions. I should have been more precise in my statement. There is variation, but the differences between pitches for international competitions have been standardized enough so that different styles of play are not needed to adapt to different pitches. Also, the penalty spot and the 18 yard box are all the same dimensions. In FIBA, lane is different, the three point line is different, the width and length of the court are different. The differences are not great, but on the smaller basketball court, those differences are magnified, especially with regard to the three point line. Heck, even the free throw line is slightly farther away in FIBA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_court#Dimensions). I don't think all of these differences are all that egregious on their own, but when you add them up with the slightly different rules, you get a different game.

It's like if, in addition to the varied pitch sizes in soccer there were also slightly different dimensions for the penalty area and 6-yard box in addition to some slightly altered rules . . . like a player only being offside if the ENTIRE body were behind the defense when the ball was played instead of just part, as it is now . . . or if defenders were able to use their hands if their feet were touching the goal line. These are kind of crude examples intended to be somewhat analogous to the different style of officiating in FIBA like the different goal tending rules and style of officiating in FIBA compared to the NBA.

Nothing on it's own is that big of a difference, but when they're all added up, it makes for a pretty big change. I feel like both FIBA and the NBA would benefit from coming closer to standardization, even it means the NBA compromises on some of FIBA's rules. It doesn't have to be a one-way street. I think standardization would help international basketball become more popular in the United States, as fans can more easily relate to the game. Similarly, I think it would help the international game as it would make scouting international players a lot easier for NBA teams and, from the other perspective, make American players more adaptable to playing in Europe. Also, it could set the stage for a sort of "Champions League" of basketball, which I would love to see, where the top club teams from each major league clash for the chance to truly be World Champs.

Bluedog
08-10-2012, 12:20 PM
Well, Russia leads Spain 12-9 after one quarter. Was 9-9 until a 3 with 6 second remaining.

dcdevil2009
08-10-2012, 12:29 PM
Awhom, that's a good point on field dimensions. I should have been more precise in my statement. There is variation, but the differences between pitches for international competitions have been standardized enough so that different styles of play are not needed to adapt to different pitches. Also, the penalty spot and the 18 yard box are all the same dimensions. In FIBA, lane is different, the three point line is different, the width and length of the court are different. The differences are not great, but on the smaller basketball court, those differences are magnified, especially with regard to the three point line. Heck, even the free throw line is slightly farther away in FIBA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_court#Dimensions). I don't think all of these differences are all that egregious on their own, but when you add them up with the slightly different rules, you get a different game.

It's like if, in addition to the varied pitch sizes in soccer there were also slightly different dimensions for the penalty area and 6-yard box in addition to some slightly altered rules . . . like a player only being offside if the ENTIRE body were behind the defense when the ball was played instead of just part, as it is now . . . or if defenders were able to use their hands if their feet were touching the goal line. These are kind of crude examples intended to be somewhat analogous to the different style of officiating in FIBA like the different goal tending rules and style of officiating in FIBA compared to the NBA.

Nothing on it's own is that big of a difference, but when they're all added up, it makes for a pretty big change. I feel like both FIBA and the NBA would benefit from coming closer to standardization, even it means the NBA compromises on some of FIBA's rules. It doesn't have to be a one-way street. I think standardization would help international basketball become more popular in the United States, as fans can more easily relate to the game. Similarly, I think it would help the international game as it would make scouting international players a lot easier for NBA teams and, from the other perspective, make American players more adaptable to playing in Europe. Also, it could set the stage for a sort of "Champions League" of basketball, which I would love to see, where the top club teams from each major league clash for the chance to truly be World Champs.

Yeah, I'm with you on all of your points, and didn't really add much by pointing out the ranges beyond provoking you into expanding your analogy. Jalen Rose isn't the most popular person on this board, but in his most recent podcast he was talking about the rule differences. [He also talked about speaking to Coach K in London to personally clear the air about his statements in the Fab Five documentary and apologize for how he felt when he was younger and how he conveyed it. I thought it was a classy move to follow up in person after having exchanged voicemails around the time it came out.]

Anyway, Jalen mentioned how ridiculous it was that the rules, including court dimensions, weren't just non-uniform internationally, but also domestically between college, high school, and professionally as well as from state to state on the high school level. I can see how some of the rule variations are understandable, such as the various time rules (shot clock, quarter length, etc.) or substitution limits in soccer, and can live with the foul limits changing for shorter games, but the goal tending rule is just absurd. If the NBA guys, US or otherwise, ever got used to it, imagine how different free throws or buzzer beaters would play out. So far, Iguodala is the only guy who seems to be taking advantage of it with some of his outback dunks, but if Chandler, Ibaka or the Gasols ever realize that anything on the rim is fair game, then then anything that doesn't swish should be swatted away as soon as it draws iron.

COYS
08-10-2012, 12:45 PM
Back to the non-USA olympic teams,

Spain looks TERRIBLE on offense against Russia. Absolutely terrible. The refs are lettin' 'em play in the post and this has led to the Gasols getting stripped or losing the ball quite a bit. Spain's shown limited ability to break down the Russian defense off the bounce and has been stuck jacking up threes, which they've been missing. On the other hand, Russia hasn't been that much better on offense. Going into half time the score is 31-20. Wow, only 20 points for Spain at the half!

Russia is a physical team with size and a surprising amount of quickness and versatility. No team can probably stop the USA on offense, but Russia seems like the most capable of all the Olympic teams of matching up with the USA.

flyingdutchdevil
08-10-2012, 12:47 PM
Back to the non-USA olympic teams,

Spain looks TERRIBLE on offense against Russia. Absolutely terrible. The refs are lettin' 'em play in the post and this has led to the Gasols getting stripped or losing the ball quite a bit. Spain's shown limited ability to break down the Russian defense off the bounce and has been stuck jacking up threes, which they've been missing. On the other hand, Russia hasn't been that much better on offense. Going into half time the score is 31-20. Wow, only 20 points for Spain at the half!

Russia is a physical team with size and a surprising amount of quickness and versatility. No team can probably stop the USA on offense, but Russia seems like the most capable of all the Olympic teams of matching up with the USA.

Does that mean that Mitch Kupchak can turn Gasol into LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicholas Batum? ;)

dcdevil2009
08-10-2012, 01:08 PM
Is Bo Ryan coaching Russia? This game stinks of the Big Ten (Twelve?) with Russia keeping it physical and making up for somewhat of a talent disparity by slowing down the game.

COYS
08-10-2012, 01:18 PM
46-46 at the end of three. Spain still can't do anything in the paint, but the threes have started falling. Meanwhile, Russia's missed a few opportunities on offense by firing quick shots and missing a few gimme's. 4th quarter is going to be interesting. If Spain can keep hitting threes, I think they win. But other than launching from behind the arc, they've hardly gotten anything. On the other side, Russia's offense has been pretty unreliable. It might not take much from Spain to outscore Russia over the final 10 minutes.

Bluedog
08-10-2012, 01:24 PM
I'm cheering for Russia. Seems like the crowd is really behind Spain, whistling constantly, Spain players complaining, etc. I'm surprised it's so one-sided with the crowd really. Reminds me of Duke games where it's us against the world.

COYS
08-10-2012, 01:27 PM
Russia is in trouble now. They've been completely inept on offense. A few open court turnovers have led to two easy scores for Spain. Another three and a rare post score from Marc Gasol has Spain ahead by six. Russia's lack of quality ball-handling is really becoming an issue. Turnovers on back to back possessions.

Billy Dat
08-10-2012, 01:28 PM
Russia's offense has been pretty unreliable. It might not take much from Spain to outscore Russia over the final 10 minutes.

The understatement of the year, these guys can't even get decent shots, and Spain is no defensive machine.

Interesting how Spain is forcing Russia to play small.