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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Texas/NC

    Olympic Basketball- Spain Thread

    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.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    USA by 20.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk, VA
    <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>
    Bob Green

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    my prediction: An epic battle with lots of foul issues and head-scratching officiating.

  5. #5

    Usa

    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?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk, VA
    The USA vs. Spain game is Saturday at 10:15 pm in Beijing which equals 10:15 am EDT.
    Bob Green

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Texas/NC
    Has anyone else seen Rubio? I have just been very underwhelmed by him considering all the hype...

  8. #8
    It worked last time, so I'll say Spain by 5.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Atlanta, GA
    'Melo and Kobe start bombing threes in the third quarter.

    USA over Spain: 103-81

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Inman, SC & Fort Myers, FL
    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Green View Post
    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?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Quote Originally Posted by mgtr View Post
    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.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by roywhite View Post
    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.

  13. #13

    Ricky

    Quote Originally Posted by BlueintheFace View Post
    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.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    The Triangle
    Quote Originally Posted by tbyers11 View Post
    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.

  15. #15
    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.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, North Carolina
    Quote Originally Posted by watzone View Post
    Scheduling snafu! Same time as Meet the Devils and football scrimmage.
    DVR to the rescue!

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Lewisville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Johnboy View Post
    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.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Quote Originally Posted by BlueintheFace View Post
    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.

  19. #19

    Ricky

    The Washington Post has an interesting article on Rubio.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...l?hpid=topnews

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Connersville, IN
    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.

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