USA vs. Greece

[Djaughe]

Well it looks like every game (good or bad) will be entertaining to watch. I bet NBC is loving the attention this team is getting.

 

[Wally]

It's been a long time since my last post, but I can't help myself on this one - must say it....... Larry Brown is not doing a very good job with the personnel he has to use. I think the biggest problem is that he is trying to do what he was doing in Philly & Detroit and he hasn't had much time to know the player’s strengths & weaknesses. AI may have gotten 17 pts but was only 4 - 14 (29%). AI should not be getting the PT he is getting. Substitution pattern was not good at all and the defense (as Joe pointed out) was what Brown is comfortable with but is not suited for European 3 point players.

 

[Lars the Red]

It's been a long time since my last post, but I can't help myself on this one - must say it....... Larry Brown is not doing a very good job with the personnel he has to use. I think the biggest problem is that he is trying to do what he was doing in Philly & Detroit and he hasn't had much time to know the player’s strengths & weaknesses. AI may have gotten 17 pts but was only 4 - 14 (29%). AI should not be getting the PT he is getting. Substitution pattern was not good at all and the defense (as Joe pointed out) was what Brown is comfortable with but is not suited for European 3 point players.

The only player I see not on the floor that would help is Anthony, and I posted earlier that his lack of PT is a self-inflicted wound. Guys are complaining about Boozer, but he has more 'polish' from his time at Duke and he better understands how to play against zones, than say Amare who is talented, but lacks any polish. I think Brown was hoping Steph could at least play some 2 guard and hit some outside shots, but that only leaves AI or Wade to run the point and Wade has looked completely out of control and has no outside shot. Odom is questionable, but he is a long body that can bang inside, can handle the ball some, can shoot occassionally, and can pass the ball pretty well. Shawn struggles inside with a game this physical and has had ball handling and passing issues thus far.

I don't know what you want Brown to do. He has 10 of the best players in the world playing against guys that have problems just making rosters in the NBA. Rumor has it, Brown's guys have been playing a superior brand of basketball since they were in diapers, so one would hope they could adjust enough to play a game they supposedly own.

 

[hafey2]

I agree with Wally. Jefferson should be stuck at the end of the bench with Okafor and Anthony and prolly Marion. LeBron has to play more. At 6-8 and his passing skills, he a great option to pass over the zone and make the entry pass, and he showed today he wants to play. I think Amare has to play more too. His athleticism will lead to easy points on the break and off the offensive glass and he has knack for creating fouls....I was not impressed by Boozer today. I don't like Marbury and AI on the floor at the same time. I also think Brown subs too frequently. He pulled Lebron and Amare too soon today.

 

[Lars the Red]

LeBron has to play more. At 6-8 and his passing skills, he a great option to pass over the zone and make the entry pass, and he showed today he wants to play.

He's still a liability from the outside, but your right, he showed excellent hustle today, and is a great spark. I thought he looked a little winded when Brown took him out, but I'd rather see guys tired from hustle, than benched for lack of effort.

I think Amare has to play more too. His athleticism will lead to easy points on the break and off the offensive glass and he has knack for creating fouls....I was not impressed by Boozer today.

Amare hasn't shown a great deal in the games, and he must be down right awful in practice based on what some of the media has said.

I don't like Marbury and AI on the floor at the same time. I also think Brown subs too frequently. He pulled Lebron and Amare too soon today.

I think the AI/SM duo is in the hope that one of them can buy an outside basket once in a while. I don't think any of these guys are in fantastic shape. That and the fact we have nothing but huge egos sitting the pine could be the reason we see some pretty frequent subbing. Another could be Brown is hoping to find a group that somehow jells a bit, because we really haven't seen one so far.

 

[Joe Mama]

Shawn Marion has had problems with ballhandling and passing? I haven't seen it. In fact he's had fewer problems with it than any of the other swingmen on the roster. The biggest problem was Shawn Marion is that he is far too passive. It's as if he is really afraid to have any part of the offense unless he is 5 feet from the basket.

Richard Jefferson has been a disaster the last two games. I'm not sure he's made any baskets, he has turned the ball over repeatedly, and he's constantly out of defensive position.

I really think this team is what it is. IMO no amount of effort is going to get them the gold medal. I would be as gitty as a little schoolgirl if I was wrong, but I know I will not be. These guys aren't suddenly going to turn into great shooters or even good shooters. Marbury and others aren't going to turn into great perimeter defenders.

Joe Mama

 

[Cheesebeef]

Richard Jefferson has been abolsutely HORRENDOUS the last couple games. It's almost comical seeing our guys WIDE-OPEN at the three-point line and know whatever they're throwing up - ain't gonna go through the net.

Shawn had a nice dish at akey part of the game - but also missed a free throw at crunch time - and of course - a wide open 3 while up to and the pressure rising to a boiling point - surprise, surprise.

This team really just doesn't have many guys who are able to ratchet it up to that next level at winning time. Odom has that ability and it showed on defense - two of his blocks were just absolutely enormous - but very few others have stepped up that way. I still find it difficult to believe that we will medal in anything other than bronze.

 

[Chaz]

While Cheesebeef was turned off by Odom's humility comment I was encouraged by it. This team obivously needed a little humility and I was glad to see they got the message even if it was a little late. We are talking about a team with an average age under 24 years with millions of reasons to have inflated egos.

If they keep working hard and continue to improve their team defense they can still pull out a decent showing in the games.

Team USA survives against host Greece
By J. Douglas Foster, NBCOlympics.com
Tuesday, August 17, 5:01 p.m.

ATHENS -- Things are clearly far from perfect for the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team.

But now, perfection isn't important. Victories are. Against anybody.

Two days after the country's worst basketball loss in Olympic history and its first with NBA players, the U.S. held off charged-up host country Greece, 77-71.

Critics will look at the score and say the score shouldn't have been close. But after Sunday's embarrassing loss to Puerto Rico, a blowout loss to Italy in a pre-Olympic exhibition and a near-loss to Germany on the same tour, the U.S. (1-1) is no longer looking for big victory margins. Any margin will do.

"We just know it's live or die," American LeBron James said. "We've just got to keep working hard and find a way to get to the gold-medal round."

Getting there will be more likely if U.S. co-captain Allen Iverson continues to play as he did Tuesday.

Though the U.S. again shot poorly from beyond the 3-point arc, hitting 19 percent (4-for-21), Iverson shrugged off a broken thumb suffered against Puerto Rico to make three of those 3-pointers, contributing to a game-high 17 points. Twelve points came in the first half, helping the Americans erase an early Greek advantage and take a six-point lead into halftime.

James also provided a spark in the second quarter, coming off the bench for three dunks among four quick baskets in an 11-0 run. That helped the U.S. surge in front, 31-29, midway through the period.

"Anything to help our team win," James said. "I've accepted my role, and I'm just trying to help my team win every time I go out on the court."

But that lead wouldn't last. The feisty Greeks, sparked by a raucous home crowd, kept fighting back.

Lamar Odom grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
Greece even took a one-point lead early in the third, but that's when Tim Duncan stepped up for the Americans. Duncan scored 13 of his 14 points in the third quarter to push the lead to nine.

But Duncan also picked up his fourth foul late in that quarter and sat for a while. (Unlike the NBA, players are disqualified after their fifth foul in Olympic play.) Then when Duncan fouled out with 3:52 remaining, the U.S. had to protect a four-point lead without its best player.

U.S. Coach Larry Brown opted for a smaller, quicker lineup, and an ill Lamar Odom helped hold off the Greeks. Battling a stomach virus and taking IVs before the game, Odom's point total -- seven -- wasn't as important as his eight rebounds and three blocked shots.

"He was sick all day, but when Timmy got in foul trouble we had to go smaller," U.S. coach Larry Brown said. "And he played so big."

So Antonios Fotsis' 22 points, and 14 from big man Lazaros Papadopoulos, weren't enough for Greece to generate the upset. Afterward, Odom said he and his teammates learned something from the Puerto Rico game, something that proved important Tuesday.

"Humility," he said. "Being humbled in front of the world ... everyone is expecting us to win every game. But being young, with everybody knowing you on a first-name basis, sometimes you need to be humble. That's what our team needs.

"Tonight we were, and we left it all on the court and got the victory."