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Olympic 5 Things: United States vs Australia

During the remainder of the Olympic men's basketball tournament, FanHouse will give you 5 Things to watch for in each game.

Can the Team USA transition game be stopped? Through five pool play games, no one came even remotely close to slowing Team USA's fast break. The central challenge, beyond the overwhelming speed and finishing ability of every single player in red, white and blue, is that the Americans get out in transition so freaking often. The pickpocketing ways of Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul make up one avenue. LeBron James has been an interior disruptor, and the team flies off his deflections, steals and blocks. The team runs out on defensive rebounds, with Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh looking for an outlet guard, and those guards (Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant, mainly) getting the ball up the court quickly. Even on the rare opponent make, the Americans push. How do you stop all that? You don't. You try to limit it as much as possible, by protecting the ball and slowing the game to a crawl. But nothing you do will prevent a few breakaway dunks from going down.

Can Australia be effective in the half-court offense? The wonderful Xs and Os of Basketball blog took a detailed look at Australia's versatile half-court offense recently, showing how many different ways the Aussies set up shop. Certainly, it's a better system than Germany or China offered, and it's a slower, more deliberate movement-driven offense than Spain runs. (Spain tends to be a bit free-wheeling and quick; Australia is closer to the old slow Princeton ... though there are serious differences.) The United States hasn't been tested in the half-court, really -- it has blown its opponents up way out at midcourt and built big leads before the foe can get settled. With Patrick Mills running Australia's show, the Boomers should be able to get into their offense early. At that point, it will be up to the Americans to show they can play real halfcourt defense.

USA Beats Down Spain 119-82

Team USA is making a habit out of blowing out teams that are supposed to challenge them. This time it was Spain, who many considered the second best team in the Basketball Olympiad, featuring Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Rudy Fernandez, and Jose Calderon, along with 17 year old sensation Ricky Rubio. With speed, athleticism, and that vaunted European style of play, surely this would be the team that would challenge USA and expose their weaknesses.

And then they stepped on the floor. 119-82, USA.

Where do you want to start? How about three point shooting? That's been a weakness for Team USA. They shot 48% from the arc, with Carmelo Anthony as the spark plug with 16 points. Or defense? They held Spain to 39% shooting, creating 28 turnovers.

LeBron James was out of his mind today, obviously amped up and mouthing off. He finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Yikes. Dwyane Wade 2.0 was again spectacular, with 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals (and a few more that weren't attributed because they ended up in someone else's hands). USA had 8 players in double figures.

Felipe Reyes had 19 points and 8 rebounds for Spain, and Pau Gasol chipped in 13 points, but also had 5 turnovers, as Team USA swarmed him the block. Spain's NBA-experienced guards, Juan Carlos Navarro and Jose Calderon, along with future first round pick Ricky Rubio combined to shoot 4 of 23 from the field, with 7 turnovers and 4 assists.

Dr. Dre, Headphones Outfitter of Team USA

When crediting folks around the U.S. men's basketball team on a job well done this summer, don't forget about Dre. (Glad I got that out of the way.) According to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, those handsome, massive headphones LeBron James gave the team came from the lab of famed hip hip producer (and intermittent rapper) Dr. Dre. They are, Lee reports, the "most advanced headphones ever developed."

So if listening to your iPod on those tinny Apple earbuds constitutes doping to some, wouldn't listening via these bad boys count for full-on 'roid consumption? At their loudest, the earbuds Michael Phelps rocks don't deafen; I'd be afraid to put Dre's set on.

I don't know if Lee is being funny or clever by including this Dwight Howard quote, which sounds straight out of an infomercial.
"I never met up with him, but I'm real glad [Dr. Dre] offered us some headphones. I like headphones. I had a lot of different headsets. They are nice. They are good."
Dr. Dre's headphones: so good they'll have you making kind, mild compliments!
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Does Spain-USA Even Matter?



The attention on Saturday's United State-Spain basketball match in Beijing is already reaching high levels, and understandably so. Spain has as talented a roster as you'll find beyond Team USA, with four players who will be in the NBA in 2008-09 (Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Jose Calderon, Rudy Fernandez), two more who played NBA ball last season but left for Europe (Jorge Garbajosa, Juan Carlos Navarro), and a potential top-3 pick in the 2009 draft (Ricky Rubio). Of course Team USA has, um, 12 NBA players. But Spain's good.

But does this game even matter? This is pool play, remember. There is little immediate benefit in winning Saturday's game for either team. The two teams will finish 1-2 in Group B regardless of anything else that happens -- Germany, Greece and China all rate at 1-2; none can capture a two-seed due to various losses to the top dogs assuming reasonable results. (Like the U.S. beating Germany.)

Team USA, Full of Vinegar, Whomps Greece

Most expected Team USA to come out viciously against Greece. Before the tip, Carmelo Anthony told the Los Angeles Times:
"First of all, we've been waiting for this game for the last two years. ... I'm pretty sure I'm sick and tired and they are sick and tired of hearing about Greece."
'Melo didn't explode against the Greeks, but LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh did. Wade in particular carried the offense at times, drawing a metric ton of fouls in the third and working hard to set up his teammates for easy buckets in the first. One of said set-ups was an incredible alley-oop to Kobe Bryant as Wade tried to save a ball from going out of bounds near the baseline. Awful Announcing has the video right now, though these things are known to disappear.

LeBron carried the defense. He didn't just play the passing lanes or rebound -- he (again) blocked some shots and disrupted the typically flowing Greek offense. For all the talk about Kobe being the team's stopper, LeBron has looked the part of key disruptor. (Maybe I'm missing some Kobe impact, though.)

Bosh was again spectacular ... and fiery. Dwight Howard -- for some reason -- isn't playing as much as you'd expect him to. That has turned Bosh into the preferred paint weapon. At times, he's playing a Mikki Moore role -- waiting for the dish and slamming it down. But he's worked hard on the boards and even on defense, occasionally denying Antonis Fotsis the ball and (improbably) keeping Sofo Schortsianitis from getting too deep.

And more than anything, with LeBron, he's been among the most spirited Americans. (Tayshaun Prince gets some dap for his bench elation, as well.) Most of the Team USA players have kept their outward emotion in check. But Bosh is clearly having fun, and it shows. It makes me more excited to watch.

LeBron James Takes in the Olympic Sights



Well, it's nice to see LeBron James and the rest of his Team USA teammates aren't spending their off-days holed up inside some boring old hotel room. Instead, they're leering at supporting Olympic swimmers. (Once you're really famous you don't have to worry about being obvious. At least, that's what David Beckham told me ...)

On an unrelated note, I now completely believe this story. Go USA!
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Golden Ticket, Day 3: LeBron's Revenge



Throughout the Olympic men's basketball tournament, FanHouse will prioritize the games of the day for you in Golden Ticket.


We've had two fantastic matches and a bunch of blow-outs. Something tells that will all change tonight/tomorrow morning.

GOLD: United States vs Greece, 8 a.m. EST This draw has been badgered a bit already. The first test for the American team, Greece should be ready for all the pressure Team USA will bring in the backcourt and out high. Of course, team leaders LeBron James and Dwyane Wade remember vividly, no doubt, the embarrassment of 2004 and want nothing more, I assume, than to avenge their fallen Olympic friends. (R.I.P. A.I.) Will Team USA's sheer will be enough? Greece isn't the threat it once was, and isn't even a medal favorite this year. But the backcourt will wake up the American guards, and the physical defense will force the United States to cash in on the transition game. I have a feeling Team USA will pull away in the second half and win by double digits, and I look forward to all the jersey-popping and self-righteousness from pundits (and bloggers) who think this collection is greater than Elvis.

SILVER: Argentina vs Croatia, 10:15 a.m. EST Argentina lost its opener because it failed to account for the unbelievable swag of Linas Kleiza, but come back to throttle the Aussies on Tuesday. Croatia also buried Australia, and finished a tough win over tough Russia. How good is Croatia? Is Argentina still elite? This game could help answer those questions. The Croatians can't miss from deep, but the Argentines should hold a nice advantage in the frontcourt. I have a suspicion Argentina will make a big statement, but it's tough to bet against a Croatia team which has looked unassailable to date.

BRONZE: Lithuania vs Russia, 4:45 a.m. EST Lithuania remains undefeated, as Kleiza has simply taken over. The Russians could use a bounceback after the loss to Croatia, as a three or four seed after groups means murder against Spain or the U.S. in the quarters. The Lithuanians, with a win, would see only Croatia in their path on the way to Group A supremacy. Russia beat Lithuania in elimination in Euro 2007, but I'd expect the opposite result here.

In other action: Spain vs Germany (which would have been the "bronze" match if it weren't already in the third quarter ... whoops), Australia vs Iran, China vs Angola (wee!).

Cavs Grab Mo Williams, Keep Flexibility Intact

As rumored, Cleveland plundered point guard Mo Williams from Milwaukee, losing only 33-year-old Joe Smith and 32-year-old Damon Jones in the process. Jones and OKC alum Luke Ridnour head to the Bucks; Smith and former Sonic Desmond Mason pack for Oklahoma. As I wrote a bit ago, it's a good pull for Cleveland -- Williams shores up a pitiful position and adds some offensive punch to a defensive-minded team.

There's another consideration, though: what's it do to Cleveland's pending cap space? Danny Ferry's public position on all prospective trades has been that the team didn't want to surrender its projected cap space for the summer of 2009. With Smith, Jones, Eric Snow and Wally Szczerbiak definitely off the payroll next offseason, the idea become such that the Cavs would be in good position to either trade for a disgruntled superstar at the deadline or reach out to a top-level free agent in July. (In actuality, once Daniel Gibson was extended, the team still needed to shred one more long contract to be serious players in free agency. The trade avenue would be alive regardless.)

Is Mo Williams the Answer for Cleveland?

Over the past few days, a rumor which would traditionally drive the world mad has slipped by under the cover of the Olympics. Mo Williams, a dynamic second-tier point guard who signed with Milwaukee for big money last summer, would head to Cleveland to augment LeBron James' single-headed offensive attack while OKC's Luke Ridnour would transfer to Milwaukee and the Cavs would give the Thunder something or other (probably some expiring contracts -- fancy that). BrewHoop sums up the situation flawlessly.

There are two competing questions in such a deal. The first, which we won't address fully in this post: is Ramon Sessions so good he makes Milwaukee's third- or fourth-best player (Williams) expendable? (Because Ridnour sure as spam ain't a sure-fire building block at this point. He'll start, but you'd think the goal would be to promote Sessions soon.) The question which actually matters to the league as a whole: can Williams push Cleveland over the top?

Cleveland was simply awful at the point last year -- 82games.com reports the positional PER was only 13. That includes minutes for Larry Hughes, Daniel Gibson, Delonte West and Damon Jones -- players substantially inferior to Williams. Mo offered a career-high PER of 17 last season, with good scoring, shooting and turnover numbers to go with a decent usage rate. (Usage measures the shot creation ability and offensive role of a player.) Williams would figure to be the second or third option in Cleveland, behind LeBron and perhaps Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Cleveland won 45 games and took the eventual champs to seven games. Philadelphia and Toronto have improved by some measure, and another summer of seasoning for Dwight Howard might make Orlando better. On the surface, it wouldn't seem Williams' production is the difference between 45 and 50 games. But when you consider what he'd be replacing, I think it'd be as big an acquisition as Jermaine O'Neal for the Raps. If the trade goes through and Cleveland gives up little, it could help snatch a top-4 seed for the Cavs and give LeBron a better shot at getting back to the top of the heap.
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Is Gold Enough for Team USA Basketball?

As we continue to find new and exciting ways to make Team USA sound inferior after twenty point wins that look like less work that mowing the lawn, the question has to be asked.

What do we expect out of Team USA?

On the one hand, everyone's quick to acknowledge that the rest of the world has made huge strides, if not caught up with, the United States in basketball talent and development. On the other, we seem to expect Team USA to blow out teams so bad that the other team's members are left unable to ever pick up a basketball again out of shame. Double digit wins aren't enough, that much is clear.

TrueHoop makes the case that making the goal equal to the Dream Team is both irrelevant and unproductive. It seems the more common sentiment, though, is that Team USA hasn't put together a complete game yet. Sure, they're rebounding and scoring and causing turnovers, but they're not playing perimeter defense well enough, and they're not knocking down their threes. There is discussion of whether teamwork is the issue, but then, there's also been criticism that the players are deferring too much and its costing them.

So what do we expect out of this squad?
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