Olympic Basketball Thread
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
No kidding. It's not like I get to see alot of badminton or water polo throughout the year. I've watched some gymnastics, synchronized! diving, swimming, beach volleyball, tennis, water polo, badminton, team volleyball, basketball, softball, boxing, archery, canoe racing, handball and weightlifting.Comment
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
Obviously match-ups are important, but China's just not that good. They have no backcourt. Neither Argentina nor Spain looks strong.2010 IKL Fantasy Basketball Champion Baltimore BulldogsComment
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
good game vs Angola but dang it's time to shoot better than 24% from the arc and 65% from the line and start defending opponents outside shooters!! this type of game is not longer an option considering the teams they'll face soon... I was also surprised to see them not use their size more against such a small team
still good to see D Wade bringing his A-game, I hope he keeps being consistent like that also glad to see Melo back on track after his absence in game 1, and as Indy said Kobe should do something to adapt his game and bring more than what he does to the gameComment
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
The key with Spain will be whether they can handle OUR ball pressure. They have good guards so they should be able to some, then their inside players can hurt us.
EDIT: Just read the recap and it sounds like it panned out that way - the recap says Spain came back in the 4th when they started pressuring the ball and taking China out of their offense.The poster formerly known as RimfireComment
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
According to Bruno, his rep is as a solid defender with "a versatile offensive game." Hmm. Could we possibly have made a savvy euro pick that starts out as a "Who's that?" and then five years later becomes "I can't believe we got this guy!" when he's performing well in the league? One can dream. At least he's not sucking over there.Comment
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
According to Bruno, his rep is as a solid defender with "a versatile offensive game." Hmm. Could we possibly have made a savvy euro pick that starts out as a "Who's that?" and then five years later becomes "I can't believe we got this guy!" when he's performing well in the league? One can dream. At least he's not sucking over there.
Seriously though, we could have a bright future with Hibbert and Stanko.Comment
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
I didn't see the game so I'm posting a little bit out of my @ss here but Spain doesn't apply ball pressure like we do. My guess is China was able to enter the ball inside much more effectively than they were vs us. You let their frintcourt get the ball in good places and they can hurt you. We didn't let 'em do that.
The key with Spain will be whether they can handle OUR ball pressure. They have good guards so they should be able to some, then their inside players can hurt us.
EDIT: Just read the recap and it sounds like it panned out that way - the recap says Spain came back in the 4th when they started pressuring the ball and taking China out of their offense.
My guess is that both Spain and the USA will abandon pressure and overplays quickly after the game starts after they both see it being ineffective. Against players as talented as both teams have, I don't see pressure being quite so effective.Comment
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
Visit NBCOlympics.com for Summer Olympics live streams, highlights, schedules, results, news, athlete bios and more from Milan 2026.
Here's a fun little article:
U.S. team focused on winning ... with class
By Alan Abrahamson, NBCOlympics.com
BEIJING -- The United States defeated Angola Tuesday night, 97-76, in the preliminary round of the 2008 Beijing Games men's basketball tournament.
No elbows were thrown.
At least none thrown on purpose, like the elbow that Charles Barkley so famously -- or infamously -- threw at Herlander Coimbra, all of 170 or so pounds of him, when the U.S. "Dream Team" defeated Angola in the 1992 Barcelona Games.
It is most deliberate that no elbows got thrown here Tuesday.
And none are likely to be thrown in this tournament by any of the Americans.
Because the 2008 U.S. squad, the "Redeem Team," has two avowed goals at this Olympics.
1: Win.
2: Do it with class and sportsmanship.
No group of American athletes is under the sort of relentless scrutiny that accompanies the men's basketball team. They are among the biggest stars at these Games -- maybe the biggest, as the roars for Kobe Bryant every move with the basketball at Wukesong Indoor Arena attest.
Thus, right or wrong, everything these Americans do will be viewed by many as evidence of all things American.
As Jerry Colangelo, the former Phoenix Suns owner now serving as the managing director of USA Basketball, said in a telephone interview earlier this year, "I think the [Olympic] stage has always been huge. The fact that it's in Beijing, China, in 2008, with world conditions as they are magnifies it incredibly."
If it's hard to believe that one thrown elbow could still resonate all these years later -- consider that both the New York Times and Los Angeles Times wrote about the incident in stories published or posted Tuesday.
Everyone knew that 1992 team was going to win Olympic gold. The question that presented itself, that resonates still, was: how were they going to act along the way?
Even before that game against Angola, Barkley had said, "I don't know anything about Angola, but I know they're in trouble."
During the game, Coimbra brushed Barkley as Sir Charles was going in for a layup. This was amid a 46-1 U.S. run in what would ultimately be a 116-48 American victory. On the way back up the court, Barkley threw the infamous elbow.
Barkley drew a flagrant foul. He said later, "You hit me, I'll hit you; even if it doesn't look like he's eaten in a while."
The next day at a news conference, Barkley said, "I thought he might have a spear."
If all this seems funny -- and Barkley is never at a loss for words -- what is it that anyone remembers about that game?
The elbow.
Compare all of that from some of the scenes that have been seen already from this year's team.
There was Bryant at the beach volleyball venue Monday, just hours after the Americans' 101-70 victory over China, telling NBCOlympics.com he was there to "support our girls," beach volley standouts Nicole Branagh and Elaine Youngs, and to see Brazilian beach star Emanuel Rego.
"And that's what the Olympics is about, really -- supporting your country and then seeing people who are really great at what they do," Bryant said. "And get an opportunity to watch what they do. That's special."
Instead of elbows, there were handshakes all around here Tuesday, signs of sportsmanship -- before and after the game. The Americans, as they did before the game with China, handed each of the Angolans a Team USA baseball hat; the Angolans, in return, gave each of the Americans a souvenir Angolan table flag.
"This team is friendly," one of the Angolan players, Armando Costa, said afterward, meaning the Americans. "They play very nice."
American guard Dwyane Wade, sitting next to coach Mike Krzyzewski at a post-game news conference, said in his opening remarks, "First of all, on behalf of my teammates, we want to say the Angolan team really played hard tonight, really came out and made us play our 'A' game. We just want to thank them for playing a good hard game."
He also said, "We're very honored as NBA players to be here, first of all, and to get the reception we've got everywhere we've went. China has been unbelievable to us."
Each of the players on the 2008 team was told in no uncertain terms beforehand, by Colangelo, what would be expected here.
The speech that each got, Colangelo said, went something like this: "I'll tell you now there won't be any nonsense that I'll stand for. We will not put up with any nonsense. Don't ever embarrass me because I'll never embarrass you. That goes for me and Coach K and our country.
"You're either in or you're out. If you can't meet any of these requirements, you're out."
As it turned out, Colangelo said, "I've got plenty of guys who want to put on the uniform."
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Re: Olympic Basketball Thread
Looks like the same old group of arrogant Americans though, right Boris?
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"Danny Granger is one of the top players in the league. To move Danny, you better get a lot back." - Larry BirdComment
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