USA-Angola Review
I only saw the second half of the game so I can’t really comment too much, but from what I did see Team USA looked very sloppy. Granted the outcome was long decided, but the Americans weren’t defending at all. Their effort just was not there and they were allowing open looks from three and plenty of free lanes to the basket as well. This led to them being outscored 16-23 in the 4th quarter by ANGOLA for cripes sake!
The bad news doesn’t stop there though as Team USA shot a putrid 5-21 (23.8%) from three and 16-25 (64.0%) from the free throw line. That puts their totals at 68.0% from the line and 26.7% from distance through two games. While the FT shooting is only a touch below my goal of 70%, the shooting from downtown is miles away from the 40% I set. If there’s one huge concern after two games it’s got to be their collective 3-point shooting.
However that’s not all. The Americans were also out rebounded 34-38 and lost the battle of the offensive glass yet again 7-14. That makes for a total of 16-27 on the O-boards through two contests. They can get away with that stuff versus the lesser squads, but not against the big boys (who are coming).
As for the players (going off the box score), Kobe Bryant struggled once again shooting 4-13 from the floor and 0-8 from three. That puts his Olympic totals at 37.0% and 6.7% respectively AND he has yet to even attempt a free throw. The “Dobermamba” has to play smarter on offense and take his time shooting threes.
From the little I saw Dwyane Wade continued his fine play scoring 19 points (team high) on 6-8 shooting (5-7 on FT’s & 2-3 on 3’s) while grabbing 5 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony finally seemed to get it going a little too with 12 points on 4-6 shooting (3-5 on FT’s & 1-2 on 3’s) and 6 boards (team high).
As Doug Collins said during the broadcast, “This team is developing some bad habits.” He’s right, and the next two clashes will tell the tale of how good we really are.
Elsewhere around the tournament…
> Lithuania, Greece and Argentina all rolled to easy victories. Of note though is that Argentine coach Sergio Hernandez is playing only six guys real minutes. That strategy is dicey at best and will surely come back to haunt Argentina in the medal round.
> Croatia pulled the upset of the day defeating Russia 85-78. The Croats are now 2-0 and sitting pretty atop Group A (tied with Lithuania).
> Spain only beat China by 10…in overtime…and needed a 25-11 4th quarter just to force the OT. WOW! Pau Gasol led the way with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks and Rudy Fernandez (property of Portland) chipped in 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
The bad news doesn’t stop there though as Team USA shot a putrid 5-21 (23.8%) from three and 16-25 (64.0%) from the free throw line. That puts their totals at 68.0% from the line and 26.7% from distance through two games. While the FT shooting is only a touch below my goal of 70%, the shooting from downtown is miles away from the 40% I set. If there’s one huge concern after two games it’s got to be their collective 3-point shooting.
However that’s not all. The Americans were also out rebounded 34-38 and lost the battle of the offensive glass yet again 7-14. That makes for a total of 16-27 on the O-boards through two contests. They can get away with that stuff versus the lesser squads, but not against the big boys (who are coming).
As for the players (going off the box score), Kobe Bryant struggled once again shooting 4-13 from the floor and 0-8 from three. That puts his Olympic totals at 37.0% and 6.7% respectively AND he has yet to even attempt a free throw. The “Dobermamba” has to play smarter on offense and take his time shooting threes.
From the little I saw Dwyane Wade continued his fine play scoring 19 points (team high) on 6-8 shooting (5-7 on FT’s & 2-3 on 3’s) while grabbing 5 rebounds. Carmelo Anthony finally seemed to get it going a little too with 12 points on 4-6 shooting (3-5 on FT’s & 1-2 on 3’s) and 6 boards (team high).
As Doug Collins said during the broadcast, “This team is developing some bad habits.” He’s right, and the next two clashes will tell the tale of how good we really are.
Elsewhere around the tournament…
> Lithuania, Greece and Argentina all rolled to easy victories. Of note though is that Argentine coach Sergio Hernandez is playing only six guys real minutes. That strategy is dicey at best and will surely come back to haunt Argentina in the medal round.
> Croatia pulled the upset of the day defeating Russia 85-78. The Croats are now 2-0 and sitting pretty atop Group A (tied with Lithuania).
> Spain only beat China by 10…in overtime…and needed a 25-11 4th quarter just to force the OT. WOW! Pau Gasol led the way with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks and Rudy Fernandez (property of Portland) chipped in 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
posted by D$ at 11:39 AM
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