USA-Germany Preview
The USA and Germany meet in a meaningless game on 8/18 at 5:00 AM (Pacific) on the USA cable network. There are a few interesting angles to this contest though. The first being Dirk Nowitzki’s farewell to international play. Other than maybe Yao Ming no other player has done more for their respective national team than Dirk has for Deutschland.
The next thing to look for is that the Americans stay sharp (although a loss wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened). This is a classic trap game with Greece and Spain behind them, the medal round ahead and the Germans having nothing to play for either. Our perimeter defense should rattle the German guards and create lots of easy transition opportunities for the US.
So when the game gets out of hand in the second quarter I’d like to see Coach K go with a lineup of Jason Kidd, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Dwight Howard for the majority of the rest of the contest. The reason being that those five guys usually receive the least minutes and won’t be used much in medal play. I’d also like to see Team USA practice zone defense for the entire second half if possible because you never ever know…
Anyway, Team USA’s path to the gold is looking like Australia then Argentina and then either Lithuania or Spain for the gold. The only squad amongst those that worries me now is Argentina because of their mental toughness and agitating style of play. More on that at a later date though.
Elsewhere around the tournament…
> China and Greece play the only meaningful game left in the group stage at 11:30 PM (Pacific) on 8/17. The winner finishes third in Group B and plays Argentina with the loser getting Lithuania. It’s very possible that the Greeks employ some international gamesmanship here and tank to avoid the Argentina-USA side of the draw.
> The other quarterfinal match up that is set is Spain-Croatia.
The next thing to look for is that the Americans stay sharp (although a loss wouldn't be the worst thing that ever happened). This is a classic trap game with Greece and Spain behind them, the medal round ahead and the Germans having nothing to play for either. Our perimeter defense should rattle the German guards and create lots of easy transition opportunities for the US.
So when the game gets out of hand in the second quarter I’d like to see Coach K go with a lineup of Jason Kidd, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer and Dwight Howard for the majority of the rest of the contest. The reason being that those five guys usually receive the least minutes and won’t be used much in medal play. I’d also like to see Team USA practice zone defense for the entire second half if possible because you never ever know…
Anyway, Team USA’s path to the gold is looking like Australia then Argentina and then either Lithuania or Spain for the gold. The only squad amongst those that worries me now is Argentina because of their mental toughness and agitating style of play. More on that at a later date though.
Elsewhere around the tournament…
> China and Greece play the only meaningful game left in the group stage at 11:30 PM (Pacific) on 8/17. The winner finishes third in Group B and plays Argentina with the loser getting Lithuania. It’s very possible that the Greeks employ some international gamesmanship here and tank to avoid the Argentina-USA side of the draw.
> The other quarterfinal match up that is set is Spain-Croatia.
posted by D$ at 11:10 AM
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