Team USA hasn't won anything yet, but on the basis of its 119-82 drubbing of Spain, it should have a lock on the gold — assuming no critical injuries or catastrophic international incidents.
Here's why Spain was dispatched so easily:
The Americans totally destroyed Spain's 2-3 zone defense, shooting 10-14 against it and registering a total of 24 points while only committing two turnovers.Team USA turned this particular trick by knocking down triples and getting the ball into the high post where open shooters and cutters were easily identified.Double-teaming Pau Gasol with a sizeable player like LeBron James blunted the point of Spain's offense.Terrific weak-side help limited Spain's high screen/rolls to 22 points, mostly scored on disadvantageous small-to-big switches, while inducing six turnovers.As in every game played so far, the Americans' quick-handed defense on their opponents' guards and wings were instrumental in producing numerous turnovers — 28 in the game at hand — and prevented the losers from establishing any kind of rhythm on offense.2008 Olympic Games
Medals
News
- Kobe and Co. crush Aussies
- Walsh, May-Treanor earn gold again
- Bolt completes sprint sweep
- U.S. edges Japan in baseball
- IOC chides Bolt for behavior
- U.S. women advance to volleyball final
- Lithuania ousts Yao, China
- U.S. gets softball win vs. Japan
- Rain good news for U.S. BMX racer
- Lagat advances to 5k final
Analysis
- Rosen: Team USA shows toughness
- Rosenberg: We live in a Phelpsian world
- Boeck: It's condom mania
Multimedia
- PHOTOS: Day 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8
- PHOTOS: Day 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1
- PHOTOS: Olympic beauties | Mascots
- PHOTOS: Opening Ceremony
- PHOTOS: U.S. athletes to watch
However, there were some blemishes that still need to be eliminated for future games.
Once Spain saw how active the Americans' weak-side help was on high S/Rs, they made some effective adjustments such as sending their weak-side wings on dive cuts or moving them to a high-post position. The partial success of these particular tweaks is sure to be noted by the other teams in the forthcoming medal round.Too many sloppy passes when the game was still close.Too many unnecessary fouls.Still some problems dealing with weak-side screens.An occasional lapse in transition defense.Howard (2), Carlos Boozer (2), Kobe, LeBron, Chris Bosh, D-Wade (4), and Deron Williams (2) combined to miss too many layups — and the squad still shot 57.9% from the field!Biggest surprise performance: 'Melo, LeBron, D-Wade, and CP3 only did what they were supposed to do. But Tayshaun Prince gave the team an unexpected lift on offense and defense — shooting, stealing, passing, and playing with great intelligence.
Most disappointing performance: None of USA's NBAers qualify in this category, but three of Spain's NBA vets do — Jose Calderon, who was a total non-factor with zero assists and 1-9 shooting; Juan Carlos Navarro had zero assists, 2-10 from the field; and Jorge Garbajosa, who played like a stumblebum and shot 1-4. Also, Marc Gasol is a future NBA player with Memphis who was incredibly slow off his feet.
Conclusion: This was a complete mismatch. Should Spain and the U.S. meet again in the gold medal game, the goal of the former would be to lose by less than 40 points.
Outlook: Over-confidence could be a problem. All of Team USA's mistakes can, and will, be fixed ASAP. And to the dismay of whomever they might play from here on out, Team USA is peaking at precisely the right time.
