-USA looked awful in the first half against Lithuania and trailed by two at the break. The key difference that led to “The Tale of Two Halves*”? Lamar Odom eschewing his headband in the second half. It’s either that or America’s athleticism on the defensive end wore down the Lithuanian guards. One of the two.
*Thankfully this boring game ended within two hours instead of many hours and 400 pages later. No offense, Mr. Dickens.
-Kevin Love may not be fully healthy but deserves more playing time. He is the best rebounder on an undersized team, an excellent outlet passer on a team that wants to push the pace and his defensive shortcomings aren’t as noticeable because the other options are Rudy Gay/Kevin Durant at power forward or Tyson Chandler getting extended minutes. It’s odd that Chandler has been able to play for this team; I could have sworn I saw him washed up while at the beach this summer.
-The Lithuanian team takes a page out of Herb Brooks’ book and realizes that “the name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back.” Sure, the name on the back is their team sponsor, pokerstars.net, but still. It’s all about the L(ithuania), fellas.
-Russell Westbrook received player of the game honors against Lithuania. He was given a Tiffany Co. trophy for his effort. He will surely be the envy of his Thunder teammates at training camp. Take that, Serge Ibaka!
-Spain did not give their best effort against the Americans on Sunday and still only lost by one. Coach Scariolo purposefully does not reveal too much before the medal round in an attempt to retain any surprising tactics and perhaps to leave the Americans vulnerable to overconfidence. Either way, the tactic nearly worked in the 2008 Olympics. After a 30-plus point drubbing in round robin, Spain hung with the U.S.A. in the gold medal game before falling in the final minutes.
-Pau Gasol would destroy this American team. As both an American and a Lakers fan, I’m doubly glad that he is taking this summer to rest.
-Ricky Rubio is awesome.
-I have no idea how Spanish athletes decide on what to put on the back of their jerseys. Various Spanish soccer players have a nickname, first name, last name or first and last names on their jerseys with no particular rhyme or reason. Misters Rubio, Gasol and Fernandez all sported only first names on their jerseys. If Fernandez’s frosted tips are any indication, perhaps Ricky, Marc and Rudy are forming a boy band together?
-The American defense was very solid despite only a few (rondo, iguodala, odom, maybe westbrook/billups) standout NBA defenders. The team may be small but the team is very long and athletic at point guard and on the wings. Good pressure defense will be enough to beat 75% of the countries at the world championships. In related news, 75% of the teams at the world championships will not be very good.
-I’d say the refereeing was anti-American but FIBA referees are simply bad. Bad enough to yearn for the days of Bennett Salvatore and Violet Palmer. Really.
-Derrick Rose in a pick-and-roll was the USA’s offense of choice down the stretch. I’m buying an improved jump shot from Rose and continued progress defensively. He’ll be right behind Chris Paul and Deron Williams with Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash as a top 5 point guard next year.
-Ricky Rubio? Still awesome. He has excellent hands defensively and plays the passing lanes very well. He won’t be able to keep certain point guards in front of him but without hand-checking no one is up to that task. Spain looked significantly better when he was pushing the tempo and directing the offense. His flair is his best asset (from a fan’s point of view) but will probably cause his first NBA coach to bald prematurely. Too bad Jeff Van Gundy is staying with ABC, he would have been a perfect fit. He attempted a behind-the-head pass with three seconds left that was luckily caught by Rudy Fernandez. The pass did put Rudy off balance and may have contributed to the subsequent blocked shot from Kevin Durant. Rubio needs to find the right balance between Pistol Pete and Derek Fisher.
-Marc Gasol is an excellent player. He is one of the most efficient players in the NBA, posting the third best True Shooting Percentage(accounts for free throws and the greater value of three-pointers) in the NBA last year. He is only 25 years old and had the fifth best offensive rating (points produced per 100 offensive possessions) in the league. He is skilled for a center and a legitimate seven feet tall. Perhaps it was by complete accident but the Grizzlies made out well in the Pau Gasol trade. They received the fatter, slightly less skilled Gasol brother and the cap space (through Kwame Brown’s expiring contract) to trade for the resurgent Zach Randolph. One of the most fortunate bad trades in sports history.
-The 2010 USA team is not of the same caliber as the 2008 Redeem Team. Obviously, there is a substantial talent gap as 9 of the best 10 American players are sitting out the World Championships. But the lack of veteran leadership is another problem for this iteration of USA basketball. The team coasted through the first half of the Lithuanian game before eventually pulling away late in the game. The Americans missed four open dunks over the weekend due to sheer overexuberance/showboating. The 2008 roster had more veteran players as well as Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant setting a more controlled tone as the starting backcourt. The 2010 team will need to hold itself similarly accountable or will not be able to top Greece, Argentina and Spain.
-Dunk Face of the Weekend goes to Russell Westbrook. He threw down an emphatic running dunk over two Spaniards, perhaps in an effort to make up for his blown breakaway attempt in the first half. The internet is failing me at the moment but I imagined the dunk face looked like this…
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