Olympics Day 1: USA Knocks Down Wall of China

As I mentioned in my last entry, I plan to do reviews of each game Team USA plays in these 2008 Beijing Olympics. As the tournament goes on, I’ll try to catch more of the other teams throughout the day if I can find the games on TV or the Internet to offer insight on the competition, especially when it comes to countries boasting Raptor players. That includes Roko Ukic with Croatia and Jose Calderon with Spain.

Recap

My first impression of this game against China was that today’s Team USA is a far cry from the dominance we’ve seen prior to the 2002 World Championships when they finished sixth. China came out playing very aggressively and their long-range shooting was right on. There wasn’t much penetration but the ball movement was good enough to get open looks from three and they were knocking it down with regularity. As you know, this didn’t last the entire game and once it hit the second half, the Chinese squad had lost the legs on their jumpers and all of them were hitting rim and bouncing out. I was extremely impressed with Yao Ming’s attitude and for a guy who says he’s only 70-80% healthy after the stress fracture in his foot, he sure played hard. Yi Jianlian was a disappointment for most of the game until the end when he asserted himself more. Sun Yue and some other players were impressive in short stretches but I’d be lying if I said I remembered a lot of the things they did. Ball pressure was definitely an issue when it was presented for them and that – combined with the fatigue of playing the Americans – is what did them in. They were overmatched to begin with, though, and we’ve learned that the Americans hit their top gear in the second and third quarters to put teams away. It may be rare to see a 30-12 start or something like that in the first quarter. That has typically been close in the pre-Olympic exhibition tour, as well as in yesterday’s game against China. It may change once the level of competition increases.

Observations:

1. Jason Kidd Produces Nothing

We’ve heard about J-Kidd’s presence being useful on this Olympic team because of his 38-0 (now 39-0) international record. He’s definitely one of the best point guards of all time but he hasn’t seemed up to task in these games. He didn’t record a single assist against China and turned the ball over three times. This shouldn’t be coming from your starting point guard and future Hall of Famer. Teams have the book on Kidd that he will not look to shoot whatsoever (and he didn’t) so they play the passing lanes and use his defender to gamble, resulting in steals and open court opportunities for the opposition. While it didn’t happen against China, there were times the Americans were just bobbling the ball around and looking awkward. Chris Paul recorded six assists with only one turnover and I’d say Coach K probably realized what needs to happen because CP3 played 20 minutes while Kidd was on the court for 13 even as a starter. Deron Williams also played 19 minutes. Kidd isn’t necessarily being ‘phased out’ and it’s hard to argue with a 31-point win but Paul and D-Will need to be running the show..

2. Melo Is Unprepared

I realize that on an All-Star-type team like this, you can’t expect every player to reach the numbers they usually do with their NBA team. On a game-to-game basis, the production will change and the high scorers and rebounders will most likely be different players. However, Carmelo Anthony has not impressed me much in the last few games. He shot 0-for-3 for three points from the foul line and had four rebounds in 14 minutes. This is coming just days after Jerry Colangelo suggested he may not be in the shape he needs to be right now to compete in these games at the highest level. It’s a bit disturbing since Melo was unquestionably Team USA’s best player last summer in the Americas tournament but they still managed to pull out a big win. Hopefully he’ll show up against Angola and later on in the Olympics.

3. Dwyane Wade Is Instant Offence

I’m sure there were a lot of people out there that didn’t know what to expect from D-Wade following his surgeries this offseason. He’s come back and seems very close to being back to his old self. Granted, he’s playing against far inferior competition but he still looks quick, explosive and elusive. He’s the sixth man on this team and even though he’s coming off the bench, I’m pretty sure he’s leading the team in scoring. He had 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting with two assists and two steals in just 20 minutes against China. That’s the type of efficiency this team needs to have. He penetrates at will and finds a way to finish at the rim, his jumper seems to be as good as it’s ever been (although we haven’t seen that much of it yet since he attacks the basket) and he’s playing with a lot of confidence. How amazing is it to look down the bench of any team and see Dwyane Wade sitting there? Coach K has got some good pieces in his rotation.

4. Too Many 3-Point Shots

The three-point line is a little closer to the basket in international play but that doesn’t mean you have to jack it up every time you’re open. Kobe Bryant and Michael Redd combined for 14 attempts against China. I’m guessing Coach K gave Redd free reign to shoot those shots when he’s open because he’s a ‘specialist’ but Kobe only hit one of them to Redd’s three. That’s a little ridiculous. The team as a whole shot the three at a 7-for-24 clip. Again, 29% is not going to cut it. They have to boost that to AT LEAST 35-37% once they start playing the better teams like Greece, Spain, Argentina, etc. The opposing defenses will likely be better so they need to hit that outside shot off of penetration when it presents itself. I guess the number of attempts isn’t too bad – it’s the lack of makes that ruins it.

5. Unleashing LeBron James

The King has been a scary force on the defensive end with his athleticism. He’s been playing above the rim in these games, pinning the ball against the backboard, ripping it off the rim, making two-handed grabs out of the air for blocks. He’s also getting a lot of steals using his quickness and once he gets into the open court, there’s not much anyone can do to stop him except dish out a foul. He’s done everything very well in my eyes so far and the game against China was no exception. He shot a very good percentage (mostly off dunks) and filled up the stat sheet. This year’s team appears to be anchored by LeBron, Kobe and Wade, which is a solid core.

The CB4 Radar

You didn’t think I could go a whole entry without talking about the Raptors’ resident franchise, did you? I can’t say enough about how impressed I’ve been with Bosh’s last few games against Russia, Australia and now, China. Mike Breen and Doug Collins talked about CB4 on at least two different occasions during the NBC broadcast, which was nice to hear. As Raptors fans, we seem to have this little man’s complex when it comes to being shunned by the American media outlets. Raptor games aren’t broadcast nationally in the United States, our players are rarely talked about, etc. so to hear them say Bosh could be the biggest surprise of the tournament for Team USA was great.

I continue to believe Bosh is the best big man on the team for this tournament. I’m not saying he’s a better player than Dwight Howard, because we all saw what happened during the playoffs but the international game is about finesse more than it is about power. Bosh epitomizes what it means to play a quick, smooth, efficient style rather than using brute force to simply overpower his opponents. Here’s a statistical comparison of the game against China:

CB4: 9 points, 8 rebounds (4 offensive), 3 steals, 1 turnover, 4-for-4 FG, 1-for-2 FT in 13 minutes

D12: 13 points, 2 rebounds (0 offensive), 5-for-10 FG, 3-for-5 FT in 20 minutes

Take into account the fact Coach K has singled Bosh out for praise for his defense and activity on that end of the court and I think it’s clear CB4 should be getting more than 13 minutes. It feels like he’s on the court longer than that but his play sure says he should get more opportunities. The greatest thing about him is he doesn’t get any set touches. Team USA doesn’t run any plays on simple dump-ins to the post where the big man goes to work on the block. The big men get their chances on rolls to the basket in most cases where a perimeter player finds them in motion for a lay-up at the rim. Also, there are baseline moves where Chris Paul has found Bosh on a few occasions. He led the team in both rebounding categories and had a game-high total with his steals so it shows he’s doing all the little things and the intangibles to help the team. He was guarding Yao Ming for some stretches against China and held his own.

Obviously, Dwight Howard started the game very well with a few quick baskets in the paint and dunks but then he was blocked at least two or three times in the second half. His body language didn’t seem like he was aggressive or as into the game as some of the other players. He would drop his shoulders on what he believed were no-calls against him and jog down the court rather than sprint. His free throw shooting also leaves much to be desired. Now, I know I’m probably overanalyzing this in Bosh’s favour since I want him to do well in Beijing and get the notoriety he deserves for being a great player but I don’t think any of this is farfetched for those of you that have actually seen the games. The box scores don’t do CB4 justice and recently, he’s been starting to fill that up as well. If he gets 18 minutes or more against Angola, I’ll be a happy man. Maybe D12 can even catch some untimely foul trouble.. just kidding.

Anyway, that’s it for this abbreviated entry. I should be back on Tuesday night with my second review, hopefully accompanied by my thoughts on some of the other games if I can find a way to watch them. Until next time..

-Mark R.

[The Raptor Core]