Olympics Day 3: Redeem Team Gets Payback

The Raptor Core returns for the third installment of analysis for the basketball tournament at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I managed to catch the Spain and United States games, so those will be the ones I cover. Here are the other scores from Day 3, except for the Argentina/Croatia game to be played after this writing::

Spain def. Germany (72-59)

Australia def. Iran (106-68 )

China def. Angola (85-68 )

Lithuania def. Russia (86-79)

United States def. Greece (92-69)

Recap: Spain Rebounds

I have to start off by saying these Olympics have been my first opportunity to see Spain play for long periods of time and the way they performed against China did not encourage a good first impression for a team that’s expected to be the biggest test for the United States. The coach had erratic substitution patterns, a rotation that only he could understand (assuming there was a method to the madness) and the team played sloppy basketball you would expect from a young NBA team. With that said, they did a lot better against Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Kaman and the rest of Germany. I won’t say they looked like anything close to a challenge for Team USA but they were much better than Tuesday morning.

As I look at the box score to jog my memory, statistics on things like assists, steals, blocks, etc. aren’t available so some players are being shortchanged in my analysis. Either way, Rudy Fernandez looked nothing like the player he was against China. On Tuesday, he was aggressive, smooth, active and looking to make an impact. Against Germany, he didn’t seem as into the game and was making a lot of mental mistakes. He hit a big three pointer at the end of the clock that was impressive but that was the only make of his seven attempts all night. I guess this is why the Portland Trail Blazers didn’t have a problem with him staying overseas after they acquired his rights – he still has to find that consistent middle ground. This could be an aberration and he could bounce back in the next game, so I won’t read into it too much.

I was happy – if not relieved – to see Jose Calderon perform like the player Toronto fans are used to. He had 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting, including a 3-for-4 effort from behind the arc. That went along with 3 rebounds, which is decent for a point guard. I was starting to get very confused with what was going on with Calderon since he had an average opening game and then didn’t even start against China. Jay Triano, an analyst for TSN at these Beijing games, theorized that the Spanish coach may be a bit arrogant and that is translating into not putting his best line-up on the floor often enough. I find it very hard to believe Jose Calderon can’t start on this team. They’re good – but not THAT good. Either way, I’m sure he’ll play more as the games get more important.

Ricky Rubio was active again on the ball. I can’t wait to see what this kid can do defending NBA players. He won’t be able to fluster them as easily as he did to China and Germany but he’s still tenacious and downright irritating. The same goes for Marc Gasol. He reminds me a lot of Argentina’s Luis Scola. They’re both very active, willing to bang down low and have a certain level of finesse to their game even though they play tough. Gasol will be interesting to watch with the Memphis Grizzlies this coming season. As far as Pau Gasol goes, he had another good game. I’d like to see his shooting percentage a little higher in individual games, but 50% is nothing to be ashamed of.

Next up for Spain is the match-up everyone’s been waiting to see in group play. They go head-to-head with the favourites of the tournament: the United States of America. It could go in a variety of directions. Spain has already locked up their spot in the quarter-final round with their three wins so they may choose to take things easy in Saturday morning’s game. They could go all-out and try to send a message to the U.S. but that game is of little importance in the grand scheme of the tournament. Then again, the way Spain has been playing lately isn’t exactly inspiring so it would be advisable for them to play as hard as they can, as if this was an elimination game, so that they can build some momentum and get to the level that they need to be at. We’ll see what happens at 10:15 AM on Saturday.

Recap: Redeem Team Exorcises Greek Demons

As many of you know, it was Greece who defeated the U.S. 101-95 in the semi-finals of the 2006 World Championships, causing them to settle for the bronze medal. Not only did America lose the game, but they were also scored on at will, which I’m sure was a point of emphasis when Coach K spoke to his team about this game. From the outset, the U.S. was very aggressive and guys like Jason Kidd and Dwight Howard combined to accumulate 4-5 fouls in the first few minutes. It was obvious they wanted to really smother Greece and punish them, which they did by holding them to only 69 points. Greece is one of the better teams in Beijing but they were thoroughly dominated after holding a very early lead. This was America’s most difficult challenge so far after a cakewalk against Angola, and the competition will only get stiffer when they play Spain on Saturday morning. One team’s undefeated record will be tarnished but in the end, it won’t mean much as far as eliminations go. Both of these teams have secured spots in the quarter-finals. Anyway, here are my thoughts on individual players in the game:

Observations:

1. Kobe Bryant Returns

Finally, we saw what we’ve come to expect from the NBA’s reigning MVP. He has been mostly quiet throughout the tournament except for some highlight reel dunks. I still don’t like some of his shot selection and the volume he needs to shoot to get his points but he was a lot better in this game than against China and Angola. The one thing that struck me was I hadn’t realized just how many points he had until the game was over and I looked at the box score. It was an almost effortless performance on that end of the court, finishing 7-for-15 with 18 points (tied for the game-high), 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block – not to mention tenacious ball pressure. Team USA will need the Black Mamba to maintain this level of production against Spain and in the knockout stages. He’s way too good to be laid back and passive like he’s been so far.

2. LeBron Remains A Terror

Whether it’s positional defense or coming from the weak side, The King has been nothing short of stellar in these games. He’s held his ground on the block against bigger guys trying to back him down and he’s had highlight reel blocks from all over the court. He’s come from behind, from the side, knocking the ball off the rim, making two-handed catches in mid-air and anything else you can think of. This entire team has been green-lighted to be aggressive and to play a wide open style where they push the ball up the floor and James has been great in the system. He’s had his fair share of highlight reel dunks as well, finishing this morning’s game with 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks. Those are monstrous numbers when you consider how many minutes he’s playing. He hasn’t disappointed so far, and he can’t because every game will mean something as of Wednesday.

3. Melo Takes A Step Back

I was happy with how Carmelo played against Angola but I probably jumped the gun considering the opposition. Against a tough Greek team, he played aggressively and was definitely doing the scrappy, dirty work down low. However, he still doesn’t look like the player we saw last summer that was doing what Dwyane Wade is doing right now: being a beast. I guess it doesn’t really matter if you can win a game by 23 points but he’s been disappointing. I expected him to be a Top 5 player on this team easily and it’s arguable if he’s up there right now.

4. Dwight Howard Gets Tough Break

We’ve all heard how international referees allow more physicality but Dwight Howard hasn’t been able to get away with much. Against Greece, he got in early foul trouble and never really got into the game other than the one dunk he had. His rebounding was good considering the minutes he played but it was a forgettable performance. Maybe there’s some truth to the theory that as good as he is in the NBA, he’s not the perfect guy for international play. It’s still only three games into the tournament, so maybe he’ll show more than he has because he’s had some good games, but Greece wasn’t grossly undersized down low like Angola was when he had his best game. It’s just something to consider.

5. Dwyane Wade Is Business As Usual

Subconsciously, I think I’m waiting for Wade to have an average or sub-par performance by the standards he’s set for himself this summer but he keeps producing. The guy is just instant offence. He’s taking a high volume of shots (comparatively), but so are Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and neither of them have had the kind of numbers he’s been putting up consistently for the last few weeks. He had 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting with 3 rebounds and 5 assists. He was able to get to the foul line nine times, but only converted four of the attempts into points, which is disappointing. He could’ve finished over 20 but it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme. He continues to be scary in every game he plays and seems faster than I remember him before he was injured. I can’t wait to see him back on the floor with Miami in November.

6. The Intangibles

By definition, you can’t quantify intangibles but the U.S. has been doing some great things, especially in this game. How often do you see Carmelo Anthony stepping in to take a charge? Jay Triano pointed it out during the broadcast and it’s something I noticed this morning as well. To a man, it seemed like every player was willing to play outside of themselves in a small way to help the team. When I say that, I don’t mean they were pressing or forcing their game, but they were making one small – but positive – tweak to help the group. It’s cool to watch as a fan.

The CB4 Radar

I had to try very hard to contain myself and not talk about Chris Bosh’s performance earlier than I normally do. However, I – like every Raptor fan that watched this game – am very proud of what CB4 did against Greece. I said in my last entry that it would mean a lot more for him to play well in this game since it meant so much more to the U.S. than the Angola game, where he was average. Of course, Bosh needs others to create for him because he’ll get roughly one isolation or post-up play per game. Even so, that doesn’t mean he’s getting everything on a silver platter. He’s still rolling hard to the basket in order to create those passing lanes from Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, etc. If he was just lollygagging after setting the picks for the guards, he wouldn’t be producing anything.

Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t continue to praise the defense he’s been playing in this tournament and the pre-Olympic tour. He’s not going to be blocking every shot and he won’t physically impose his will on anyone but like everyone’s been saying for weeks now, when he steps out to help guard those pick-and-roll sequences, he’s coming fast and hard. Opposing players seem a bit startled early in games when he comes in because D12 doesn’t do it quite like CB4 does. With that said, I wouldn’t say today was Bosh’s best defensive game because there were some times he could’ve jumped for a block attempt instead of just holding his hands in the air and maintaining his position. It was fundamentally sound but I would’ve liked to see a gamble or two more. Then again, Dwight Howard had four fouls so he couldn’t get himself in trouble as well by doing stupid things. If Coach K’s rotation so far has been any indication, he’d rather not play Carlos Boozer heavy minutes unless he has to.

Bosh’s line was 18 points (tied for game-high) on 7-for-8 shooting with 4 rebounds and 2 blocks. I like all those numbers and his only miss was a mid-range jumper that he usually makes, but didn’t look very comfortable taking in this situation. I don’t think he wanted to take it since that hasn’t been his role on this team but was probably feeling good. Team USA outscored Greece by 15 points in the second quarter and I’m pretty sure that was when Bosh did most of his damage. I was happy to see his teammates were pulling for him and congratulating him on everything he was doing. The repeated ‘And Ones’ he had that he finished were good for his confidence. He was definitely amped up and animated like we’re used to seeing here in Toronto with the Raptors.

He’s easily living up to the expectations we’ve placed on him and others are realizing he’s the dark horse on this American team. After Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, who’s been better for them on both ends of the floor? Maybe Deron Williams or Chris Paul? The list isn’t very long – that’s for sure. Could this be Chris Bosh’s coming out party on the biggest stage of all? I think Saturday morning’s game will be very telling. When he’s up against Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Jorge Garbajosa and the rest of that Spanish team, will he be able to produce? The better question is probably will he be able to defend as effectively as he has so far against a fellow All-Star? This might be D12’s time to shine. Spain is America’s biggest threat so performing well against them would be great for Bosh. The game is also televised on NBC, so there’ll be plenty of people watching. I’m hoping for the best for our franchise player. He’s been great and we can all be proud of him even more for what he’s been able to do in Beijing. He realized he needed to do all the little things to get playing time because guys like LeBron, Wade, etc. would be getting touches they normally get in the NBA – not so for the big men on this team. Kudos to CB4 for his hard work – he deserved what he got today.

TSN Basketball Broadcasts

Paul Romanuk has officially irritated me to new levels. He used the phrase “as they say” about three times during the Germany/Spain game, and then proceeded to use the phrase “it’s all wet” another three times in the U.S. game. I don’t understand how one guy can sound so lame. Maybe it was just because I heard him for a couple games on Tuesday and it didn’t bother me as much in such a small dose but he’s reminding me why the Fan 590 had to get rid of him when he was doing the Raptor broadcasts on the radio. He really sucks. Jay Triano, on the other hand, has been pretty good for a coach. I like his insight on all the players, as well as the fact he’s actually worked with Team USA so he can speak from a perspective few others can. He also has international experience, obviously, having coached Team Canada during the days when they actually qualified for major events like the Olympics. I’m not sure who else TSN could’ve possibly gotten for the play-by-play and it’s not like Romanuk is a total idiot – he DOES know enough about the game but his style is just terrible. I just had to get that off my chest.

Well, that’s all for this entry. I’m sure Raptor fans will be very happy and buzzing about the performances of Jose Calderon and Chris Bosh today. It’s too bad Roko Ukic hasn’t been stellar in any game yet, but I haven’t been able to catch any of them so maybe that’s unfair to say. However, he’s 1-for-5 in the first half of the game against Argentina right now, which isn’t exactly impressive. I can’t wait for 10:15 AM on Saturday morning when Spain and the U.S. clash – it should be fun. Until next time..

-Mark R.

[The Raptor Core]