Sayonara FIBA Gold Medal
The 2006 FIBA World Championship final game is set. The surprisingly strong Greece team will face off against the team from Spain, which might be without Pau Gasol after a foot injury in the semi-final game against Argentina. Before I get any further, I want to apologize to anyone who followed my non-advice (I do not advocate gambling of any sort) and put money on Argentina to win it all. As the defending Olympic gold medallists, I really thought they would at least make it to the gold medal game. Guess not. At the same time, those who put money on Spain or didn’t put money on the US don’t have to thank me. Knowing I was right is more than enough satisfaction for me. Yes, I am spinning the truth a little bit but hey, it’s my blog so I’ll do what I want.
I originally planned to write this column about how good the Argentina team was and how difficult it would be for the United States team to win the championship. I was even thinking of starting it before the games were played. It’s funny how plans have a habit of blowing up in your face.
So instead this column will focus on what happened with the US team in their 101-95 loss to Greece. I wish I could say something about the Spain/Argentina game, but after watching the US lose I really didn’t feel like recording the second game, although I expected it would be a good one and it appears it was.
The loss by the US was not a complete surprise. It seemed a lot of people were expecting the team to lose in the tournament, from The Sports Guy to Michael Wilbon to more than a couple of my friends (all of whom e-mailed me this morning to remind me they were right). Even as the game started I felt a little bit of dread that the US would lose.
But it was still a real disappointment for me. Halfway through the game I couldn’t help but be reminded of the NBA finals two years ago between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons. Like the Lakers, the US appeared to be more talented, but Greece was able to play more cohesively as a team, just like the Pistons.
So what went wrong? Well the most obvious problem was missed free throws. The United States was 20 of 34 from the not-so-charitable stripe. For those mathematically challenged like me, that’s 58.8%. LeBron James was 1 of 4, Dwayne Wade was 6 of 9, and Carmelo Anthony was 6 of 10. In the NBA last season, James shot 73% from the free throw line and Wade and Anthony were around 80%. Granted, the guys were playing in something of a hostile arena. Everywhere the camera turned you saw Greek banners and Greek fans. I can’t remember seeing one American flag during the whole game. But if these guys had made their free throws, the outcome of the game might have been a little different.
The second biggest problem was the US defense. The team started off playing very good defense and held Greece to only 14 points in the first quarter. They were even able to open up a 12-point lead in the second quarter. However that lead did not last long and at half time the US trailed 45-41 after a 22-5 run by Greece. Greece was able to exploit the US team’s inability to defend the high pick and roll. It’s such a basic play but I know from watching the Lakers when Shaq was on the team how difficult it can be to defend. Nonetheless, I really would have thought that the US coaching staff would have done a better job of preparing the team to deal with it.
Another area where the team’s defensive efforts killed them was the perimeter defense. Greece went 8 for 18, 44.4%, from downtown. I mentioned how this was a problem for the US in an earlier column. Unfortunately the coaching staff once again failed to drive home the importance of keeping a hand in the face of the shooters, preferably without fouling them. Although in fairness to the team, some of those three pointers were tough shots that were just able to find a way to the bottom of the basket.
The American team on the other hand made only 9 of 28 of their three-point shots. LeBron was 0-4 and Chris Paul was 0-2 (0-5 from the field overall). Maybe Gilbert Arenas was right when he complained earlier this week that he should have been on the team. Wade was 1-3. It really amazes me that despite how good he is, he’s such a mediocre perimeter shooter.
The third major problem that I saw was the lack of a consistent rotation. Earlier I wrote that I thought that Coach K had decided on a regular starting line-up of Paul, Shane Battier, Anthony, James, and Dwight Howard. Well, only Anthony and James were in the starting line up for this game. They were joined by Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson, and Dwight Howard. If the US hopes to do better in China (assuming they qualify next year after the Tournament of the Americas), the coaching staff will have to stop thinking of the team as an all-star team and more like a regular team, with a set starting lineup and a more rigid rotation.
As disappointing as the US defeat was, it’s not a complete disaster, at least not yet. I think the problems mentioned above can be fixed. While a FIBA championship would have been nice, the real focus is still on the Olympics in China two years from now. In fact historically, the United States has never dominated the FIBA championship like they have the Olympics. They won it in 1994, 1986, and 1954; were second in 1982, 1959, and 1950; came in third in 1998, 1990, and 1974; were fourth in 1967 and 1963; were fifth in 1978 and 1970; and of course there was the horrible sixth place finish in 2002. If the US can salvage some pride and beat Argentina for the bronze medal, then this tournament may provide a good stepping stone for the Olympics.
As The Pocho, you might expect me to root for Spain in the final game given that some of my ancestors probably hail from Spain. Truth is, since some of those ancestors probably brutalized my other ancestors when they came to the New World, I tend not to cheer for Spain in any context. (Although, I really did enjoy my trip to Barcelona six years ago.) So I don’t really care who wins the FIBA gold medal. I’ll be more interested in the bronze medal match and hoping that the US team can show me they’ll be able to win gold in China in two years.
I originally planned to write this column about how good the Argentina team was and how difficult it would be for the United States team to win the championship. I was even thinking of starting it before the games were played. It’s funny how plans have a habit of blowing up in your face.
So instead this column will focus on what happened with the US team in their 101-95 loss to Greece. I wish I could say something about the Spain/Argentina game, but after watching the US lose I really didn’t feel like recording the second game, although I expected it would be a good one and it appears it was.
The loss by the US was not a complete surprise. It seemed a lot of people were expecting the team to lose in the tournament, from The Sports Guy to Michael Wilbon to more than a couple of my friends (all of whom e-mailed me this morning to remind me they were right). Even as the game started I felt a little bit of dread that the US would lose.
But it was still a real disappointment for me. Halfway through the game I couldn’t help but be reminded of the NBA finals two years ago between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Detroit Pistons. Like the Lakers, the US appeared to be more talented, but Greece was able to play more cohesively as a team, just like the Pistons.
So what went wrong? Well the most obvious problem was missed free throws. The United States was 20 of 34 from the not-so-charitable stripe. For those mathematically challenged like me, that’s 58.8%. LeBron James was 1 of 4, Dwayne Wade was 6 of 9, and Carmelo Anthony was 6 of 10. In the NBA last season, James shot 73% from the free throw line and Wade and Anthony were around 80%. Granted, the guys were playing in something of a hostile arena. Everywhere the camera turned you saw Greek banners and Greek fans. I can’t remember seeing one American flag during the whole game. But if these guys had made their free throws, the outcome of the game might have been a little different.
The second biggest problem was the US defense. The team started off playing very good defense and held Greece to only 14 points in the first quarter. They were even able to open up a 12-point lead in the second quarter. However that lead did not last long and at half time the US trailed 45-41 after a 22-5 run by Greece. Greece was able to exploit the US team’s inability to defend the high pick and roll. It’s such a basic play but I know from watching the Lakers when Shaq was on the team how difficult it can be to defend. Nonetheless, I really would have thought that the US coaching staff would have done a better job of preparing the team to deal with it.
Another area where the team’s defensive efforts killed them was the perimeter defense. Greece went 8 for 18, 44.4%, from downtown. I mentioned how this was a problem for the US in an earlier column. Unfortunately the coaching staff once again failed to drive home the importance of keeping a hand in the face of the shooters, preferably without fouling them. Although in fairness to the team, some of those three pointers were tough shots that were just able to find a way to the bottom of the basket.
The American team on the other hand made only 9 of 28 of their three-point shots. LeBron was 0-4 and Chris Paul was 0-2 (0-5 from the field overall). Maybe Gilbert Arenas was right when he complained earlier this week that he should have been on the team. Wade was 1-3. It really amazes me that despite how good he is, he’s such a mediocre perimeter shooter.
The third major problem that I saw was the lack of a consistent rotation. Earlier I wrote that I thought that Coach K had decided on a regular starting line-up of Paul, Shane Battier, Anthony, James, and Dwight Howard. Well, only Anthony and James were in the starting line up for this game. They were joined by Kirk Hinrich, Joe Johnson, and Dwight Howard. If the US hopes to do better in China (assuming they qualify next year after the Tournament of the Americas), the coaching staff will have to stop thinking of the team as an all-star team and more like a regular team, with a set starting lineup and a more rigid rotation.
As disappointing as the US defeat was, it’s not a complete disaster, at least not yet. I think the problems mentioned above can be fixed. While a FIBA championship would have been nice, the real focus is still on the Olympics in China two years from now. In fact historically, the United States has never dominated the FIBA championship like they have the Olympics. They won it in 1994, 1986, and 1954; were second in 1982, 1959, and 1950; came in third in 1998, 1990, and 1974; were fourth in 1967 and 1963; were fifth in 1978 and 1970; and of course there was the horrible sixth place finish in 2002. If the US can salvage some pride and beat Argentina for the bronze medal, then this tournament may provide a good stepping stone for the Olympics.
As The Pocho, you might expect me to root for Spain in the final game given that some of my ancestors probably hail from Spain. Truth is, since some of those ancestors probably brutalized my other ancestors when they came to the New World, I tend not to cheer for Spain in any context. (Although, I really did enjoy my trip to Barcelona six years ago.) So I don’t really care who wins the FIBA gold medal. I’ll be more interested in the bronze medal match and hoping that the US team can show me they’ll be able to win gold in China in two years.
posted by The Pocho at 1:32 PM
5 Comments:
Hello there. I would be glad to play with you again in 2 years :-) However, our team (Greece) is really young and usually stronger then the opponents.. you see.. in Europe we're something like the "USA of Europe".. our shortest player is 1.96 m .. we have 5 all around players that considering the european standards (power/speed of the game) can play from point guard to (light) power forward easily.
If you want to be sure that you win a world class tournament you must bring Shaquille. Kobe Bryant alone won't do.. I don't believe that Bryant would do much better than Carmello Anthony.. actually I think that he would have more points with much worst % so.. it would actually be a bad for the team to have him... on the other side Shaq would have stop "Sofo" from doing party under the USA baskett and scored crucial points when needed easily.
Another thing, if you think that Greece was leading the game since the end of the second period.. you'll understand that the win did not occur by miracle. I believe that we can beat the USA team again and again.. if it does not grow tactically (hard thing to do for these college-growed players). Again consider that the Greeks are going to grow as well.. as said before this is a young team.
Now in the Final with Spain, most people will still consider Greece the outsider, I think that we will win by 17 or maybe 20 points :-)
Just take a look at our "zone press" defence with other Europeans teams.. as said before.. we're Europe's "dream team"!
Told you so. And even though it's your blog I want to point out that you were more wrong than you now let on. Ha ha.
Since you were kind enough to post on the subject let me take our Melo debate into the semi-public sphere. I know you disagree with my assessment of Melo that he is a macrocosm of Team USA's failure. But that's because you are over-dazzled by stats, like all American basketball fans who see players as fantasy basketball stat generators and not much else. Yeah Melo might score a ton of points but he also turns over the ball a lot (#13 in the league among all players in 2005-06) for someone who is not a primary ball handler, and can't shoot the 3-ball at all from the small forward position. He plays no defense, is a mediocre passer and a below-average rebounder for a Three. These are liabilities, especially in FIBA play where smart ball distribution and good shooting from all positions win games. Yeah he scores a ton. Team USA scored a ton against Greece -- 95 points is a lot. But they still managed to lose, which is the larger problem with both Team USA and Melo.
Finally, you say Team USA would not have been even in it against Greece and Italy without Melo but that's ridiculous. Let me put it this way, if Arenas and not Melo had been on the team, would you have bet me before the tournament started that Italy and Greece would "blow out" Team USA as you claim now in defense of Melo? Would you bet me that even now? I say no way.
In my dislike of Anthony I probably failed to make clear -- I don't think he's a failure. Like I said, he's a macrocosm of Team USA's strengths and weaknesses. Obviously he's a very good player. Team USA is a very good team. However, neither are champions and won't be unless they play smarter and tougher.
PS I agree with atma's post that as was the case in Athens 2004, not enough of the blame is put on players (one fat player who hates conditioning during the offseason in particular) who think representing their country is a big waste of time.
Oops, I meant microcosm, obviously.
Atma,
I really don't think that Shaq would have helped this team that much. I know for sure that he wouldn't have been much help on the pick and roll.
I guess Spain's team was too tough for Greece. Oh well. Silver is still better than bronze.
Rich,
I think you mentioned in your blog that you weren't able to watch any of the games on tv in Japan so I'll have to take your analysis with a grain of salt. :)
I'm not defending Melo's play in the NBA. I'm saying he was great for Team USA. While his defense isn't stellar, he wasn't the one getting burned in the Greece game and I really do think the team would have been out of contention without him. I watched the games. I saw how there were times other players on the team couldn't hit anything and Carmelo had to take it upon himself to make some shots. Arenas might have made them, but he wasn't there so we'll never know. I just know that the other guys that were there weren't hitting them.
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