EricLA
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- Joined
- Aug 24, 2011
- Messages
- 15,102
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First, we saw a LOT of UCONN folks there at the game. Kalana Greene and Barbara Turner. Glory and Dewanna were back as well as CD and Jen Rizotti. It was fun seeing them.
Went to the game with Ken and Joan. Expected it to be closer but I still thought we'd have a good 20 point win. Well, we won by 20, but it was NOT comfortable.
First, not sure how it looked on TV, but Serbia is VERY physical. More than necessary. USA players were pulled, shoved, and the refs did a really poor job catching all the moving screens. Geno got a T for calling them out on it and I think Dee got a T as well.
Dee does NOT like the Serbia team. After the game, she shook hands with some of the players, and on some of the others, did a high 5 hitting their hand VERY hard. Noticeably so. Lindsay Whalen did not like the Serbia team either. She got super fired up at one point in the 2nd half and was really exhorting her teammates to give even more effort.
In much of the first half, the energy seemed to be missing. Not sure what the deal was but there was no sense of urgency, on offense or defense. I think the team was rather shocked when Serbia took the lead and kept it for several minutes.
I actually thought everyone on USA played well, and almost everyone made noticeable mistakes. Bird was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball at times and made several untimely turnovers. At times team USA could not hold on to the ball. I've never been so frustrated with Tina's inability to make a shot right under the rim - but she wasn't the only one. But overall team USA played well despite what Serbia brought to the table.
Serbia is a total TEAM. They play great help defense and really kept USA from getting in to any kind of regular rhythm. Geno, Diana and Angel all lost their cool, and Lindsay almost did as well. Angel was just out of synch for most of the time she was in the game - she seemed like she wanted to change and "turn the tide' into UCONN's favor all by herself. she went for a steal, missed it, and fell apart after that.
Even Sue Bird got pissed mouthing expletives when she came off the court at one point. Brit was very calm even tho she was mauled a lot as well. You could tell she was pissed too. Dee played really well, notwithstanding her T, and Maya was terrific, par usual. Tina started well but fell off. Dupree stood out tonight as well. Siemone made some big shots. Nneka struggled with their size but still had an impact.
I actually thought the mid range jumper and 3 point shot was UCONN 's best friend tonight, but Griner had terrific footwork and made some shots that no other person could make (in one of them she was under the basket but was able to reach over her defender and lay the ball in).
#14 from Serbia had like 22 points in the first half, but whatever Geno drew up worked - she had 2 the rest of the game.
Overall, a tough game, but you don't win or lose based on style points. I think a game like this really highlights the lack of time Team USA spends practicing and playing together. A group of less talented individuals, like Serbia, who played better team basketball, really gave USA a tough game. BUT a game is 40 minutes of playing time. For those who said the game was "closer than it seemed", I say not really. It was close until midway into the 3rd quarter when USA started to pull away, and in the 4th quarter, when they really dominated.
For those who think the starting lineup should be change, you couldn't be more wrong. Maybe it looks way different on TV, but Tina was terrific for long stretches of the game and putting her on the court with Griner is fantastic. Honestly, if Parker was 100%, I'd prefer her starting over Tina because she has a greater variety of skills...
Went to the game with Ken and Joan. Expected it to be closer but I still thought we'd have a good 20 point win. Well, we won by 20, but it was NOT comfortable.
First, not sure how it looked on TV, but Serbia is VERY physical. More than necessary. USA players were pulled, shoved, and the refs did a really poor job catching all the moving screens. Geno got a T for calling them out on it and I think Dee got a T as well.
Dee does NOT like the Serbia team. After the game, she shook hands with some of the players, and on some of the others, did a high 5 hitting their hand VERY hard. Noticeably so. Lindsay Whalen did not like the Serbia team either. She got super fired up at one point in the 2nd half and was really exhorting her teammates to give even more effort.
In much of the first half, the energy seemed to be missing. Not sure what the deal was but there was no sense of urgency, on offense or defense. I think the team was rather shocked when Serbia took the lead and kept it for several minutes.
I actually thought everyone on USA played well, and almost everyone made noticeable mistakes. Bird was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball at times and made several untimely turnovers. At times team USA could not hold on to the ball. I've never been so frustrated with Tina's inability to make a shot right under the rim - but she wasn't the only one. But overall team USA played well despite what Serbia brought to the table.
Serbia is a total TEAM. They play great help defense and really kept USA from getting in to any kind of regular rhythm. Geno, Diana and Angel all lost their cool, and Lindsay almost did as well. Angel was just out of synch for most of the time she was in the game - she seemed like she wanted to change and "turn the tide' into UCONN's favor all by herself. she went for a steal, missed it, and fell apart after that.
Even Sue Bird got pissed mouthing expletives when she came off the court at one point. Brit was very calm even tho she was mauled a lot as well. You could tell she was pissed too. Dee played really well, notwithstanding her T, and Maya was terrific, par usual. Tina started well but fell off. Dupree stood out tonight as well. Siemone made some big shots. Nneka struggled with their size but still had an impact.
I actually thought the mid range jumper and 3 point shot was UCONN 's best friend tonight, but Griner had terrific footwork and made some shots that no other person could make (in one of them she was under the basket but was able to reach over her defender and lay the ball in).
#14 from Serbia had like 22 points in the first half, but whatever Geno drew up worked - she had 2 the rest of the game.
Overall, a tough game, but you don't win or lose based on style points. I think a game like this really highlights the lack of time Team USA spends practicing and playing together. A group of less talented individuals, like Serbia, who played better team basketball, really gave USA a tough game. BUT a game is 40 minutes of playing time. For those who said the game was "closer than it seemed", I say not really. It was close until midway into the 3rd quarter when USA started to pull away, and in the 4th quarter, when they really dominated.
For those who think the starting lineup should be change, you couldn't be more wrong. Maybe it looks way different on TV, but Tina was terrific for long stretches of the game and putting her on the court with Griner is fantastic. Honestly, if Parker was 100%, I'd prefer her starting over Tina because she has a greater variety of skills...