U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team SPOILER ALERT | The Boneyard

U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team SPOILER ALERT

HuskyNan

HuskyNan

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All you folks that complain that the NBA is nothing but a bunch of “look at me” dunkers should be watching the replay of the USA vs Spain. American men are putting on a passing clinic, stealing balls, blocking shots, harassing the Spanish PG with defense, and throwing themselves on the floor after loose balls. In other words, they’re doing everything that we admire about our Huskies.

And, please, don’t say Spain plays a bunch of nobodies. USA is ranked #1 in the world, Spain is #2.

Www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/who-spain-men-s-olympic-basketball-team-looking-key-players-leading-charge-2021-olympics
 
Men play Australia on Thursday. in the Semi[-Finals. Australia did beast the USA in Vegas in a pre-Olympic tournament. I would think the men will be ready for Australia and now have the complete team on hand.

France plays Slovenia in the other semi-final game.
 
Spain is a good team. They are yet to win an Olympic gold in basketball, having won three silver medals (1984, 2008 and 2012) and a bronze in the 2016 Games.
 
HuskyNan said:
All you folks that complain that the NBA is nothing but a bunch of “look at me” dunkers should be watching the replay of the USA vs Spain. American men are putting on a passing clinic, stealing balls, blocking shots, harassing the Spanish PG with defense, and throwing themselves on the floor after loose balls. In other words, they’re doing everything that we admire about our Huskies.

And, please, don’t say Spain plays a bunch of nobodies. USA is ranked #1 in the world, Spain is #2.

Www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/who-spain-men-s-olympic-basketball-team-looking-key-players-leading-charge-2021-olympics
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I too enjoyed the Men's game once Kevin Durant actually started to play to his level. That gave the others on the team some confidence and they finally loosened up and played an attractive team oriented style and to defend everyone not named Rubbio.

Kevin Durant is the Breanna Stewart of the men's game. ;)
 
I just got to see this replay, and this team has improved remarkably since the loss to France. Spain actually led by as much as 11 in 2Q, but the US rallied and then took charge with an outstanding 3rd quarter.

Popovich, Steve Kerr and Jay Wright are three of the best coaches around. As Nan notes, the US shared the ball beautifully, and the scoresheet backs that up, with 28 assists on 36 made FGs.

The commentators noted it's pretty shocking that Spain, the #2 FIBA-ranked team and reigning World Cup champions, are going home without playing for a medal. They were beaten in pool play by a surging Slovenia team led by Luka Dokic, which has probably been the most impressive team so far. The US-Slovenia semifinal could be fire.
 
HuskyNan said:
All you folks that complain that the NBA is nothing but a bunch of “look at me” dunkers should be watching the replay of the USA vs Spain. American men are putting on a passing clinic, stealing balls, blocking shots, harassing the Spanish PG with defense, and throwing themselves on the floor after loose balls. In other words, they’re doing everything that we admire about our Huskies.

And, please, don’t say Spain plays a bunch of nobodies. USA is ranked #1 in the world, Spain is #2.

Www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/who-spain-men-s-olympic-basketball-team-looking-key-players-leading-charge-2021-olympics
Expand ...

Excellent points! That Spain game was Team USA MBB playing at a high level and looking like the pieces have blended well. When shots are falling, it is always a wonderful sight. But the overall team play by Team USA was excellent. The hustle plays. The defense, especially in that 2nd half. Love watching basketball played at that high level. And it looks like the team has adjusted to the physical play of international ball.
 
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During the 2016 Olympics I much of the men's games yelling armchair coaching at the TV. They didn't look ready for international play at all. This time around, they're better prepared and fun to watch once they started clicking. I agree with @eebmg -- KD is the piece that's making it happen. I haven't had to yell at the tv even once. :D
 
It’s never easy to bring together a group of all stars and get them to play together as a team in a few short weeks. Pop and the USA coaches know exactly what they’re doing, building each and every game, hopefully towards another gold medal.

One thing that probably helps their preparation is the fact that the players can’t go anywhere and do anything in Tokyo. They practice, maybe watch the US WBB games, and hang around their hotel room. Not much to distract them from their mission.
 
KD, the ringleader and vet of this team, would not be denied by the Aussies. Congrats gents on moving on to the Gold medal game. They have the pieces to win it all. There are no “me me” players on this team, which I like. Everyone knows their roll and it was only a matter of time before they figured everything out and play cohesively. The Boomers were hit by a ton of bricks. It’s always harder to be a team the second time around as Patty Mills was basically shut down. Too bad I missed the game. I couldn’t find it last night on USA or NBCSN to record on DVR early in the A.M. It will be on later today.
 
Watching France / Slovenia now. 2 evenly matched teams. (44-42 Slovenia at half with Luca 12 pts, 7 RB , 8 assists) Neither will give the US a game imo unless Luca has a 20+, 20+, 20+ game.
 
HuskyNan said:
All you folks that complain that the NBA is nothing but a bunch of “look at me” dunkers should be watching the replay of the USA vs Spain. American men are putting on a passing clinic, stealing balls, blocking shots, harassing the Spanish PG with defense, and throwing themselves on the floor after loose balls. In other words, they’re doing everything that we admire about our Huskies.
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All you folks that complain that the NBA is nothing but a bunch of “look at me” dunkers are correct!
Who is the coach? Pop! Who does Pop coach in the NBA? The Spurs as in one of the very few NBA teams who pass the ball and play team basketball. Just like EsPN David Stern emphasized entertainment over sport. It works for all except people who truly appreciate team basketball with rules like no steps or carrying the ball etc. Stern's star system is a money generator. It attracts all the folks who like streetball style basketball. There are more folks wanting entertainment than sports.
 
Gold medal game vs. France, live on NBC now.

US has improved but has not shed its habit of slow starts. They spotted double-digit leads in the first half of their last two games, and they're down early 10-4 against France. US is 0-7 from 3 in the first 5 minutes.
 
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14 point lead down to 8 with two quick ill advised 3 point jacks and two defensive breakdowns.
 
Good time out, need to regroup. USA activity and body language has been off since the late 3rd quarter.
 
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Whew. What a tough game.

France is a tough, talented team with size, quickness, and great outside shooting. In another 3 years, in front of their home crowd at the 2024 Olympics, they are going to be extremely tough to beat.
 
Even with us not fielding our best Men's basketball team, the world still hasn't caught up with us. Really just added fuel for the fire.
 
Plebe said:
Whew. What a tough game.

France is a tough, talented team with size, quickness, and great outside shooting. In another 3 years, in front of their home crowd at the 2024 Olympics, they are going to be extremely tough to beat.
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Solid team. They played well. Great coaching.
 
89 points in the last 3 gold medal games, including the 2 FTs to finally put away a team that would not go away.

 
Plebe said:
Whew. What a tough game.

France is a tough, talented team with size, quickness, and great outside shooting. In another 3 years, in front of their home crowd at the 2024 Olympics, they are going to be extremely tough to beat.
Expand ...
I have a feeling that the '24 Olympics may be LeBron's swan song and he may want to take part. Harden, Curry, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie may want to win some gold in three years. Also some guy name Zion may want to chip in, as well as Ja Morant, Trae Young, and Donovan Mitchell. LaMello Ball anyone? This country is deep in talent man.
 
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Congrats to the Men's Basketball Team for winning the Gold Medal. Very early I said they wouldn't medal and they sure proved me wrong. This wasn't a strong USA Men's team but they (Kevin Durrant) did what was necessary to win the Gold.
 
Credit to Pop and his coaching staff for continually bringing this team around to gold medal form. We are long past the time when the US could just show up at the Olympics after a few weeks of practice and win gold without breaking a sweat.

After a somewhat shaky start, the US improved each and every game. KD is simply the best MBB player in the world.
 
Congrats, Gentlemen! You fought, valiantly. Some didn’t think that you could succeed, let alone medal, but you persevered and brought home the GOLD. I’m glad that you didn’t listen to the background noise. ;)
 
oldude said:
Credit to Pop and his coaching staff for continually bringing this team around to gold medal form. We are long past the time when the US could just show up at the Olympics after a few weeks of practice and win gold without breaking a sweat.

After a somewhat shaky start, the US improved each and every game. KD is simply the best MBB player in the world.
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During one of the games, the announcer said that three of the players, forget who, played in the NBA final, got on to a plane right after the game, then played again that night in the first exhibition game. No wonder they lost - no practice, no time to build chemistry, and no rest.
 
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