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Archive for the 'USA Basketball' Category

U.S. dominates Germany; Aussies next

Published by Chris Manning on August 18, 2008 in USA Basketball. 13 Comments

Team USA proved why they are on a mission to be the best in the world.

ESPN: The U.S. Olympic team put away Dirk Nowitzki and Germany in a hurry.

Next up: the only team so far these Americans couldn’t blow out.

After destroying Germany 106-57 on Monday, the Americans (5-0) move on to a quarterfinal matchup Wednesday against Australia, the team that’s provided them with their toughest test in China.

The U.S. led by only seven points midway through the fourth quarter of an 87-76 exhibition victory in Shanghai two weeks ago over an Australian team that didn’t have starting center Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks. He was resting a sore right ankle.

It’s hard to imagine a repeat of that semi-Shanghai surprise with the way the U.S. has played in Beijing.

“Nobody is going to beat them. No way, it’s just not going to happen,” Germany’s Chris Kaman said.

Continue reading: ‘U.S. dominates Germany; Aussies next’

Kaman: “People hate Kobe Bryant, and he’s the best player in the world.”

Published by Chris Manning on August 17, 2008 in USA Basketball. 21 Comments

Chris Kaman recently made some comments about Kobe. Deep respect from the Clipper. He talks about how he’s playing for Germany (tomorrow USA faces Germany) even though he’s an American Citizen. Here is what he had to say about Ochox3:

ESPN: “People are going to hate you no matter what you do. People hate Kobe Bryant, and he’s the best player in the world,” Kaman said. “I just want to be positive, not focus on the negative stuff. It doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Team USA dismantles Spain

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 16, 2008 in USA Basketball. 9 Comments

ESPN: Spain tried everything. Pretty much none of it worked.

The zone? Team USA shot over it, drove the baseline against it and picked it apart.

The pick-and-roll? Spain tried it a lot early, and you know how many points its best player, Pau Gasol, had in the first 12 ½ minutes against it? Zero.

The press? Let’s put it this way: If another team tries to use the full-court press against Team USA, it might as well just walk off the court and forfeit. Open up the court for the Americans, like the Greeks did two nights earlier and like the Spanish foolishly tried to in this one, and they’ll crush you.

What made Saturday’s 119-82 throttling of Spain so impressive was the way the Americans did everything so extraordinarily well. They’re getting better each game, they’re improving their few weak areas and the only thing that’s scary about this 37-point beatdown is the notion that they might have peaked.

It’s up to them to prove that they haven’t, because the plane ride home is still more than a week away. But if they’re going to keep bringing it like they brought it against the reigning world champions, there’s no way they’re going to lose.

“Twenty-eight turnovers is just a staggering number,” said Gasol, whose team’s field goal total matched its turnover total.

Continue reading ‘Team USA dismantles Spain’

A Candid Look at Greatness

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 16, 2008 in USA Basketball and User's Take. 7 Comments

Special thanks to Travis J. Rodgers for submitting his take to the Lakers Nation and giving us the rights to post it on the blog. Once again, if you have your own take and want to see it on TLN, feel free to e-mail it to us at Articles@theLakersNation.com.

One’s ability to adapt to new surroundings and challenges speaks volumes about one’s degree of competence. Spectators across the globe are now presented with the opportunity to observe the NBA’s greatest players facing new surroundings (team USA) and new challenges (the basketball world and the international game). As Lakers fans tune in to watch Kobe Bryant in the white number ten jersey, they should expect to see something very different from what they see in the purple and gold eight. The question is whether Kobe is modifying his game as he should.

Entering Thursday’s game against the Hellenes, while Kobe had been touted for his defense, he had been maligned for his shooting from “long” range. That is, despite the international three point line being a bit closer than the NBA line, Kobe had shot just 1 for 15 on threes. So facing what was considered the first “true” competition in the Greek squad (featuring, among others, almost Laker Theodorus Papaloukas), what should spectators have seen? In short, an honest read of Kobe Bryant as a player.

The setting has changed, but Kobe’s raw attributes have shone through. The virtues and vices he possesses are merely looking a bit different because of the change in scenario. Kobe is still fantastically athletic. Witness at least two fastbreak dunks Kobe thundered home and two attempted alley oops. One Kobe threw down; another he missed, cramming it hard off the back iron. Still his level of athleticism is elite even on a team of athletic freaks and facing superior competition.

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Team U.S.A. Pre-Game Report: U.S.A. vs. Spain

Published by Andrew Rafner on August 15, 2008 in USA Basketball and Varsity Shootaround. 14 Comments

Disclaimer #1: I had a wonderful vacation, and although I missed the Angola and Greece games, I still feel the spirit and ferocity of the Screaming Eagles pulsating through my body.

Disclaimer #2: America. Apple Pie. Fifty States. Eagles. Money. Amber waves of grain. Abe Lincoln. Declaration of Independence. Guns. Mickey Mouse. Baseball.

As much as I love the United States of America and their National basketball team, I have room in my heart for another darling.

I love the Spanish National basketball team.

Not in the same way I love the ol’ Screaming Eagles, but the kind of way you love this year’s Tampa Bay Rays.

Continue reading ‘Team U.S.A. Pre-Game Report: U.S.A. vs. Spain’

Bryant’s New Skin Condition Speaks Volumes

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 15, 2008 in Kobe Watch and USA Basketball. 13 Comments

Bloomberg: Kobe Bryant, basketball’s Mr. Cool, got goose bumps during the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

He’s heard about goose bumps. He’s even seen goose bumps. But, and get this, he’d never actually experienced goose bumps.

Didn’t get ‘em on draft day. Hearing his name called, shaking hands with National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern, fulfilling a lifelong dream — that wasn’t enough. Meeting Jerry West didn’t do it. Not his first game with the Los Angeles Lakers, either. Not his first championship. Not his first Most Valuable Player Award. Nothing.

“First time,” he said.

Bryant, of all people, has become America’s foremost goodwill ambassador. He’s wrapped himself in the flag, immersed himself in this we-are-the-world environment, and all while spreading the gospel of humble pie.

Bryant is telling the world, literally, that his Olympic experience is the most significant undertaking of his life, athletic or otherwise.

“More significant than anything I’ve ever done,” he said the other day.

Sorry, Lakers-land. You’ve just been bumped.

We can’t call this the new-and-improved Bryant because we’ve seen it already. Think back to before he was a one-name wonder, prior to his making front-page headlines for all the wrong reasons. Before winning yielded to whining. Before Shaq. Before Phil. Before Bryant tried to become basketball’s first and only solo act.

Continue reading ‘Bryant’s New Skin Condition Speaks Volumes’

Kobe Bryant a matinee idol at Beijing Olympics

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 15, 2008 in Kobe Watch and USA Basketball. 7 Comments

The Olympian: On Monday, Apirut and Apichok Saekow left Bangkok, Thailand, on Thai Airlines Flight 960. In his checked Fila athletic bag, Apirut had packed a smaller Adidas bag. Inside that one was the reason for their trip.

Then, Apirut brought it out: A Kobe Bryant Nike Uptempo basketball shoe. First series.

“Just to have a look at him - that is my dream,” said Apirut, who runs an Internet cafe in Bangkok with his brother. “Just to see him. Chat, chat. Anything with him.”

Brother Apichok wore a white jersey that read “Los Angeles” on the front and “Bryant” on the back. It was a knockoff. Instead of the traditional Lakers purple and gold, the lettering was light blue.

“I just want to see him one time - it’s OK,” Apirut said. “He inspire me.”

While going to the gate at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium where they heard the U.S. men’s team might drive in for Tuesday night’s game with Angola - “Somebody told me North Gate,” Apirut said - the brothers ran into a kindred spirit. Wan, an 18-year-old who arrived in Beijing three years ago from North Korea, now a university student, stood by the gate with a camera hanging from her wrist. She explained her presence using the only English word she seemed to know.

“Kobe,” said Wan, who didn’t want to give her last name.

At this Olympics, Bryant is the matinee idol, inspiring rapture with a wave of his hand. Michael Phelps can win eight gold medals. Let Tyson Gay become the world’s fastest human. They’re all cruising in Kobe’s wake. In describing the mass shrieks and screams every day, his teammates use Beatles comparisons.

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Bryant scores 18 as U.S. gets revenge on Greece

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 14, 2008 in USA Basketball. 17 Comments

ESPN: It’s official now. This is NOT Japan and the 2006 World Championships, not to mention Athens and the 2004 Olympics.

This is Beijing and the 2008 Olympics, and the U.S. is back in men’s basketball.

These Americans, who looked so lost two years ago at the World Championship in Japan, appear to have found their Olympic way in China.

Batting away balls or swatting shots on seemingly every possession late in the second quarter, the Americans broke open a close game and went on to a 92-69 victory Thursday night to clinch a spot in the medal round.

“We played like we wanted to win. We played together,” U.S. guard Dwyane Wade said. “We were very aware of their offensive sets, we were very aware of their personnel and we played like that. So we were kind of a step in front of what they wanted to do because we kind of knew everything already.”

The Americans were also able to find the range on jump shots when the Greeks went to a zone defense to slow them down. Kobe Bryant, who entered the game shooting just 37 percent in the first two games, was 7-for-14 from the field and finished with 18 points.

Chris Bosh also had 18 points, Wade added 17 and LeBron James had 13 for the United States (3-0), which moves on to a matchup of Group B unbeatens Saturday night against world champion Spain. The winner will earn the group’s top seed for the quarterfinals.

Greece stunned the Americans two years ago in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championships, shredding the U.S. defense for 63 percent shooting with clinical execution of its pick-and-roll offense in a 101-95 victory.

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