Allen Iverson is held by a player from Spain.
I haven't watched too much Olympic coverage since the games began. I guess part of that lack of viewing had to do with the Olympics conflicting with my traveling schedule. But in the last week, I caught just a few events, watching more Little League baseball than supporting my home country in the Athens games. I told myself I'd watch a little bit more, so I caught chick beach volleyball with Haley the other day. When they won the gold medal, I hadn't seen two teammates that friendly with one another since John Kerry picked John Edwards as his veep and their basically stroked each other nonstop in front of the press corps for a week straight. I guess the ecstasy wore off. So what else have I watched? Some boxing and that was about it. That of course does not include basketball. It's my favorite sport and I that was the only event I was familiar with the schedule and records of all the teams involved. The games were on in the mornings on the USA channel of all places.
Sure the men's team sucks. It's roster is filled with problems. We can debate for days on end about what's fundamentally wrong with the philosophy behind the type of team we send out against the ever improving world players. But I'm not going to bitch and moan about what we don't have. I'm the type of fan that supports the team I got in front of me. The rosters is what it is... so I'm pulling for the guys. This year they'll need all the help they can get, especially after loses to Puerto Rico and Lithuania.
The only saving grace was that I knew NBA players play basketball in two distinct modes... regular season and playoff. The playoffs in the NBA include some of the most brutal post-season games in professional sports. There's a different attitude and mentality behind the level of play... and that was the X factor that which I hoped would put the struggling team USA over the top. They know how to switch gears and step up to play on a bigger stage. The medal round was their opportunity to show the world that they are a lot better than they looked.
This morning, the boys took on a possible gold medal favorite, Spain, led by Europe's best player (and NBA standout) Pau Gasol. I had him on my fantasy basketball team and the guy can shoot for a seven footer. The Americans had been playing awful on the perimeter for the entire Olympics with poor shooting and poor defense which led to their opponents having a higher three point field goal precentage in their two losses.
The game was plagued by the vagaries of officiating from the international refs. They miss a lot of calls and without a doubt, plenty of close calls have gone against the USA on several occasions. But you have to overcome that to win. The game reminded me of a Knicks game.... when the guards play well, they win. The combo of Allen Iverson, Dwayne Wade, and Stephon Marbury were too much for Spain's backcourt to handle. Despite the foul trouble of the big men (Lamar Odom fouled out and Tim Duncan played most of the game in foul trouble), Iverson and Wade played much better defense and Marbury broke an American Olympic record with 31 points... 18 from three pointers. He broke Charles Barkley's and Adrain Dantley's record of 30 points. His fourth quarter play was impressive. He took control of the game down the stretch, made a crucial steal on a fast break when Spain was threatening to pull close late, and took the ball to the hoop, NYC style, after blowing by his defender and breaking down the zone. He scored more points today then he did the entire first round of the Olympics. Team USA held off Spain 102-94 and moved onto the semifinals, looking the best they've been.
Spain's coach was pissed at Larry Brown.
Team USA even played some zone defense to protect their big men. At the end of the game, Spain's coach acted like a jackass and refused to shake the hand of USA's coach Larry Brown after being pissed off at a scheduled time out that USA called late in the game. Even assistant coach Roy Williams was seen getting into a verbal argument with Spain's coaching staff and one of their players. It seemed like Spain were acting like sore losers, especially since they were favored not just to win a medal... but to win a gold after the Americans got off to a shaky start in the opening rounds. Next up... Argentina, most likely.
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