[Please post on the sticky folks rather than create multitudes of them, thanks (Spoiler Warning: http://prince.org/msg/100/278629 - luv4u]

They were pimpin' at the opening ceremonies, but I wonder how they'll do on the court.



BEIJING -- Nobody has played a game yet, but the Olympic team from Argentina has already defeated the USA in one small, insignificant way.

OK, maybe it wasn't so insignificant if you were one of the athletes who spent four hours standing and enduring the stifling heat and humidity during Friday night's opening ceremonies.

"I see Manu [Ginobili], and they've got like a short-sleeve shirt on," Kobe Bryant said Saturday.

"It was burning hot, and you know, we had the slacks, blazer and a long-sleeve shirt on," Chris Bosh said. "I saw Carlos Delfino last night, and he had his sleeves rolled up, some nice linen pants, and I was like: 'Where were we on that one?'

"But it was all for the sake of our country, so it was worth it."

Argentina and the United States are in different preliminary-round groups, meaning they won't play each other -- if at all -- until the single-elimination medal round. And like those short-sleeved shirts the Argentines wore Friday night, many of Ginobili and Delfino's teammates have something else the Americans envy: the gold medals they won four years ago in Athens.

So what'll be the key factors for Team USA as the Olympics unfold?

Here are a few answers to some questions confronting the Americans in the 2008 Beijing Olympics:

Q: How big of a game is the opener against China (Sunday, 10:15 a.m. ET)?

A: The American players have been told that the game will be viewed by a minimum of 1 billion people worldwide, making it the most watched game in the history of basketball. So you'd have to say that makes it a big game, especially here in China, where the home team is under enormous pressure to make it to the final eight, as it did four years ago in Athens.

China will have a major height advantage with 7-foot-6 Yao Ming and 7-footers Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian (the latter two of that trio will go outside and try to beat the U.S. from 3-point range), but the Americans will endeavor to keep the ball out of those players' hands by pressuring China in the backcourt, either creating turnovers or forcing the Chinese to spend 10 to 14 seconds getting the ball into position to run their offensive sets.

Q: When the ball goes up for the opening tip, who will be Team USA's starting five?

A: Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Saturday that he will continue to go with the same starting five he used in Team USA's five warm-up games: Jason Kidd at the point, Kobe Bryant at shooting guard, LeBron James at the 3, Carmelo Anthony at power forward and Dwight Howard at center.

The Americans expect China to play almost nothing but zone defense, and they've spent the past three days concentrating on what types of offensive sets they'll use against the zone. They've also focused on what kind of defensive traps they'll use against China's bigs when the ball goes into the low post.

Q: Any chance that starting five changes over the course of the tournament?

A: In my opinion, Deron Williams has a better than 50-50 chance of being the starting point guard by the time the medal round arrives, and Bosh is a realistic possibility to replace Howard in the middle.

Coach K has gone out of his way to single out Bosh for unsolicited praise, doing it so many times that it's beginning to seem a little fishy. Krzyzewski also used James at center for an extended period of time against Australia Tuesday, and Howard's free-throw shooting has gotten progressively worse.

Meanwhile, team director Jerry Colangelo has been saying Anthony needs to exert greater effort on defense, so watch for a possible change there, too, although Anthony has arguably been America's best FIBA player the past two years, and Colangelo was most likely trying to light a fire under him.

Q: What does Bosh bring to the table that Howard doesn't?

A: We'll let Bosh answer that himself, since we asked him that very question Saturday afternoon as Team USA practiced at Beijing Normal University.

"His game is a little different from mine," Bosh said, "but when I come in I think [our team] can be a little more aggressive with run-and-jump traps on defense, kind of bringing up the tempo a little more because he's more a traditional big man, he's going to roll, he's going to pound the glass hard. And then when I come in I can wear them down a little more, set quick screen-and-rolls, get guys open, just kind of finesse the game a little bit."

Q: What about the rest of the rotation?

A: Dwyane Wade has been superb as the sixth man. He was a real go-to scorer in the second halves of the two close games the Americans played against Russia and Australia. He will continue in that role -- although he won't necessarily be the first guy off the bench -- especially if Howard gets into foul trouble early (remember, you get only five fouls under FIBA rules, and technical fouls count against your personal foul limit).

Coach K has used Chris Paul and Williams as a backcourt tandem at times, though the team has looked its best when Williams has been running the point against zone defenses. Michael Redd is the designated zone buster and has been taking a majority of his 3s from the corners. Bosh is the backup center, and Tayshaun Prince and Carlos Boozer have yet to play significant roles?

Q: Is Coach K going to continue to keep Boozer and Prince on the bench, or might their roles become more substantial as the tournament evolves?

A: We'll let Coach K answer that one:

"Yes [their roles will increase], in trying to keep a fresh team out on the court that can play our defense and run the court the way we want it run. So these next two games we'll probably have a quicker rotation to make sure we do that, and we'll learn a little bit from that.

"Carlos has had good practices, and he knows how to play. And when we're on defense, that's important. Same thing with Tayshaun. And a guy who I just think has done great is Chris Bosh, every practice, every game, in the ball-screen defense he's so long, and because he has perimeter skills, he's somebody that we can rely on, and he can get more minutes, too."

Q: What aspects of international play will be most difficult for Team USA to adjust to?

A: The NBA is an outside-in game, meaning you try to move the ball from the outside to the inside for a closer look at the basket. The FIBA game is inside-out, with teams trying to penetrate the middle, draw defenders in, then kick the ball outside to the shorter 3-point line.

The best teams move the ball quickly and make the extra pass to the open man on the perimeter, and the Americans have not been quite as adept at playing that style, which features more catch-and-shoot jump shots than what we see in the NBA.

Q: Is this team better prepared for the Olympics than the 2004 team was?

A: In terms of tactical preparation, it's hard to say. Reporters are not allowed to watch practices, so it's hard to discern how well they execute the things they've concentrated on over the past three days: offensive timing, defensive positioning -- especially on the help side -- and knocking down catch-and-shoot jumpers.

From a personnel standpoint, they get tutorials on the tendencies of individual players from chief scout Tony Ronzone of the Detroit Pistons, an expert on international ball. Ronzone believes China will be most vulnerable to full-court pressure when starting point guard Liu Wei is on the bench.

Q: Any chance they'll lose in the Olympics?

A: As I said in my final dispatch from Shanghai after they played Australia, their first-round games against Greece (Thursday, 8 a.m. ET) and Spain (Saturday, 10:15 a.m. ET) should both be considered toss-ups, although Spain is the better of those two opponents.

Greece will slow the game down, whereas Spain will play them straight up and will be far less likely to use a zone. The new Spanish coach, Aito Reneses, is a huge proponent of man-to-man defense.

One particular thing to watch is whether the Americans begin to panic if they fall behind. That tendency has been their Achilles' heel throughout this decade, and this squad has not played from behind in any of their five tune-up games, or in the 2007 Tournament of the Americas.

Q: Would losing to either of those teams be disastrous?

A: Quite the contrary. Losses in the first round don't matter all that much, unless there is a danger of falling out of the top four and failing to advance. And since Team USA should have little difficulty defeating China, Angola and Germany, a spot in the quarterfinals is a 99.9 percent certainty.

Yes, it'll be hard for a significant portion of the American basketball-viewing public to stomach a loss to Spain and/or Greece. But again, in the big picture, it does not matter. What matters is winning the final three games, because if you do that, you fly home with a gold medal around your neck.

"This will be the most competitive Olympics thus far, and in London [in 2012], that will then be the most competitive. It will not get easier to win the gold medal -- for anybody. It'll continually get harder as the sport grows worldwide," Krzyzewski said.

Q: So, how do you see this tournament ending, Sheridan?

A: Those who read my preview column know I like Team USA over Spain by a whisker in the gold medal game. For the rest of the field, I like Argentina over Greece by a couple of whiskers in the bronze medal game, Lithuania for fifth, Russia for sixth, Australia for seventh, Germany eighth, with Croatia and Iran failing to advance out of Group A, and Angola and China missing the quarterfinals out of Group B.
[Edited 8/10/08 16:25pm]

Uh oh, Yao's hurt.

Angola and Germany are up next. Go, Angola! Oh, wait. . . Dirk's on the German team.

They should pull it off. They assembled a team this time and not an all star squad. No longer can they just throw the best 12 players in together and they win, the internationalers have gotten much better since Dream Team 1 beat that ass.

MuthaFunka said:

There you are!

I agree, I think that with Mike as the head coach, as opposed to an NBA coach, the focus was/is much more on all-around team play instead of giving superstars minutes. Granted, they're all superstars but Mike's gonna be more strategic in his selections about who's on the court than they were in the last few Games.

I love Mike Krzyzewski.

SCNDLS said:

Where did you think I'd gone?

And yeah, Coack K is a good match for this team and I think they all realize what needs to be done over ego trippin'.

MuthaFunka said:

I was counting the minutes 'til you posted on my basketball thread. Took you exactly 29 minutes to get here.
[Edited 8/10/08 9:24am]

SCNDLS said:

- That's usually about how long it takes for to (ahem) come.
[Edited 8/10/08 9:28am]

MuthaFunka said:

That's not a word.
They're still foreigners, legal aliens, I supposed as opposed to the illegal variety.
If the U.S fields a team, they should be in the gold medal game, if they just sent individuals, who only care about themselves, bronze would be the best they can expect to do.

SUPRMAN said:

I'm a pimp. I make up the lingo, but I don't charge for those that wanna cop it. .

And they have enough role players this go around to where ego won't be a major issue.

MuthaFunka said:

Awwwww, Mutha you must get this a LOT.

SCNDLS said:

True, true.

MuthaFunka said:

I'll give you a for admitting it tho. Very un- of you. It'll be our secret.

SCNDLS said:

But I only get it from the chicks that get a bit scared once I pull it out and they say "Damn, I have to try and fit all of THAT in me? ."

MuthaFunka said:

You's a fool. And I'm taking my back.

US beats China 101-70 in Olympic opener

BEIJING (AP)—The U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team dazzled President Bush and perhaps a billion more fans in one of the most anticipated events of the Summer Games.

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and company put on a dunk contest Sunday night against China, playing up to the basketball-crazed Chinese fans that packed the arena. While the Americans struggled shooting jump shots, the Americans soared for array of reverse slams and tomahawk jams drawing oohs and ahhs from the fans as they cruised to a 101-70 victory.

Wade scored 19 points and James had 18 for the Americans. Kobe Bryant finished with 13 points.

But the score and the game didn’t seem to matter, this was an event.

China’s Yao Ming, All-Star center for the Houston Rockets, finished with 13 points. He started the showcase by drilling a 3-pointer from the top of the key for the first score of the game.

Bush and his family were wrapping up another long day of sports, more than 12 hours after they watched swimmer Michael Phelps win his first gold medal of these games.

The guys Bush caught here expect to bring home gold, too.

The Americans made 21 of their first 25 shots inside the 3-point arc, though they had another inept night behind it. Still, with James, Wade and Bryant repeatedly getting out on the break, the poor 3-point shooting wasn’t a problem on this night.

NBA players are wildly popular in China, where the league estimates 300 million people play basketball. The Americans, still known as the Dream Team here, enjoyed a huge backing during exhibition games in Macau and Shanghai, support that will surely help them here on their gold-medal quest.

Bush came out first, walking to his seat above center court about a half hour before the 10:15 start. He was still shaking hands and slapping five with fans around him minutes later when Yao, back from season-ending foot surgery in March, led China’s players onto the floor to a thunderous ovation.

The Chinese team gathered in the center circle and waved to their flag-waving fans, then began their pregame warm-ups. Fans remained standing and let out another roar when Yao made his first hoop—possibly the first standing ovation ever for a layup line.

The Americans sprinted out a few minutes later to an ovation that was just as loud. They were wearing their home white uniforms—and it felt like a game with two home teams. A listener going just by the noise from the crowd would have never known which team just scored.

Fans throughout the arena chanted “Jia You! Jia You!” (Let’s go!) and cheered plays on both ends. There was nothing resembling a boo until the referees called Yao for a blocking foul, instead of the charge he hoped for, on a basket by James almost 5 minutes into the game.

Yao’s 3-pointer to start the game sent the crowd back into a frenzy and China stayed in the game for a while by hitting from behind the arc. The Chinese hit eight of their first 12 attempts, with Sun Yue’s 3 tying it at 29 with 6:09 remaining in the second quarter.

The Americans then started forcing turnovers by China’s smaller guards— long the team’s Achilles’ heel—and broke open the game with a series of layups and dunks. That helped the U.S. score 10 straight, highlighted by James’ spectacular one-handed slam of Wade’s alley-oop pass, to build a 45-32 lead with under 2 minutes left in the half.

The lead reached 20 when Wade hit two free throws with 2:39 remaining in the third quarter, and the U.S. team kept building on it from there. Michael Redd’s 3-pointer with 6:54 to play made it 84-50 and sent Bush and his family to the exits.

Yao checked out about 2 minutes later, raising a fist to the appreciative fans who were still cheering even in the blowout.

The Americans face Angola on Tuesday. Things don’t get any easier for the Chinese, who face world champion Spain.

SCNDLS said:

Aw dayum!

I have to say...I started to root for China. Why? They were after that ass today. They came hard. All for the sake of watching good ball.

Them rich spoiled ass Mah-Fuckers, what's another win? Oh yeah, damn Coach K....He's Duke's coach, and we Tar Heels have a serious rivalry with Duke.

But all BS aside I like that they had a college coach for the team. College coaches handle the prima donna's well. Could be why they asked him to coach the Lakers. Obviously he said no.

But seriously look at this way. NBA games are broasdcast all day everyday. Those other countries can sutdy every players style and methods which help greatly.

I don't know why, but I was hoping to see China serve that ass. But, playing stars all the way through the game will be the detriment to playing against the US.

KatSkrizzle said:

It's one thing to teach yourself how to play ball by watching NBA games all of the time and something else to actually play against NBA-caliber players. Having said that, foreigners were coming into the NBA all the way back in 1988, and they really began coming into the NBA after the Dream Team victories in 1992. When you consider who was playing for the USA back then, it truly was a dream team. Not only were other countries playing against the best basketball players in the world at that time (Magic, Bird, Jordan), they were playing against some of the greatest players of all time. The only players missing from that team were Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Julius Erving in their prime. In the eyes of the rest of the world, they were playing against their idols, and it was the equivalent of going to a rock and roll band camp and being told that you would get to jam with Elvis, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Prince, and Brice Springsteen. The other countries were so starstruck that they even encouraged their family and friends in the stands to take pictures of them getting their asses dunked on. And during halftime, instead of regrouping and trying to plan some strategy to get back in the game, they would go into the USA locker room and ask to take a group picture.

However, since that time, a lot of foreign players have made it to the NBA and took those skills with them back to their home countries. Meanwhile, USA Basketball got complacent and thought they could just assemble an all-star team to take on the world. They should have learned a lesson during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney when Lithuania nearly beat the NBA all-star laden USA team on a last second 3-point shot attempt, and Tony Parker had France leading the USA in the gold medal game after 15 minutes in the second half before the USA eventually recovered and pulled away. I knew then that it was only a matter of time before the rest of the world caught up with the NBA, and in 2002 they did. Even so, the USA still didn't realize that they had to compete with the rest of the world, and in Athens, they not only lost their first two games; they got spanked. They were fortunate that they even took home a bronze medal that year.

Now that the USA has finally wisened up and taken the rest of the world seriously, I think they are the favorites to win the gold medal. However, they have to be really careful of the other countries' ability to shoot three pointers, as it only takes a couple of shooters to get hot to put the USA on its back. But I think they will play much better defense and bring home the gold.

728huey said:

I was rooting for U.S.A. to spank China and they did. Just to remind China, this is the U.S.A. China is after medals and especially looking to top the U.S.

The world has gotten better but LeBron James admitted that in his first Olympics, playing for his country meant nothing to him. I think that was the problem, that without a sense of history, or even U.S Olympic history, they were just on a free trip that no one (but the rest of the world) took seriously.

Yeah China's looking good until you place them next to the U.S.

But the Chinese male gymnastics team looks very impressive.

SUPRMAN said:[quote]

728huey said:

I was rooting for U.S.A. to spank China and they did. Just to remind China, this is the U.S.A. China is after medals and especially looking to top the U.S.

The world has gotten better but LeBron James admitted that in his first Olympics, playing for his country meant nothing to him. I think that was the problem, that without a sense of history, or even U.S Olympic history, they were just on a free trip that no one (but the rest of the world) took seriously.

Yeah China's looking good until you place them next to the U.S.

But the Chinese male gymnastics team looks very impressive.[/quote]
The look like they came for blood. If they dont win gold, I'd be shocked.

I think it's VERY telling that Kobe and Lebron's jerseys outsell Yao's in China. . .

China offers warm embrace for Team USA

BEIJING – As the shine wore off the original Dream Team, as Michael, Magic and Larry weren’t around to save it, the popularity of the professional players on the U.S. men’s basketball team faded fast.

There are times when it feels half the country is rooting against it, even reveling in embarrassing performances such as the Larry Brown-coached bronze medal team in the 2004 Athens Games. It’s not clear Team USA could be an overwhelming fan favorite anywhere, even back in the States.

There are too many people who won’t embrace the players and who bristle at the concept of highly paid pros representing the country, or even, as absurdly unrealistic as it is, pine for a return to the “college guys” even if it would mean one humiliating defeat after another.

There are still plenty of fans back in America, of course. There just may not be as many as the team enjoys here in China, a basketball-mad nation in love with the NBA.

“Sometimes we feel we’re better supported here than back at home,” Chris Paul said. “That’s just China for us.”

It was all on display Sunday night in an historic 101-70 U.S. victory over China where a sellout crowd of nearly 18,000 crammed every nook and cranny of Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium to, quite amazingly, cheer for both teams.

They may have waved Chinese flags, but they wore NBA jerseys while doing it. They may have roared for every Chinese three-pointer, but they weren’t above dancing in the aisle after a powerhouse LeBron James dunk.

Perhaps most telling was their honest debate over who received the biggest ovation of the night: national hero Yao Ming or Kobe Bryant of suburban Philly.

All of which begs a question: With China not much of a medal contender thanks to a hobbled Yao, could the United States of America wind up being the crowd favorite at an Olympics half a world away from home? In a communist country, no less?

“I think so,” Paul said. “We could have the fans behind us. China has always been so supportive of us.”

It would be a far cry from the Athens Games, where fans in Greece, while excited to see NBA players in person, reveled in the Americans’ three losses. Like the early rounds of the NCAA tournament, they boisterously rooted for whoever might upset the mighty red, white and blue.

It helped contribute to a miserable American experience, one exasperated by coach Larry Brown pathetically playing on stereotypes as he bashed his players. It was a transparent attempt to escape blame from fans back home. That it actually worked with many of them – forcing NBA commissioner David Stern to fly to Greece to blast Brown and defend the players – showed the depth this program had sunk.

That was a team that was beloved almost nowhere.

This one, at the very least, is loved here.

The Chinese fans came early and packed the place to the rafters. A ring of luxury boxes was overloaded. Around the walkway they stood three, four deep, craning necks for even a glimpse of the action. Further back, stadium workers crouched to catch a flicker on the JumboTron.

The crowd may have chanted “China” and implored for what would have been the mother of all upsets, but there was no lack of appreciation for the Americans’ high-wire act.

The fans were so relentlessly positive that even President Bush, on hand with his wife and father, was politely cheered. Only during a couple of American free throws was anything resembling a boo even heard, and that was more as a distraction, not a condemnation.

“In the States, when you go into someone else’s house, they don’t usually cheer for (you),” smiled Carlos Boozer, currently of the Utah Jazz and formerly a Duke Blue Devil.

So you never got cheered at the Dean Dome?

“No,” he laughed. “I don’t think that happened. … It just goes to show you how globally the game is getting better. It’s fun to see.”

This was everything Stern dreamed of when he embraced the idea of putting professional players in the Olympics. It helped make his stars international in nature and, despite the uneven results, the thought that an estimated one billion people worldwide were expected to watch on television – the most ever for a basketball game – can’t be discounted.

In terms of immediate competitive advantage, for Team USA, the question is whether it can become China’s team.

As the Americans advance into the medal rounds, will fans pull for the immensely popular Bryant and his other familiar teammates? Or will national pride – China is expected to be in a tight race for total medals with the U.S. – win out?

“It’s something we’ll have to see,” LeBron James said. “We’re not looking to have an advantage. But I think the fans here showed us a lot of respect.”

Halfway around the globe, the Americans may have finally found themselves at home.

Oh and Argentina lost. . . Manu!!!

KatSkrizzle said:

Love ya baby girl, but, uh, Go DUKE!!!

I think we can take it this year. For one, in the years past we trained together 20 total days. This time we were prepared.

SCNDLS said:

They look positively goofy in the team USA designer goof up!

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

Mach said:

( I don't think we are behind today, coverage started at 10am. ) I am totally addicted. Was watching a few rowing events.... America placed 1 outside of semi finals albeit If 2 advance and or 3!

Muse2NOPharaoh said:

Lookin' at your sig, I guess you're not happy about the tape delay.

Oh, and I thought they looked spiffy.