Unbeatable? Maybe, maybe not. When Team USA is knocking down 3-point shots the way they did against Nigeria and Argentina, then yeah, they’re probably unbeatable. When they go cold from outside the arc, as they did against Lithuania, it is more than fair to say they are vulnerable. They are vertically challenged, and they do not protect the rim — even when Tyson Chandler is getting his dollup of minutes and accumulating more fouls than points. LeBron James has been playing center
A monster third quarter from Kevin Durant and a buzzer beating three from Patty Mills will send Team USA into the medal rounds as the only team without a loss. The United States went to the locker room up 60-59 on Argentina before a 42-point explosion in the third quarter put the 2004 gold medalists in USA’s rearview for good. Seventeen of those 42 belonged to Durant, who hit five of his eight threes in the third and moved past Carmelo
Train Station after the game! #Fasterwaybacktothehotel lol instagr.am/p/OAZntKyjXG/ — Chris Paul (@CP3) August 7, 2012
Things are starting to really heat up in the Olympics, after Team USA survived a tough contest with Lithuania yesterday. For coverage of that, and all the other Olympic action, check out Nick Gibson’s Olympic recap from yesterday. Also be sure to check out Chris Sheridan talking about the lessons the Americans have to take away from that Lithuania game, and the five most important questions with the end of pool play. And, if you missed it, here’s the latest
Kobe and @jharden13 setting up for the 100M final instagr.am/p/N9gf0Qs94Z/ — Kevin Love (@kevinlove) August 5, 2012 There were lots of candidates for Tweet of the Day today as athletes flocked to the main Olympic Stadium to watch Usain Bolt win the 100 meters — again. The race was not shown live on television in America. Absolutely, unfathomably astounding. Watching the Olympics on NBC is an exercise in forehead-banging. Why can’t they just show the race live for the hard-core sports fans, then show it
So we’re all getting a reminder of how things are really day-to-day in the Olympics, eh? A couple days ago, Carmelo Anthony had the new U.S. Olympics scoring record (37) and Team USA was considered unbeatable after they out Dream Teamed the original Dream Team and beat Nigeria by 83. Then we get through Day 4 of the competition, and the world has turned upside down. The single highest-scoring game now belongs to Patty Mills of Australia, who dropped 39 on Great
Team USA has been a spectacle in the Olympics’ first week, the conversation surrounding them filled with more oohs and aahs than X’s and O’s. We’ve dissected the records they’ve set more than the teams that they’ve beaten and gotten our compression shorts in a bunch over some hypothetical match up between 11 young NBA players (and Kobe Bryant) and 11 graying Hall of Famers (and Christian Laettner). Can this team beat the Dream Team? Who cares. Tell me about Russia. Up until now, Team
Well, you can’t win ’em all by 83. And when your one and only experienced center plays just 8 minutes, there is a problem in both rebounding and protecting the rim. Those are two of the lessons learned Saturday by Team USA in their narrow victory over Lithuania. Next up is Argentina, which is a better and more experienced team. For a take on the game from a Lithuanian-American tavern in Queens, give a read to today’s Diary of The Uncredentialed. //