As did Carmelo Anthony--demoralizing Argentina with his brand of offensive versatility which has characterized his play in this tournament. He made the play of the game with a monster finish over a hesitant Argentinian help defender.
With both teams boasting 6-0 records heading into this quarter-final round, ESPN and other media outlets made it sound like this was going to be a game. It didn't take long to realize, this wasn't.
With many of the original players from the 2004 Argentinian national squad including Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto missing from action, the U.S. once again displayed the kind of individual and collective dominance that has placed them comfortably for an Olympic berth.
Make no mistake, Argentina is no slouch. These guys can flat out play. And they certainly posted (at least on paper), a respectable final score of 91-76, which is closer than the U.S. blowouts in the tournament thus far.
It's just that when you're going up against behemoths like Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and Amare Stoudamire with Jason Kidd running the show with a dazzling array of half-court tosses and back-door dimes, it puts the opposition on tilt. And when teams become hesitant, they create turnovers, much like Argentina did in this game, due to their reduced scoring options and consequent turnovers.
In contrast, the U.S. creates match-up nightmares for the defense, because they can attack in unlimited ways. On one play where Lebron James took a loose-ball and was fouled for a basket-count, the Argentinian center, Scola was the one on the floor, seemingly hurt for a second. It was evident that on an individual basis, these guys will overpower and outrun 90% of international competition. They train harder and are pulled from the deepest talent pool in the world.
(Josh Howard with the two-hand flush)
This is a different brand of basketball than that of the '92 Dream Team, but it's just as fun to watch. School was in session any time any one of the U.S. players took the ball in their hands tonight. I'm no longer questioning the talent that this roster consists of, and these games can only get better as the U.S. faces stiffer competition against Spain and Greece in the Olympics.
For Team U.S.A., the first 4 games were a warm-up. The last 3 a reminder that they can take on better competition. But if there's one thing missing from this team, it's a consistent and fluid offensive execution. Their defense has been amazing, with Kobe Bryant putting heavy pressure on guards, and Lebron and others waiting to make steals, but their offensive execution leaves much to be desired.
The pros and cons of assembling an All-star team is that the subtle nuances of playing championship basketball are seemingly lost. Most of these guys are franchise players on their respective NBA teams, and each have their unique ways which make them great. So in this sort of assembly of All-star talent, the fundamentals to a great team operation like ball movement and help defense take a back seat to sensational plays like guards tossing half-court alley-oops and power forwards bulldozing their way through 2 opponents.
So what are the true prospects of Olympic Gold? They certainly have a great opportunity in their hands, but you and I both know those hopes can be squandered rather quickly when matched up against a superior team. In order for U.S.A. basketball to regain glory, they'll have to realize that it will take substantially more than dunks and 20fters.
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