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USA 100, Spain* 78: Notes, highlights, miscellany

July 25, 2012

Well, then. If not quite as emphatic as in the days of Dream Teams I through III, Team USA dispatched the world’s second-best/Europe’s best side for a 100-78 win over Spain in Barcelona. Though the notebook on the Red, White and Blues mostly accentuates the positive, one doesn’t quite need to squint to see chinks in the armor – particularly with that glaring asterisk in the box score, i.e. the absence of Marc Gasol and Sergio Rodriguez.

In an Olympic field that appears to be the strongest ever on paper, could a flawed team like this one still grab the gold? (And if flawed teams are in the running for a podium spot, is Lithuania more enthused?)

A few lines from BallinEurope’s notebook and other stuff (like highlights) follow.

• Welcome back, Carmelo Anthony! Last night Americans finally saw Team USA’s hyped-as-spectacular international player demonstrating why he’s billed as such. As a sixth man with fantastic range that can fill the no. 4 spot, Anthony is the deadliest weapon in the arsenal.

Despite Spain’s apparent ability to match up well with the Yanks, Los Rojos simply had no answer for the two-time champion as Melo went for 23 points – just shy of half the USA’s total output – from everywhere on the floor, including 5-of-6 success from that shortened arc. Put Sergio Llull on him? Nope. Serge Ibaka? Come on! Sergio Scariolo would probably never admit it, but subconsciously at least he’s mentally wringing his hands over how to defend Anthony for 40 minutes in a knockout game.

• Something you’ll hear a zillion times before the final national anthem plays: Team USA must overcome its lack of size with its abundant speed. Said Kobe on the already well-worn subject last night: “We have a lot of speed. A lot of speed. LeBron’s 6’9”, Carmelo’s 6’9”, Durant’s 6’10”. And we’re fast. When you have that amount of speed, it makes up for it.”

In this respect, Team USA backers have got to be thrilled that their side barely missed a beat – were able to turn the speed up a notch, even – after Tyson Chandler earned two personal fouls and bench time in the fourth minute of play last night.

What’s interesting against this now clichéd sentiment, however, is the possibility that Scariolo’s game plan may make the Spanish more vulnerable to Team USA’s speed than in 2008 under Aíto García Reneses. In 2008, we were told, the Spanish could run with the Americans but preferred the halfcourt game. In 2012, with the nucleus essentially the same but four years older, Scariolo seeks a team that can run the floor like Team USA. In the half-court game, Scariolo prefers to call lots of off-ball stuff and oodles of pick-and-rolls while relatively deemphasizing post play. The Americans’ quickness is suited to adapt to this game plan in addition to its bringing the tournament’s nastiest perimeter defense. Triangle offense, anyone…?

• Speaking of Scariolo’s offensive systems, perhaps even more significant to the final result was the DNP recorded not by Marc Gasol, but by Sergio Rodriguez. A shoutout here to BallinEurope’s man in Italy, Enrico Cellini, who wisely suggested to BiE that it’s just possible Team Spain might be better off with Rodriguez than celebrated wunderkind Ricky Rubio.

One of the main reasons Rubio’s importance (and statistics) were down in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2011 Eurobasket tournaments was simply due to a clash of playing style vs. coaching style. Reneses preferred to have Rubio take on isolation defenses against older, slower guys (and whoa, could he make Jason Kidd and Tony Parker look bad at times) while allowing his Nash-like playmaking. Scariolo not so much. Forget the Gasol: It’s the reinsertion of Spanish Chocolate into this lineup that’ll give Spain a new look in London.

• As for the defense … well, have you ever seen a team take apart a Spanish 2-3 zone like these guys did in the second half?

• And onto the continuing soap opera at Team USA’s point guard position. (It’s not really a soap opera, thanks to the necessary ego-quashing from the American players, but the thought excites.) Chris Paul started at PG, a move that BiE likes for the US. Far be it for BiE to criticize Beşiktaş legend Deron Williams, but after a half-dozen scrimmages, it’s clear that Paul is a much better facilitator for this particular team – and even got things going last night with some nifty shot creation in the first quarter.

Russell Westbrook, third among the trio to enter the game, was among the chief perpetrators in the aforementioned immolation of Scariolo’s zone in the second half and again more efficiently drove the lane than D-Will.

When Williams entered the floor, the successful mid-range game was at least temporarily abandoned. On his first possession, Williams launched a three with “just” 20 remaining on the 24-second clock. He chased this with a drive from the arc to get the bucket and-one. A couple times down the floor thereafter, D-Will tossed up yet another three, drew the foul … and missed two of the FTs.

Not a good number: Excluding the Britain game, D-Will shot just 8-of-21 in Team USA’s friendlies. With a disadvantage under the boards, Williams must be tamed before the London Games are done – or dropped to no. 3 on the depth chart.

• News flash (not): Lebron James scored 25 points.

• At one point, ESPN color man (and former University of New Mexico Lobos coach!) Fran Fraschilla noted that the Achilles’ heel of this Team USA could be free throws. Maybe so, but the Yanks shot 66.1% in the five exhibition games, right about at 14-of-21 in the average game. For comparison’s sake, the percentage is exactly the same amassed by … Serge Ibaka. Weird. Also, yeesh.

• Age could be a factor – for Team Spain, that is. We’ve heard that it’s the experience that will carry Los Rojos deep into the Olympic tournament, but could the kilometers put on by key members hurt the team down the stretch? After celebrating his 200th cap with Spain, Juan Carlos Navarro went out and … played about 10 minutes, appearing only in highlight clips when rejected by Anthony Davis.

With a few notable exceptions – Pau, Ibaka, Llull – the *entire Spanish side* appeared a step too slow. While surely some of this may be due to that voluminous velocity of Team USA, Argentina’s similarly-aged guys managed to keep pace with the Americans.

BiE wonders if Father Time might make his presence felt by Spain against younger, feisty teams like Brazil, Russia … and one could include the USA itself.

• Despite that asterisk, by the way, Spain-based Solo Basket proclaims that Team USA is still the team to beat.

• O, and that hop-step thing which FIBA referees call “travelling”? Lebron is no longer Team USA’s sole guilty party getting whistled: The first six minutes of the Spain game saw the US commit five turnovers – four of them travelling violations. Kobe, KD, Chris Paul … no one may be immune in London.

Jul 25, 2012ballineurope
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This post was published on July 25, 2012
The BallinEurope Summer League Review: On 14 NBA aspirants from the ContinentTwenty years ago today: The Barcelona Games
Comments: 30
  1. Andrea
    13 years ago

    “particularly with that glaring asterisk in the box score, i.e. the absence of Marc Gasol and Sergio Rodriguez.”

    ————————————————————————————————————–

    Yeah but Team USA could say the same thing (and then some) due to the absences of players like Rose, Howard, Bosh, Wade due to injury, not exactly “small” absences. It goes both ways. It’s not just Spain missing players.

    ReplyCancel
  2. Phil
    13 years ago

    The difference is that Marc and Sergio will play in London. The US guys will not.

    Now, will that change the final outcome? I don’t think so.

    ReplyCancel
  3. mike
    13 years ago

    Any Spanish game plan that would have diminished Rubio had he played is plain stupid. Rubio is a special player or he will be. If Spain can’t see that, there’s something wrong. Sergio over Rubio? You must be kidding.

    I don’t know how much difference Marc would do playing alongside Pau since a twin tower lineup will actually even slow them down further against the US. Marc would make a difference in the 2nd unit while Pau is resting.

    ReplyCancel
  4. Greg
    13 years ago

    Rubio is the most overrated player to ever play in Europe.

    He was the worst Spanish national team player every single summer.

    ReplyCancel
  5. mike
    13 years ago

    Hey Greg, let me guess who you think is a good European guard. Is it billy?hehe

    ReplyCancel
    • Phileus
      13 years ago

      I do feel that he is overrated because of how likeable and young he is. That said, he’s a good guard for the Wolves, even though (as BiE and other good writers have mentioned) his talents would go to waste in the current Spain system.

      Also guys, let’s not forget about the danger of feeding trolls 😉

      ReplyCancel
  6. mike
    13 years ago

    Phileus, when I say that Rubio is a special player, I mean that he can be the PG of an NBA Champion one day.

    Look, he’ll never be a big scorer like Derrick Rose, or a great shooter like Steve Nash, but his all around attributes can make him a J.Kidd model type PG one day. Big, stays in front of top offensive players, steals the ball, rebounds very well , disrupts your offense, and pass the ball? Forget about it! He’s a traditional pass first PG, and that’s what I like about him.

    I’m a big Sixer fan, and have always been partial to a real PG like the PG of one of the great teams in NBA history, the ’82-83 Sixers, Maurice Cheeks. Rubio can be even better because of his vision. Also, don’t forget about his charisma, since all players seem to like playing with him.

    I guarantee you USA Basketball players know this, and are glad he is not leading this talented Spanish team. There is simply no Spanish guard that compares with him.

    ReplyCancel
  7. Greg
    13 years ago

    Hey Phileus you called me a troll for stating the truth……………

    FUCK YOU

    BURN IN HELL

    ReplyCancel
  8. Greg
    13 years ago

    I guarantee you USA Basketball players know this, and are glad he is not leading this talented Spanish team. There is simply no Spanish guard that compares with him.

    You are a damn mental midget.

    Navarro is 50 times better than Rubio could ever dream of being.

    You would instantly be the biggest laughing joke of all time if you posted your nutso psycho talk at the ACB forums.

    Lay off the drugs douche bag.

    ReplyCancel
    • Gabe
      13 years ago

      50 times better than Rubio can ever dream of being. Well let’s compare their rookie years in the NBA. Rubio was 1st all-rookie team while Navarro was 2nd all-rookie team. So in their 1st year Rubio did better. And if Rubio ever makes an all-star game it will be something that JCN would have only dreamed about.

      BTW I remember when Navarro left the NBA he said like he had done everything he wanted to do in the NBA and he mentioned playing in an all-star game! He did not play in the all-star game, he played in the rookie/sophomore game. Big difference.

      Also Navarro looked a step slow in the friendly against the US. Maybe he was playing possum but he didn’t look like the same player from 2008 and 2011.

      ReplyCancel
  9. mike
    13 years ago

    BTW, could the diminished role of Rubio in the 2010 Worlds and the 2011 Eurobasket have to do with the fact that Rubio’s game in Europe at that time actually declined? Coaches were down on him.

    When Ricky was a hot item in Europe, he played very well for Spain in 2008, and was a key figure down the stretch against the US in the Gold Medal Game. And then his stints in Europe and the coach of his team regressed his game, didn’t it? Being a very talented player, Rubio’s skill were much more suited to the NBA, especially for an offensive coach like Adelman who trusts young players and European players. The latest news is that the Wolves have signed Schved, the CSKA guard. Schved was quoted as pointing to the coach as the reason for the move to the NBA. BTW, Kirelenko could be headed to Minnesota with him.

    But now, after everyone has seen what Rubio has done with the Wolves, and see his game reach another level, I doubt very much if he would not have played the leading role at PG for Spain this time. He can hurt the US in so many more ways than Calderon or anyone else.

    ReplyCancel
    • Gabe
      13 years ago

      Yeah I still remember that bounce pass he threw to Fernandez when he hit the 3 ball that cut the US led to 2 in the 4th quarter of that game! BTW I heard that Kirelenko might be headed to Brooklyn.

      ReplyCancel
      • Gabe
        13 years ago

        I was wrong, looks like he’s Minnesota bound. That’s turning into a real European team and with Kevin Love can we say a real European and European American team?

        ReplyCancel
  10. mike
    13 years ago

    Greg, are you bitter about something? Come out in the open. It’s okay, we understand. Is it billy?

    ReplyCancel
    • Phileus
      13 years ago

      Come on man, you have to resist the tempatation better than that 😛

      Like I said before, Rubio will never be on Kidd’s level, but I understand where you are coming from. I don’t have access to stats right now but my guess (and call me out if I am wrong) is that Kidd’s rebounding and scoring stats were better for his rookie year. I saw Rubio as a better version of Jason Williams last year, but that’s not a bad thing – he was also the starting PG for a championship team, and Rubio still has room to grow 🙂

      For purposes of FIBA, though, I don’t think he will be missed. He was born to play NBA basketball.

      ReplyCancel
      • Andrew
        13 years ago

        Kidd and Rubio scored about the same amount their rookie years. Rubio had more steals and assists though, shot much better from 3 and from the line (imagine that) and has comparable FG%. I’d say that per 36 the two had nearly identical rookie seasons. I will say that Rubio has length that Kidd never had but Kidd in his early years had athleticism Rubio couldn’t match. I like the Kidd-Rubio comparison.

        ReplyCancel
        • Phileus
          13 years ago

          Wow you’re right, their rookie stats are eerily similar from assist:turnover ratio to rebounding to bad shooting %. I guess Kidd has become such a “legend” that it is easy to forget where he started. Thanks for the stat-checking. I’ll have to be a little less incredulous when people make that comparison from now on, but of course we have just a small sample to work with so far.

          ReplyCancel
  11. mike
    13 years ago

    More on Rubio, it’s rare for a veteran coach to just trust a rookie PG so much to lead a team to the Playoffs, but that’s what Adelman did. C’mon, Jason Williams, not close! I saw many Wolves games this past season, and the moment Rubio entered the court, you could see that Adelman just kept giving Ricky more and more minutes until he was the starter after 2 or 3 games, I believe.

    You could see that the entire Wolves team was transformed by Rubio from a basement dweller to a playoff contender. Rubio even flirted with several triple doubles. Despite all the Kevin Love MVP talk, when Rubio went down, the Wolves chances died with him. It is proof positive of Rubio’s impact that the rise of the Wolves early in the season coincided with Rubio’s rise as a player, and their decline coincided with Rubio’s injury. Evidence that Rubio is a special player

    This off-season, David Kahn let it be known that there are only 2 players that are untouchable in Minny, Love and Rubio. I’ll put it on the line now and say he will be a top 5 PG next year. Now, let’s see that injury.

    ReplyCancel
    • Phileus
      13 years ago

      Hey mike, it seems like you kind of like Rubio… 😛

      I think there’s something to be said for rising to the occasion when your team needs you. Minnesota fans love him, his teammates love him, and he has a coach who knows how to use him (and a nervous GM whose career rides on that coach making Rubio shine). Rubio himself has said this responsibility has increased his confidence which has in turn increased his productivity. He is very mature in the way he has handled this pressure, and I admit he is a joy to watch.

      But very few of those factors apply to Team Spain, which is not a rebuilding franchise with room for trial and error and a long season with low expectations. Spain is a team with a realistic shot at gold NOW, and so for now, they are rightfully relying on more proven vets who work better in a disciplined system than Rubio can. For now, this makes the most sense, but who knows? Maybe in the future he will grow into a cornerstone of their NT. The Gasol brothers and Navarro will run out of gas sooner rather than later.

      ReplyCancel
      • Gabe
        13 years ago

        Pau and Navarro will run out of gas soon buy Marc is only 27!

        ReplyCancel
  12. Pierre
    13 years ago

    I am sure that somehow Spain will manage to replace the 1 point and 1 assist per game that Rubio averaged with them at EuroBasket 2011.

    Good lord………….there is no end to the insanity posted by this Gabe idiot and his minions (sock puppets).

    ReplyCancel
    • Gabe
      13 years ago

      Looks like he didn’t get many minutes in the final against France but in the semi-final against FYR of Macedonia, Spain’s second most important game, he had 5 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists not great by all mean but definitely a help (tied for 2nd most assists, 3rd most rebounds and 5th most points).

      ReplyCancel
  13. mike
    13 years ago

    BTW Gabe, Kirilenko is headed to Minny, not Brooklyn, along with CSKA guard Schved who will likely back up Rubio at the point or play alongside him. The Wolves seem to be compiling some interesting pieces. So its that Serbian center(forgot his name, but he’s good), Love at the 4, Kirilenko at the 3 with Derrick Williams off the bench(or the other way around), Ridnour at the 2, Rubio at PG, and their other new pieces Brandon Roy, Budinger, Stiemsa from Boston. Not a bad off season for Minny.

    And Pierre, I know your team didn’t make it, but you can always compete for billy’s love and affection by being the best boy toy you can be in the Olympic spirit.Hehe

    ReplyCancel
  14. mike
    13 years ago

    Phileus, check out the new piece from Yahoo Sports NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski on Rubio in the NBA section just released. You’ll have a better understanding of Ricky’s impact in Minny. I just remembered, and it was pointed out in the article, that after the injury, many NBA players including Lebron and Durant tweeted that in so many words, that they love to watch him play. Not an easy thing to do in a single rookie season, let alone a half season: to be admired by your best peers.

    ReplyCancel
  15. Marcella
    13 years ago

    With Juan Carlos Navarro serving as Spanish team captain, Gasol will simply have to settle on being the squad’s best individual player again in London.

    ReplyCancel
  16. Jack
    13 years ago

    BTW Gabe, Kirilenko is headed to Minny, not Brooklyn, along with CSKA guard Schved who will likely back up Rubio at the point or play alongside him. The Wolves seem to be compiling some interesting pieces. So its that Serbian center(forgot his name, but he’s good), Love at the 4, Kirilenko at the 3 with Derrick Williams off the bench(or the other way around), Ridnour at the 2, Rubio at PG, and their other new pieces Brandon Roy, Budinger, Stiemsa from Boston. Not a bad off season for Minny.

    And Pierre, I know your team didn’t make it, but you can always compete for billy’s love and affection by being the best boy toy you can be in the Olympic spirit.Hehe

    ——————————

    Shved isn’t a point guard you stupid POS.

    ReplyCancel
  17. Jack
    13 years ago

    Olympics are becoming a joke for basketball. The USA is almost the only country in the world that is even airing the basketball games on TV.

    It’s astonishing how insane NBA American fans are with how they really believe the “whole world watches Olympic basketball” and it is “the most prestigious event”.

    At the point Olympics basketball is about 1/10 as relevant as the World Basket Cup is to every country in the world other than the USA.

    That thing 2 years ago was on TV all over the world and this Olympics basketball is hardly being aired anywhere outside USA.

    No wonder Stern and Cuban want to abandon the Olympics basketball. No one except stupid racist xenophobic Americans gives a damn about it.

    How can they, the games don’t even get shown on freaking TV.

    ReplyCancel
  18. mike
    13 years ago

    Jack, do you understand what the phrase, “play alongside him” means? Huh, you stupid POS!

    You’re right I wasn’t sure if Schved was a PG or SG( I don’t follow CSKA closely ), but I put that phrase in precisely because I wasn’t sure.

    ReplyCancel
  19. Miguel
    13 years ago

    mike says:
    July 30, 2012 at 6.26am

    Jack, do you understand what the phrase, “play alongside him” means? Huh, you stupid POS!

    You’re right I wasn’t sure if Schved was a PG or SG( I don’t follow CSKA closely ), but I put that phrase in precisely because I wasn’t sure.

    reply

    For someone who does not watch any Euroleague you sure the fuck talk an endless amount of shit about it and how you know 100% about the level of all the teams and players there.

    Which makes you a real freaking jack ass and douche bag.

    ReplyCancel
  20. Janell
    13 years ago

    VC: The current team has to prove it. The ’92 team was the Dream Team, they won it all and they were dominant.

    ReplyCancel
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13 years ago 32 Comments FIBA, More, NBA/NCAA2010 FIBA World Championship, 2012 Olympic Games, Aito Garcia Reneses, basketball highlights, Beşiktaş JK, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, EuroBasket 2011, Fran Fraschilla, Jason Kidd, Juan Carlos Navarro, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Marc Gasol, Olympic Games 2008, Pau Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka, Sergio Llull, Sergio Rodriguez, Sergio Scariolo, Team Brazil, Team Russia, Team Spain, Team USA, Tony Parker, Tyson Chandler, University of New Mexico Lobos
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