USA rewrites record books, dominate Nigeria 156-73

Anthony puts in 3 of his game high 37 against Nigeria
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

Kobe Bryant summed up Nigeria's night in one simple statement. "When we get hot, it's a big problem." Nigeria definitely had a big problem as the USA team shot out of the gate and before Nigeria realized what happened it was 13-0, an opening barrage that set the tone and one that Nigeria would not bounce back from. The 13-0 run to open the game featured three shots from deep coming from Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. Kobe, who had been fairly quiet in this Olympiad come out firing on all cylinders scoring 14 of his 16 in the first quarter, those points punctuated by a steal and reverse slam on the break. One reason Team USA was able to connect on the record setting 29 makes from behind the line could have a lot to do with their ability to penetrate the Nigerian defense. In previous affairs, the US team has settled for deep looks at the basket without getting into a good flow on offense. However, against Nigeria they were able to penetrate for high percentage looks at the rim or kick out to a waiting sniper when the defense collapsed.

The US team had been hindered by slow starts in both of their previous Olympic match ups, and they seemed to be making a concerted effort to not make that three in a row. In both of those games the United States were 0-12 from deep but flipped the script against Nigeria converting on 11 of 14 from behind the three point line in the first quarter alone. Typically in the Olympics so far, coach K has had to resort to his second unit of "shock troops" in Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook to turn up the heat on opposing teams to turn the momentum towards the US team. Things were different against Nigeria as the game was already in hand against Nigeria when they made their way into the game for the first time. The tempo though did not slow down as the US would score 49 points in the first quarter. They would not need to score again in the first half to still maintain a lead against an over matched Nigerian team.

When all was said and down the final score showed the US more than doubling up the Nigerians and seemed to put the rest of the teams competing in pool A on notice. Every member of the US national team scored and Carmelo Anthony lead all scorer with 37 including a staggering 10-12 from deep in only 14 minutes of play. Anthony has been on an absolute tear in international play, showing his mid range game and outside shooting to be a perfect compliment to Durant's outside game and LeBron's ability to get to the hoop. Of the 59 baskets the Americans made, they had 41 assists which is a stellar ratio but is even more staggering when it's looked at as an assist to turn over ration. Only turning the ball over 7 times, it gave the US a ratio of nearly 6:1 which shows how well they take care of the ball while sharing it with one another.

Conversely, the Nigerians turned the ball over 24 times which while the US defense has been a force in this Olympiad, it's just not going to cut it when you're trying to face the team of all stars. Ike Diagu lead the Nigerian team with 27 of his own but only one of his team mates would tally more than 10 points in Chamberlain Oguchi who scored 11 in 20 minutes on the floor. The Nigerian team are making their first appearance in the Olympics as a basketball team and tallied their first win against African champion Tunisia but since have fallen to Lithuania and now the United States. After facing the US, the Nigerians only get a little bit of a reprieve as they must face Argentina next who are ranked #3 in the world. The US must face Lithuania who defeated the same Nigerian team by 19 points.

When asked about what the scoring record meant to the team, veteran Bryant stated "It’s a part of history. We understand that there have been a lot of great teams that have come through here and I think it was just kind of an acknowledgment to each other that it was a job well done in terms of being a part of it."

How the lockout affects the NBA fan: An editorial

Shaq is a lot taller than Earl Boykins and I miss him already.

This isn't so much as how it affects every NBA fan, but maybe more so how it affects me. I'm a fairly young man and so when I started watching the NBA, certain things and players became commonplace. It's interesting to me to see an era of basketball slowly closing. For me, it started with the retiring of Shaquille O'Neal.

For as long as I can remember, "The Diesel," "Shaq Fu," "The Big Aristotle," "Superman," or whatever you want to call him has been moving up and down the floor, being one of the most dominant big men in the history of the game. He was certainly the most dominant of his era. It struck me as he clowned his way through his retirement ceremony that a lot of my sports icons were sure to be following in his path.

It made me a little sad realizing that iconic players who have been capturing my imagination like Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, and Tim Duncan are getting older and won't be playing much longer. It truly is as I mentioned before the end of an era. These athletes will go down into the annals of time and many of them will be discussed as some of the greatest to ever do what they do, and even though they've battled the odds, each other and even gravity they can't battle time, at least not forever.

That's why to me and fans like me, this lock out is turning into one of the largest injustices to sports fans that I can remember in quite some time. As I write this, owners and players still have not met on an agreement which means, according to Commissioner David Stern; games are going to be cancelled. With the entire season in jeopardy it makes it a possibility that the fans won't get to see these tremendous athletes play at all this year, a year that could push many players past their abilities and won't be the players we remembered them being the last time they picked up a basketball.

The effects of this are far reaching, especially with current champion the Dallas Mavericks. Jason Kidd was the heart, soul and behind Dirk Nowitzki the leader of the team. Well, if the season starts the way it's supposed to the Mavericks come back looking to repeat with largely the same squad with which they won the title. After another year though? A year without game speed competition, but most importantly another year. Do I personally think that Kidd can come back and play like he did in the playoffs after missing an entire year of basketball? Not really, but I've been wrong before. I was wrong about the Dallas team that won it all.

So maybe I'm wrong about this. Maybe a year off, a year of rest letting Garnett and Duncan rest their knees could help them in the long run to extend their already sparkling careers. It could be just what the doctor ordered to keep these players in the league. Yet, the inverse is also possible. Maybe apathy sets in and they get out of shape. We certainly see it with Baron Davis every year. These players return as a shell of their former selves and realize that they have to hang it up sooner than they thought. This is all pure speculation of course. There are few athletes with the competitive drive that Kevin Garnett displays, but you have to wonder as he approaches the twilight of his career if his window is closing.

I don't know. Maybe a new era in the NBA would be a good thing. Once the old guard is retired, young promising stars like Kevin Love, John Wall, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Brandon Jennings will get their day in the sun. Maybe it's for the best. All I know is I want basketball.