Lithuania Tests US, Americans Survive 99-94

Deron Williams fires a three against Lithuania
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Critics were saying that it would take a perfect storm to knock off the US Men's team and for three and a half quarters it looked like that storm was brewing. Lithuania shot 58% from the field and the US could not get the offense going from the three point line and the free throw line. Lithuania has always given the US fits and Saturday was no exception. Linas Kleiza lead all scorers with 25 and Martynas Pocius added 14 as the US had fits defending the Lithuanian pick and roll offense.

The Americans were coming off an Olympic record performance, scoring 156 against Olympic neophyte Nigeria but would find a stronger challenge against the Lithuanians. At no point were they out of the game staying within single digits for the vast majority of the game, their largest deficit being 12 points in the third. However, it seemed that whenever the US would make a run, Lithuania would answer right back. As an upset minded crowd chanted "Lietuva" in support of the under dogs, Paulius Jankunas made a driving lay up to take the final lead Lithuania would experience. Chris Paul would respond on the next posession with a three pointer and LeBron James would put the offense on his back in the last few minutes as part of a 17-6 run that provided the separation the US needed to win. There wasn't a feel of a secured victory until the final minute when LeBron made his last basket to provide a 9 point lead. LeBron has been focused on getting team mates involved, being a pass first leader on the team but it was apparent that his scoring ability is unrivaled as he rattled off 9 points in the final 4 minutes to secure the victory for the Americans.

The US was able to get Lithuania into foul trouble through much of the game but were uncharacteristically unable to capitalize from the line. The US shot a paltry 61% from the foul line missing 12 shots that could have put the game on ice. USA also struggled from the three point line. Before Chris Paul connected on his momentum swinging 3, the US was 2 of their previous 18. As Lithuania packed the lane, making penetration difficult, the United States became stagnant in their offense only having 13 assists in the game, far below the 32 per game average they've had through out the tournament.

Carmelo Anthony matched LeBron's 20 with 20 points of his own, continuing to show himself as a force to be reckoned with in the international game. Against Lithuania he was able to work in the post where he has been close to unstoppable and was a formidable scoring option off the bench. Also coming off the bench is Russell Westbrook who provides defensive pressure and is a lightning rod for opposing defenses. Coach K capitalized on his speed and defensive prowess  It seems like when the US needs a big shot, it comes to either Anthony or Kevin Durant.

Overall, this game was a good wake up call for the US after lambasting Nigeria by 83. Coach K will no doubt use this game as a learning experience for the team of all stars. On his twitter feed after the game Kevin Love stated that he "Needed a game like that. On to the next one." That next one is against Argentina, which has been a bit of an enigma in this tournament. No doubt though, the third ranked team in the world will give the American's a tough game as both squads prepare for the cross over rounds.

USA rewrites record books, dominate Nigeria 156-73

Anthony puts in 3 of his game high 37 against Nigeria
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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."

LeBron Leads Team USA Over Brazil 80-69

LeBron James slams home 2 of his 30 points against Brazil
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"[I]f we win the gold medal, it will be because of how well we play defensively. To win this game like that I think is a good learning experience for our group.” Coach Krzyzewski commented after the United States defeated Brazil 80-69. It certainly was a good experience for Team USA. After decimating an over matched Dominican squad the US team played in front of a sold out Verizon Center in the nation's capital and also President Barack Obama. The last time these two clubs locked horns the United States came away with a 2 point win that came down to the wire and early on the Brazilians made it clear that the Americans were going to have to work for their victory.

Behind the sublime play of point guard Marcelo Machado, Brazil took a 27-17 lead at the end of the first quarter and showed that it wasn't going to be an easy walk through exhibition for USA. Brazil boasts 4 NBA players in Leandro Barbosa, Anderson Varejao, Nene and Tiago Splitter and they made their presence felt early on controlling the inside and forcing the United States to shoot primarily from the outside. In the first half the US was a paltry 1-12 from behind the arc. However, when the second half began, Russel Westbrook provided a spark that team USA would ride for the rest of the game, forcing multiple turnovers. Team USA would go into half with a small lead after a 20-5 second quarter. The story of the game was how the United States could turn up the pressure on defense to suffocate and frustrate point guards and down under the basket in the much more physical FIBA game.

 LeBron James was a key proponent of the American defense which lead to many fast break buckets as they turned the tide going into the second half.  For the game, the United States forced 23 turnovers and turned that into 28 big points. Despite the rebounding discrepancy from Brazil to the US (38-30) the US topped Brazil in second chance points 13-5. In the second half the teams traded blows like a pair of heavyweight contenders matching nearly basket for basket. LeBron James though simply would not let the US drop this one scoring 17 of his game high 30 in the second half. After the half time deficit the closest Brazil would get is 6 points but all hopes of a comeback win were dashed by LeBron James hitting a three pointer, stealing the ball, and hitting another 3 in transition. After a pair of free throws in the final minute the game had it's final tally, 80-69. Brazil battled the entire game and it seemed like at no point were they out of the game. If they continue to play the way they did against the Americans it's possible that the Brazilians could find themselves medalling in the Olympics something that hasn't happened since 1964.

Commenting further about the defense Coach K stated, "I felt our defense won the game. I thought it was outstanding for three quarters, especially since we didn't hit shots and we missed a lot of dunks. I liked the mental toughness of our team. We kept reminding them we're not doing it on offense, don't let it affect defense. I thought it didn't." One thing that plagued team USA for a second game was coming out with a slow start. When they go up against the likes of Argentina and Spain they are going to have to put together a full 40. Their next chance to do that will be in England as they face the British national team on 7/19 their third of five exhibitions before the torch is lit in London.

USA Leaves No Doubt Against Dominicans 113-59

LeBron James looks to get his team mates in the act against Dominican Republic
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With all the news stories about a fantasy match up between the Dream Team and the 2012 US team, it was almost lost that Team USA played a real game against a live opponent Thursday. The US national team opened up against the Dominican Republic in their first of five exhibitions before the Olympics begin. Kevin Durant lead all scorers with 24 and Andre Iguodala added 18 as the Americans ran up and down the floor putting on a show against the Dominicans. The US trailed only once at 4-2 and never looked back. The game was well in hand in the 3rd quarter and their lead swelled to as much as 54 points as the Americans stifling defense forced 25 turnovers and used that defensive pressure to pull away. With the win, the US national team improved to 50-1 under head coach Krzyzewsi. Their only loss in that time came against a Greece team which they later defeated in the medal round.

The starters, including Kobe Bryant and LeBron James saw limited action in the win as they allowed the reserves carry much of the weight. One reserve they didn't have for the game, was Blake Griffin. Griffin flew back from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and discovered that he has a torn meniscus. Griffin is going to miss the Olympics but plans to be back for the next NBA season. As the starters sat back and watched, Kevin Durant put on a scoring clinic, scoring 21 points in the first half and connected on his first 4 three point shots.In the FIBA game, the 3 point line is closer than in the NBA so to all the NBA players around the world, a 3 point jumper is little more than a mid range jumper. The rest of the national team followed suit as the US went 13 for 33 from down town.

One of those 3 pointers came from an unexpected source. Anthony Davis, rookie center for New Orleans was called up to replace the injured Griffin hit a three pointer near the end of the game, after Davis made the shot and got fouled he got up and taunted Dominican coach and his former coach John Calipari. It was a light hearted exchange that punctuated a dominant performance from the Americans. The US showed how dangerous their whole roster can be as they had 27 assists on 42 baskets and shot a torrid 56% from the field. On the other side of the ball, the defense kept the Dominicans to 31% from the field. Facing the US national team and all of it's NBA superstars will be a challenge for any team but especially so when the finest NBA product on your roster goes 1-12 from the field and only tallies 7 points. That stat line belongs to Al Horford, currently a member of the Atlanta Hawks.

The US is the top ranked team in the world and are set for the Olympics. The next team the face will be Brazil which boasts a little more NBA level talent. Many people are saying that the Brazilians could be a sleeper and make some serious noise this year in pool play, so they aren't a team that USA can just show up and expect to beat. Coach K's style as coach would not indicate that Team USA would take any game for granted but it's definitely too early to start reading press clippings, even after a 54 point rout.

The only particular weakness that the US showed was a slow start in the first quarter. They simply won't be able to do that against teams like Spain and Argentina. If they do, they could find themselves in a fight they don't want to be in. Even though they started slow, USA used their speedy pace of fast break basketball to force opponents into mistakes and eventually pull away, a strategy that could pay them dividends in pool play. Team USA is going to have to wait for a better opponent to show what they are really made of but experience is definitely on their side. The squad boasts 5 returning players from the 2008 Beijing games and 5 more from the World Championship winning team from 2010.