Finally Dreamin’
Sean-lympics Day 16
To say the U.S. “saved their best for last,” as was said on the broadcast, is a bit of an understatement. This game looked nothing like any of the other of the team USA performances at these Olympic games. It was if they had been counting sheep, scared to fall asleep and finally, in the second quarter, dared to dream.
Kevin Durant took over in the second quarter and propelled the U.S. to a lead they would only grow until garbage time. There was something oddly compelling about watching Carmelo Anthony look on from the bench as Durant did all the heavy lifting. Anthony’s Mr. USA Olympic Basketball title is surely in contention. Except that, Durant would never claim it. The explosion that Durant had in the second quarter and the domination that ensued is something that we all knew he was capable of, but he seems to almost deny it. On the broadcast, they even brought up a story of Coach K telling Durant they wanted to get him more involved, help him find shots, and Durant replied that he just wanted to play the right way. Well Kevin, the thing is that you shooting more is the right way to play (I wonder how this translates to Golden State). As evidenced by tonight.
Beyond just Durant, Team USA’s defense was so much smarter tonight. They didn’t leverage their own athleticism against them, limited dumb gambles and just deflected like every pass. The activity level was high but there was less doubling, switching and complex movement and instead more staying at home and going back to basics. This much more simplistic approach combined with the other-worldly length the Americans possess gave no consistent openings to Serbia.
It was finally the beat down that the world had been waiting for. Complete with forced turnovers that became dunks in seconds, possessions with multiple offensive rebounds, limitless range shooting, and fremdscham-inducing blocks. This iteration of team USA wouldn’t have ever lived up to the Dream Team moniker, but on a Sunday afternoon in Rio they came pretty close.
I didn’t have much to say about the Bronze Medal game other than it was a tough outcome for Australia. One bad call at the end of a game is easy to blame and I do feel that Australia deserved the bronze but they are a nation on the rise and I expect more from them in 2020. The real loss here is that this may have been Bogut’s last ride and he was great outside of the semi-final loss. Andrew Bogut is a huge figure in Australian basketball history as their first ever number one overall NBA draft pick. And in some ways he should be replaced by (their next first overall selection) Ben Simmons. Another phenomenal play-making big, but the rim protection is a huge loss. I feel terrible for Australia, but I think it is a matter of when not if they medal in basketball.
