But they were up against some serious obstacles: They were new to each other and their coaching staff. Some of them are young and don't yet instinctively know stuff like how to defend the pick and roll. They were using a different-sized ball which certainly affects shooting. And the opposition is really, really good--and I believe, extra motivated to crush us like grapes because at this juncture of history, thanks to U.S. foreign policy, Americans are pretty much seen as arrogant bullies.
Yes, yes, it's true that most of them are young and they are going up against veteran teams that have played together for a long time. And it's true that many Euro teams like Spain, Italy, Greece, Serbia, and Lithuania, not to mention Argentina and up-and-coming Brazil and France have improved tremendously since 1992. But it's not really the US team's lack of familiarity with each other or "lack of team play" that made them lose this game against Greece.
It was the US player's (and our) lack of familiarity with the opposing players abilities, AND the opposing players' familiarity with all 12 members of the USA basketball team is what will always put the USA at a disadvantage.
I'm sure every member of that Greek national team knew who Lebron, Wade, and Carmelo Anthony were and what their strengths, weakness and tendencies are. Even the "lesser known" ones like Brand, Battier, and Jamison. They know these players because anybody who is into basketball and every serious basketball fan watches the NBA. And the NBA coverage is comprehensive and only getting bigger.
(Like me for example, I live outside the states and never been there, but I am knowledgable about the NBA and can discuss it with anyone. I've been a fan of the NBA since the mid-80s and I've followed the celtics, lakers, mavericks and suns during those days. But don't ask me about the European Basketball though. I know little about it and can offer little in terms of tips and strategies)
OTOH, I'm sure the American players most of the time have no clue as to who they're going up against with (except for the foreign players already established in the NBA like Dirk, Manu, Yao, Pau etc.) So they don't really know what to expect from their foreign opponents. Every game is a surprise for them, and it shows how poorly prepared they were against the better opposing teams (Greece shot 65% overall, 71% on twos). Who's Papaloukas? Who's Spanoulis? Who's that big fat Greek guy with soft hands?
Time and again, Sofoklis Schortsanitis, the 6-10, 280-pound Greek center, would set a quick screen -- if you could even call it that, as he was almost always moving when he set it -- and then twirled to the basket. And time and again, the U.S. didn't recover in time, as the Greek guards slipped passes to Schortsanitis as he roared to the basket. Once he got the ball, it was over.
Schortsanitis has been compared to Glenn Davis, LSU's bulky forward, but I think it's mainly because they look similar. Because whereas Davis prefers faceup jumpers, Sofoklis has that rare double in a big man -- good hands and good feet. And once he gets it in the lane, he jumps diagonally, so that the defender is forced to make contact to stop him.
"We knew he was good," Chris Bosh said, "but we didn't know he was that good."
Against most inferior teams, the US can still dominate even if they don't know much about who they're going up against. But against Greece? Argentina? Spain? Maybe not anymore.
And yes, the US has a scouting team headed by Rudy Tomjanovich, and they try to do their best. But learning about the opposing players by relying on Team USA scouting is like cramming for the exams. It's not as effective as watching opposing players regularly in the Spanish, Italian or even Greek Basketball leagues. And I doubt most American players would bother watching these euro leagues except for serious basketball junkies who need their daily basketball fix.
And, if Dwyane Wade had been resting for a month before he started Team USA training camp? I think there's a decent shot Team USA beats Greece.
If it's a best of Seven or Nine series, I'm sure the US team will beat them.
UPDATE: Great post by Jeff Taylor:
After the 101-95 defeat for the Americans, Coach K said: "I thought number four was spectacular in the first half, number seven was spectacular in the second half and number 15 hit huge shots for them at the end of the clock in the second half."
How many times do the United States have to lose in international tournaments before they truly know who they are up against?
The US team played with heart, and they were classy. They rarely complained about things on the court.
Number four has a name, though, and it's not difficult to say.
He is Theo Papaloukas, one of the Greek heroes on their European Championship winning side in Belgrade and the same man who led CSKA Moscow to the Euroleague title in 2006.
Doesn't Coach K, a legend at Duke University, know number seven, Vasilis Spanoulis, another EuroBasket star who was Panathinaikos' best player this year in the Euroleague?
Spanoulis has signed to play with the Houston Rockets for the forthcoming season.
Then there is number 15, Mihalis Kakiouzis, the Greek captain.
Kakiouzis is a big-time player in Europe with Winterthur Barcelona, a European champion with Greece.
If you don't know the enemy, how do you expect to beat the enemy?
That goes for the players, too.
Dwyane Wade, one of the team's three captains, had talked about Greece beforehand.
"We haven't seen them play yet," Wade said, "but I'm sure the coaches will do a great job in breaking down the game-plan."
Why had the USA team not seen them play? In Saitama, behind one of the baskets, seats are often occupied by other team's coaches and players watching games.
There was ample opportunity for Team USA to watch, if only for a quarter, the Greek team.
Even more mind-boggling was the Americans' lack of preparation for Sofoklis Schortsianitis, the 6ft 9in, 125-kilogram man mountain who came into the game and scored 14 points.
Shane Battier, the Americans' top defensive player, spoke as if the USA had not watch big Sofo dominate Yao Ming of China in the last 16 and then France's Ronny Turiaf and Florent Pietrus in the quarter-finals.
"We didn't have any answers," Battier said.
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